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Message: <blockquote data-quote="VoodooGroves" data-source="post: 241425" data-attributes="member: 5520">My problem w/ PrCFall into a few categories.The first of which is that after the DMG, the prestige classes went downhill (IMO) in terms of balance and usefulness.This is in no way I hate them all.  Some I really like.  First, most of them should be CLEARY written to apply to only a SINGLE campaign world.  Second, there needs to be a limiting factor that applies.  There are too many PrCs with a big level-one bonus (unfortunately, like Hide in Plain Site) and the PrC becomes just a tool to get what you need and not something anyone is going to stick with unless they really just like the concept.Third, when someone looks at a PrC, if they can't in most cases describe why they should NOT take the class, the class needs to be reinvestigated.  Until the later books came out, is there ANY reason a sorcer or wizard wouldn't always take the Loremaster PrC?  Any REAL reason?That said, the second issue above is what bugs me the most in practice.  When characters are created, the player has an end-goal (I wanna be an Inquisitor or whatever).   Without PrCs, the question of "to multiclass or not" can be boiled down to "do I want to be a great fighter but just a fighter or some sort of mix".  By 3rd level you can tell how these break down...typically you know at that point whether or not the character will stay mostly "pure" or be a mutt, simply because it is more effective.For instance, if I mercenarily look at a character with an end goal of being a Warmaster some things are apparent.  First, you need some skills.  Thats ok though, a high INT fighter can still do it at 8th.  However, anyone with a brain realizes that that 7th level fighter buys you 2+INT skill points and a +1 BAB.  Soooooo many other classes would get you more, so why would you stay fighter?  Ranger (skills), Paladin (skills and saves) are the two most obvious choices but I think (don't have books in front of me) that Barbarian is a possibility (if you're NG or N) as well as a number of different things stuck away in the other PrCs.  Once you make that leap though, Fighter 4 is really all you need, because missing Fighter 5-6 only looses you one feat.  So, instead, Fighter 4 and then (since you now have no allegiance to Fighter as a class), 3 levels of something else (either single other class or split them up).  What's worse is if you can (around 6 or so) take a few level 1 PrCs before Waraster just to get the skills and abilities.This is the kind of thing I don't like about PrCs in general.  Without a strong DM or other set of imposed rules, min-maxing is the way.Of course, you can say that about most things, like people who want to use FR feats in every game.  You hear alot of crap about FR feats being cheaty, but really, if you're playing FR and everyone else is too the field is level.  It becomes an issue when you get into a "use everything" situation and hopefully that can be avoided with judicious use of the parking lot rule.</blockquote>

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