Medium or small humanoid, neutral · CR 6 · new in the 2024 rules (SRD 5.2)
Armor Class
17
Hit Points
84 (13d8 + 26)
Speed
30 ft.
Challenge
6 (2,300 XP)
STR
DEX
CON
INT
WIS
CHA
10 (+0)
18 (+4)
14 (+2)
10 (+0)
14 (+2)
17 (+3)
Senses
passive Perception 15
Languages
Common plus one other language
Gear
Pistol, Rapier
Actions
Multiattack. The pirate makes three attacks, using Rapier or Pistol in any combination.
Rapier. Melee Attack Roll: +7, reach 5 ft. Hit: 13 (2d8 + 4) Piercing damage, and the pirate has Advantage on the next attack roll it makes before the end of this turn.
Pistol. Ranged Attack Roll: +7, range 30/90 ft. Hit: 15 (2d10 + 4) Piercing damage.
Bonus actions
Captain’s Charm. Wisdom Saving Throw: DC 14, one creature the pirate can see within 30 feet. Failure: The target has the Charmed condition until the start of the pirate’s next turn.
Reactions
Riposte. Trigger: The pirate is hit by a melee attack roll while holding a weapon. Response: The pirate adds 3 to its AC against that attack, possibly causing it to miss. On a miss, the pirate makes one Rapier attack against the triggering creature if within range.
The pirate captain isn’t in the 2014 SRD 5.1; this is its stat block from the SRD 5.2.
How many pirate captains for a fight?
A pirate captain is worth 2,300 XP. Using the 2024 encounter budgets (SRD 5.2), this is how many pirate captains fit each difficulty for a party of four characters of the same level. A dash means even one would be over the budget.
Party level
Low
Moderate
High
5th
—
1
1
6th
1
1
2
7th
1
2
2
8th
1
2
3
9th
2
3
4
10th
2
4
5
11th
3
5
7
12th
3
6
8
13th
4
7
9
14th
5
8
10
15th
5
9
12+
16th
6
10
12+
17th
7
12
12+
18th
8
12+
12+
19th
9
12+
12+
20th
11
12+
12+
Budgets add up every monster’s XP, so you can swap some for other creatures of the same total. Try other party sizes and mixes in the encounter calculator.
How the pirate captain compares at CR 6
Against the 10 other challenge 6 monsters in the SRD 5.1, the pirate captain has more hit points than 1 of them, which makes it one of the frailest at its CR. See every CR 6 monster.
