Best non-combat Base/Prestige classes

[nothing to see here]

As a fan of D&D/D20 I really appreciate the wealth of material that's out there to play with. However, this does not keep me from noticing a few annoying gaps that make my life as DM somewhat annoying.

One of these gaps is the tendency of many D20 publishers to try to shoehorn combat-related abilities into non-combat archtypes. WOTC is particularly guilty of this crutch, though they are far from alone. I understand the reasoning behind this design decision -- that D&D is assumed to be a combat centric game...but that is far from a catch all description of every campaign out there.

What I need them, in order to provide a satisfactory degree of versilimitude, are base and prestige classes, particularly for NPCs (though my PC's certianly could feel welcome) that remain satisfying advancement options without, assuming the character is a regular on the battlefield. I'm curious as to how well the d20 rules facilitate powerful characters that specialize in non-combat roles.

So if you have them...from D&D, conversions previous editions, third party publishers, campaign settings, supplments, home brews, house rules...whatever...I'd like to here about the best non-combat classes out there and, hopefully, gather a (relatively) comprehensive list.

 

[JoeGKushner]

Akashic from Arcana Unearthed/Evolved.

Jack-Of-All Trdes from Black Company

Nobel from Mongoose Power Class

Nobel from Fading Suns d20

Nobel from Green Ronin's Master Class.

Witch from Green Ronin's Master Class (not a combat monster at all)

Shaman from Green Ronin's Master Class (ditto)

Expert from Unearthed Arcana (generic rogue)

 

[Ghostwind]

From Torn Asunder: Critical Hits by Bastion Press: Apothecary (base class) and Spiritual Healer (PrC).

 

[Li Shenron]

I was going to post Wizard, and to a lesser extent Sorcerer, but maybe you meant non-core only.

 

[Tetsubo]

I'm going to say Shifter. While it can be used for martial abilities it is a very flexible PrC.

 

[Thanee]

What I need them, in order to provide a satisfactory degree of versilimitude, are base and prestige classes, particularly for NPCs (though my PC's certianly could feel welcome) that remain satisfying advancement options without, assuming the character is a regular on the battlefield. I'm curious as to how well the d20 rules facilitate powerful characters that specialize in non-combat roles.

Let's see... Commoner, Expert, Aristocrate, ...

Bye
Thanee

 

[nothing to see here]

Let's see... Commoner, Expert, Aristocrate, ...

Bye
Thanee

While I'll grant you that in some low-powered games the NPC classes might make viable characters, I doubt that many players would find them rewarding advancement options compared to the standard PC classes.

The point of my question is not where to find 'low-powered' classes -- enough's been said on that before -- but classes of comparable power which have some cool abilities...the focus of which does not center around beating up on bad guys.

Some of the previously mentioned ideas I like. I also like the ideas of the racial classes in UA which, with a few notable exceptions, are tilted away from combat. The old Atlas book Dynasties and Demagogues did okay on that front as well.

 

[nothing to see here]

I was going to post Wizard, and to a lesser extent Sorcerer, but maybe you meant non-core only.

I'm not excluding anything. And you're quite right that, with the right spell list, sorcerers and wizards can be tilted away from combat and towards politics...diplomacy...or any other idea.

Of course, the fact remains most of the Core spells seem tilted towards combat (for much the same reasons that the classes are), and for those character concepts that don't involve spell casting, the pickings still seem a little slim.

 

[Thanee]

Well, among PC classes you will not find much then... as you said yourself, the game is quite combat centric and therefore all classes have to be combat viable.

The Bard, for example, has tons of highly useful non-combat special abilities, like Bardic Knowledge, or Fascinate/Suggestion, also Druid and Ranger do have some nice non-combat special abilities and there are quite a few PrC, which have abilities, which are not only useful for combat, like, for example, the Mystic Wanderer, Divine Disciple, Wayfarer Guide, etc.

However, you won't have it easy to find a class, which has no combat utility. Even the Bard has some abilities, which are purely for combat, like Inspire Courage.

Bye
Thanee

 

[Pants]

From the 3.5 DMG:
Loremaster - Has some combat related stuff, but lots of noncombat abilities too.
Horizon Walker - More of a terrain-survivalist PrC than a combat PrC.
Thaumaturgist - Once again, another PrC with some combat related uses of abilities.

From Magic of Faerun:
There was a Master Brewer PrC that specialized in making really powerful potions.

Tome and Blood/Complete Arcane:
Wayfarer Guide - Specializes in Teleportation.

Miniature's Handbook:
The Healer (Base Class) - Mostly a .... errr Healer type than a combat type.

Book of Exalted Deeds:
Apostle of Peace - As the name implies, an advocate of NO combat whatsoever, yet with abilities geared more towards combat-oriented situations. Hmmmm....

Psionics Handbook:
Psion - Same as with the Wiz/Sor/Cleric/Druid, the right spell/power selection can make an impressive noncombat oriented character.