How many prestige classes?

[christm]

I think that DM's should have final say as to what PCs are available, and how many you can take. There are just some PCs that do not fit well with most campains. What do you tell a player that wants to pick up Fist of Hexor, Ravager, True Necromancer or Acolyte of the Skin? These classes don't really mesh well with the standard party set up, and would only serve to destroy any good or neutral aligned party or campain.

You also have to think of a prestige class as the D+D equivilant of a master's or doctoral degree. It is rare enough to earn one, and very few people earn more than one. It is not really a bad idea for a DM to impose heavy Role Playing requirements for earning a PC, or even adding requirements in addition what the books suggest. I mean as players we spend might spend 4-8 (sometimes 12) hours playing in their game in a week, but the DM spends all week creating it for us, and if they think that our Fighter/Rogue/Ninja/Cavalier/Drunken Master is a little to unlikely and has clashing ideals we should listen to what they have to say.

 

[Kae'Yoss]

Of course the DM has the last word. I think they just want to gether opinions on the issue here before they decide. Some may say one PrC is all you can get, others say take as many as you like, but if it doesn't fit into the character concept, I won't allow it. (Or if the combo is to powerful or whatever). Some might say that you can have a "normal" PrC (10-levels) and another 5-levels (like a bladesinger that becomes divine champion of an elven god.)

 

[Spatzimaus]

It's impossible to take a PrC at level 1 since you have no abilities, and therefore no way to meet any prerequisites. Since you never spend any time as a 0-level character, that means your first level must be a core class.

It's possible to create a PrC that has low enough requirements to be met at level 1. It's not how they're supposed to be designed, and it might not be a good idea, but it's possible.

Therefore, it's possible to take 19 Prestige Classes. At least until the Epic rules, anyway.

As for the other discussion, about changing rules mid-stream: I think there are times when it needs to be done. You might not realize how powerful/broken certain spells or abilities are until you've seen them in practice (*cough*HARM*cough*). So, your DM SHOULD be able to say that Polymorph Other is broken as-is. You might not agree, so you might try to change his mind, but it's his call.
HOWEVER. Just flat-out saying "no, you're screwed, too bad" is just bad DMing. The DM needs to do one of the following:
1> Work with the player to create a variant that both can live with. If he doesn't like the permanent nature of Polymorph Other, would you as a player be willing to live with a 1 hour/level duration? IMC to reduce its usefulness as a buffing spell we added a Teleport-like randomness (if it's a form you're not familiar with you're less likely to get it right), and then added a Polymorph Other Without Error at level 6.
2> If they can't come to an agreement, allow the player to retroactively change as much of their character as is needed to follow a different path.

 

[snwatson]

PrCl

I have always viewed the prestige classes as sectet societies or schools with the PrCl abilities representing the secret techniques of that school. So as for multiple PrCls yeah its possible to shift from the Assasin guild to the shadow dancers. The shadow dancers will be pleased to have a person to teach them the secrets of the assasins' guild but I dont think the assasins' guild would see it that way.

But that is just a personal view.

(note there are exceptions to this my personal view - like allied schools or being traped in an arena like adventure for a while and picking up a few levels of gladiator etc)