Heroic Tier "Prestige Classes"

[The Eternal GM]

I really would be happy never to see prestige classes again. What started out as a small 'fill odd niche' rule in the 3.5 DMG soon became the bane of my life as every supplement was packed with the damn things.

I MUCH prefer the paragon path concept. Even if it is a large leap in power/complexity, player's won't be swapping in and out of them.

Talent trees in SWS work very well. I'm running it at present, and they seem ideal. Heroes and villains specialize their classes with talents, or broaden with multi-classing... It works well and there's no negative to doing either. Now that is definitely a step in the right direction for D20.

 

[Incenjucar]

They already said that if you start a barbarian you stay a barbarian for all 30 levels.

I think we still have multiclassing, but every class is a standard 1-30 class.

 

[Klaus]

My favorite Prestige Classes were the 5-level ones you could take early and finish by 10th level. I hope there's something like that.

 

[glass]

I've got a theory on how the "class training" feats work out. Presumably 4e classes have talent trees like Star Wars classes have.

Why do people keep saying this? As I said in another recent thread, the fact the PCs will be choosing skills, feats, and three kinds of powers makes a sixth type of abilities somewhat redundant. Added to the fact that in a couple of months of previews they have yet to mention talents, and think it is fair to presume that Saga-style talent trees are not in 4e.

EDIT: I suspect that you are close, however. The training feats will allow you to choose other classes' powers.

EDIT2: Well, apparently they now have mentioned talents, so we are having 6 different types PC abilities (not counting fixed class and race abilities). Weird!

glass.

 

[glass]

I hope they go with advanced classes, like in d20 Modern.

That would require d20 Modern-style (ie 3e-style) multiclassing, which we know is gone in 4e.

ETA:

I think we still have multiclassing, but every class is a standard 1-30 class.

We will still have something called multiclassing that will allow you to have abilities from multiple classes. They have explicitly said that is will not be the same as 3e multiclassing, and they have explicitly said that is you start as a barbarian you stay a barbarian, regardless of whether you multiclass or not.


glass.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

How do you get a Ur'Priest (ok that one I'll give since you could make an Ur'Priest themed cleric, but I do think that my way would be better) or Blighter by multiclassing? I don't think they'd have they're own classes.

You probably don't. At the heroic levels, you are constrained by your chosen class and the class training feats and racial abilities that advance by level grant you. You become a Blighter with a Paragon Path, I guess. Or maybe with some feats or powers/spells, once they are published.

I remember one blog post or article refering to class abilities usually topping out at 10th level. We don't know much about how you can pick up racial abilities (thought he Elf example implies it works by selecting feats), but it seems to me as if we were starting with Racial abilities, going to Paragon abilities and then finally getting Epic Destinies.

 

[Quickleaf]

I wonder if the "heroic tier paths" (if they exist at all) will be about specialties or styles like "Fighter, Sword-and-board" vs. "Fighter, Two-handed" vs. "Fighter, Polearm" vs. "Fighter, Dual-weapon".

Alternately, "heroic tier paths" could correspond to allegiance like "Fighter, Knight of the Crown", "Fighter, Watchtower Guard", "Fighter, Freehold Lord", "Fighter, Mercenary", etc.

 

[Dausuul]

Alternately, "heroic tier paths" could correspond to allegiance like "Fighter, Knight of the Crown", "Fighter, Watchtower Guard", "Fighter, Freehold Lord", "Fighter, Mercenary", etc.

Why would you bother with game mechanics for these? 3E notwithstanding, there really doesn't need to be a separate class for every conceivable profession.

 

[outsider]

EDIT: I suspect that you are close, however. The training feats will allow you to choose other classes' powers.


glass.

Yeah, I've been using powers and talents interchangeably so far to refer to the same thing. I just default to calling it talents because the idea of fighters with talents seems to annoy the grognards less than the idea of fighters with powers.

 

[Khaim]

How do you get a Ur'Priest (ok that one I'll give since you could make an Ur'Priest themed cleric, but I do think that my way would be better) or Blighter by multiclassing?

You won't. But that's okay, because they're both stupid broken.