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Are Prestige Classes Really Necessary?
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<blockquote data-quote="mmadsen" data-source="post: 91692" data-attributes="member: 1645"><p>I think we need to examine what the Prestige Class mechanic really is and really does <em>as a game mechanic</em>. After all, without any concept of a Prestige Class mechanic, we can have characters join the Knights of the Round Table, or the king's personal body guard, or any other elite organization. What the Prestige Class mechanics let us do is to change the characters Class: BAB, Hit Dice, Saves, Skill List, Spells per Day, etc.</p><p></p><p>If you have a system of flexible classes (like the Fighter), you don't need Prestige Classes for typical specialists who fit under the umbrella of the basic class. Why do you need a "Lasher" class for a whip expert, when you can give a Fighter the standard Feats (Weapon Focus, Weapon Specialization, etc.), and you can make up a few more specific to the weapon involved? Why do you need Prestige Classes for expert archers, horsemen, etc.? They're just high-level Fighters with the right Feats, and it makes more sense to add extra Feats than to make up whole classes where they're not needed.</p><p></p><p>The perfect time to use Prestige Classes would've been for Rangers and Paladins for that point when they become <em>spellcasting</em> Rangers and Paladins. A Ranger, after all, could be a variant Fighter and/or Rogue, and a Paladin is obviously a variant Fighter, but when they become spellcasters, the mechanics of the Fighter class stop working. A Feat here or there doesn't add spellcasting (at least not under the current system).</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="mmadsen, post: 91692, member: 1645"] I think we need to examine what the Prestige Class mechanic really is and really does [i]as a game mechanic[/i]. After all, without any concept of a Prestige Class mechanic, we can have characters join the Knights of the Round Table, or the king's personal body guard, or any other elite organization. What the Prestige Class mechanics let us do is to change the characters Class: BAB, Hit Dice, Saves, Skill List, Spells per Day, etc. If you have a system of flexible classes (like the Fighter), you don't need Prestige Classes for typical specialists who fit under the umbrella of the basic class. Why do you need a "Lasher" class for a whip expert, when you can give a Fighter the standard Feats (Weapon Focus, Weapon Specialization, etc.), and you can make up a few more specific to the weapon involved? Why do you need Prestige Classes for expert archers, horsemen, etc.? They're just high-level Fighters with the right Feats, and it makes more sense to add extra Feats than to make up whole classes where they're not needed. The perfect time to use Prestige Classes would've been for Rangers and Paladins for that point when they become [i]spellcasting[/i] Rangers and Paladins. A Ranger, after all, could be a variant Fighter and/or Rogue, and a Paladin is obviously a variant Fighter, but when they become spellcasters, the mechanics of the Fighter class stop working. A Feat here or there doesn't add spellcasting (at least not under the current system). [/QUOTE]
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