Man, I miss the days of good, solid, utilitarian Prestige Classes

[ThirdWizard]

And now the folks who liked the utilitarian PrC's are speaking up now that they're underrepresented. But it's hardly a unanimous response; there are people disagreeing.

It really seems like a shift in numbers. Not just from this thread, but a trend that's been slowly taking place. When Races of Stone, I think it was, first came out with PrC descriptions that were full of information about them, people really liked it. As time went on, noone seemed to care, then you start seeing complaints about how PrCs people don't want to use are taking up too much room in their new book and how the flavor doesn't match the abilities (both valid concerns of course).

Perhaps it is less that PrCs should or should not have detailed fluff behind them, but if it is going to be there it is going to have to hold up to a higher standard than current. If that is the case, it seems like mixed signals are being sent to designers. Then it wouldn't be so much that most people are unhappy with fluff in their PrC descriptions, its just that bad fluff is worse than no fluff at all, a thought to which I agree.

Personally, I prefer semi-detailed descriptions of PrC orders, but I don't care too much to complain or loud either method. In my games there isn't such a thing as just picking up a PrC, but if that's how other people want to do it, that's cool. If you're like me (and I think you are) and you have no trouble fitting generic PrCs into a game, that's cool, too.

 

[Jolly Giant]

I think, that the name 'Prestige Class' already implies, that being a member of any of those means, that you are something 'better', so it seems like a natural step to get there eventually.

They never should have called them "prestige" classes in the first place, IMHO. "Specialized" classes or something like that would have been much better; then we wouldn't get all this outrage about there not being enough prestige in this or that prestige class.

 

[Felon]

Very true, Jolly. Amazing how many folks rant about a label. I think that the 5-level prestige classes could have been called "specialist" classes, while the term "prestige" was reserved for the 10-level ones. It's pretty much a superficial move, but a superficial move can not just affect how the audience perceives a PrC, but also how the designer perceives it. I've seen more than a few 10-level PrC's that could easily have been done in 5 levels.

Hey, mon. I was out there trying to hold the tide back with a broom when it came to the folks who couldn't stand non-setting linked PrCs.

Well, what can I say? You're cool like dat.

 

[Graf]

I am 99% certain that none of the recent WotC material has been playtested with any degree of completeness.

And this statement means what exactly?
(other than "I don't like WotC")

 

[ThirdWizard]

And this statement means what exactly?
(other than "I don't like WotC")

It means non-WotC PrCs can be just as good or better than WotC ones. Official doesn't necessarily mean superior. Note what it was in response to.

 

[Felon]

It means non-WotC PrCs can be just as good or better than WotC ones. Official doesn't necessarily mean superior.

Not necessarily, just generally.

 

[green slime]

When Races of Stone, I think it was, first came out with PrC descriptions that were full of information about them, people really liked it.

Guess that makes me not people. It irked me then, it irks me now. "How to Play a Turnip" just doesn't do it for me.

 

[MerricB]

Guess that makes me not people. It irked me then, it irks me now. "How to Play a Turnip" just doesn't do it for me.

OTOH, "How to play a turnip" helps less experienced players - something that another poster was complaining about recently.

Oh, on the actual topic of "How to play a turnip", rule one is: Avoid Baldrick!

Cheers!

 

[Psion]

Not necessarily, just generally.

That's rather a matter of perspective.

I notice, for example, it took a third party publisher to put out a decent elementalist PrC. WotC, after two tries, still stuck with the stinkin' energ elemental savant.

 

[Pants]

I remember all the complaints about Eldritch Knight and other such purely mechanically designed PrCs, and everyone saying how they should be prestigious and all tied to a particular group or organization, and WotC was ruining PrCs by making them generic, and how WotC should start putting more fluff in their books, gosh darn it!

H, my complaint of the Eldritch Knight was that it was utilitarian and boring. It offered no new, unique abilities at all. If it had three pages of hitory, flavor, and background attached, I'd still hate it because the mechanics bothered me.