Racial Paragon Classes 3.5

[HMS Invincible]

I'm looking at the racial paragon classes, in the srd20. Are they any good? All of them give a bonus to your class skill for 2/3 levels, and you cap off with a bonus to the relevant ability score. The elf one for wizards doesn't seem worth the loss of a wizard level, but the half orc one wouldn't be bad for our barbarian.

[poignant123]

Human Paragon is awesome, 1 skill that's always considered a class skill, bonus feat and a free +2 to ability.

Half Orc is nice as well, it allows them to rage without having to be chaotic. It certainly helps when alignment is an issue.

[Eldan]

I think the DM should perhaps be a little lenient in allowing them to continue class features other than spellcasting. I mean, say, a Psion never really has a reason to take them, but if in your campaign, a race is mainly psychic and the paragon reflected that, it could be worth it.

[HunterOfJello]

The Drow paragon class is a 1 level dip that should replace all drow wizard and cleric's 2nd level. It's great if you're playing a lesser drow and it's allowed.

[Mindstab_Thrull]

Note that half-orc and half-elf not only can access the Half-Orc and Half-Elf Paragon classes but *also* either Orc/Elf Paragon (as appropriate) or Human Paragon. This means your Half-Orc Barbarian could take 1-3 levels of Half-Orc Paragon, and then 1-3 levels of either Human or Orc Paragon, whichever the player prefers. Human giving Able Learner, a bonus feat, and +2 to *any* stat is pretty nice. Especially handy if you want need a boost to Dex to take a certain feat, for example, or just want that extra +2 to Strength.

[T.G. Oskar]

They're somewhat good, basically enabling an artificial HD count to gain greater class abilities. Human, as mentioned, is just frickin' awesome, and Half-Elf/Half-Orc are almost equally nice because you can take levels in Human (which is GREAT!!) and Elf/Orc Paragons (which is so-so, except Half-Orc/Orc Paragons gain a bonus to Strength so taking 6 levels in both paragon PrCs makes you have a free +4 to Strength, and if they're barbarians the hit won't be as bad. The rest are kinda meh; Elves grant a +2 to Intelligence and 2/3 wizard spell progression which is good to get out of Wizard real quick (Elven generalist Wizard/Elven Paragon, then get to the PrC of your preference), Dwarves are even more meh, Gnomes are kinda cool except mirror image can only be used once and only as a 3rd level character at most; half-dragon is horrible, Halfling is really so-so, and Tiefling Paragon is really meh.

It begs the question of why they declined to make an Aasimar Paragon, which could help Aasimar Paladins a bit. Increase your Paladin spellcasting by 2/3rds, daylight 3/day and perhaps a +2 to Charisma, plus add some skills as class skills that they may need.


The Drow paragon class is a 1 level dip that should replace all drow wizard and cleric's 2nd level. It's great if you're playing a lesser drow and it's allowed.

I dunno...1 level nets you one d6, proficiency in weapons that the drow already is proficient with, a +2 on Reflex (which can be good) and an extra daily use of your spell-like abilities, which is kinda moot if you consider Master of Shadow grants the exact same benefit (increase your uses of spell-like abilities one more time per day), except Master of Shadow grants you a bonus on the caster level for those, and it only requires a feat slot. It's much better if you get, say, Gift of the Spider Queen because you can do a lot with 3/day darkness, dancing lights and faerie fire combined into something else; otherwise, you'll rarely use those spells (maybe faerie fire because it helps with invisible creatures).

[Psyren]

I think the DM should perhaps be a little lenient in allowing them to continue class features other than spellcasting. I mean, say, a Psion never really has a reason to take them, but if in your campaign, a race is mainly psychic and the paragon reflected that, it could be worth it.

Dreamscarred Press has the psionic race paragons if you really want some: e.g. Elan Paragon (http://dsp-d20-srd.wikidot.com/elan-paragon)

[Foryn Gilnith]

except Master of Shadow grants you a bonus on the caster level for those, and it only requires a feat slot.

Are you implying that feat slots are worth more than a wizard level (which has no class features)? In the case of Spontaneous Divination, maybe, but I usually value my general feats a good deal more than the wizard bonus feat at fifth level.

[Escheton]

I found the elf paragon to be quite handy in a factotum3/wiz1/warblade2/racial paragon3/jade phoenix mage build.

It ups your senses, which is great for rogueness, you get better skillpoints than a wizard and the +2 int rocks. And the d8 is better then that of a wiz. Especially seeing this is a frontline fighter/tripper.

[FMArthur]

Hey, what combination of racial paragons would be best for a changeling with the Racial Emulation feat? Obviously Changeling Paragon would be out of the question if it exists at all, because taking levels in that seems to be the only way to prevent himself from taking levels in other racial paragons, according to UA.

[Mongoose87]

Half Orc is nice as well, it allows them to rage without having to be chaotic. It certainly helps when alignment is an issue.

Monk + Half-Orc Paragon + Bear Warrior = Kung-Fu Panda.

[Last Laugh]

Hey, what combination of racial paragons would be best for a changeling with the Racial Emulation feat? Obviously Changeling Paragon would be out of the question if it exists at all, because taking levels in that seems to be the only way to prevent himself from taking levels in other racial paragons, according to UA.

source for changeling paragon?

I think that racial emulation only lets you count as one race at a time. Don't you lose features if you can't qualify?

[herrhauptmann]

Dwarves are even more meh,

Outside of certain builds (deepwarden), I think the dwarf paragon is about as good as mid levels of fighter.
Rather than giving NPC's humanoid hit dice, making elves, dwarves, gnomes etc be nearly identical, I usually give them levels in levels in racial paragons.

In some games, you take a 'master craftsman' and he ends up just being an expert, who's several levels ahead of the party. Which means that he'd actually be about even with them in craft checks even if the player only maxes out a skill. Give a dwarf levels in paragon, and suddenly he's getting a +1 to his smithing/carving for each hit dice. Suddenly, your master craftsman is actually a master craftsman.
Plus as a player, the hilarity is almost the lost levels in taking dwarf paragon 3. At least it is when your character manages a 40 on a craft check with improvised tools and only a few ranks in the skill.
It'd be rather like creating the Venus de Milo (sp?) out of a boulder. Using only your waraxe.

[FMArthur]

source for changeling paragon?

I think that racial emulation only lets you count as one race at a time. Don't you lose features if you can't qualify?

I don't believe there is a Changeling Paragon, but since I don't play a lot of Eberron I was just outlining the possibility on the off chance the class might exist.

UA goes out of its way to say that you get to keep all of a paragon class's features even if you change race. Even if that weren't the case, only some classes that specifically say so + the prestige classes printed in Complete Warrior / Complete Arcane actually revoke your class features when you no longer qualify.