5 Level Prestige Classes - Love or Hate?

[Jraynack]

If you broke 10-level PrCs up, you could end up with PrC chains:

Entry 5-level PrC:

Initiate of the 7-fold Veil​

Specialized 5-level PrCs:

Master of the 7-fold Veil
Praetor of the 7-fold Veil
Weaver of the 7-fold Veil​

Each of the specialist PrCs would build on what the entry PrC did in a different way. So the Master may recieve more Abjuration spells with higher DCs; the Praetor may become much more adept at dispelling Abjuration spells and effects; the Weaver may get more uses of the Veil per day.

Two easy examples are the Nightsong Enforcer/Infiltrator and the Shadowbane Stalker/Inquisitor. They can start from the same base but have different specialities.

That would be something to see with military orders or guilds and the like.

 

[Destil]

If you broke 10-level PrCs up, you could end up with PrC chains:

Entry 5-level PrC:

Initiate of the 7-fold Veil​

Specialized 5-level PrCs:

Master of the 7-fold Veil
Praetor of the 7-fold Veil
Weaver of the 7-fold Veil​

Each of the specialist PrCs would build on what the entry PrC did in a different way. So the Master may recieve more Abjuration spells with higher DCs; the Praetor may become much more adept at dispelling Abjuration spells and effects; the Weaver may get more uses of the Veil per day.

Two easy examples are the Nightsong Enforcer/Infiltrator and the Shadowbane Stalker/Inquisitor. They can start from the same base but have different specialities.

From what I've heard the Jedi and Sith prestige classes in Star Wars Saga Edition work this way (Jedi knight requires something from jedi and gives you something required for Jedi Master, and sith apprentice is the way into sith lord) ...

 

[Klaus]

Since there *is* nothing new under the sun, this was done with the Knights of Solmania way back in 1e, 2e and in 3e the three orders became PrClasses, and you needed levels in the lower castes to meet prerequisites of the higher castes.

And there's D20 Modern, which has base classes (Strong, Fast, etc.), advanced classes (usually takeable by 3rd level, like Soldier, Mage, Adept...) and Prestige Classes (like Musketeer, Holy Knight, Archmage, which need abilities from advanced classes).

 

[Nepenthe]

Since there *is* nothing new under the sun, this was done with the Knights of Solmania way back in 1e, 2e and in 3e the three orders became PrClasses, and you needed levels in the lower castes to meet prerequisites of the higher castes.

Except that under the revised rules, you no longer need to have levels in, say, crown knight to be a sword knight. A fairly good move, since I think that making classes a part of the rp requirement (since that's basically what it was), is sort of cheesy. You are not your class!

/N

 

[Driddle]

Designers seem to make classes 5 levels unthinkingly because it is the default length for a short length prestige class. I wish they would beak the habit and make more 3, 4, and 6 level prestige classes. I'd even like to see some 1-2 level ones as well.

When I submitted a nine-level prestige class in a contest a few years back (has it been that long already?), the feedback was overwhelmingly positive but for one petty detail that kept coming up again and again: "Why did you stop at nine?! Why not add a tenth level???" ... Sometimes an extra level isn't necessary or I don't feel like cramming another ability into the matrix just to meet an arbitrary target number. But people are weird; they like comfortable, familiar sameness, even when it doesn't make sense.

 

[Klaus]

When I submitted a nine-level prestige class in a contest a few years back (has it been that long already?), the feedback was overwhelmingly positive but for one petty detail that kept coming up again and again: "Why did you stop at nine?! Why not add a tenth level???" ... Sometimes an extra level isn't necessary or I don't feel like cramming another ability into the matrix just to meet an arbitrary target number. But people are weird; they like comfortable, familiar sameness, even when it doesn't make sense.

It's all about rounding stuff out. Five fingers to a hand, ten fingers total, decimal mathematics, etc.