Newbie here I’m making my first Dnd character, themed after a siren pirate for a hell/underworld themed campaign. I’m indecisive about what class/subclass to chose and would love some help! I have already chosen his race which is a yuan-ti , made his backstory and chosen a name for him Sy’rihn Slikfang. His focus is charming, and controlling , while also having some storm and water themed spells.
At first I was going by to do fathomless X Aberrant mind but now I found out about the glamour and whispers bards which might suit character more and as a result made me crumble into overthinking.IT would indeed lessen my available storm spell. I don’t need to mid/max my character and to a point I do prioritise ascetics however i would like to to be functional and not die on the first get together as I’ve spent a lot of money on themed dice
Please help me . I’m excited to join this community and hear from more experienced players. Please feel free to ask any questions .
I would not multiclass for your first DND character, it is very easy to make a character very underwhelming if you do not understand how the class features will interact.
Either bard could fit. When ai thing of a pirate I think of someone who brings fear to those that come accross them which is a very good fit for whispers, on the other hand I think sirens are charming those around them which fits glamor.
Being a pirate could definitely put you in a position to make a pact with a creature of the deeps. If you play a warlock make sure you are in the same page as your DM, will your patron be passive granting you there powers to do with as you please or will they make demands on you as part of your pact?
Aberrant mind seems to me to fit the character less, your features come from some alien power in the far realms, what caused your character to get such powers. Things like telepathy and picnics no not scream either pirate or siren to me. You could certainly make it fit your character but it does not strike me as a natural option
Newbie here I’m making my first Dnd character, themed after a siren pirate for a hell/underworld themed campaign. I’m indecisive about what class/subclass to chose and would love some help! I have already chosen his race which is a yuan-ti , made his backstory and chosen a name for him Sy’rihn Slikfang. His focus is charming, and controlling , while also having some storm and water themed spells.
At first I was going by to do fathomless X Aberrant mind but now I found out about the glamour and whispers bards which might suit character more and as a result made me crumble into overthinking.IT would indeed lessen my available storm spell. I don’t need to mid/max my character and to a point I do prioritise ascetics however i would like to to be functional and not die on the first get together as I’ve spent a lot of money on themed dice
Please help me . I’m excited to join this community and hear from more experienced players. Please feel free to ask any questions .
As a DM, my first question would be -- do you want to be more siren, or more pirate?
Yuan-ti already get a 1/day use of suggestion, which gives you a bit of siren-y flavor. If you want to lean into that more heavily, then (sub)classes like glamor bard, 2014 archfey warlock or enchantment wizard would give you more charm options
If you want to lean more high seas caster, then don't worry about the charm options and just pick the casting subclass you think you'd have the most fun with, whether that's swords bard or bladesinger wizard for some melee, or tempest cleric or fathomless warlock for the water/storm spells
And I second not multi-classing for your first character, or at least not planning for it. Especially if you're playing a caster, you'll have enough on your plate already with one class
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Active characters:
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock) Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric) Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue) Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
Thank you so much so the responses. Just to answer a few questions
My main idea behind this was a pirate who was known in the area and feared for his charm/controlling power. It's basically what i would imagine a dnd version of a siren would be as its not in dnd lore , hence the name. So in that regard i believe i would want him to be more siren. Originally my character was going to take 3 levels of fathomless mostly for its swimming and underwater breathing buffs on its first level. My patron would be ancient water spirits who would shape me into a tool that they could occasionally use.
However thanks to you guys and some more research i believe i'm going with a glamour bard. my main concerns was 1. my swim speed and underwater breathing (which now thinking about it isnt thta important) and 2. was the amount of storm spells. However with more investigation (and idk how i missed) bards still have a-lot of storm and water like spells that i was looking for in the warlocks and sorcerers. i think i was comparing the spells of the sorcerers and warlocks with the subclass features of the bard instead of spells vs spells and sublasss features vs subclass features.
Bard College of Glamour would be a perfect fit for a siren pirate. Charisma needs to be your highest stat, with Dexterity second. A decent Wisdom would be helpful too. You'll have a great range of skills, powerful charm and countercharm capabilities, and Bardic Inspiration is a really helpful buff to the party. Just try to avoid direct melee combat.
My one comment would be about how you want the character to be “known/feared” for their abilities. Assuming you’re starting at 1st level, that’s not likely to be true. Reputations are something you gain over time while playing. It’s something you grow into, not something you start as. At level 1, you’re more of a promising deckhand than a well-known figure.
Well... that's fair. But it seems an essential characteristic of bards to, "fake it til you make it". So while the bard may not be known and feared the world over, the player could still play the bard as though they are.
I see you've already decided on Yuan Ti, but when I hear "siren pirate", a triton Oath of Conquest Paladin immediately springs to mind. You'll have an innate swimming speed and the ability to breathe underwater, plus a high charisma and fear-based powers.
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Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
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Hey guys!
Newbie here I’m making my first Dnd character, themed after a siren pirate for a hell/underworld themed campaign. I’m indecisive about what class/subclass to chose and would love some help! I have already chosen his race which is a yuan-ti , made his backstory and chosen a name for him Sy’rihn Slikfang. His focus is charming, and controlling , while also having some storm and water themed spells.
At first I was going by to do fathomless X Aberrant mind but now I found out about the glamour and whispers bards which might suit character more and as a result made me crumble into overthinking.IT would indeed lessen my available storm spell. I don’t need to mid/max my character and to a point I do prioritise ascetics however i would like to to be functional and not die on the first get together as I’ve spent a lot of money on themed dice
Please help me
. I’m excited to join this community and hear from more experienced players. Please feel free to ask any questions 
.
I would not multiclass for your first DND character, it is very easy to make a character very underwhelming if you do not understand how the class features will interact.
Either bard could fit. When ai thing of a pirate I think of someone who brings fear to those that come accross them which is a very good fit for whispers, on the other hand I think sirens are charming those around them which fits glamor.
Being a pirate could definitely put you in a position to make a pact with a creature of the deeps. If you play a warlock make sure you are in the same page as your DM, will your patron be passive granting you there powers to do with as you please or will they make demands on you as part of your pact?
Aberrant mind seems to me to fit the character less, your features come from some alien power in the far realms, what caused your character to get such powers. Things like telepathy and picnics no not scream either pirate or siren to me. You could certainly make it fit your character but it does not strike me as a natural option
As a DM, my first question would be -- do you want to be more siren, or more pirate?
Yuan-ti already get a 1/day use of suggestion, which gives you a bit of siren-y flavor. If you want to lean into that more heavily, then (sub)classes like glamor bard, 2014 archfey warlock or enchantment wizard would give you more charm options
If you want to lean more high seas caster, then don't worry about the charm options and just pick the casting subclass you think you'd have the most fun with, whether that's swords bard or bladesinger wizard for some melee, or tempest cleric or fathomless warlock for the water/storm spells
And I second not multi-classing for your first character, or at least not planning for it. Especially if you're playing a caster, you'll have enough on your plate already with one class
Active characters:
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock)
Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric)
Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue)
Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
Thank you so much so the responses. Just to answer a few questions
My main idea behind this was a pirate who was known in the area and feared for his charm/controlling power. It's basically what i would imagine a dnd version of a siren would be as its not in dnd lore , hence the name. So in that regard i believe i would want him to be more siren. Originally my character was going to take 3 levels of fathomless mostly for its swimming and underwater breathing buffs on its first level. My patron would be ancient water spirits who would shape me into a tool that they could occasionally use.
However thanks to you guys and some more research i believe i'm going with a glamour bard. my main concerns was 1. my swim speed and underwater breathing (which now thinking about it isnt thta important) and 2. was the amount of storm spells. However with more investigation (and idk how i missed) bards still have a-lot of storm and water like spells that i was looking for in the warlocks and sorcerers. i think i was comparing the spells of the sorcerers and warlocks with the subclass features of the bard instead of spells vs spells and sublasss features vs subclass features.
Bard College of Glamour would be a perfect fit for a siren pirate. Charisma needs to be your highest stat, with Dexterity second. A decent Wisdom would be helpful too. You'll have a great range of skills, powerful charm and countercharm capabilities, and Bardic Inspiration is a really helpful buff to the party. Just try to avoid direct melee combat.
Anzio Faro. Protector Aasimar light cleric. Lvl 18.
Viktor Gavriil. White dragonborn grave cleric. Lvl 20.
Ikram Sahir ibn-Malik al-Sayyid Ra'ad. Brass dragonborn draconic sorcerer Lvl 9. Fire elemental devil.
Wrangler of cats.
My one comment would be about how you want the character to be “known/feared” for their abilities. Assuming you’re starting at 1st level, that’s not likely to be true. Reputations are something you gain over time while playing. It’s something you grow into, not something you start as. At level 1, you’re more of a promising deckhand than a well-known figure.
Well... that's fair. But it seems an essential characteristic of bards to, "fake it til you make it". So while the bard may not be known and feared the world over, the player could still play the bard as though they are.
Anzio Faro. Protector Aasimar light cleric. Lvl 18.
Viktor Gavriil. White dragonborn grave cleric. Lvl 20.
Ikram Sahir ibn-Malik al-Sayyid Ra'ad. Brass dragonborn draconic sorcerer Lvl 9. Fire elemental devil.
Wrangler of cats.
I see you've already decided on Yuan Ti, but when I hear "siren pirate", a triton Oath of Conquest Paladin immediately springs to mind. You'll have an innate swimming speed and the ability to breathe underwater, plus a high charisma and fear-based powers.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.