GMforPowergamers
Legend
chosen of X... where they do generic 'god of X might offer Y or Z"
D&D 5E With the reintroduction of PrCs which are on your 'must see' list?
- Thread starter Duganson
- Start date
chosen of X... where they do generic 'god of X might offer Y or Z"
JediGamemaster
First Post
that could be interesting... a prc that has a small set of powers that are interchangeable based on the god who's agent you are...
Tony Vargas
Legend
Nothing specific, the more generic PrCs were mostly multi-classing kludges, and 5e has fixed some of the multi-classing issues that made them necessary. That said, the Mystic Theurge was a concept I rather liked, in spite of being exemplary of that tendency, and I'll even admit to liking the /concept/ of the Ur-Priest.
I think the best possible use of PrCs, though, is to create novel PC options that tie directly to a setting, adventure or adventure path - or an AL faction, for that matter. An adventure could contain a PrC (or few), and a point in the action where it would be possible for a PC to fulfill the requirement to gain it.
So a new PrC (or few) could be trotted out with each new AP, used in play, and then dropped from AL, never become 'Core' and fade away without contributing to 'bloat.'
I think the best possible use of PrCs, though, is to create novel PC options that tie directly to a setting, adventure or adventure path - or an AL faction, for that matter. An adventure could contain a PrC (or few), and a point in the action where it would be possible for a PC to fulfill the requirement to gain it.
So a new PrC (or few) could be trotted out with each new AP, used in play, and then dropped from AL, never become 'Core' and fade away without contributing to 'bloat.'
EzekielRaiden
Follower of the Way
While I'm not sure I have a true "must see" list, I can think of a few neat ideas that would be worth exploring.
Wizard of the Spiral Tower--I dunno if this existed prior to 4e, but it was an interesting way to mix a bit more "martial" into the Wizard, rather than mixing a bit of Wizard into the Fighter (as the EK subclass does). I dunno how you'd need to handle it, but just as the Fighter has essentially the same core package with a handful of spells (they're essentially "one-third casters" instead of "half" or "full" casters), it could be neat to have a Wizard that gets a taste of Fighter stuff. Maybe a special, magic-infused set of maneuvers? I dunno. While there are many "gishes" in 5e, there's only one base class that casts spells from intelligence (Wizard) and it doesn't really do the "I fight in melee" thing. (Abjuration comes close, but it just makes the Wizard a bit more durable, it doesn't do the 11th-level damage boost that nearly all meleeist (sub)classes get.)
Lion of Talisid--I freely admit that this PrC was a bit crazy (anything you could MC as a 3.5e Druid and potentially gain power would be), but I played one through NWN2 (via fan patch) and thought it was a fun idea. Something that blends a bit of Cleric or even Paladin into the Druid could be neat. Again, no idea how to balance it properly, unless it requires that you're a Moon Druid, which I dunno if that's an acceptable type of requirement--but if it delayed your CR progression and gave you other bennies in exchange, it could be acceptable.
Knight of the Weave--We've already got Paladins that can smite from their spells, but I thought this PrC was, again, a neat way to blend two different concepts (arcane caster, divine warrior) into an interesting whole. Simply having it require that you can cast 2nd level Arcane and Divine spells should be sufficient cost. Even if you went Cleric+Wizard, you couldn't start it until at the earliest 7th level. Bard+Paladin or Sorcerer+Paladin would syngergize better, but leave you with even lower max spell level and require another two levels to get in, so again, seems relatively balanced.
More or less, I feel like PrCs are best when they either do something like the proposed (although poorly-written) Rune Scribe class--they create a new mechanical space with a meaningfully different "take" on current mechanics--or which work by creating a thematically and mechanically meaningful synergy of two distinct disciplines. So, as another example, I could see a wholly new (AFAIK?) PrC that blended the unique mechanics of the Sorcerer and Bard (sorcery points and bardic inspiration, respectively) into something with a touch of both, yet also new too: call it a "Bloodsinger" or "Soulsinger," and have it be specifically better at assisting ally spellcasting (which, unless I'm mistaken, bardic inspiration is largely unable to do--only spells with attack rolls can benefit, and those are few and far between).
Wizard of the Spiral Tower--I dunno if this existed prior to 4e, but it was an interesting way to mix a bit more "martial" into the Wizard, rather than mixing a bit of Wizard into the Fighter (as the EK subclass does). I dunno how you'd need to handle it, but just as the Fighter has essentially the same core package with a handful of spells (they're essentially "one-third casters" instead of "half" or "full" casters), it could be neat to have a Wizard that gets a taste of Fighter stuff. Maybe a special, magic-infused set of maneuvers? I dunno. While there are many "gishes" in 5e, there's only one base class that casts spells from intelligence (Wizard) and it doesn't really do the "I fight in melee" thing. (Abjuration comes close, but it just makes the Wizard a bit more durable, it doesn't do the 11th-level damage boost that nearly all meleeist (sub)classes get.)
Lion of Talisid--I freely admit that this PrC was a bit crazy (anything you could MC as a 3.5e Druid and potentially gain power would be), but I played one through NWN2 (via fan patch) and thought it was a fun idea. Something that blends a bit of Cleric or even Paladin into the Druid could be neat. Again, no idea how to balance it properly, unless it requires that you're a Moon Druid, which I dunno if that's an acceptable type of requirement--but if it delayed your CR progression and gave you other bennies in exchange, it could be acceptable.
Knight of the Weave--We've already got Paladins that can smite from their spells, but I thought this PrC was, again, a neat way to blend two different concepts (arcane caster, divine warrior) into an interesting whole. Simply having it require that you can cast 2nd level Arcane and Divine spells should be sufficient cost. Even if you went Cleric+Wizard, you couldn't start it until at the earliest 7th level. Bard+Paladin or Sorcerer+Paladin would syngergize better, but leave you with even lower max spell level and require another two levels to get in, so again, seems relatively balanced.
More or less, I feel like PrCs are best when they either do something like the proposed (although poorly-written) Rune Scribe class--they create a new mechanical space with a meaningfully different "take" on current mechanics--or which work by creating a thematically and mechanically meaningful synergy of two distinct disciplines. So, as another example, I could see a wholly new (AFAIK?) PrC that blended the unique mechanics of the Sorcerer and Bard (sorcery points and bardic inspiration, respectively) into something with a touch of both, yet also new too: call it a "Bloodsinger" or "Soulsinger," and have it be specifically better at assisting ally spellcasting (which, unless I'm mistaken, bardic inspiration is largely unable to do--only spells with attack rolls can benefit, and those are few and far between).
Leatherhead
Possibly a Idiot.
I would prefer them to be Prestige Classes in name only. Back in the day, Prestige Classes were essentially "Super-Classes" or "Combo-Classes". Unlearning what we know about them from previous editions, and instead replacing them with alternate "sub-classes" or specializations that would fit into multiple Base Classes.
For example: If you want to be good at riding a horse (or dragon, whatever) in combat, that is theoretically something that multiple classes could benefit from. Horses are not well suited for typical dungeon crawls, so branching it off into one of these new Prestige classes would be an ideal fit for people who want to run a game about Mongols or the equivalent.
For example: If you want to be good at riding a horse (or dragon, whatever) in combat, that is theoretically something that multiple classes could benefit from. Horses are not well suited for typical dungeon crawls, so branching it off into one of these new Prestige classes would be an ideal fit for people who want to run a game about Mongols or the equivalent.
EzekielRaiden
Follower of the Way
Actually, I have one more I'd like to see more done with: the "Geomancer" PrC from Complete Divine. It was a tad weak and some of its features no longer really apply meaningfully in 5e (since spell slots are shared across all classes/subclasses that can cast spells, IIRC?), but it was extremely flavorful. A PrC that really benefits from blending two distinct traditions of spellcasting together would be Pretty Cool in my opinion. Again, no idea how to balance it properly, but this is not really a "what PrC mechanics do you want to see" thread, is it? 
The Myopic Sniper
Hero
All of them, but make them full 20 level classes (maybe without subclasses/archetypes since they are already specialized) and have special requirements for multiclassing if you don't start at level 1 ("you must join the Order of Hazmat and already have a Poison Shard to join this class" with strong wording that most of these classes may not exist in most DM's worlds and possibly more robust multiclassing restrictions ("if you stop taking levels of this class you cannot return to it if you multiclass out of it" "you need a 15 Dex and 15 Cha to join this class.")
Then they could go to town and convert all the cool stuff from previous editions that doesn't fit in the current class and subclass model.
Then they could go to town and convert all the cool stuff from previous editions that doesn't fit in the current class and subclass model.
Li Shenron
Legend
I would prefer they use PrCls only for character concepts that are supposed to be applicable to more or less all base classes. The Runecaster first PrCl example follows this idea, as it is meant to work for everybody, spellcaster or not.
Because of this, I think specialty priests PrCls would be good only if they don't require you to be a Cleric. If everybody can become a Sworddancer or Dweomerkeeper, then they can be great PrCls. If they are supposed to be Cleric-only, then I think substitution levels will be much better.
I played an Incantatrix for almost 2 years in a City of the Spider Queen campaign, and it was one of my favourite characters. But honestly it felt more like a fix/boost for the Sorcerer, which was the only class to be nerfed by 3.5 while everybody else was beefed up. And I think it will be a bad idea to let non-Sorcerers gain access to metamagic in 5e. To the contrary, I would want more metamagic options for the Sorcerer to be designed.
Loremasters as in the original 3e DMG are a bad idea as a PrCl, unless you can really design something unique about them. But the original PrCl had almost nothing of its own. Bonus feats and skill proficiencies are opposite of 'prestigious'. Really, you can't design a PrCl in 5e that just gives you 'more' of something you can get anyway from the basic rules. It will be a huge waste of design effort, and can only be exploited or ignored. And if you don't find more than 2-3 unique abilities to represent a concept, then you should totally avoid the PrCl mechanic and just do it with feats.
Azurewraith
Explorer
Ill be interested to see what they do pretty much everything i wanted to say has been covered here in a more eloquent fashion. I will say i would like to see the order of the bow initiate return as well i prefer my archer to fire that single well placed shot as opposed to 10000000 sloppy ones
I want specialty priest Prcs. I don't like generic clerics with a generic domain. I prefer clerics have a unique aspect to them based on their deity. I'd like to see a return to unique clerics like they had in 2E with Faiths and Avatars. That was one of the best books ever produced for D&D.
