[Rant] I want more Loremaster Prcs!!!

[Stalker0]

I used to think there were two good ways to balance prcs 1) High prereqs, high abilities 2) Low prereqs, low abilities)

But now that there are so many prcs out there, I'm tired of number 2. I want to go back to prcs like the loremaster... you get some nice stuff but you have to pay for it!! I mean it uses up 2 of your skill points every level and 4 feats (including a skill focus) till level 7... now that's earning your class.

I've come to the mindset prcs should be painful to get.. but they should be worth it... I'll even go as far as to say... prestigious?!!

Anyone else with me on this?

 

[Stalker0]

I just want to add to this with a thought I just had.

I feel that prcs have become a drug to substitute for roleplaying.


I've learned through dming one thing that i thnk is constant among players, they all want their characters to feel cool and special at least once in a while. I got nothing wrong with that... who doesn't want to feel special.

But they used to do that through roleplaying, coming up with cool concepts and neat twists on their characters... long backstories and fatal flaws. Now they can just take a prc and gain a "cool ability". And since so many prcs are easy to get why not?

Anyone else notice this?

 

[Crothian]

I've only seen players role play their characters and then get really happy when they find a prestige classes that fits the way they've role played their character.

If one feels that a prestige class is to easy, add to the requirements.

 

[CRGreathouse]

I used to think there were two good ways to balance prcs 1) High prereqs, high abilities 2) Low prereqs, low abilities)

But now that there are so many prcs out there, I'm tired of number 2. I want to go back to prcs like the loremaster... you get some nice stuff but you have to pay for it!! I mean it uses up 2 of your skill points every level and 4 feats (including a skill focus) till level 7... now that's earning your class.

I've come to the mindset prcs should be painful to get.. but they should be worth it... I'll even go as far as to say... prestigious?!!

Anyone else with me on this?

Requirements make the prestige class, I've always said. I'd love to see more classes of this sort.

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

I used to think there were two good ways to balance prcs 1) High prereqs, high abilities 2) Low prereqs, low abilities)

But now that there are so many prcs out there, I'm tired of number 2. I want to go back to prcs like the loremaster... you get some nice stuff but you have to pay for it!! I mean it uses up 2 of your skill points every level and 4 feats (including a skill focus) till level 7... now that's earning your class.

I've come to the mindset prcs should be painful to get.. but they should be worth it... I'll even go as far as to say... prestigious?!!

Anyone else with me on this?

I'm sick of #1 myself. I'm tired of PrCs that make you take ranks in Perform (dance) just to punish you, and I'm also sick of PrCs that give you huge balance-shaking powers as well. The two tend to go hand in hand.

Instead, to make characters unique, I prefer feats. One of my favorite feats for spellcasters is from When the Sky Falls called Skyfire. It lets you turn a spell into a supernatural ability that does damage based on the spell's level. Of course, you can only use this ability once per day per time you took the feat, and you still have to give up that spell slot. On the other hand, plasma damage is really hard to stop, and a supernatural ability has all these other cool benefits.

Even better when the player with the feat is the only one in the world with it - well, him and his rivals in the Sky Callers (instant rivals!).

 

[CRGreathouse]

I'm sick of #1 myself. I'm tired of PrCs that make you take ranks in Perform (dance) just to punish you, and I'm also sick of PrCs that give you huge balance-shaking powers as well. The two tend to go hand in hand.

Well, obviously requirements that don't fit the class are bad. That's what I mean when I say they make the class -- if it's relevant to what the class does, it's enforced flavor (and given the investment back, if well designed); if it's poorly done, it's just a sink for power.