D&D 4E using prestige classes in 4e

[barbarianguy]

Hi everyone, after all the replies I got to the thread about 3.5 or 4e, I have decided to go with 4e. The problem is that I want to add prestige classes in 4e, so my idea is that around 7th level the PCs could choose to upgrade to a prestige class such as the alchemist savant or legendary captain... any ideas and thoughts about it?

 

[malraux]

Hi everyone, after all the replies I got to the thread about 3.5 or 4e, I have decided to go with 4e. The problem is that I want to add prestige classes in 4e, so my idea is that around 7th level the PCs could choose to upgrade to a prestige class such as the alchemist savant or legendary captain... any ideas and thoughts about it?

Ummm, paragon paths.

 

[Neonchameleon]

At level 11 you take a Paragon Path - which is the 4e equivalent to a Prestige Class (although you only get one).

 

[barbarianguy]

oooh, then sorry for posting such a silly question , I didn't really understand what paragon paths were.

 

[AbdulAlhazred]

There are also a few other similar things in 4e. At 21st level PCs choose an Epic Destiny, which is also somewhat like a Prestige Class in some ways. Dark Sun has also introduced Themes, which apparently will be extended to the core system pretty soon. Themes are picked at level 1 and you get one, which grants access to some powers etc. Again it is a bit like a Prestige Class in some respects, but more designed to give your character a specific 'flavor'.

There are also some types of feats that you can use to shape aspects of your character, like Weapon Training and Fighting Style feat chains. You can also have a 'bloodline' feat, which usually has a few other feats and power swaps associated with it that work a lot like Themes but cover a bit different set of things (these may also get obsoleted by Themes, who knows).

 

[Dice4Hire]

Even better, if you get the Dark Sun Campaign Setting, you can use themes form level 1. Just reflavor them a bit and you acan have more unique classes from level 1.

I love themes.

BTW, if anyone writes an article for Dragon about greyhawk themes, say 10-15 of them, I will subscribe for at least a month jsut to get them.

D4H

 

[Klaus]

Hi everyone, after all the replies I got to the thread about 3.5 or 4e, I have decided to go with 4e. The problem is that I want to add prestige classes in 4e, so my idea is that around 7th level the PCs could choose to upgrade to a prestige class such as the alchemist savant or legendary captain... any ideas and thoughts about it?

Where 3e had Prestige Classes that replaced your base class, 4e has three elements that overlay your base class: themes (at levels 1-10), paragon paths (at levels 11-20) and epic desitnies (at levels 21-30). They all give you things in addition to everything you gain from your base class.

 

[Prestidigitalis]

It would be easy enough to create an extended Paragon Path that begins at level 7. Come up with a few custom powers and feats, and apply them at levels 7 to 10, replacing the normal picks for those levels. It would be important to get the balance right, but that's true for any customization.

This would actually be a great idea for campaigns that advance very slowly and for those which are expectd to terminate before advancing far into paragon tier or before even reaching it.

There is nothing implicit in 4e that prevents such a thing. The limitation of "special" advancement to two concepts -- Paragon Path and Epic Destiny -- is just a design decision made by WotC. It works well, but may not be ideal for some campaigns. No one will be offended if someone adds another such concept, or if someone else eliminates them completely.

 

[AbdulAlhazred]

No, though in such cases it might be less work to simply have a higher rate of level advancement. There is a lot less reason in 4e than in 3.x/AD&D to desire to run a campaign strictly using the low level rules since everything is so scalable. 6th level in AD&D was almost a different game than 12th level, but 20th level in 4e is not THAT much different than 10th level. It would save you a good bit of house ruling that way, though it might require a decent amount of monster level tweaking and reskinning.