Windwright Captain
Description:
Windwright captains, one and all, once hailed from House Lyrandar. As marked masters of the open oceans and neverending sky, windwright captains serve their house, providing key transportation between dangerous locales where others fear to tread. The connection between them and their ships becomes so strong that they are, in many ways, one and the same. It is said that should one have need to travel, having one the pinnacles of House Lyrandar at the helm virtually guarantees a successful voyage.
Role: The windwright captain is the master of the elemental vessels, particularly those that travel the seas and the sky. Having one around makes for many daring plans where airship or sea vessel chases hold the chance of success. While not excellent spellcasters, they do have some utility available.
Source: EB, pg. 70
Alignment: Any, although windwright captains have a deep love of the open sky and sea and more than normal amount of wanderlust.
Hit Dice: d8
Requirements:
To qualify to become a windwright captain, a character must fulfill all the following criteria.
Race: Half-Elf.
Skills: Acrobatics 4 ranks, Profession (sailor) 7 ranks, Use Magic Device 6 ranks.
Feats: Lesser True Dragonmark (Mark of the Storm).
Special: Able to cast 1st level arcane spells or 1st level infusions. Must have piloted an airship or wind galleon at least once. Must be on good terms with House Lyrandar when entering the prestige class. The windwright captain is not required to stay on good terms with House Lyrandar once he reaches 2nd level.
Class Skills:
The windwright captain's class skills (and the key abilities for each skill) are Acrobatics (Dex), Bluff (Chr), Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Chr), Escape Artist (Dex), Knowledge (geography) (Int), Perception (Wis), Profession (Wis), Stealth (Dex), Swim (Str) and Use Magic Device (Chr).
Skill Points at Each Level: 6 + Int modifier.
Table: The Windwright Captain
Class Features:
All of the following are class features of the asdf prestige class.
Weapons and Armor Proficiency: The windwright captain gains proficiency with the short sword and the rapier.
Spells per Day / Spells Known: At the indicated levels, a windwright captain gains new spells per day as if he had also gained a level in a spellcasting class he belonged to before adding the prestige class. He does not, however, gain other benefits a character of that class would have gained, except for additional spells per day, spells known (if he is a spontaneous caster), and an increased effective level of spellcasting. If he had more than one spellcasting class before becoming a windwright captain, he must decide to which class he adds the new level for the purpose of determining spells per day. Once this decision is made, it cannot be changed. Artificers and their infusions count as an arcane spellcasting class for this prestige class.
Improved Dragonmark (Su): At 1st, 3rd, 5th levels, the caster level of your dragonmark spell-like abilities increases by +1. This stacks with other sources that increase the caster level of your dragonmark spell-like abilities.
Master Pilot (Ex): The windwright captain adds his class level as a competence bonus to any Profession (sailor) checks, any check made to pilot the ship and any check made to influence or control a bound elemental within wondrous vehicles with a fly or swim speed.
Shipboard Fighter (Ex): The windwright captain can take 10 on Acrobatics and Climb checks, even when distractions would normally prevent it. He also does not loose his Dexterity bonus to AC while climbing.
Acquire Ship (Ex): At 2nd level, the windwright captain is loaned a standard airship or a standard elemental galleon (your choice) from House Lyrandar. At any point that the windwright captain has the money, he can buy the elemental vehicle outright from the House. Until then, the windwright captain is expected to perform a service to the house, around once a month and usually consisting of transporting someone important to someplace dangerous. If the windwright captain ever refuse to perform a service or fail in successfully carrying it out, he is chaperoned with a House Lyrandar enforcer for at least six weeks to ensure that the next two services are performed correctly.
Uncanny Dodge (Ex): At 2nd level, the windwright captain gains the uncanny dodge class feature, as listed for barbarians.
Lesser Shipbond (Su): At 4th level, the windwright captain can forge a link with the elemental bound to either an airship or a elemental galleon. A windwright captain, and a shipbound ship, can only have one link at a time. This link takes 24 hours, uninterrupted, abroad the ship to complete, but can be replaced with another 24 hours and being on board another ship. Killing the windwright captain automatically severs the link. The shipbound link provides you with a number of benefits.
You only need to be touching the ship, not necessarily the helm, to give the bound elemental orders
While at the helm, the ship gains a +20' enhancement bonus to its primary movement rate.
The bound elemental acknowledges you, and only you, as the rightful captain. Provided that you treat the elemental fairly, it will not attempt to turn on you.
The bound elemental is more resilient to taking orders from others. It gains a +4 circumstance bonus to any saving throw or check, or imposes a +4 to another's DC, for any attempt to control or influence it.
If the bound elemental within a shipbound ship is killed, banished or otherwise removed from the bindings of the ship without the windwright captain's expressed permission, the windwright captain must make a Fortitude save, DC 20, or receive two temporary negative levels (save for only one).
Greater Shipbound (Su): At 5th level, the windwright captain improves on his shipbound link. In addition to all of the features detailed in Lesser Shipbound, the windwright captain now is in constant telepathic communication with the bound elemental inside his ship, to a maximum range of 5 miles. This telepathy allows you to issue commands to the ship as a free action, even if you are not on board the ship. However, if the bound elemental is piloting itself, remember that, by default, it is blind, being in the inner hull of the ship, and has a base Profession (sailor) check of +0, thus leading to a net -4 to any checks and moving at half speed.