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View Full Version : Prestige classes: What are the pros and cons?



DoodlesD
2010-06-18, 10:09 PM
So i'm fairly new to the updated rules of DND, and one of my biggest issues is the addition of prestige classes. I won't say that i don't like them, but i do find them confusing and overwhelming simply because there are so many of them! alot of them have complicated requirements and add new feats or spells or special abilities which complicates gameplay alot, especially since im not fully familiar with all of the updated rules.

So my question is, what is the value in prestige classing? is it something everyone should do or is it just a way to vary the development of a character?

I'm currently playing pathfinder rules, which as i understand it makes it more beneficial for characters to stay in core classes to level 20. Would it still be a good idea to prestige even before then? and if so why?

Snake-Aes
2010-06-18, 10:11 PM
Prestige classes only differ from base classes in the facts you don't get them at level 1 nor build up 20 levels of them.

Whether they are worth it or not is just weighing if what they offer in comparison to what you would get from the base class is worth what you want your character to do.

Thrice Dead Cat
2010-06-18, 10:47 PM
Even in Pathfinder, you've got little reason not to take a prestige class. Fighter's get less and less stuffs as they level, as they'll have most of the feats they need at early levels. This is true for most non-casting classes. Casters give up familiar advancement and turning for actual class abilities outside of spells. Sure, some of them will lose out on some stuffs, but not much compared to, say Master Specialist or Malconvoker.

PId6
2010-06-18, 10:48 PM
The benefits of the PrC system is that they (theoretically) allow you to specialize your character in comparison to base classes. A rogue, for example, would normally find traps, sneak around, and stab people in uncomfortable places. Taking the Assassin prestige class would then let you specialize in sneaking around and stabbing people, to the detriment of your trapfinding ability.

That's the theory anyway.

Thrice Dead Cat
2010-06-18, 10:50 PM
The benefits of the PrC system is that they (theoretically) allow you to specialize your character in comparison to base classes. A rogue, for example, would normally find traps, sneak around, and stab people in uncomfortable places. Taking the Assassin prestige class would then let you specialize in sneaking around and stabbing people, to the detriment of your trapfinding ability.

That's the theory anyway.

Yeah, the practice of it is generally free stuffs, be they spells, class abilities, or difficult to acquire feats. At least, that's what the good ones do. Okay ones offer an actual trade that changes while the bad ones just take stuff without giving much of anything in return.

DoodlesD
2010-06-18, 11:30 PM
ah i see. So not at prestige classes are created equal? if that's the case what can you look for that really lets you know which ones are "good" or "okay" or just "bad"?

Also, it seems from the replies that combat classes are the ones who benefit more from prestige classing, and casters who prestige just take different growth paths. is this, in fact, the case, or have i misunderstood? if this is indeed the case, then what core classes benefit more from prestige classing?

PId6
2010-06-18, 11:39 PM
Also, it seems from the replies that combat classes are the ones who benefit more from prestige classing, and casters who prestige just take different growth paths. is this, in fact, the case, or have i misunderstood? if this is indeed the case, then what core classes benefit more from prestige classing?
Actually, casters benefit less from PrCs only because core (both 3.5 and PF) has few good caster PrCs (Archmage, and maybe Loremaster). If you go into 3.5 books like Complete Arcane and Complete Divine, casters gain absurdly good PrCs that they're always better off taking them than not.

Combat classes mostly want to PrC because they suck normally. Fighter, monk, and 3.5 paladin, for example, don't really get all that much past the first few levels. You're better off leaving those classes and taking something better, though multiclassing substitutes for PrCs pretty well.

Always PrC out of:

Wizard
Sorcerer (non PF)
Cleric
Paladin (non PF)
Fighter
Monk

Sometimes PrC out of:

Barbarian
Rogue
Bard
Ranger
Sorcerer (PF)
Paladin (PF)

Never PrC out of:

Druid (except for Planar Shepherd)

Lycanthromancer
2010-06-18, 11:43 PM
Full-caster classes really don't give up much for PrCing out.

Psionics is the exception, because prestige classes that grant full-manifesting are very, very rare (there are only 5 that I know of, but 3 of those require that you lose manifester levels to gain the entry requirements, and 1 is 3rd party). You're forced to choose between losing the extremely useful psionic bonus feats (which tend to be harder to get than the magical equivalents) and a full manifester level, or the useful and interesting abilities that the psionic PrCs grant.

Just one more reason why psionics is better balanced than magic.

drengnikrafe
2010-06-18, 11:44 PM
As far as what is "good", "okay" and "bad", there is this site (http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=5198.0), although I frequently see it, and anything else relating to tiers brought into question as to whether or not it should exist in the first place.

That being said, it is my belief that the sentiment that any one class benefits more from a PrCs overall is a poor idea. It tends to be that most (or all) full casters can do virtually anything, and so caster PrCs frequently make the just as good at that, plus better at one specific field (because making you better at absolutely everything would be.... *shudders*). Martial classes also tend to, when taking PrCs, only get better at one, or maybe a few, type(s) of thing(s), but their PrCs tend to focus on things they're already focusing on, making it appear better.

DoodlesD
2010-06-18, 11:44 PM
Interesting. I'm not particularly familiar with PrCs, so if anybody could recommend particular PrCs that would be beneficial for certain core classes, please fire away =) i use Pathfinder currently but 3.5 rules are fairly easily compatible with a little tweaking

Lycanthromancer
2010-06-18, 11:47 PM
Interesting. I'm not particularly familiar with PrCs, so if anybody could recommend particular PrCs that would be beneficial for certain core classes, please fire away =) i use Pathfinder currently but 3.5 rules are fairly easily compatible with a little tweakingThere are dozens and dozens and dozens of PrCs. It'd be easier if we knew a category and a character concept to start from.

Some PrCs are crap, some are gold, some are gold hidden in crap, and some are crap buried in gold. It just depends on how you look at it.

PId6
2010-06-18, 11:50 PM
Some PrCs are crap, some are gold, some are gold hidden in crap, and some are crap buried in gold. It just depends on how you look at it.
That just made my day.

mikej
2010-06-18, 11:50 PM
ah i see. So not at prestige classes are created equal? if that's the case what can you look for that really lets you know which ones are "good" or "okay" or just "bad"?

A good rule to go by when determining what PrC are decent, decide whether or not the benefits of such PrC are worth the entry cost. Also "thou shall not give up caster levels."

Not all of them are traps. A lot of PrC in my experience show you right away how effective they are. Just look up Green Star Adept. It's easy to tell that's a bad PrC.

Which ones are "good" or "decent" or "terrible" is more personal perspective. I heard many people say certain PrC are "good" till I read them. I have known players that think the Mystic Theurge was overpowered.

DoodlesD
2010-06-18, 11:55 PM
recommend some for Clerics and Fighters with a focus on combat or healing.

Also, maybe recommend some classes that might benefit a bard in either the area of casting or combat

Leon
2010-06-18, 11:57 PM
Interesting. I'm not particularly familiar with PrCs, so if anybody could recommend particular PrCs that would be beneficial for certain core classes, please fire away =) i use Pathfinder currently but 3.5 rules are fairly easily compatible with a little tweaking

A beneficial suggestion for some is going to be woeful suggestion for others and also depends on what you as the player see your PC doing with the new class and why they are heading that direction

drengnikrafe
2010-06-18, 11:57 PM
When people say "bard" I generally hear "dragonfire inspiration" or "sublime chord" almost immediately, although I've never actually looked at either of them.

DragoonWraith
2010-06-19, 12:06 AM
First off: I haven't read any PF PrCs besides the Mystic Theurge (which is a trap, that's a good example of a bad PrC, though PF's is much better than the 3.5 version), but these recommendations apply to PF also - they're just using 3.5 classes as examples. This is basically entirely about spellcasters, but whatever.

Secondly: This is really long and verbose. It's not really that complicated, I just get wordy when I'm tired. On the other hand, it might give you insight into the mindset of PrC evaluation, the kinds of things to look for.

Third: the TLDR version - things to look for when evaluating a PrC:
The feats required - there are a lot of weak feats, which are pretty commonly required to enter a PrC. These weaker feats exist basically for the sole purpose of justifying the extra power of the PrCs they make available. Things like Dodge, Mobility, Combat Casting, Weapon Focus, you should only take to get into a PrC, and you should consider carefully if the PrC is worth the feats you are "burning" on it.
Don't worry about skills if they're on your class list; very, very few classes have enough skill requirements to make this a big deal, just budget your skill points for it. If they're not on your class skill list, and the requirements are higher than 4 or 5 ranks, look into ways of getting them on your class list - dipping another class that does have it is one option, feats may be another.
Advancement of class features that are important to you. If you're a backstabbing Rogue, you're likely to want PrCs that give Sneak Attack. If you're more of a skillful Rogue, that might not be as important, but you want a PrC with a healthy number of skill points (6+Int at least) and a good skill list. If you're a martial type, you don't want to lose too much BAB. If you're a mage, thou shalt not lose spellcasting levels. See below for more on that.

If you are a spellcaster, you don't want to lose spellcasting, pretty much ever. Very few things are worth a lost spellcasting level. I can think of maybe a half dozen PrCs, out of the quite literally hundreds published for 3.5, that lose a spellcasting level and are worth it. I can think of none that lose two and are worth taking. (a side note: several PrCs that would be worth losing a spellcasting level, or even more than one, don't lose any at all. This is because WotC is bad at game balance) So as a spellcaster, you're looking for classes that have "+1 to existing spellcaster level" at each and every level, and don't require you taking levels in other classes in order to get in.

For example, Archmage gives "+1 to existing Arcane spellcasting class" at each of five levels. That's pretty good. The Arcane Trickster gives a spellcasting level at each of ten levels, but requires 3 levels of Rogue to get in - that's much less good, but if you want to do a stealthy, sneaky mage, rather than a full-caster, maybe worth it. The Mystic Theurge gains "+1 to existing Arcane spellcasting class AND +1 to existing Divine spellcasting class", which sounds great, except that you need 3 levels of each type to get in, and what are you getting? More, but weaker, spells - it's a bad trade. Losing 3 levels to Rogue can work because, hey, you want to be a Rogue/Mage, but losing 3 levels to Cleric means you're still a spellcaster, but just a bad one. Finally, the Arcane Archer and Hierophant give no spellcasting levels - those are ridiculously bad.

Sometimes, it is worth it. It's rare. If you don't want to be a pure spellcaster, you can have a little more flexibility - in a core game, Arcane Trickster is not a bad idea, and though you lose 3 levels of spellcasting to do it, it can be interesting. Eldritch Knight's not really that good, but it's the only real way to do a Fighter/Mage in Core 3.5, at least the way a lot of people want to do it (i.e. with weapons instead of polymorph).

On the flip side of all of this, spellcasters are basically about their spells. PF does a decent job at least giving them some other features, but really it's still about the spells. And if you have a PrC that gives you full spellcasting progression, you're losing very little to take it (since you're still getting the spells that are most important to you). However, this does not make them free - you will be strapped for feats, and burning three on crappy feats for a PrC that gets you "not much" is not really a good trade. So be aware of that. Also, for spontaneous classes (Sorcerer, for example), a class that requires you be able to cast certain spells can be really painful, if you didn't want to allocate your very limited spells known in this fashion.

A good example of this is the Loremaster. The Loremaster requires (in 3.5, anyway) 3 item-creation or metamagic feats, and Skill Focus (Knowledge [any]). For a Wizard, who starts with Scribe Scroll (an item-creation feat), and pretty much always wants to take Quicken Spell (a metamagic feat), this requires 1 feat that can be pretty good (Craft Wondrous Item, Extend Spell, Empower Spell, etc), and 1 feat that's pretty weak (Skill Focus). What does it give back? Well, you get a free bonus feat, so that takes care of the Skill Focus, meaning you got in pretty cheap. It gives 10/10 spellcasting levels, so that's pretty good. It gives some bonuses to saves, a Bardic Knowledge knock-off that's pretty sweet, etc. Minor stuff, but hey, didn't cost you much to get in, it's better than the Bonus Feats you would have gotten for being a Wizard.

The Sorcerer, on the other hand, doesn't get Scribe Scroll for free. He also is going to have a hard time meeting this "casting 7 Divinations" requirement - the Wizard just has to scribe them in his spellbook, the Sorcerer needs to devote one of his very limited spells known to them. This is a very big problem for the Sorcerer, since while there are several decent Divinations, seven might be a little tricky. Oh, and you only have one Knowledge skill as a class skill - very difficult now, you'll need a dip in another class (possibly costing a spellcasting level) or a feat or two to get more Knowledge skills. Where Loremaster was almost a gimme for the Wizard, it's getting quite expensive for the Sorcerer.

So basically, if you're a spellcaster, you want to look at whether or not it gives full spellcasting. If not, you should be very dubious, but you might be able to forgive a single lost level if it's particularly cool or fits your character well (or has really astoundingly good class features, but that's rare). If it does have full spellcasting, then you need to look at the prereqs, and basically count how many feats you'll need to be burning - if you're a Sorcerer or similar, you also need to see how much this is commandeering your spell selection. If none of that's too bad, it's probably worthwhile to take the PrC.

BobVosh
2010-06-19, 12:09 AM
dragonfire isn't a PrC, sublime chord is. Sublime chord is a class that gives bards 9th level spells, hence its popularity. Even more so in that you can take another, better, PrC to advance the casting (the only good part) and get other benefits.

Starscream
2010-06-19, 12:11 AM
recommend some for Clerics and Fighters with a focus on combat or healing.

Fighters are a bit vague. It really depends on what type of combat you are doing. Remember, PrCs are all about specialization (usually), so there are ones that are great for grappling, archery, etc.

As for a healing cleric, one of the most powerful is Radiant Servant of Pelor. By the end of the class, all your healing spells will be both empowered and maximized for free. You also become the worst nightmare of any undead.


Also, maybe recommend some classes that might benefit a bard in either the area of casting or combat

Sublime Chord is the most popular. It basically turns your bard into a musical sorcerer, complete with 9th level spells.

If doing damage is more your thing, check out Seeker of the Song. It doesn't advance spellcasting, but you get a lot more bardic music tricks, many of which can be used to unleash the hurt on your enemies. Blasting is often considered a waste of a spellcasters talents, however.

PId6
2010-06-19, 12:16 AM
I can think of maybe a half dozen PrCs, out of the quite literally hundreds published for 3.5, that lose a spellcasting level and are worth it. I can think of none that lose two and are worth taking.
Jade Phoenix Mage and Ruby Knight Vindicator. Granted though, these are gish PrCs and are also theurge-like, so they might not really count.

DoodlesD
2010-06-19, 12:22 AM
Fighters are a bit vague. It really depends on what type of combat you are doing. Remember, PrCs are all about specialization (usually), so there are ones that are great for grappling, archery, etc.

Are there any PrCs for a fighter that would make them a very able tank, perhaps with some high resistances and decent damage or PrCs that would create the Uber-fighter capable of dealing heavy blows that would send even the strongest foes reeling?

For a tank, i'm thinking DR and maybe resistances to energy or maybe even some natural armor bonus. these seem like logical bonuses one might get from a PrC, but i'm not familiar with how they are built, so i could be WAAAAAAAY off

PId6
2010-06-19, 12:29 AM
Are there any PrCs for a fighter that would make them a very able tank, perhaps with some high resistances and decent damage or PrCs that would create the Uber-fighter capable of dealing heavy blows that would send even the strongest foes reeling?
Deepstone Sentinel (ToB) is pretty good for tank purposes. You can create difficult terrain around you, making it hard for enemies to get away, and you get maneuver advancement which helps versatility.

Glimbur
2010-06-19, 12:37 AM
For a tank fighter, you might think Dwarven Defender (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/prestigeClasses/dwarvenDefender.htm) is good. At least, until you look at how combat works. The cornerstone of the Dwarven Defender is their defensive stance. You hold fast in one place, immovable as a mountain (hyperbole). But that's it, you can't move. By 8th level you can move 5' a round and keep the stance. What stops people from moving around you? Not much, unless you're in tight quarters and can trip, or you're in a 5' hallway.

To be fair to the DD, they do get some free AC and DR. If you're stuck in core, the lack of good options make it less awful. But I'd rather go barbarian 20, or mix barbarian with a splash of fighter or maybe rogue.

A solid tank is the Crusader. It's a base class from the Tome of Battle, and will require learning the tome of battle system. On the other hand, you actually get a variety of things to do in combat. The knight from PHB II also has some tank-ish qualities, and it's also a base class.

There's also the Frenzied Berserker, a PrC from complete warrior which eventually makes you not die from hit point damage while you're in a frenzy. There are drawbacks: while frenzying you have to keep attacking. If you run out of enemies, you have to attack the nearest creature. This is... troublesome. But they do serious damage.

DoodlesD
2010-06-19, 12:37 AM
Well here's a good question, when is the most appropriate time for a core class character to Prestige? When do the benefits of the core classes lose their luster? or does it vary based on which prestige class one wishes to use?

lsfreak
2010-06-19, 12:39 AM
Fighter: For tanking, look up a chain-tripper build (basics are Spiked Chain proficiency, Combat Reflexes, and Knockdown feat). Saph's Horizon Tripper is probably one of the best chassis, though it makes little/no use of the actual fighter class. A Jack B. Quick build is built around getting someone to attack you and getting 2+ attacks back at them for every one (and they'll be tripped - Combat Reflexes, Karmic Strike and High Sword Low Axe from Complete Warrior and Robilar's Gambit from PHB2 are the basis of the build). Fighters using the Zhentarim ACF found in the Champions of Valor web enhancement combined with Imperious Command (Drow of the Underdark) plus Dungeoncrasher ACF (Dungeonscape) + the Shock Trooper chain (Complete Warrior) is great as well, allowing bullrushing + tripping + Intimidation-based crowd control + good damage. Those two are two of the only decent fighter builds there are; pretty much everything a fighter can do, someone else can do better (such as chain tripping).

Non-fighter bases for tanking are Crusaders or Warblades, possibly going into Deepstone Sentinel (Tome of Battle). Knights (PHB2) are decent tanks as well. Person Man's got an excellent guide for shields floating around here somewhere.

"Hit them till they reel" is the Shock Trooper chain (Complete Warrior), but works best on a barbarian or barbarian/fighter/frenzied berserker base. Throw in the Pounce ACF (Complete Champion) for full attacks on a charge and Three Mountains Style (Complete Warrior) for nauseating the people you hit.

Healing Cleric: Radiant Servant of Pelor, Complete Divine. Paragnostic Apostle from Complete Champion. Really, though, you're better off scrapping the healing focus and being either a tank with healing on the side (pseudo-paladin build, using Law Devotion and Ordained Champion, both from Complete Champion, and possible DMM:Persist from Complete Divine/Complete Arcane), or going full caster such that healing is available, but your focus is screwing your enemies up or buffing your allies (using Divine Metamagic: Persist or Quicken or Chain, found in Complete Arcane and Complete Divine).

Bard: Sublime Chord (Complete Arcane) for full casting. Warchanter (Complete Warrior) is good for heavy melee support. I prefer Lyric Thaumaturge (Complete Mage), which boosts spellcasting a little while keeping the music. Main feats are going to be Dragonfire Inspiration (Dragon Magic), Song of the Heart (Eberron Campaign Setting), and Snowflake Wardance (Frostburn). A few levels in Bard (no more than 3) with most of your levels in Warblade/Crusader (Tome of Battle) using the feat from that book that lets warblade levels stack with bard is excellent for a more front-line bard, and still combines well with the DFI/Snowflake bard too (no prestige class, there, except maybe Eternal Blade, also ToB).

EDIT: As to timing, at least in Core (I don't know PF Core), is 'as soon as possible.' Core classes pretty much suck in terms of their class features, compared to what prestige classes offer. Almost without exception, taking more than 6 levels in a class is suboptimal.

Soras Teva Gee
2010-06-19, 01:06 AM
Well here's a good question, when is the most appropriate time for a core class character to Prestige? When do the benefits of the core classes lose their luster? or does it vary based on which prestige class one wishes to use?

Depending a bit on which class mix, ASAP.

Particular mention to Sorcerer which gets no special abilities beyond spell advancement for leveling, same with Cleric, and a Wizard's bonus feats are probably not worth what you gain.

If its not worth going into right away you probably don't have as good a PrC as you could. Also many have nicer crowning abilities then anything you'll find around level 16 otherwise.

Endarire
2010-06-19, 01:36 AM
Hood (http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/19872838/Little_Red_Raiding_Hood_A_Tale_of_38_Guide_to_the_ 35_Dragoon). If you want to be awesome at melee, you must be:

-Mobile.
-Doing lots of damage on each hit.
-Able to do lots of attacks, especially on a charge. Cleave and BAB help.
-Long in the reach department (at least 10' for a Medium creature).
-Damage resistant. HP matters lots, here.

Thrice Dead Cat
2010-06-19, 01:52 AM
Well here's a good question, when is the most appropriate time for a core class character to Prestige? When do the benefits of the core classes lose their luster? or does it vary based on which prestige class one wishes to use?

My advice works mostly for 3.5, but should also apply to Pathfinder.

Wizards should prestige out after 3 levels for Master Specialist fun. Five levels if you're going for the Spontaneous Divination ACF.
Sorcerers should prestige after the 1st level if possible.
Rogue's generally are good for at least 10 levels for Crippling Strike, but some people will jump out sooner for Daring Outlaw combination with the Swashbuckler base-class.
Rangers are similar to rogues in that Swift Hunter with Scout does wonders. I'm of the opinion you should go Scout 3 or 4 (whichever qualifies you for the Swift Hunter feat) then the rest in Ranger. There are also a few prestige classes in BoED that do wonders with Ranger, maybe?
Paladin's are a two level long class before they either become Sorcerers or something else. If stuffs from BoED are on the field, you might want to stick to paladin till you qualify unless dipping fighter gets you there faster.
Monk is 0 2 levels long for the feats, saves, evasion, and possible alternate class features. After that, jump into stuffs like fighter, barbarian, or an easy to qualify PrC.
Fighter is generally 2 levels long (for feats) or 6 levels long for the Dungeoncrasher ACF.
Druid is 20 levels long, 10 with Planar Shepard.
Cleric should PrC ASAP into something with full casting.
Bards are pretty good to stay for 20, but solid advice is to take levels in things like Mindbender 1, Virtuoso, Sublime Chord, or Abjurant Champion. You could also take something like 4-6 levels before jumping into either Crusader or Warblade with the Song of the White Raven feat.
Barbarian is good for 1 level in 3.5 with the Extra Rage feat, but you should probably take 4 levels in Pathfinder, as I think rage becomes a level/round thing instead of X/day.

TL;DR: ASAP, always.

Fizban
2010-06-19, 01:58 AM
On timing: the best time to prestige class is usually as soon as you can, unless you have a base class feature that you're waiting for. Most prestige classes have requirements that you meet at 5th level (such as 8 ranks of a skill), so your 6th level is the first one you take in the prestige class, and if you wait the abilities you get from the prestige class won't be as useful as they would have been earlier. A sorcerer has nothing to gain by waiting, he wants to take a prestige class as soon as he can qualify (as long as it's not going to cost him much). A pure fighter 5 got nothing at 5th level but would get another bonus feat if he waited till he took fighter 6 before prestige classing out, so he might want to wait depending on how badly he needs the extra feat vs. how soon he needs the prestige class abilities. A rogue gets sneak attack at every odd level, so he want to prestige class out of rogue after an odd level, that way he doesn't miss any sneak attack (ex: rogue 5/ PrC X).

On prestige classes for fighters: the thing about "fighters" is that they aren't tied to their class. A fighter is more focused on what feats he needs to do his job (tripping, two handed fighting, or whatever). Since you gain feats even while taking a prestige class, you only need as many levels of fighter as you need bonus feats to get your feat combo working. If you already have all the feats you need before you meet the prestige class requirements, you prestige out as soon as you can, and maybe dip into another class for other abilities to fill up the levels after you have the feats but before you can get your prestige class. If you meet the requirements but you still need 3 more feats to do your job, you might wait 2 more levels to get another bonus feat before leaving fighter (and you should also look over your build to find out where all your feats are going). If you meet the requirements and only need one more feat to do your job, you should probably take the prestige class right now because you can just finish the combo with your normal feat from leveling up.

Most prestige classes require at least 5th level to enter: this means a pure fighter will have 5 feats before they can qualify for most prestige classes (1 from 1st level, one from 3rd, and 3 from fighter bonuses). If you can take all the feats you need at those levels then you should prestige class out as soon as possible. If you still need more then you should take the 6th level of fighter for another bonus feat: at that point you'll have 7 feats (1st, 3rd, 6th, and 4 bonuses) and should be ready to prestige class out. If you already have the feats that you want and you can qualify for, but some you want require a higher level (such as from BAB +7 or 10 ranks in a skill), then prestige class out as soon as possible and take those higher level feats with your normal level ups.

"Fighters" benefit a lot from multiclassing: if you don't need the 6th level bonus feat then you have no reason to take the 5th level of fighter at all since it only gives you another hit die. But you can't qualify for a lot of prestige classes until you're at least level 5, so you'll take a level of a different class. You could take something simple like rogue for some extra skillpoints or barbarian for a rage just in case. Or you could get fancy and take a level of barbarian using the spirit lion totem variant from Complete Champion, which will let you make a full attack on a charge (this is the Lion Totem or Spirit Lion Totem Barbarian dip you'll hear a lot about). A lot of fighters don't need very many feats, so they'll only take the first two levels because they both give bonus feats, and then stop there. For example, an Ubercharger build really only needs Power Attack, Leap Attack, Shocktrooper, and Improved Bull Rush (to qualify for Shock Trooper), a total of 4 feats. So you take 2 levels of fighter to start and grab the feats that you can qualify for now, then dip a level of SLT Barbarian for pounce, and spend the last two levels on whatever you want. Then at 6th level you enter a prestige class and never look back.

When you see really complicated builds that have 8 different classes with small numbers of levels taken in a specific order and a long list of feats, that's because the build is taking the system to it's limits. They're cutting out every class level that doesn't have an ability they need and replacing it with levels from other classes that have abilities they can use, and cramming in as many feats as they can that can be used at the same time to make the character really good at one thing. You can trip well with a spiked chain using only Improved Trip and Combat Reflexes, but the most powerful builds will have more feats and class abilities to let you trip more often, in more situations, from farther away, and while dealing more damage. But getting all of these feats and abilities requires lots of careful planning and knowledge, and they are only used in high powered of games, so don't let the long lists intimidate you. While a lot of posters will respond to the simplest request with a pre established build of races, feats, and class, all you need to look at are the components that make it work, and do with those what you will.

As others have said above, for casters the choice isn't usually if they should PrC, but really just what they should take, because there are many PrCs where they pay nothing to qualify and lose nothing by entering. Clerics, as casters, operate under the same rule, though they actually have more to lose with d8 HD and 3/4 BAB that can actually be reduced, but if you're casting spells you don't care. For a healing cleric the already mentioned Radiant Servant of Pelor gives you some serious extra healing ability in terms of raw hit points at the cost of smaller HD. Contemplative and Divne Oracle from the same book also lose HD size (d8 to d6) and some BAB, but gain extra domains and special defensive abilities that are more useful for back row characters than BAB. Sacred Excorcist gives you extra abilities and continues your turning just for having some extra ranks in Knowledge:Arcana. There really aren't any healing focused PrCs other than the Radiant Servant.

In fact while we're here, I should point out that healing isn't really a party role. It is far better to spend your turn damaging, disabling, or killing an enemy that healing a party member unless they are going to die next turn (and your party should work to keep themselves away from death by minimizing damage opportunities and killing your foes quickly). Healing is something that should be done after combat. No one wants to do nothing but heal, which is why the cleric is so much more powerful in 3/3.5e that it was in earlier editions and with experience it becomes obvious that they overcorrected. The cleric has spells that can make him as good at fighting as the fighter class, and has offensive spells in addition to support and healing that the fighter does not get (this is one of the reasons "fighters" prestige class out as soon as possible: to get combat abilities that give them unique options and make themselves more useful in melee combat than a cleric running his standard combat buffs).

While the game was tested (or so I'm told) assuming a standard group of healbot, blaster, meatshield, and skillmonkey, clerics and wizards can do far more powerful things than heal and blast. There's nothing wrong if that's how you and your group want to play, and the game usually has less problems that way, but the fact is that spellcasters can do a lot more. So, finally getting back to prestige classes for clerics, that's why there's only one "healer" class. Prestige classes are for focusing on something, and there are other things more interesting than healing to focus on. So you have cleric PrCs for turning, fighting undead or aberrations, gaining more domains and spellcasting versatility, devoting yourself to organizations, or combining with another class.