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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Psion" data-source="post: 1149823" data-attributes="member: 172">PrCs:I use a lot. Often I find that well designed PrCs have interesting and useful concepts entrained with them, and are not just a power-grab-bag. PrCs can:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Add a little spice to NPCs: I especially dig the ideas of special martial styles for warrior types (such as provided by Masters of Arms) and exotic forms of magic/psionics for arcane and divine spellcasters.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">A little depth to organizations: Diamond Warriors, the Colorless Lodge, The Order of Cordun are a few organizations with associated PrCs that I dig for my campaign. Various Knightly Orders, Secret Societies, Cults, and so forth also benefit from having a uniting concepts and abilities.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Provide lynchpin concepts for villains: Mages who store their soul in gems (a la Jewel mages and soul gem guardians from Bastion's Spells & Magic) and psions that spawn semi-real mirror images capable of combat (a la the Astral Zealot from Mindscapes) or draw upon the dark powers of the subconscious (like Shadow Minds from the Minds Eye on the WotC website) are a few of the villain concepts I hope to use in my current campaign.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Support foundational campaign concepts: I am running a Second World Sourcebook campaign, and that book's Warden classes are central to the "world hook." Similarly, some classes aren't necessarily designed specifically for some campaign concepts, but are coincidentally a neat feat (like the Lucid Cenobite, which fit the Army or Tresspass's martial/psionic bent.)</li> </ul>Templates: As someone mentioned, many staple creatures rely on templates. In my case, I use a lot of undead, so vampires, ghosts, and liches are a natural choice.As I use humanoid/classes opponents more than monsters, I generally use PrCs more than templates, but occasionally templates fit the bill and let you add a neat spin to an otherwise mundane creature:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The AEG OA modules had a neat concept I thought was cool and appropriate: fiendish animated objects to represent objected animated by the power of evil. Along these lines, I thought you might use anarchic templates to represent items filled with chaos spirits.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">I wanted to make an unusual steed for scouts of the army of tresspass. I was able to make an unusual concept in seconds by applying the insectile template (from Savage Species) to a warhorse.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">I always dug the idea from the 1e MotP that the elemental planes would have a psuedo-ecology of their own. So I dig the idea of elemental and half-elemental templates to make elemental analogs of material plane creatures.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Other templates make nasty surprises for players, like the Spellstitched template to make undead nastier, or making a drider out of a non-drow with the drider template on the wotc website.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">I like templates that essentially let you make new creatures. For example, last session, I needed a quick take on a different mount for some otherworldly warriors. I applied the instectile template for Savage Species to a warhorse and I was done.</li> </ul>Generally, I like to be able to craft the rules to fit the game and provide means of deviating from the ordinary and explaining unusual aspects of the game in game terms. PrCs and templates allow me to do that.</blockquote>

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