From R&C: Pargon Paths & Epic Destinies

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Funny: I hated those prestige classes.

I loved them. I don't buy for a moment that all cultures will produce heroes and villains capable of performing the exact same deeds in the exact same ways. Especially among the longer-lived races, it makes sense that there would be those who would master themselves so utterly as to be able to create new fighting and magical techniques that would only work for others like them.

That said, there's already going to be racial feats and abilities in 4E. If they're sufficient in number and variety, there might not be a need for a racial paragon path or epic destiny.

 

[RigaMortus2]

My guess is that paths and destinies are basically just new talent trees that have specific prereqs based on character level and other factors (certain feats, trained in certain skills, spells from certain traditions, etc.)

 

[Dausuul]

I suspect that the best way to understand the tier system is to go back to Classic D&D.

The Heroic tier corresponds to the Basic (red-box) and Expert (blue-box) sets. You're dungeon crawlers and wilderness explorers, doin' your own thing. You may save a town or two, but your activities basically boil down to "killing monsters and taking their stuff."

The Paragon tier corresponds to the Companion (cyan-box) set. At this point, you are no longer a mere hack-and-slash artist. You've entered into the ranks of the nobility and taken on a position of importance in your realm. You'll be leading armies, taking part in political intrigues, and dealing with threats to the kingdom. Your Paragon Path will reflect this broadening focus.

The Epic tier corresponds to the Master (black-box) set. Just as Paragon took you beyond mere dungeon-crawling, Epic takes you beyond the politics and petty wars of your time; you seek now to write your name in history. You take on grand quests, conquer nations, deal with gods and demons, and may very well be called upon to save the world.

In classic D&D, the ultimate accomplishment in the Master set was to achieve immortality--becoming literally a deity. Epic Destinies seem to be essentially that. You may not necessarily become a god, but you transcend mortality in one way or another, and retire permanently from the campaign. (At least until the 4E equivalent of the Immortals set comes out...)

All this is just educated guesswork, but I'll be quite surprised if it isn't somewhere close to the truth.

 

[Irda Ranger]

But see, it would really suck being forced to take one of those paths, because they, like prc's seem very focused, forcing you into a role.

You mean, like taking a Heroic Class at 1st level "forces" you into a Role?

There are only 8 Heroic Classes to choose from, but there are twelve Paragon Paths to choose from. Think of it like a pie with more slices: they're each a bit narrower, but you shouldn't infer that the total "space" of character concepts is any smaller. Same pie; more slices.

Also, while each class has three Paths that are "clearly" designed for it, R&C was quite clear that each Path was "broad enough" to accommodate more than just the two classes it was designed for. As a quick for instance: while I imagine the Cavalier was build with Fighters and Paladins in mind, I bet that Warlords and even Clerics could take it if they felt like it. That means there are probably six(!) Paths (three strong choices, and three against-type-but-not-dumb choices) for each Heroic Class to choose from.

That doesn't sound too sucky to me.

And don't you worry! You know that the Paragon Paths are the new Prestige Classes: every splat book from here 'till Doomsday (aka, 5E) will have several more of them for you to choose from!

I believe this answers howandwhy99's question too.

 

[Irda Ranger]

All this is just educated guesswork, but I'll be quite surprised if it isn't somewhere close to the truth.

Good guesswork. I'd be surprised too.

 

[Belorin]

There are only 8 Heroic Classes to choose from, but there are twelve Paragon Paths to choose from. Think of it like a pie with more slices: they're each a bit narrower, but you shouldn't infer that the total "space" of character concepts is any smaller. Same pie; more slices.

Also, while each class has three Paths that are "clearly" designed for it, R&C was quite clear that each Path was "broad enough" to accommodate more than just the two classes it was designed for. As a quick for instance: while I imagine the Cavalier was build with Fighters and Paladins in mind, I bet that Warlords and even Clerics could take it if they felt like it. That means there are probably six(!) Paths (three strong choices, and three against-type-but-not-dumb choices) for each Heroic Class to choose from.

That doesn't sound too sucky to me.

And don't you worry! You know that the Paragon Paths are the new Prestige Classes: every splat book from here 'till Doomsday (aka, 5E) will have several more of them for you to choose from!

I believe this answers howandwhy99's question too.

This sounds probable to me and there will more than likely be guidelines in the DMG to create new paths and destinies of your own design.

Bel

 

[Michele Carter]

there are twelve Paragon Paths to choose from.

From the "things have evolved department": There are at least twice that number of paragon paths in the PH now. The variety, it is broad.

Merry happy, all!

 

[Nikosandros]

Good guesswork. I'd be surprised too.

I haven't actually played at the Master level in BECMI, but it looks like that, at least at the high end of the Epic tier, the characters will be even more powerful.

 

[Plane Sailing]

From the "things have evolved department": There are at least twice that number of paragon paths in the PH now[\b]. The variety, it is broad.

Merry happy, all!

Thanks for that mini-scoop. At least 24 paragon paths now? Great!

Happy Christmas!

 

[ThirdWizard]

From the "things have evolved department": There are at least twice that number of paragon paths in the PH now. The variety, it is broad.

Merry happy, all!

Oh, sweet! Thanks for posting that!