Paths and Destinies

[Michael Silverbane]

I suspect that we'll see fewer prerequisites, or broader prerequisites (something like, "any talent from the Smacking People Around talent tree or the Jumping up and Down talent tree") for the prestige classes.

Paths and Destinies sound more like fancy schmancy talent trees than they do hopped up prestige classes, but at this point, I suppose anybody's guess is as good as (better, actually, because I have not yet read the article that we're talking about) mine.

Later
silver

 

[Commonblade]

Up until now I hadn't thought about how much fun I had the first time I picked up the dice and just played a fighter. Not worrying about what I needed to have at 11th level when I was leveling up to 2nd. The more I have played and the more I wanted to try different Prestige Classes the more I have had to plan out what I was going to do. I miss that fun. I really hope you can just pick a Path or Destiny once you hit the appropriate level. That would be fun.

 

[JohnSnow]

Well, while it's (obviously) not a perfect comparison, the prestige classes from Star Wars Saga Edition were a lot easier to qualify for than in D&D. A couple examples:

Bounty Hunter
Minimum Heroic Level: 7th.
Trained Skills: Survival.
Talents: At least two talents from the Awareness talent tree (see page 49).

Elite Trooper
Base Attack Bonus: +7.
Feats: Armor Proficiency (light), Armor Proficiency (medium), Martial Arts I, Point Blank Shot.
Talents: At least one talent from the Armor Specialist, Commando, or Warpon Specialist talent trees (see page 49).

Jedi Knight
Base Attack Bonus: +7.
Trained Skills: Use the Force.
Feats: Force Sensitivity, Weapon Proficiency (lightsabers).
Special: Must have built your own lightsaber (see the Building a Lightsaber sidebar, page 40).
Special: Must be a member of the Jedi tradition (see page 104).

Those all sound pretty wide open, basically you have to have achieved a minimum level and have taken a couple of pretty obvious skills, talents or feats.

So I think the era of Prestige Classes which require you to have 7 ranks in underwater basket-weaving is over.

 

[The Little Raven]

So I think the era of Prestige Classes which require you to have 7 ranks in underwater basket-weaving is over.

...

There goes my Marinerweaver class.

 

[DandD]

Nobody like it anyway, Mourn.
We didn't laugh with you, we laughed at you...

 

[TwinBahamut]

I am wiling to bet that the Paragon Paths and Epic Destinies are just interesting names for advanced Talent Trees.

There are probably purely class-based Talent Trees for each class from levels 1-30, but at levels 11-20 there are additional talent trees (possibly available to more than one class) called Paths, and even more unrelated options called Destinies for levels 21-30. The different names are just to make it easier to distinguish them.

If the system is what I think it is, I would be very happy. It is a nice, easy system for adding options at various levels, wtihout having to build a new class each time, or creating an ugly chain of feats.

I wonder if Powers are seperate from the Talent Trees, or are they integrated together? It is hard to say right now.