Most Unbalanced Prestige Classes?

[Pants]

This makes no sense to me, the Tempest was the cornerstone in the worst bit of powergaming I'd ever concieved of... it was called the human blender and got 10+ attacks on a full attack action.

10+ attacks!? How the hell can you get 10+ attacks!?

 

[Ottergame]

Give it a second glance.

The damage a Hulking Hurler does with a thrown object is based on the object's weight. The heaviest object an HH can throw is something up to their light load capacity, or their medium load capacity with the Overburdened Heave trick. And remember carrying capacity scales not only with the strength of a creature, but also with its size. And additionally, a sharp or pointy object deals damage as if were an object of twice its actual weight.

So as a very modest example, say we have a Str 25 ogre with 2 levels of Hulking Hurler, and Overburdened Heave. Medium load is 533 lbs, doubled due to being Large, clocks in at 1,066 lbs. Okay, so our ogre purchases a 1000 lb ball of spiked iron. Imagine it looking like the head of a really large, really mean flail. Enchant it to be +1 and Returning, just for convienance sake. Each attack, our very, very modest example can chuck his weapon for 13d6 dmg, plus relavent modifiers.

13d6 damage, and you get to attack once per round with it. An archer can do more damage than this with magic arrows at this level.

 

[MDSnowman]

10+ attacks!? How the hell can you get 10+ attacks!?

Well I maxed out his Two weapon Fighting skills with the tempest PrC, and gave him a pair of bracers of blinding strike (making any weapons he wields speed weapons... and with one in each hand that's an extra 2 attacks)

hell by level 20 if you've maxed out your tempest levels you get

4 Attacks due to BAB
4 Attacks with your Off Handed Weapon (Two-Weapon Fighting, Improved Two Weapon Fighting, Greater Two-Weapon Fighting, and the Class Ability Supreme Two-Weapon Fighting)
2 Attacks from the Bracers of Blinding Strike

All this being said this was a purely intellectual exercise and I do not advocate doing this as either a PC or NPC, if I were DMing and someone approached me with this idea I would throw it in their face and declare them mentally unfit to play in my game... it is that broken.

 

[Kannik]

Windwalker (of Shaundakul) from FR's Faiths & Pantheons. Ugh.

Full spellcasting progression every level, plus special abilities (some very good) every level, plus another domain. As written, this thing is ridiculous (and was discovered to be so through play).

Agreement on this one. Give up nearly nothing, gain lots. Definitively one of those ones that makes one go Agah!, even in FR. And it wasn't changed/updaged in PGtF.

Kannik

 

[Saeviomagy]

RE: Hulking Hurler

1. The hulking hurler's damage scales with his carry capacity
2. Carry capacity scales with strength. Every +10 strength = 4 x carry capacity = 4 x damage
3. Carry capacity scales with size. Each size increase doubles your damage
4. Carry capacity increases if you've got more legs - quadrupeds carry 50% more. Being a quadruped increases your damage by 50%.

Centaur + hulking hurler + strength boosts

Strength 36 (not unreasonable). Carry capacity 7200 pounds. Damage? 39d6. If it's a spiky ball, that's 78d6.

Each round - because he enchants his huge ball of lead with returning.

Beyond that, try some war hulk levels. +20 strength (10 levels of warhulk) is x16 damage.

Or start with something that's still humanoid (like a half-ogre) and use enlarge person on it?

For full details, see
here where some others work on the same thing. I think the planet gets destroyed on about page 3.

My suggestion on vetting PrC's?

DON'T!

All you have to do is this:

When someone takes a PrC, or shows you a character build, ask them why they are doing things how they're doing them. Ask them what the character is intended to do.

Chances are if they are a powergamer, they know exactly where they're going and exactly what the build can do. If you're an honest and good DM, then they'll tell you. Then if you find it to be off-planet, you can discuss what to do about it.

If they're not a powergamer, then the chances of them stumbling upon something truely game-breaking are slim, and when they do, they're likely to see reason.

 

[Devall2000]

The 'Fist of Razial' out of the "Book of Exalted Deeds" strikes me as being broken. I've played one. If you're a paladin, your smite continues to stack once you take this class(not a big deal by itself). If you make sure to get one level of cleric before taking this PrC, you continue to add spell levels to your existing spellcasting class for every level of this PrC you take.

With this PrC your smite gets to be pretty good. You end up with a chain lightening effect and your weapon acts as a holy weapon.

Where has the tempest been updated for 3.5?

Has the 'Master of Chains' been updated for 3.5?

-Jamie

 

[Sejs]

Thanks for saving me the trouble, Saeviomagy.

An archer can do more damage than this with magic arrows at this level.

Really? At 9th level using a +1 weapon with a single enhancement? The devil you say.

(Ogre: 4 giant HD, +2 Lvl Adj, Fighter 1, Hulking Hurler 2. Str 25 for the ogre is equal to a human with str 15. Or 14 starting with +1 from advancement if you prefer.)

 

[Psion]

I side with Psion on what's broken for the most part. (I like Divine champion but doubtful I'll use it outside of the Realms.)

Actually, I meant divine crusader, but looking at it again, it doesn't seem all that gamable. Or worthwhile, really. ("Aura" is supposed to be a class ability? Weak.) On the outside, it can get 1 9th level domain spell 1 level early.

 

[Abraxas]

Where is the Divine Crusader Written up?

 

[Nightfall]

I was about to ask Psion the same thing...

In any case little or no doubt DSoP deserves my "Watch it Break your game" seal of disproval.