[Prestige Classes] Hey guys, as a player, would this upset you?

[Paul_Klein]

Seems like it, dosen't it? Unfortunatly, all too often, it does.

And yeah, I'm placing this restriction on my players becuase of past (and present) playing sytles. In fact, I HAVE a characters who is a Scoundrel 1/Jedi 4/Jedi Ace 1/Force Warrior 4/Jedi Weapon Master 3. I makes me upset to even think about it

 

[DonAdam]

I don't have a problem with Prestige Classes in the games I run now, but in the future I'm not even going to allow players to plan for them.

All Prestige Classes will be "triggered" by in game events, and so opportunities will present themselves for players where I see fit.

 

[Hardhead]

Sounds reasonable to me.

 

[Ranger REG]

Your Campaign, Your Rules.

Personally, if a mid-level PC who was given a skill point allotment decided to spend (nearly) ALL of them to get the required rank in a new skill at the expense of improving his other skills, just so he can qualify for a prestige class, means he devoted his downtime (i.e., between adventures) to develop the kind of character he wants.

As a DM, I'd probably forward the timeline between the last adventure and the new one, like say 9 months of game-time.

But what you are suggesting is that there should be a limit to spending my skill poin and improving skill rank per level, not having a maximum rank per level. IOW, after 1st level, I can only improve or acquire skill rank by one, and only one.

That means, if I'm a 2nd level PC with 4 skill rank in Pilot (class skill) and no skill rank in Tumble (class skill), I spend my skill point to improve my Pilot to rank 5 (maximum rank at 2nd level), but I can only acquire Tumble at rank 1.

Is that how you want? Limit our skill purchase per skill?

 

[megamania]

sheesh...the things I start......

When I first ranted about the availibilty of Prestige classes it was more out the frustration that the DM never told us we couldn't have them or what EXTRA would need to be done. I guess that was more of my rant. I understand the need to control the prestige classes and how role playing should define the reasons to go into one.

 

[megamania]

I don't have a problem with Prestige Classes in the games I run now, but in the future I'm not even going to allow players to plan for them.

All Prestige Classes will be "triggered" by in game events, and so opportunities will present themselves for players where I see fit.

hmmmm....not plan for them? Then how will they get to the point they need? Many of the Prestige classes have unusal skills needed or built up. In directly, players will never use them still.

 

[GiantInThePlayground]

I think there's nothing wrong with the original post, but I strongly suggest you tell the players this at the start of the campaign. If your players are used to gaining PrC's at whim, they will be expecting the same from the new campaign. Definitely do not wait for it to "come up", because then you're only going to have unnecessary strife and dischord. If I (as a player) really, really want the Jedi Ace class, I need to have a fair shot at knowing to build it into my character's history from Day One; otherwise, you might as well just ban prestige classes.

The only real problem is that it basically limits the player's ability to change his mind. A lot of people complain that PrC's lock you into a rigid progression of abilities to acquire them in the first place. If you must spread the prereqs evenly over the first 5 or 6 levels or risk having the class be denied by the DM, then that rigid progression is made MORE strict; you are basically forcing the player to plan months ahead of time by writing an appropriate background. This is mutually exclusive to the idea that PrC's should only arise out of the events of the campaign, because you are asking your players to decide their future prestige class the moment the make their characters, long before the campaign starts.

This isn't in response to the original poster, but...
Personally, I loathe the p.o.v., "You will gain whatever class I think you should have when I see fit and in the manner of my choosing." Letting players plan for stuff is half the fun of advancing a character. Keep it reasonable, sure, and I think the original post is on target, but to allow no player to even conceive of taking a PrC until you deign it so (as has been suggested by a few here) smacks of DM snobbery. ("I know what their characters need better than they do.") Might as well hand out pregenerated characters and be done with it.

 

[hong]

Seems like it, dosen't it? Unfortunatly, all too often, it does.

And yeah, I'm placing this restriction on my players becuase of past (and present) playing sytles. In fact, I HAVE a characters who is a Scoundrel 1/Jedi 4/Jedi Ace 1/Force Warrior 4/Jedi Weapon Master 3. I makes me upset to even think about it

Do you commonly get upset when your players exercise free will?

 

[xrpsuzi]

Do you commonly get upset when your players exercise free will?

don't think of it as limiting free will, so much as limiting free will so everyone else can have fun too. This was really obvious in the last hero game my brother ran b/c the guy that shapechanged was a mega bad*** and in order to challenge him, the battles basically turned into a battle of two-the DM and the shapechanger, and everyone else just window dressing.

To the original poster-as long as you tell them upfront, I think it's a great idea because people have to actually role-play through the mechanics to get PrC advantages/specializations, rather than power game to get the advantages.

One guy wanted to be a Dwarven Defender in our last game (I think?? the one where you get a stronghold at some point), and well, our DM told him upfront that takes social interaction as well as killing stuff.

suzi

 

[DonAdam]

hmmmm....not plan for them? Then how will they get to the point they need? Many of the Prestige classes have unusal skills needed or built up. In directly, players will never use them still.

They can still qualify for them, but chances are that they'll do it later. I like that, because while I find most prestige classes unbalanced they wouldn't necessarily be so a few levels later.

Or, I'll do what I often do, which is change the requirements if the character is appropriate.

Only the roleplaying requirements really matter to me.

There is one exception to this: if I make it clear that certain organizations exist, the players may certainly write it into their origin that they have every intention of "trying out" for the prestige class.

On the free will issue, why is not letting people use PrC's a limitation on free will?

If a student can't make it into Harvard because he doesn't have the grades, that's not a limitation on his free will. When PrC's are organizations, that's a possibility.

Furthermore, what if a player wanted to play a Jedi in a D&D campaign or a ninja in a Call of Cthulhu game? It just doesn't fit the genre.

If "free will" means "letting my players do whatever they want even when it doesn't make sense" then, yes, I will limit free will.