Feat prereqs for PrCs

[atomn]

Just to make sure I have it right: if I'm 5th level and the only prereq that I need to qualify for a PrC is a feat and I take that feat at 6th level, I still can't take the PrC until 7th level. True?

 

[Beckett]

Correct. You can't take the feat until you're 6th level. You're not 6th level until you choose a class to gain a level in. So by the time you get the feat, it's too late to choose a class.

 

[atomn]

Cool, thanks!

Man, prerequisites would be much easier to deal with if there were rules surrounding them!

 

[Len]

Man, prerequisites would be much easier to deal with if there were rules surrounding them!

PHB p. 58, DMG p. 176.

 

[atomn]

Gracias!

 

[smootrk]

It may sound crazy to rules-happy folks, but I would likely allow the feat to chosen (6th level) along with the PRC choice at the same time, if the character otherwise qualified for the class.

Throw stones now.

 

[Jubilee]

I have GMs who allow you to pick your feat before you level and those who won't allow you to pick it beforehand to sneak into prestige classes. In the few games I've run, I also allow the feat to be taken before the class is chosen.

/al

 

[Machiavelli]

Seconded. If the PrC should be level-based, then its prerequisites should include something level-dependent like BAB, or skill ranks (even better). Only rarely are the feat prerequisites for a PrC so high (like Whirlwind Attack) that a human fighter couldn't achieve them by 2nd or 4th level, while simultaneously excluding all level-dependent prerequisites. Usually the skill ranks will limit the level anyway, since max ranks is set in stone.

(Come to think of it, I'm marginally suprised that I've never seen a homebrew class/feat/PrC/etc that tried to increase max ranks above level-normal. Hm, that's quite an idea.)

 

[Hypersmurf]

It may sound crazy to rules-happy folks, but I would likely allow the feat to chosen (6th level) along with the PRC choice at the same time, if the character otherwise qualified for the class.

Would you do the same with skills?

Let's say the character has 6 ranks in Hide, and the PrC has a requirement of 7 ranks in Hide and grants 2 + Int skill points per level. Can the character put one of those skill points into Hide, thus giving him 7 ranks and qualifying for the class that gave him the point he used to qualify?

-Hyp.

 

[Mechnomancer]

Would you do the same with skills?

Let's say the character has 6 ranks in Hide, and the PrC has a requirement of 7 ranks in Hide and grants 2 + Int skill points per level. Can the character put one of those skill points into Hide, thus giving him 7 ranks and qualifying for the class that gave him the point he used to qualify?

No because you get the skills from the class level you gain.