I'm back with the first FBF of the year, featuring a build for a character from a game I've never played based on a request that I received. As always, this build is conceptualized entirely in a vacuum, with choices made in my best attempt to fit the character. These choice may not hold up in a campaign with different themes and should be adjusted accordingly.
If you prefer watching over reading, check out the YouTube video on the character though I was suffering from jet lag at the time, so it's dictated by my boy Blue this time around.
Let's get into the build for Edward Kenway from Assassin's Creed: Black Flag!
EDWARD KENWAY
CHARACTER Edward Kenway
SOURCE Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag
BUILD GOALS
o Edward was born to humble farmers but didn’t agree with pastoral life, becoming well-known as a troublemaker
o He became a privateer for the Royal Navy but eventually fell into piracy, which led him to the Assassin Order and joining the fight against the Templar
o He served as the captain of the Jackdaw, known for his skill at the helm and as a combatant
o From an early age, he demonstrated extraordinary powers of perception
o He eventually became a master swordsman but wielded a variety of weapons, such as swords, pistols, knives, and axes, and often in concert with each other
o As a privateer, he became highly skilled at climbing rigging and freerunning and also demonstrated expertise in stealth and pickpocketing
o He was also a capable swimmer who used a diving bell to locate treasures hidden beneath the waves
LEVEL 1
Ancestry & Heritage: Nephilim Human
o Ability Boosts & Flaws: +Dexterity, +Strength
o Ancestry Feat: Unconventional Weaponry – Aldori Dueling Sword
Background: Farmhand
o Ability Boosts: +Wisdom, +Dexterity
o Skill Increase: Athletics (trained), Farming Lore (trained)
o Background Feat: Assurance – Athletics
Class & Subclass: Braggart Swashbuckler
o Class Ability Boost: +Dexterity
o Skill Increase: Acrobatics (trained), Deception (trained), Intimidation (trained), Stealth (trained), Survival (trained), Thievery (trained)
o Class Feat: You’re Next
Details
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Wisdom, +Charisma (Str +2, Dex +4, Con +0, Int +0, Wis +2, Cha +1)
While a human, Edward Kenway is descended from the Isu and utilizes the nephilim heritage to represent that. Rather than taking these feats to represent his ancestry, which honestly only has minor impacts on the character, he takes up Unconventional Weaponry to gain use of the Aldori dueling sword. This grants him a single-handed curved blade with the finesse trait, since he will be a Dex martial, meant to stand in for his cutlass. Farmhand reaches into his distant and in his eye regrettable past, but making him trained in Athletics is handy as is the Assurance feat with it. The greatest issue I had in putting this build together is that Edward seems exceedingly basic - he doesn’t have a lot of capabilities that really make him stand out. For his general playstyle, I settled on three classes that I thought really captured the feel of him and then allowed the MM Discord to vote on which option to use. Swashbuckler came to the forefront with its ability to counter attacks as well as the general flair of being a pirate. He uses the braggart style, which feels the most appropriate for somebody who trained under Blackbeard himself, but others could be appropriate here. Choosing a class feat was tough. Edward seems to be a prominent dual-wielder, which nixed Dueling Parry, knives and dodging were specifically removed from his game, which took Flying Blade and Nimble Dodge out of the running, and he doesn’t use a buckler or try to make enemies overextend, which left the options at You’re Next and Disarming Flair. At least initially, he’ll stick to the style of his subclass and take the former of these.
LEVEL 2
o Class Feat: Pirate Dedication
o Skill Feat: Combat Climber
o Gear: ring of discretion
LEVEL 3
o General Feat: Breath Control
o Skill Increase: Intimidation (expert)
o Stylish Trick: Steady Balance
o Gear: +1 Aldori dueling sword, stalk goggles, ring of discretion
LEVEL 4
o Class Feat: Twin Parry
o Skill Feat: Underwater Marauder
o Gear: doubling rings, +1 Aldori dueling sword, necklace of knives, ring of discretion
LEVEL 5
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Wisdom, +Charisma (Str +3, Dex +4.5 Con +0, Int +0, Wis +3, Cha +2)
o Ancestry Feat: Scion of Many Planes - Musetouched
o Skill Increase: Acrobatics (expert)
o Gear: +1 striking Aldori dueling sword, doubling rings, gunner’s bandolier, necklace of knives, stalk goggles, ring of discretion
Right off the bat, Edward takes the Pirate Dedication, which is probably one of the more situational archetypes but is a fantastic fit for the character’s concept. Before delving too deeply into it, he takes up Twin Parry, which will find use when he is wielding dual cutlasses, hatchets, or other melee weapons. From his time on a ship, Edward is able to fight in awkward environments, reflected by both Combat Climber and Underwater Marauder while his ability to move across the beams of the sails comes from Steady Balance. Breath Control aids him on his diving expeditions, letting him descend into the depths of search of treasure for a longer period of time. Finally, pirates are oft associated with concepts such as freedom and Edward can align himself with that through Scion of Many Planes to take Musetouched, which enhances his ability to escape capture.
LEVEL 6
o Class Feat: Broadside Buckos
o Skill Feat: Rope Runner
o Gear: +1 leather, +1 striking Aldori dueling sword, demon mask, doubling rings, necklace of knives, Jack’s tattered cape
LEVEL 7
o General Feat: Thorough Search
o Skill Increase: Intimidation (master)
o Stylish Trick: Intimidating Prowess
o Gear: vaultbreaker’s harness, +1 leather, boots of elvenkind, +1 striking Aldori dueling sword, doubling rings, gunner’s bandolier
LEVEL 8
o Class Feat: Dual Finisher
o Skill Feat: Battle Cry
o Gear: moderate ring of observation, Pathfinder’s pouch, vaultbreaker’s harness, +1 leather, +1 striking Aldori dueling sword, +1 striking gunner’s bandolier
LEVEL 9
o Ancestry Feat: Multitalented - Gunslinger Dedication (Way of the Drifter)
o Skill Increase: Society (trained), Stealth (expert)
o Gear: +1 resilient leather, cloak of elvenkind, moderate ring of observation, vaultbreaker’s harness, boots of elvenkind, +1 striking Aldori dueling sword
LEVEL 10
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Charisma (Str +4, Dex +5, Con +1, Int +0, Wis +3, Cha +3)
o Class Feat: Basic Shooting - Quick Draw
o Skill Feat: Cat Fall
o Gear: thunderblast slippers, +1 resilient leather, lesser clarity goggles, moderate ring of observation, vaultbreaker’s harness, +1 striking Aldori dueling sword
While it may not be a major gameplay mechanic, Broadside Buckos is a solid class that enhances Edward’s combat effectiveness. Dual Finisher allows him to make better use of his dual-combat weapon style while a dip into the Gunslinger Dedication through his Multitalented ancestry feat grants him the opportunity to show off with the braced of pistols that he carries. The game is still mostly about melee combat, meaning that he will use the Way of the Drifter and become trained in Society, hopefully to recognize others ships and the like. He follows up this new archetype with Quick Draw as he uses the classic style of shooting his flintlock and then drawing a freshly loaded one rather than reloading. Even without this ancestry feat, Edward could take this archetype since he picked up Rope Runner as an archetype and a skill feat, allowing him to ascend rigging without even needing a Climb check. Battle Cry is mostly handy for letting him enter a combat with panache already in effect and can also serve as a sort of command for his crew to board in a more flavorful sense. He uses his Stylish Tricks as a swashbuckler to also pick up Intimidating Prowess, giving him a bit more of an edge on that front. A staple of the Assassin’s Creed series are the Leaps of Faith, which Edward will accomplished with the Cat Fall skill feat. With Edward getting considerable speed increases from his panache, he’ll take up Thorough Search as a slight nod towards his Eagle Vision ability.
LEVEL 11
o General Feat: A Home in Every Port
o Skill Increase: Stealth (master)
o Gear: +2 striking Aldori dueling sword, thunderblast slippers, mask of the banshee, +1 resilient leather, cloak of elvenkind, moderate ring of observation
LEVEL 12
o Class Feat: Advanced Shooting - Sword and Pistol
o Skill Feat: Swift Sneak
o Gear: +2 resilient leather, +2 striking Aldori dueling sword, +2 striking gunner’s bandolier, thunderblast slippers, lesser clarity goggles, extra lung
LEVEL 13
o Ancestry Feat: Celestial Magic - revealing light, sure footing
o Skill Increase: Acrobatics (master)
o Gear: +2 greater striking Aldori dueling sword, +2 resilient leather, greater doubling rings, greater demon mask, thunderblast slippers, eyes of the eagle
LEVEL 14
o Class Feat: Slinger’s Readiness
o Skill Feat: Kip Up
o Gear: greater helm of underwater action, +2 greater striking Aldori dueling sword, +2 greater striking gunner’s bandolier, +2 resilient leather, daredevil boots, cloak of the bat
LEVEL 15
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Charisma (Str +4.5, Dex +5.5, Con +2, Int +0, Wis +3, Cha +4)
o General Feat: Shadow Mark
o Skill Increase: Intimidation (legendary)
o Stylish Trick: Scare to Death
o Gear: +2 greater resilient leather, greater helm of underwater action, greater cloak of elvenkind, +2 greater striking Aldori dueling sword, greater boots of elvenkind, greater goggles of night
Edward traditionally wields his pistols in accord with one of his melee weapons, which makes Sword and Pistol an obvious choice for him to take through Advanced Shooting. Dual wielders tend to have a slow start to combat, but Slinger’s Readiness helps get around that by granting Edward the ability to draw a melee and ranged weapon as a free action when he rolls initiative AND let him Stride towards a perceived enemy. Which is pretty massive all around. This block sees Edward exploring a bit more of the assassin side of things with feats such as Swift Sneak and Shadow Mark, the latter of which is taken through general feats because this build is in need of more skill feats. He also picks up Kip Up because the action compression of this feat is too good. It’s not a feat to be skipped on any build that becomes a master in Acrobatics. His remaining general feat will be A Home in Every Port, which feels particularly appropriate for a pirate. Finally, he takes Celestial Magic, which I had considered earlier, mainly sticking with the suggestions for a musetouched nephilim, with revealing light being at least a recognition of his Eagle Vision.
LEVEL 16
o Class Feat: Reflexive Riposte
o Skill Feat: Slippery Prey
o Gear: greater thunderblast slippers, +2 greater resilient leather, searching exploration lens, greater helm of underwater action, +2 greater striking Aldori dueling sword, +2 greater striking gunner’s bandolier
LEVEL 17
o Ancestry Feat: Heroic Presence
o Skill Increase: Stealth (legendary)
o Gear: +3 greater striking Aldori dueling sword, greater diver’s gloves, greater thunderblast slippers, +2 greater resilient leather, greater helm of underwater action, greater clarity goggles
LEVEL 18
o Class Feat: Walk the Plank
o Skill Feat: Legendary Sneak
o Gear: anklets of alacrity, +3 greater striking Aldori dueling sword, +3 greater striking gunner’s bandolier, greater diver’s gloves, +2 greater resilient leather, searching exploration lens
LEVEL 19
o General Feat: Fleet
o Skill Increase: Acrobatics (legendary)
o Gear: +3 greater resilient leather, anklets of alacrity, dread blindfold, +3 greater striking Aldori dueling sword, greater diver’s gloves, greater thunderblast slippers
LEVEL 20
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Wisdom (Str +0, Dex +0, Con +0, Int +0, Wis +0, Cha +0)
o Class Feat: Panache Paragon
o Skill Feat: Predict Weather
o Gear: +3 major striking Aldori dueling sword, +3 greater resilient leather, mercurial mantle, dread blindfold, Miogimo’s mask, +3 greater striking gunner’s bandolier
There are two options that stick out as the first class feat for this block though both could have been taken earlier. With the game’s focus on countering your opponents to break their guard and strike back against them, Reflexive Riposte is a solid choice whereas Twinned Defenses makes use of Edward’s dual wielding style while increasing the chance of him actually getting a riposte off by virtue of increasing his AC. However, he needs to be wielding two melee weapons for it and between his use of pistols and his draw-and-discard style, it feels like a stance he’ll be breaking a lot, leading to me settling on the latter. Walk the Plank is mostly a flavor choice - between it having the incapacitation trait and the target taking a safe path unless you critically succeed, I find it a little mechanically underwhelming as a feat. But it is admittedly a fun idea and also fits with Edward’s use of Intimidation as a braggart swashbuckler. Panache Paragon is easily the best choice at 20th level, making Edward able to Demoralize or Tumble Through with ease, the former being especially notable because creatures aren’t immune to his Demoralizes thanks to his swashbuckler style.
In addition to the benefits from his Musetouched heritage, Edward takes up Slippery Prey to become almost impossible to keep down for long and also grabs Legendary Sneak because it feels right for my personal experience with stealth mechanics in video games. Rounding out his skill feats is Predict Weather, which is a pretty important skill for the captain of a ship, and one that I would have loved to take earlier. Heroic Presence is also inspired by him being a ship captain, leading his men into the fray and bolstering their resolve and is another one of those times I don’t feel particularly bad for taking it even if it is overused. His final general feat is Fleet because characters can always use a bit more speed even with his panache.
FREE ARCHETYPE SUGGESTIONS: This build would benefit greatly in a free archetype game, taking up many of the feats and options that it already does, but also likely expanding into a Rogue Dedication, which would mainly be useful for stuff like Skill Mastery, but could also be handy with options such as Dread Striker and Sneak Attacker. The main benefit would be the expanse of swashbuckler feats that he would get to take up with options such as Tumble Behind, Finishing Follow-Through, Dazzling Display, and Parry and Riposte.
BUILD CONCLUSION
Edward Kenway is a nephilim human swashbuckler of the braggart style and the farmhand background though he swiftly left these humble beginnings for a life of adventure and the sea, reflected in his Pirate Dedication. His abilities of Perception come from his Thorough Search feat as well as revealing light, granted through his Celestial Magic feat and reflecting his descent from the Isu. He favors the sword as seen with Unconventional Weaponry making him proficient with the dueling sword but wields a variety of weapons. Pistols are a notable callout and he wields them more effectively using the Gunslinger Dedication, being able to Quick Draw after loosing a shot to ensure that he remains armed and able. As a man of the sea and ships, he has Breath Control, Underwater Marauder, and Combat Climber as well as Rigging Runner to make him more capable at traversing his preferred environments. His investment in Stealth and its feats bring him more in line with the traditional talents of the assassins. From a more general mechanics perspective, Edward uses the swashbuckler’s Opportune Parry and Riposte to counter the attacks of his enemies and deliver devastating strikes in return.
Capable with cutlasses and casual with cannons, this canny and cowl-covered corsair cows curs and causes chaos conspicuously, conflicting with his cunning contemporaries.
Lemme know what you think and what other builds you would like to see!
If you want to join in on the discussion of these builds and the ones I do for monsters or just hang out with a bunch of fellow TTRPG nerds, check out the Discord server. We also have a Twitter where we try to post teasers for the blog. Come back next week for a build that I thought would remain buried in the void but one that I figured out thanks to a certain archetype.
Have a fantastic Friday!