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The Prestige Fallacy
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<blockquote data-quote="Set" data-source="post: 4578056" data-attributes="member: 41584"><p>In designing the 'Rage Mage' Monte Cook flat-out says that he read a line in the PHB that someone couldn't cast spells while Raging and took that as a challenge. "What if I *want* to do that?" And so he made a Rage Mage PrC.</p><p> </p><p>Tons of PrCs are hole-patchers. Like you said, Blackguard and Holy Liberator are just patches on the 'Holy Warriors must be LG!' arbitrary rule. There are PrCs that exist to allow Paladins and Monks to multi-class with some other class, to get around that arbitrary rule. I'm pretty sure that there is a PrC out there that allows a Monk to be Chaotic, again, just to get around a pointless arbitrary restriction that serves no mechanical game purpose at all. Rules, being invented, to get around *fluff* restrictions. That's just lame.</p><p> </p><p>The vast majority of PrCs have one or two 'good' abilities, such as Shadow Pounce or Spontaneous Metamagic, and then have eight 'dead levels' that just continue the base classes progression, which begs the question, 'Why not take levels of Rogue, if half of the Assassin levels just progress Rogue abilities anyway?' Others have minor fiddly things added to 'fill up' those 'dead levels', but really serve no defining role anyway.</p><p> </p><p>Most PrC abilities, IMO, should indeed be available as Feats, feat chains, higher level Rogue options and / or Alternate Class features. Additionally, non-mechanical class restrictions (paladins can't multiclass, monks can't be chaotic, barbarians and bards can't be lawful) should be ditched. If someone wants to play a lawful zealot who works himself up into a righteous fury, then let him go with his lawful Rage. If someone wants to play a Bard who is in training to be a herald to the local lord, and strongly supports the rule of law, again, more power to him, it's not even an odd concept, but a distressingly *common* one that D&D doesn't support, for some obscure reason.</p><p> </p><p>There's nothing 'prestigious' about the Frenzied Berserker. It's just the Barbarian turned up to 11.</p><p> </p><p>There's no excuse for the Paladin to be some common schmoe whose gods have *no standards at all* and will take someone off the street at 1st level and dump all sorts of holy power on them, no pre-screening or great accomplishments required, while the Blackguard belongs to an elite, prestigious brotherhood who had to focus, devote themselves, pass trials, earn favor and qualify to earn the favor of, apparently far more discriminating, evil gods who won't just dump their divine gifts on any yob fresh from the stables who hasn't proven himself willing to struggle and sacrifice for the role of holy champion.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Set, post: 4578056, member: 41584"] In designing the 'Rage Mage' Monte Cook flat-out says that he read a line in the PHB that someone couldn't cast spells while Raging and took that as a challenge. "What if I *want* to do that?" And so he made a Rage Mage PrC. Tons of PrCs are hole-patchers. Like you said, Blackguard and Holy Liberator are just patches on the 'Holy Warriors must be LG!' arbitrary rule. There are PrCs that exist to allow Paladins and Monks to multi-class with some other class, to get around that arbitrary rule. I'm pretty sure that there is a PrC out there that allows a Monk to be Chaotic, again, just to get around a pointless arbitrary restriction that serves no mechanical game purpose at all. Rules, being invented, to get around *fluff* restrictions. That's just lame. The vast majority of PrCs have one or two 'good' abilities, such as Shadow Pounce or Spontaneous Metamagic, and then have eight 'dead levels' that just continue the base classes progression, which begs the question, 'Why not take levels of Rogue, if half of the Assassin levels just progress Rogue abilities anyway?' Others have minor fiddly things added to 'fill up' those 'dead levels', but really serve no defining role anyway. Most PrC abilities, IMO, should indeed be available as Feats, feat chains, higher level Rogue options and / or Alternate Class features. Additionally, non-mechanical class restrictions (paladins can't multiclass, monks can't be chaotic, barbarians and bards can't be lawful) should be ditched. If someone wants to play a lawful zealot who works himself up into a righteous fury, then let him go with his lawful Rage. If someone wants to play a Bard who is in training to be a herald to the local lord, and strongly supports the rule of law, again, more power to him, it's not even an odd concept, but a distressingly *common* one that D&D doesn't support, for some obscure reason. There's nothing 'prestigious' about the Frenzied Berserker. It's just the Barbarian turned up to 11. There's no excuse for the Paladin to be some common schmoe whose gods have *no standards at all* and will take someone off the street at 1st level and dump all sorts of holy power on them, no pre-screening or great accomplishments required, while the Blackguard belongs to an elite, prestigious brotherhood who had to focus, devote themselves, pass trials, earn favor and qualify to earn the favor of, apparently far more discriminating, evil gods who won't just dump their divine gifts on any yob fresh from the stables who hasn't proven himself willing to struggle and sacrifice for the role of holy champion. [/QUOTE]
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