[Poll] More than one prestige class per character?

[Mistwell]

This question is posed to current DMs of current long-term campaigns only. It is not intended for voting by Players, or occasional DMs.

This question is not directly addressed in the rules, but it is not necessarily a house rule either. It's more of a preference question than anything else.

Do you allow your players to take more than one prestige class for their characters? If you do allow it, do you place any limitations on how often the character switches between prestige classes, or between a prestige class and a core class?

Personally, I do not allow characters to switch between prestige classes. I consider a prestige class a chosen profession, and not simply another core class with entry requirements. I know some agree with that, and others do not. I would like your opinion on the matter, if you are a current DM of a long term campaign.

 

[Crothian]

I'm not a current DM but I did run an 12 month game when d20 came out. I require some role playing for all prestige classes, but characters are free to choose what they want. Sure, prestige classes maybe a chosen proffesion, but many people do change proffesions. The only reasons I had players change prestege classes was for role playing reasons. But that wasn't because I required them, it was because that's the way they played. So, I allow it and I don't place any more restrictions on the second class then I do the first. I trust my players and I want them to have fun. If having 7 prestege classes if fun for them (I never had anyone with more then 2) then good for them.

 

[Magic Rub]

I'm not a current DM but I did run an 12 month game when d20 came out. I require some role playing for all prestige classes, but characters are free to choose what they want. Sure, prestige classes maybe a chosen proffesion, but many people do change proffesions. The only reasons I had players change prestege classes was for role playing reasons. But that wasn't because I required them, it was because that's the way they played. So, I allow it and I don't place any more restrictions on the second class then I do the first. I trust my players and I want them to have fun. If having 7 prestege classes if fun for them (I never had anyone with more then 2) then good for them.

My thoughts down to the letter

 

[Shard O'Glase]

I put freely change, but since all of the peestige classes in my games require some degree of roleplaying to acquire, it does in effect require signifigant rolepalying to take multiple prestige classes.

 

[Kai Lord]

I allow my players to freely multiclass between PrC's, and I demand that everyone here do the same.

 

[Mistwell]

I allow my players to freely multiclass between PrC's, and I demand that everyone here do the same.

Niiiiiiiice...

Bad Kai Lord, no candy for you!

 

[Pax]

I'm the schmuck who voted "other"; here's my explainations.

I allow any number of prestige clases, in general. However, no character may have more than one of the "fast-track" classes, the 5-level ones. That's my only limitation (besides approval/refusal of specific classes on a PrC-by-PrC basis, of course); you can have as many Prestige Classes as you want, but only one of them can have a 5-level progression, the rest have to have the standard 10-level progression.

My reasoning is, it would be a bit easy to get the entire benefits of an often-powerful "PrC5" multiple times within 20 levelsof adventuring, but doing that with standard "PrC10" classes would be impossible.

So, with an eye to game balance, I've eliminated "multiple PrC5's" from the mix; IMO, most PrC5's give the same power, over 5 levels, as you get from a standard PrC10 across 10 levels. So fairness and balance seem to contraindicate allowing multiple PrC5's.

 

[Elder-Basilisk]

I also voted other. When I was living in California I ran a game that went for about two years before I moved. My take on prestige classes at the time was this: characters gain the ability to take prestige classes by becoming a part of the organization. The templar class, for instance, was reserved for the Templars of St. Guthorm and the Knight of the Chalice class was one of the paths available to a Knight of St. Cuthbert. Had a character been in a position to take more than one prestige class, I wouldn't have minded but it would have been somewhat difficult for a character to qualify for the special training of multiple prestige classes.

 

[nharwell]

other

I voted "other" as well. In my primary campaign, I allow players to take as many prestige classes as they can qualify for granted that they can convince me that it makes sense for their character. In reality, though, no one has yet taken advantage of this -- meeting the requirements for multiple PrCs is usually more of a pain than it's worth, they [my player's] say.

For my secondary campaign, however, I'm not using PrCs at all. Instead, if someone has an unusual concept, I emulate it through (1) multiclassing, (2) new feats, or (3) "variant" classes (as per PHB, DMG, and MOTW). Although I'll have to run the campaign awhile to be certain, I believe that I prefer this to PrCs, actually...

 

[Fenes 2]

Switching to a second Prestige Class has not yet come up^in either of my two campaigns.