Are prestige classes prestigious again ? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Are prestige classes prestigious again ? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Emanon
09-06-05, 05:19 AM At the beginning the prestige classes had been created to introduce some PRESTIGIOUS kind of heroes issued from PRESTIGIOUS organizations in the DD3 campaigns.

But as the number of prestige class is regularly increasing many many players take a prestige class or two... or three... or... for their character.
And I feel like there are two many characters with too many levels in prestige classes.

Today while creating a character, players ask themselves which prestige classe they will take.
They never more ask themselves if they will take one or not !
I would like to find a way to

I ask myself how many prestige class levels per standard class level is a reasonable balance in my campaign ?
Maybe a rule giving 10 % of prestige class for 90 % standard classes for the player's characters sould be nice ? OR maybe 20 % 80 % ...
What do you think about that ?

I would like that prestige classes become prestigious again in my campaign.
But I don't want to be restrictive.

I hope you see what I mean.
Please give me your opinions
Splendide
09-06-05, 07:15 AM I've seen less prestige classes lately. Probably because they're usually uncomfortably restrictive in areas where they needn't necessarily be. I'd say that, on average, I only think one in every twelve or so prestige classes is worth looking at.
KhorvaireChronicler
09-06-05, 07:42 AM I agree to some extent that there are only a few PrC that you look at as a PC, because nine times out of ten people play to type!

Having said that, I tend to view PrC's as specialties rather than prestigous groups of individuals (by and large, with some notable exceptions). Take for example my favourite type of PrC, the ones with only three or five lvls. One of my regular players had a character in a Greyhawk game that was a Rogue 5/Master Thrower 5/Invisible Blade 5/Streetfighter 5 by the end of their career and was never once part of a prestigous organisation. She had merely perfected her favoured fighting style, kicking ass with paired daggers in the grimy city streets as a local vigilante.

As a DM I let players pick any PrC's, and as many as they wish, as long as it makes sense and fits into either the character they play or the events of the campaign that have shaped them that way. For example I once had a PC who played a nefarious Sorcerer who was always breaking the law and was intent on becoming an archmage. During the campaign his alignment changed from CE to LG (A nasty shift) and he ended up becomming a Justicar (Complete Warrior) and a Mage Slayer, never (or should I say rarely) casting spells. It was lovely to see and brought about hours of fun roleplaying.
The White Sorcerer
09-06-05, 08:44 AM Here's an interesting point to consider: The PCs are SUPPOSED to have prestige.
CzarGarrett
09-06-05, 10:41 AM I often boost up the pre-req's and add on a special if the PrC didn't have one already.

So if would normally be level 6 or 7 to get the PrC, it would be more like 8 or 9 with a complicated and important process to take the PrC.
UnkemptSage
09-06-05, 10:43 AM Generally, the PCs are supposed to be special in the world. Prestige classes represent a lot of things, from becoming a member of a prestigious organization to specialized personal training. PCs are supposed to be special in the world they exist in, moreso in Eberron than in any other published campaign setting I've ever seen. In Eberron, a person with PC classes is a rarity in and of itself, and a person with a prestige class even moreso. However, the rarity is reflected by the NPCs in the world, not the PCs themselves. If you as a DM think that prestige classes have lost their prestige, then the blame falls solely on you for not reflecting that in the NPCs. However, you should not take that personally, as in most cases, NPCs (particularly the ones you use as villains) will often times be special in their own right, and will in many cases have prestige classes. But you have to remember that the majority of the world is not "special" in the way that characters with PC classes are. But you won't have to describe and/or roleplay every commoner the PCs see on the street now, will you?
Majorafire77
09-06-05, 10:48 AM Unless I'm mistaken, Eberron doesn't really have a big problem with "unprestigious" PrCs. Even the higher level characters in Eberron generally don't have levels in PrCs.

Many of the Eberron PrCs are devoted to a specific group or groups (Cataclysm Mage, Eldeen Ranger, Knight Phantom, etc...). Even the ones that aren't are still rare in Eberron though. I hope it stays this way.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Emanon 09-06-05, 05:19 AM	At the beginning the prestige classes had been created to introduce some PRESTIGIOUS kind of heroes issued from PRESTIGIOUS organizations in the DD3 campaigns. But as the number of prestige class is regularly increasing many many players take a prestige class or two... or three... or... for their character. And I feel like there are two many characters with too many levels in prestige classes. Today while creating a character, players ask themselves which prestige classe they will take. They never more ask themselves if they will take one or not ! I would like to find a way to I ask myself how many prestige class levels per standard class level is a reasonable balance in my campaign ? Maybe a rule giving 10 % of prestige class for 90 % standard classes for the player's characters sould be nice ? OR maybe 20 % 80 % ... What do you think about that ? I would like that prestige classes become prestigious again in my campaign. But I don't want to be restrictive. I hope you see what I mean. Please give me your opinions
Splendide 09-06-05, 07:15 AM	I've seen less prestige classes lately. Probably because they're usually uncomfortably restrictive in areas where they needn't necessarily be. I'd say that, on average, I only think one in every twelve or so prestige classes is worth looking at.
KhorvaireChronicler 09-06-05, 07:42 AM	I agree to some extent that there are only a few PrC that you look at as a PC, because nine times out of ten people play to type! Having said that, I tend to view PrC's as specialties rather than prestigous groups of individuals (by and large, with some notable exceptions). Take for example my favourite type of PrC, the ones with only three or five lvls. One of my regular players had a character in a Greyhawk game that was a Rogue 5/Master Thrower 5/Invisible Blade 5/Streetfighter 5 by the end of their career and was never once part of a prestigous organisation. She had merely perfected her favoured fighting style, kicking ass with paired daggers in the grimy city streets as a local vigilante. As a DM I let players pick any PrC's, and as many as they wish, as long as it makes sense and fits into either the character they play or the events of the campaign that have shaped them that way. For example I once had a PC who played a nefarious Sorcerer who was always breaking the law and was intent on becoming an archmage. During the campaign his alignment changed from CE to LG (A nasty shift) and he ended up becomming a Justicar (Complete Warrior) and a Mage Slayer, never (or should I say rarely) casting spells. It was lovely to see and brought about hours of fun roleplaying.
The White Sorcerer 09-06-05, 08:44 AM	Here's an interesting point to consider: The PCs are SUPPOSED to have prestige.
CzarGarrett 09-06-05, 10:41 AM	I often boost up the pre-req's and add on a special if the PrC didn't have one already. So if would normally be level 6 or 7 to get the PrC, it would be more like 8 or 9 with a complicated and important process to take the PrC.
UnkemptSage 09-06-05, 10:43 AM	Generally, the PCs are supposed to be special in the world. Prestige classes represent a lot of things, from becoming a member of a prestigious organization to specialized personal training. PCs are supposed to be special in the world they exist in, moreso in Eberron than in any other published campaign setting I've ever seen. In Eberron, a person with PC classes is a rarity in and of itself, and a person with a prestige class even moreso. However, the rarity is reflected by the NPCs in the world, not the PCs themselves. If you as a DM think that prestige classes have lost their prestige, then the blame falls solely on you for not reflecting that in the NPCs. However, you should not take that personally, as in most cases, NPCs (particularly the ones you use as villains) will often times be special in their own right, and will in many cases have prestige classes. But you have to remember that the majority of the world is not "special" in the way that characters with PC classes are. But you won't have to describe and/or roleplay every commoner the PCs see on the street now, will you?
Majorafire77 09-06-05, 10:48 AM	Unless I'm mistaken, Eberron doesn't really have a big problem with "unprestigious" PrCs. Even the higher level characters in Eberron generally don't have levels in PrCs. Many of the Eberron PrCs are devoted to a specific group or groups (Cataclysm Mage, Eldeen Ranger, Knight Phantom, etc...). Even the ones that aren't are still rare in Eberron though. I hope it stays this way.