Which prestige classes do you use?

[The Lost Muse]

I have allowed prestige classes in the past, warned players that if things got ridiculous that I'd have to tweak, and never really ran into any problems. (To the point of having a frenzied berserker around level 15 or so.) I like the idea of using just the base classes, allowing players to pick which saves are good or bad, and turning most prestige class features into feat chains, but haven't had a chance to try it out yet.

Edit: Clarifications

 

[Shade]

The PCs in my campaign have taken levels in arcane archer, archmage, deepwood sniper, green star adept, incantatrix, loremaster, order of the bow initiate, and stonelord.

As a player, I have levels in dervish and a homebrewed prestige class (blademaster).

As a DM, I frequently use weapon masters (my all time favorite prestige class). Off the top of my head, I've also used archmage, frenzied berserker (without the extra Power Attack damage boosts), war hulk, hulking hurler, alienist, argent savant, assassin, lasher, master of chains, battlerager, fiend of corruption, knight of the chalice, orc blademaster, spellfire channeler, spellfire hierophant, pious templar, and runescarred berserker. I'm sure I've used quite a few more.

I find my favorite prestige classes to be the most generic ones, those that simply help round out a niche rather than try to exemplify an organization. That's why my list is skewed mostly towards older prestige classes (or those that have been updated from older sources).

I can't think of any prestige classes I've outright banned, but I won't allow any ability that increases Power Attack beyond the already overpowered 2-for-1 with a 2-handed weapon.

I consider new prestige classes to be of little value in new source books. The new format is so bloated that the opportunity cost just doesn't make them worthwhile. Add to that the fact that most of the newer ones tend to be more tied to organizations than expanding a role, and I've mostly lost interest in them. I do like to see prestige classes for the new core classes that have little support, like the recent warlock prestige classes.

 

[sjmiller]

In my campaign I have used racial classes from Arcana Evolved and one character is working towards being a ShadowDancer. Otherwise, it's straight PHB classes all the way. Heck, a great many of the players are single class characters too.

 

[Desdichado]

I'm a DM new to 3.5e, so prestige classes are sort of new to me. I first encountered them in Neverwinter Nights where my Arcane Archer rocked... but nevertheless I don't see the need for so many. It seems every source book has 3 or more prestige classes, most of which just seem totally unusable. Horizon Walker? Shadowdancer? Do people really use these things?

Of course there's no need for so many. You're not supposed to use them all, but it's nice to have the options to use the ones you need at the time.

The answer of course, to the question "do people really use these things?" is yes. One of my very first 3rd edition characters was a Shadowdancer. Why would you think that people don't use them?

Anyway, what I should ask is (a) which ones do you actually use, (b) are there any you disallow, and (c) do you consider new prestige classes to be valuable content in a new source book?

• Whichever ones I need to use. Currently my PC is a Reachrunner (from Races of Eberron for example; as a DM I've used many more.)
  
  
• No, not really. I reserve the right to as a GM, of course, but so far nobody's brought one to one of my games that I thought was dodgy. The exception---of course---being setting specific prestige classes from another setting than the one we're playing. Although even then, a new name and I'm usually good to go.
  
  
• Not really. I honestly prefer alternate or even better, sufficiently flexible base classes to get what I want from a character without multiclassing. That, and I don't really feel a pressing need for more prestige classes anymore; I've got plenty. Still, I don't mind them either.

 

[rgard]

I'm a DM new to 3.5e, so prestige classes are sort of new to me. I first encountered them in Neverwinter Nights where my Arcane Archer rocked... but nevertheless I don't see the need for so many. It seems every source book has 3 or more prestige classes, most of which just seem totally unusable. Horizon Walker? Shadowdancer? Do people really use these things?

OMG I just looked at Wikipedia's list of prestige classes. There must be more prestige classes than PCs!

Anyway, what I should ask is (a) which ones do you actually use, (b) are there any you disallow, and (c) do you consider new prestige classes to be valuable content in a new source book?

As a player I've used Ur-Priest, Mystic Theurge, Arcane Hierophant, Mindbender, Eldritch Theurge, Ultimate Magus, Spellsword and two homebrews: Ray Mage (specialized in ray spells) and a War Mage (similar to War Wizard of Cormyr.) Ones I want to play at some time are Urban Savant, Eldritch Disciple and Master Specialist.

Edit: Also played a Ruathar and Human Paragon.

Yep, I like playing spell casters.

As a DM, I've used many of the above as NPCs and have DM'd players who've used countless PrCs. I can't think of a time I refused to let a player take a PrC the character was qualified for. That said, I won't let Practiced Spell Caster or Precocious Apprentice be used to qualify for PrCs.

Thanks,
Rich

 

[Jedi_Solo]

(a) which ones do you actually use

My group uses them all the time. It's rare that when characters get high enough in levels that a PC does NOT have a PrC. I can't possibly remember them all but here are the PrCs that I remember have shown up (in PCs) at our table:

Human Paragon
Chameleon
Heartwarder
Legendary Leader
Green Star Adept
Dragon Deciple
Ninja of the Cresent Moon
Hathren (or whatever the FR Hathren Witch PrC is - I forget the exact name)
Soulbow
Combat Medic
Eldrich Knight
Annointed Knight
Bladesinger

And those are just the ones I can think of the names of. We had Binder for a while that had a PrC from the Tome of Magic. A couple of our clerics had one but I'm not sure which ones they were. We've seen a couple out of Dragon magazine but I don't remember what they were (one of them was even mine and I can't remember the name of it).

Some that I know our DM has thrown at us but haven't made the PC list include:

Frenzied Berserker
Shadowdancer
The Eberron one where the Artificer starts replacing thier own body parts
The Eberron one where Changlings become super spies
Herophant
True Necromancer
Master Shifter (or the Eberron one where the shifter inproves there own abilities)

(b) are there any you disallow

Our DM pretty much allows anything. The players (myself included) nixed the idea of having one of the PCs take Frenzied Berzerker though.

(c) do you consider new prestige classes to be valuable content in a new source book?

They can be. Some new PrCs are interesting and fun sounding. Some aren't. I like reading through them and seeing what new ideas are presented.

 

[KB9JMQ]

As a DM I allow any of them but so far no one has taken one.
As a player (with the same group) I am the only one to take one and that was Hunter of the Dead. He is a great character but would have been better off staying straight cleric rather than the Prc.

 

[Voadam]

My high level solo character is a rgr 1/wizard5/variant of harper mage 1/eldritch knight 9

My high level group I DM has 1 character with arcane trickster and archmage, 1 with Warshaper and Master of Many forms, and 1 with a homebrewed Chained Templar of Cuthbert. 2 PCs don't use any prcs in that game.

As a DM in that game I have used a lot of prc NPCs, Brutal Killer from Crimson Contracts, Loremaster, A bunch from Complete Warrior, Complete Book of Eldritch Might, and Call of Duty come to mind.

 

[Remathilis]

Allow: I allow just about everything. My "banned" list includes Radiant Servant, Frenzied Berserker, Ur-Priest, and anything overtly Forgotten Realms (I run Eberron).

As for actually used? For PCs I've actually played:

Thief-Acrobat
Divine Oracle
Fiend-Blooded
Dragonheart Mage
Mystic Theurge
Ghostwalker
Radiant Servant (thats why I don't allow it)
Virtuoso (only 1 level)
Mystic Wanderer
Sacred Purifier

I've had PCs in my games going for (or taken) Contemplative, Exorcist of the Silver Flame, Archmage, Eldrich Knight, Sacred Exorcist, Cataclysm Mage, Loremaster, and Windwright Capitan.

 

[the Jester]

Yeah, I like them; I allow most of them, after I review them. As a player I have only used the alienist; as a dm, though, I've used or seen at least the following (several of which are homebrewed):

hulking hurler
blackguard
alienist
initiate of the seven veils
invisible blade
perfect master
healer
keeper of the cerulean sign
warrior of Chaos
guardian of order
knight of the silver chalice
contemplative
archmage
heirophant
Aestherite

...and I'm sure many others.

The ones I ban generally include the frenzied berserker, radiant servant of Pelor, and many of the setting-based ones.