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Waker
2011-01-19, 03:22 PM
Well, I poked around a bit and didn't see any thread like this, so I figured I would start one.
Anyways, tell us what are your favorite prestige classes and why. Do you happen to love a class for it's delicious fluff abilities or do you love it for the horribly broken powers it grants? Also, say where the class comes from. This thread is geared more towards 3/3.5 D&D, but other stuff can be put in.

Thief-Acrobat (Song & Silence/Complete Adventurer)- I love the class because it compliments the skills used by my first rogue, who incidentally was a burglar.

Streetfighter (Complete Adventurer)- I like the idea of a tough as nails combat rogue who can ignore a hit because he's just that tough!

Foe Hunter (Masters of the Wild)- A bit of a specialist, the roleplaying element of having a guy who hates a creature so much, he's dedicated his life to destroying. The class abilities aren't that bad either.

Ghostwalker (Sword & Fist)- Excellent roleplaying potential combined with a couple cool powers. A warrior who comes back from apparent death even stronger than ever, disappears and walks in the shadows.

Bloodhound/Justicar (Complete Adv/Warrior)- I like them both for the same reason. Most of the time players are so focused on racking up massive damage and ignoring the rules of physics that they overlook the fact that "Wanted Dead or Alive" also has Alive written on it.

Chameleon (Races of Destiny)- I simply love the Chameleon class. I always love having options and the ability to keep friends and foes alike guessing what I'm going to do next.

Drunken Master (Sword & Fist, Complete Warrior)- Drunken Boxing is my favorite martial art to watch in action, how could I not love the idea of playing a character who uses it?

Fortune's Friend (Complete Scoundrel)- The idea of a lucky idiot who somehow pulls out of every scrape just brings a smile to my face.

Assassin (Dungeon Master's Guide)- It's a fairly straightforward class without a lot of bells and whistles. My job is to kill people.

Loremaster (Dungeon Master's Guide)- I'm a big bibliophile, so having a bookish superman has a certain appeal.

Shen (Dragon 319)- A monkish class that lets me shapeshift into creatures based on the Shaolin martial arts that can wrestle with ghosts? Sold!

Ranger Knight (Dragon 317)- A ranger type who can extend his abilities to his special mount? Not too shabby to remember those of us who don't want to use a mount just to charge (though you can do that too.)

Osteomancer/Flux Adept/Cerebrex (Dragon 317/Dragon Compendium)- Characters who's understanding of magic and the body allow them access to a number of fun and unique abilities. They aren't insanely powerful, but always interesting.

TheWhisper
2011-01-19, 03:24 PM
Ur-Priest: Finally, atheists get to have nice things.

Magic Myrmidon
2011-01-19, 03:41 PM
My favorite is Arcane Archer. Or it would be, if it was good.

My favorite character types are archers, magic-users, and speedy types. And I always like intelligent dexy characters in regards to the abilities. Arcane Archers are pretty much every single one of my favorite types of characters in one.

If only it was executed better.

Greenish
2011-01-19, 03:43 PM
Fist of the North Star Forest: relatively low entry level (especially for a melee PrC) combined with a short PrC that nonetheless makes you a competent at fighting unarmed and/or unarmoured.

Ashworm Dragoon: you ride an ashworm to combat! You ride an ashworm beneath sand! You ride an ashworm up the wall!

Walker of the Wastes (yeah, I'm a sucker for environmental ones): great fluff, turns you into an awesome lich, easy entry.

Medani Prophet: Oracles who can see the future are a dime a dozen, but how many can boast to see the past?

Revenant Blade: Not all elves are wussy treehuggers. Some just want to conquer everything. This is how the badass elves put two-handers to shame with TWF.

[Edit]: Also,

Singh Rager: There aren't that many good melee PrCs, but here is one that has been around since 3.0, yet still holds it's own. Granted, there are faster ways to Pounce nowadays.

Gullintanni
2011-01-19, 03:47 PM
I am the fist of the Emperor here, and I decide who dies!

Imperial Church Inquisitor.

Dr.Epic
2011-01-19, 03:49 PM
Tie: Stormlord and Bear Warrior

Godskook
2011-01-19, 03:50 PM
Ur-Priest: Finally, atheists get to have nice things.

1.Ur-priest is not a 'nice thing', it is gouda, and its banned at my table with good cause alongside Beholder Mage(Sublime Chord, Divine Crusader, and similar are 'put on watch', cause those are more-so 'nice-things' when used out-of-the-box).

2.Forum Rules forbid me form saying this point.

----------------

Daggerspell Mage

Enlightened Mage

Unseen Seer

Abjurant Champion

Totem Rager

Master Specialist

Robert Blackletter
2011-01-19, 04:11 PM
2.Forum Rules forbid me form saying this point.

----------------


now I'm just curious :-p

Toliudar
2011-01-19, 04:15 PM
Dungeon Delver, for the fluff and fun entrance requirements. I actually had a character going through the "spend a year underground" requirement while the game progressed, and going to extraordinary and entertaining lengths to avoid going outside. I just wish it were more mechanically useful.

Zuljita
2011-01-19, 04:16 PM
now I'm just curious :-p

Truth.

I like the champion of Gwyn... however its spelled from BoED. Basically brings paladin abilities into reach of barbs at no cost.

Greenish
2011-01-19, 04:18 PM
I like the champion of Gwyn... however its spelled from BoED. Basically brings paladin abilities into reach of barbs at no cost.Aside from the couple of feats required for entry.

Kobold-Bard
2011-01-19, 04:18 PM
Eldritch Knight (preferably this one (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=57794))

Mystic Theurge (preferably this one (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=166217))

Archmage (preferably this one (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=9635372#post9635372))

I'm a sucker for the classics (and their superior homebrew counterparts).

Lateral
2011-01-19, 04:20 PM
1. PYROKINETICIST. Mechanically, it's cool (although I prefer this version (http://www.montecook.com/images/Psi_prestige2.pdf) because it has more stuff), and it fits with my tendency to play arsonists. Problem is, my gaming group has had to ban me from playing Chaotic Neutral pyros- I'm restricted to Good-only when playing them because of the collateral damage they cause.
2. War Mind. Great flavor and they're good for psionic races. I like them with Warblade-- I played this Warblade/War Mind that was basically Sun Tzu once.
3/4. Tie between Primeval and Runescarred Berserker; they're both really cool Barbarian concepts.
5. Horizon Walker, because they're really cool flavorwise.
6. Ur-Priest, because it's got cool, atheistic flavor and because delishush cheese is delishush.

Kansaschaser
2011-01-19, 04:23 PM
My top 5, in no particular order.

1. Sublime Chord (great spells selection, epic spells as a bard)

2. Lyric Thaumaturge (versatile spell selection)

3. Geomancer (wizard + cleric = wizard in heavy armor)

4. Bloodstorm Blade (can completely vanquish an army of 10,000 in less than 3 rounds)

5. Swiftblade (great melee spellcaster + helps buff party)

Togo
2011-01-19, 04:30 PM
Very fond of Master of Many Forms (Complete adventurer).

+1 on Drunken Master, which is great fun

I'm also fond of Justicar (Complete Warrior) and Seeker of the song (Complete arcane)

Most flavourful would probably have to be Urban Soul (races of destiny). I'd love to play one, but have never encountered a campaign where such a character would fit.

Mecharious
2011-01-19, 04:33 PM
I always wanted to try out a chameleon, but I never got the chance because I'm usually the DM. Once a player took that PrC, and we had a blast. His character had a different personality for each of the five aspects. Of course, once he could take two at once, things got a bit weird...

It was funny when he was a wizard/cleric, because he still had those sneak attack dice from his rogue levels. When a new player joined the game, he asked, "What exactly are you...?" after:

Sneak Attack Inflict Critical Wounds!
Sneak Attack Quickened Scorching Ray!

nekomata2
2011-01-19, 04:38 PM
Jade Phoenix Mage, because the fluff is awesome and who doesn't like being able to blow up once in a while?

Nobody, that's who. Just wish it had access to Diamond Mind.

Also, Master of 9 and Eternal Blade.

kestrel404
2011-01-19, 04:40 PM
Shou Disciple (Unapproachable East, FR) - This is a prestige class that gives you all the nice things about being a monk, while not requiring you to be a monk. It also makes monks better at being monks. All in all, a nice thing for melee.

Fochlucan Lyrist - The class is absurd, and absurdly hard to get into. The suggested entry requires 3 base classes. But you really can't complain about full divine, arcane and BAB progression, stacks with bard levels for music (including available abilities) and lore, and has 2 good saves and 6+int skills. If you can get in, this class gets everything nice except class features.

Soul Manifester - Incarnum feels more like Psionics than magic to me. This class works better in my mind than soulcaster, and for whatever the flavor just clicks. Although what I'd really like to see is an Incarnum/Binder dual progression class.

War Hulk - Because it's awesome. I only wished that the class caused you to slowly sacrifice your intelligence to advance, instead of just taking your options away at level 1. If you had to give up things 1 level at a time in trade for something of arguably greater value, this would be the ultimate 'dragon' class (in the TV Tropes sense).

Kobold-Bard
2011-01-19, 04:42 PM
...

Soul Manifester - Incarnum feels more like Psionics than magic to me. This class works better in my mind than soulcaster, and for whatever the flavor just clicks. Although what I'd really like to see is an Incarnum/Binder dual progression class.

...

Somewhat like this? (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=157493)

Aurenthal
2011-01-19, 05:11 PM
I would say:
Dwarven defender: I love playing dwarves, and this one is like a moving-column with the damage reduction and the defensive stance.
Assasin: the idea of being especialized in killing people itīs great, but the group in wich I play is always good so I have never had a chance of playing one :smallfrown:
Pyrokineticist: I LOVE FIRE :smallbiggrin:

Kaldrin
2011-01-19, 05:24 PM
For some reason I've always loved the Dragonheart Mage. Never got to play it, but liked it.

Merellis
2011-01-19, 05:41 PM
Frenzied Beserker. Why? The utter hilarity of it.

Bakkan
2011-01-19, 06:04 PM
I like the Ultimate Magus for PHENOMENAL COSMIC POWER! (and metamagic goodness)

AslanCross
2011-01-19, 06:10 PM
1. Silver Pyromancer. Sometimes, blasting is the answer.
2. Ordained Champion. I am the fist of my god.
3. Recaster. Incantatrix, but with slightly less cheese.
4. Bloodstorm Blade. Throw Anything. Yes, that's the name of a bonus feat.
5. Ruby Knight Vindicator. Here's a ninja. Here's a paladin. Here's a holy ninja paladin assassin.

Honorable mention: Dervish (TWF needs some love too) and Renegade Mastermaker (I can has automail?)

Goonthegoof
2011-01-19, 06:54 PM
Hellbreaker and Beast Heart Adept, they're both incredibly fun to play.
Hellbreaker because it's pretty much the only melee class with different combat options outside ToB and BHA because having awesome pets is awesome.

Warlawk
2011-01-19, 07:45 PM
(Sublime Chord, Divine Crusader, and similar are 'put on watch', cause those are more-so 'nice-things' when used out-of-the-box).

2.Forum Rules forbid me form saying this point.


For those curious about #2... you can't discuss RL religion on these boards, that's my guess.

I must be missing something about the bolded divine crusader. Partial BAB, 2 good saves and casting that is limited to a single domain list. It's neat, and flavorful but unless there's a loophole or well known combo that abuses it in some way I just don't see any reason to consider this a "watch closely" class.

Personally I have a strong love/hate relationship with the Bloodstorm Blade. I absolutely love the class and find it just fantastically flavorful and neat. But it doesn't advance your martial abilities and that just kills it for me.

Clepto
2011-01-19, 08:12 PM
+1 to Pyrokineticist. Even when I'm not playing Chaotic Neutral, my Chaotic Good characters still default to burning down the world. Granted, the homebrew world we usually run in, the PCs are usually questing in areas infested by evil, so burning them down is still technically "good".

I also have a soft spot in my heart for a couple PrCs. While Vancian magic isn't normally my thing, I do love themed casters. Stormlord, and by extension, Stormcaster are nice.

Another one that's always appealed to me is Argent Savant, though I've never had the opportunity to run one.

Amphetryon
2011-01-19, 08:17 PM
Jade Phoenix Mage: My definition of the perfect gish.

Fochlucan Lyrist: 1e Bard homage that I just like, darn it.

rayne_dragon
2011-01-19, 08:49 PM
I've always liked the flavour of the Necromancer PrC (I can't remember if it was true Necromancer or dread Necromancer), Drunken Masker, and Master of Masks. Ur-Priest is another one I like, although moreso because of it being a little bit on the broken side of things. I find a lot of the concepts are really neat, but I've never been keen on prestige classes from a mechanical standpoint.

The-Mage-King
2011-01-19, 09:00 PM
Force Missile Mage- ...Need I say more?

Master of One- Every. Canon. Discipline. 10 maneuvers. YES.

Master of Radiance- Can you say "Negative Energy Cleric/Master of Radiance turning cheese"?

Sandshaper- Because, y'know, sandshaping is cool. Except when not in a wasteland.

SilverClawShift
2011-01-19, 09:33 PM
Alienist, if only because I can pretend (in my head if not out loud) that my character was a Cthulhu mythos investigator who got thrown into an alternate reality full of spells and monsters, and who has totally snapped as a result.

Loremaster. Who can't dig on Loremaster?

Godskook
2011-01-19, 09:46 PM
I must be missing something about the bolded divine crusader. Partial BAB, 2 good saves and casting that is limited to a single domain list. It's neat, and flavorful but unless there's a loophole or well known combo that abuses it in some way I just don't see any reason to consider this a "watch closely" class.

cause the "watch closely" list isn't for always abused classes, but for ones that are easily abused, but only by cheesing them out.

For instance, combine sovereign speaker with divine crusader, and you have a few devotion feats, and enough domains worth of spells to be a passable cleric, in only 9 levels.

Basically, it is on watch cause it does what it takes 90% of classes 17 levels to do, and does it in 9, which is the same problem I already had with Ur-Priest, Beholder Mage and Sublime Chord. I don't ban it cause, when used roughly as intended, it isn't an issue, but this isn't one that's ok to 'optimize' at my table.

herrhauptmann
2011-01-19, 10:00 PM
Ur-Priest: Finally, atheists get to have nice things.
They can be wizards too. Though the smart ones know it's good to send the god of magic some love every once in a while.

-Dwarven Defender DMG/SRD: Supposed to be freaking awesome, the last line of defense. A shame the abilities are a little subpar.
-Deepstone Sentinel ToB: Feels a little like th dwarven defender, but with a little ToB added. Plus, they actually create walls, so a little effort can actually let them set up a choke point in a corridor bigger than 10 feet across.
-Stone Blessed RoS: This is mainly for the lulz. I mean, it's bad enough when you see a half-minotaur wandering around. It gets worse, much worse, if he turns out to also be a deepwarden2 and any of the other super defensive dwarven PrC.
Swiftblade (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/prc/20070327): I'm so hyper that you can't even hit me and I can walk on water.

Urpriest
2011-01-19, 10:11 PM
I must be missing something about the bolded divine crusader. Partial BAB, 2 good saves and casting that is limited to a single domain list. It's neat, and flavorful but unless there's a loophole or well known combo that abuses it in some way I just don't see any reason to consider this a "watch closely" class.


If you can manage to add spells to its list it's a good way to get nines plus other stuff on a holy gish type. There was an Iron Chef that made excellent use of Disciple of Legend (Imdastri) for this purpose, for example.

First, look at the avatar. That dude is just cool. In addition to a certain RL resonance with Ur-Priests, they combo with other stuff so nicely. Sublime Ur-Theurges/Lyrists, Hellfire Ur-Locks, Sacriligeous Fists...so much you can do with that class. So beautiful.

I've always loved the Draconomicon Dragon PrCs, especially the one that's the only spelled-out way to gain divinity. It's really hard to think of a campaign that would make good use of them, which saddens me. Plus I have a fetish for nonstandard numbers of levels in PrCs.

Scarlet-Devil
2011-01-19, 10:23 PM
Ghost-faced killer might just be my favourite, not because it's super powerful or anything (it's abilities are quite decent though), but because it's awesome.

Other favourites are Dervish, Alienist (fluff-wise; I don't know that I could bear to actually play one), maybe Sandshaper, and maybe Walker in the Waste.

Ur-priest is pretty darn cool too.

Edit: Oh, wait, I also love Swiftblade (because it fixes haste and is all kinds of awesome).

TheWhisper
2011-01-19, 10:53 PM
They can be wizards too.

Wizards have nice things, but they can't heal or fix many debuffs, and they can't really be armoured casters (I know there must be six different feat workarounds, don't bother telling me).

{Scrubbed}


Though the smart ones know it's good to send the god of magic some love every once in a while.

The notion of a "god of magic" is sooooooooooo banned from any game I run, because it makes all magic into divine magic.

The difference between divine and arcane magic is that first is power you ask for from a big dude in the sky, and the second is power you compel through your own faculties.

If there is a "god of magic", who must allow you to use it, then wizards are clerics.

TheWhisper
2011-01-19, 10:58 PM
1.Ur-priest is not a 'nice thing', it is gouda, and its banned at my table with good cause alongside Beholder Mage(Sublime Chord, Divine Crusader, and similar are 'put on watch', cause those are more-so 'nice-things' when used out-of-the-box).

Ur-Priest may be a bit too nice for balance, but if one nixes it, then there are certain kinds of magic effects you can't get without worshiping a god

{Scrubbed}

Perhaps, then, a suitable nerf would be more fair.


2.Forum Rules forbid me form saying this point.

Then why mention it at all?

Urpriest
2011-01-19, 11:03 PM
The notion of a "god of magic" is sooooooooooo banned from any game I run, because it makes all magic into divine magic.

The difference between divine and arcane magic is that first is power you ask for from a big dude in the sky, and the second is power you compel through your own faculties.

If there is a "god of magic", who must allow you to use it, then wizards are clerics.

Except for Mystra, it doesn't work that way. Does a Fighter use divine magic whenever he swings his sword because Kord exists? A god of magic is simply a deity with expertise and potentially power in the field.

Oh, and if you simply want a class that can use divine spells without worshipping a god, most of the other prestige classes that give divine casting will do it, as will Druids, Shamans, Shujenjas et. al. And of course Archivists get the whole shebang.

Maho-Tsukai
2011-01-19, 11:06 PM
Here are my main favorites...

Dracolyte: Domination domain AND an UTTERLY CUTE baby dragon that you get to raise and take care of? Sign me up. Yeah, the pre-reqs are kinda painful(Toughness...yuck...Dragonfriend is nice for RP though and we houserule that evil characters aspiring to be Dracolytes can use Dragonthrall as appose to Dragonfriend for entry to the class.), but I find that with a cloistered cleric I can easily meet the skill requirements and while it may not be the most mechanicaly sound PrC it's a great class for RP and, seriously, who could say no to that cute little wyrmling dragon and the domain that gives you True Dominate and Monstrous Thrall.(one of my favorite spells in the game, right up there with Animate Dead.)

Pale Master: Yeah, wizards are meh necromancers but that dose not make this PrC any more awesome. It's a flavorfull class thats actually pretty good mechanicly, and while the roll of the Necromancer is better left to Clerics and Dread Necromancers this class has just enough flavor and mechanical goodness to make it one of my favorite PrCs.

Master of Shrouds: Your beginning to see a theme here, no? Another Necromancer class, and while the Bone Knight gets all the attention as far as Necromancy-related Cleric PrCs go, I like the Master of Shrouds as well and it's a class that really needs more love. Yeah, without early entry tricks it's not that great but I love the flavor of a "ghost summoner" and since it advances rebuking there is no reason other then better PrC choices for a necro cleric who's not into melee(such as, say, a cloistered cleric) to take up the class and while it may not be all that optimal I had a blast with my Cloistered Cleric/Master of Shrouds who was on of the few characters I got to play well into epic levels. Focused on both animation and summoning undead, and was also fond of summoning things that where not undead as well...but enough reminiscing.

Bone Knight: Yeah, I'm obsessed with Necromancy. Most likely the poster child PrC for Necro clerics who also like to DMM up a persisted divine power and some other DMM persisted buffs for good measure and proceed to outmelee most melee fighters. Awesome mechanically and while it dose have setting specific fluff for a setting I never play it, it's easy to refluff the class and when I actually want to make a melee character I usually almost always play a Cleric/Bone Knight.

Maho-Tsukai: My namesake and my favorite PrC for Arcane casters(I usually prefer divine casters and the cleric list to arcane ones.). A fun PrC that can turn a sorcerer or shugenja into a very nice evil spellcaster. Flavorful, fun and many times deadly if it has some of the D20 Rokugan spells. In OA settings it's THE necromancy class and we usually houserule it to have a MUCH bigger spell list in OA settings that lack wizards and clerics. Also, the blood-based metamagic is awesome and this class is cheesetastic with Tainted Scholar.

Warlawk
2011-01-19, 11:20 PM
cause the "watch closely" list isn't for always abused classes, but for ones that are easily abused, but only by cheesing them out.

For instance, combine sovereign speaker with divine crusader, and you have a few devotion feats, and enough domains worth of spells to be a passable cleric, in only 9 levels.

Basically, it is on watch cause it does what it takes 90% of classes 17 levels to do, and does it in 9, which is the same problem I already had with Ur-Priest, Beholder Mage and Sublime Chord. I don't ban it cause, when used roughly as intended, it isn't an issue, but this isn't one that's ok to 'optimize' at my table.

I guess that's one of the advantages of the group I play with. No one actually wants to break the game.


A Divine Crusader casts divine spells. She may only prepare and cast spells from her chosen domian...

Bolding mine. That alone is enough for our group right there. The class clearly states you only prepare and cast spells from your chosen domain. Doesn't matter if you ad spells later, they aren't part of your chosen domain, so you cannot prepare or cast them. You may know them, and should it ever become relevant to know them, you do but you cannot prepare or cast them.

Kind of a cool class though as long as no one tries to break out the cheese.

Tvtyrant
2011-01-19, 11:25 PM
My favorites are:

Seeker of the Song~It isn't very good but I love the fluff.

Blood Magus~They rip people apart from the inside out!

Demon Binder of Nar~Coolness factor

TheWhisper
2011-01-19, 11:43 PM
Except for Mystra, it doesn't work that way. Does a Fighter use divine magic whenever he swings his sword because Kord exists?

If a fighter can't swing his sword without Kord's permission, then yes.


Oh, and if you simply want a class that can use divine spells without worshipping a god, most of the other prestige classes that give divine casting will do it

I was under the impression that most, if not all of them, were "+1 level of existing divine casting class". Meaning you have to start somewhere else.


as will Druids, Shamans, Shujenjas et. al. And of course Archivists get the whole shebang.

Druids, Shamans, and Shukenjas all worship.

Thank you for bringing the Archivist to my attention, though.

Urpriest
2011-01-20, 12:02 AM
If a fighter can't swing his sword without Kord's permission, then yes.
No god of magic except Mystra works like that. It's not like you need Fahrlagn's permission to travel, despite him being the god of travel, or Umberlee's permission to drink water despite her being the Forgotten Realms goddess of the sea.


I was under the impression that most, if not all of them, were "+1 level of existing divine casting class". Meaning you have to start somewhere else.

Hence why I said "give divine casting" rather than "advance divine casting". Champion of Gwynharwyf for example. Few will give you 9ths, but well, that's kind of what pisses off people about Ur-Priest. Apostle of Peace doesn't require a deity and gives 9ths.


Druids, Shamans, and Shukenjas all worship.

Thank you for bringing the Archivist to my attention, though.

Druids revere nature, no need for them to worship gods. OA Shamans revere and/or negotiate with spirits, they can act pretty much like Malconvokers in their interactions with them. Spirit Shamans have no rules requiring them to be nice to any particular spirits/divine beings besides their spirit companion, which is essentially a personal servant/adviser. Shugenjas are from a setting where there are no gods and aren't a class devoted to spirits, I don't know why you have the impression that they worship any more than a Wu Jen does by following taboos. Oh, and I'm pretty sure Divine Bards don't have to worship anybody. Nor do Paladins and Rangers.

Scarlet-Devil
2011-01-20, 12:08 AM
Druids, Shamans, and Shukenjas all worship.


None of them worship gods though, typically, making them very different from clerics. Druids revere nature, shamans make pacts/pay respect to various, animistic spirits, and Shugenjas do something involving elements or something (*scratches head*). The whole shamany thing is entirely different from worshiping a dude in the sky (or elsewhere) and strictly following a religion's dogma.

Edit: Dirty Ninjas!

Godskook
2011-01-20, 12:19 AM
Bolding mine. That alone is enough for our group right there.

1.You're ignoring the second half of that paragraph.

2.While that's a fine ruling, it isn't RAW.

Anyway, I think we hashed this one out far enough

Waker
2011-01-20, 12:21 AM
Not to distract the purpose of my thread, but even clerics don't require worship of the gods. They can worship a cause or belief.
And I'm sure it's been said before, but the idea of a Cleric becoming a Defiant (Planar Handbook)/Ur-Priest is delightful evil.

Loki Eremes
2011-01-20, 12:25 AM
Ghost-faced killer might just be my favourite, not because it's super powerful or anything (it's abilities are quite decent though), but because it's awesome.

Other favourites are Dervish, Alienist (fluff-wise; I don't know that I could bear to actually play one), maybe Sandshaper, and maybe Walker in the Waste.

Ur-priest is pretty darn cool too.

Edit: Oh, wait, I also love Swiftblade (because it fixes haste and is all kinds of awesome).



I completly agree with the DERVISH.
Its the first PrC i used from lvl 1 to 10, and its simply amazing for a mobility fighter.

Two weapon fighting tree + One Thousand cuts = Blender

TheWhisper
2011-01-20, 12:31 AM
No god of magic except Mystra works like that.

That is, in fact, the one I was thinking of.


It's not like you need Fahrlagn's permission to travel, despite him being the god of travel, or Umberlee's permission to drink water despite her being the Forgotten Realms goddess of the sea.

True. But having a god of magic is of a slightly different quality. Arcane magic, by its very definition, obviates the need for a god. {Scrubbed}

Beelzebub1111
2011-01-20, 12:46 AM
Knight Phantom with Abjurant Champion = Lovley gish without too much cheese.

That shifter druid prestige class from Races of Eberron is NIIIIICE

Champion of Gwynharwyf, Fist of Raziel, and Lion of Talsid are all favorites of mine as well. Just Good being awesome.

Disciple of Baalzebul because lying is fun.

Croverus
2011-01-20, 12:58 AM
I'm a big fan of the Reaping Mauler, mainly because I actually understand the grapple rules enough to use it, and because I love to see the look on my DM's face when I give a dragon or giant a chokehold till it passes out, then snap its neck with, all in about 4 rounds. So much for HD.

For double lulz I make the race Halfling or Kobold.

Vemynal
2011-01-20, 01:05 AM
not for its power but predominantly for its flavor- I absolutely love mystic theurge. The most fun I had with a character was a wizard/archivist/mystic theurge (no early entry cheese or item creation cheese) whose entire purpose was to seek out knowledge

Hence his name, Jophiel, the angel of knowledge in judo-christian texts

He's actually my avy =D

CycloneJoker
2011-01-20, 01:09 AM
No love for Fleshwarpers?

Also, Runescarred Berserker. My barbarian can now cast AMF. Me=Big buy with huge chest muscles, you= Stereotypical WoW addict.

Sdonourg
2011-01-20, 01:11 AM
Force Missile Mage - Everybody loves magic missiles.
Geomancer - I like the flavor
Psychic Acrobat (Untapped Potential) and Spinemeld Warrior - Looks just epic

ex cathedra
2011-01-20, 01:36 AM
Spelldancer.
I really like this class, since it's highly underused and made of shenanigans.

Swiftblade.
A bit cliche, I know, but I like gishing.

Soul Eater.
I like them, because I like making viable, unique characters without spellcasting.

The Psionic Anime Anima Mage variant.
Because it's lovely and awesome and using nothing but Anarchic Initiate gets old.

Derjuin
2011-01-20, 01:46 AM
Exemplar - I like the fluff, as a sort of super skillmonkey that inspires others to try to be as good as the Exemplar at skillmonkeying. (I realize Factotum is probably a better skillmonkey, but...)

Ashworm Dragoon - I like the technical abilities on this one. Mounted Combat to all attacks vs. your Ashworm, being able to burrow under sand and soft ground with your worm sounds like fun.

Champion of Gwynharwyf - The name is fun to say, and I like the idea of a paladin-barbarian :smalltongue:

Cavalier - Mounted Knighty type. I especially like it for the associated picture in CWar :smallbiggrin: I also like the full mounted attack part, and the fluff a bit better than halfling outrider.

Akal Saris
2011-01-20, 02:04 AM
Favorite: Malconvoker. I love summoning and calling spells, and the fluff for bluffing evil is too cool for me to pass up.

Runner up: Master of Shrouds. Again, I like summoning PrCs, and this lets you do some pretty cool stuff early on.

Honorable mentions: Thrall of Jubilex for alter self and polymorph self fun, Souleater for level-draining silliness, Anima Mage for letting me combine a binder with a caster, Swiftblade and Jade Phoenix Blade for being awesome gish PrCs, Bloodstorm Blade for making thrown weapons really awesome, and Assassin and Red Wizard for being my favorite core PrCs.

Zaq
2011-01-20, 02:30 AM
Now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure that I've only ever actually played three PrCs at the table, those being Dread Witch (great flavor and okay crunch, but very easy to turn into an obnoxious save-or-lose spammer, which I regret doing), Holt Warden (tweaked to be an Earth Warden with the Earth domain), and Chameleon (LOVE). Oh, and technically Loremaster, but that character got retired before I could really use any Loremaster abilities.

Some ones that I like but have never played:

Elocator: I think it would be fun to tie this into the legend of Skrymir, where Thjalfi had to race against thought itself. (Pardon the spelling.)

Alchemist Savant: I love the fluff of a potion/alchemist master and the crunch of Spellvials. The only thing keeping me from playing one is the fact that you really should be an artificer, and I don't need that level of power OR that level of bookkeeping. The other obvious entry class (wizard) is only marginally better in that regard.

Bloodstorm Blade: This gets very silly very quickly. And that's awesome.

Combat Trapsmith: This class has amazing fluff. If the traps scaled with ranks/check result (like the Trapsmith from Dungeonscape) instead of your levels (in a class that's only five levels long, no less!), it would be great fun to play. As written, though, it kind of blows, and that makes me sad.

Ironsoul Forgemaster: I love incarnates. I love dwarves. This takes a dwarf, amps up the stereotypical dwarfy fluff (which I love unironically for reasons I can't adequately explain), and makes your meldshaping better. What's not to love? I'm currently playing a level 5 dwarf incarnate in an E6 game, and I'm really having a hard time deciding whether or not to go into this class next level. I guess it depends on whether or not the GM comes up with a good capstone feat for incarnates.

Gatecrasher: This might not actually be fantastic to play, but I love the fact that there's a set DC for opening a portal created by a freaking deity. A DC that isn't that hard to reach if you build for it, I might add. I wonder how this would interact with a Silver Key?

Black Dog: Poison use that isn't automatically doomed to suck but doesn't require you to dive headfirst into "I can make a giant barrel of black lotus extract for free"? Sweet! Pity that it's so tightly tied to Eberron fluff (what with the dragonmark and all), since I don't play in Eberron. (Not that I dislike Eberron, really . . . that's just not what my group plays.)

Cancer Mage: I'd love to have one of these as a villain, just ignoring the whole "infinite STR and NA, hahahawhoops" thing. I do find it interesting that there's really nothing particularly magey about them.

Earth Dreamer: Seeing through stone is fun. Gliding through stone is more fun. Doing so without losing caster levels is even more fun.

Scarlet-Devil
2011-01-20, 02:44 AM
Hm, I really feel I should also mention duelist, 'cause it's both awesome and mechanically sound. And 'cause, you know... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUtRuONyabY&feature=related

Cerlis
2011-01-20, 03:16 AM
I love the , i think its called Stoneborn assassin. The Goblin PrC in races of stone.

Ninja-ish gish assassin is nice. BUt one where your a goblin or hobgoblin? and your powers involve melding with stone and instead of death attack you create statues of your victims?

win

(Also, of the 4 elements, earth is my favorite)

Gnorman
2011-01-20, 04:44 AM
Malconvoker is #1 for me, easily. But I'm also partial to the Constructor, Bone Knight, Ordained Champion, Chameleon, Shadowcraft Mage, and Moonspeaker.

Coidzor
2011-01-20, 05:07 AM
Ur-Priest may be a bit too nice for balance, but if one nixes it, then there are certain kinds of magic effects you can't get without worshiping a god

Forgotten Realms is not the only campaign setting.


Kind of a cool class though as long as no one tries to break out the cheese.

Really? :smallconfused: I've always found it rather boring without any way to expand the spell list. No domain seems good enough to stand on its own, unless one just wants to have a way to try to play Miracle tag like the real divine casters at high level. But that doesn't really help for the first 8 levels of the class, or at least its spell progression (though there's not all that many divine spellcasting classes one can enter without having either certain spells on one's list or turn undead, annoyingly enough).

As for my favorites:

Master of Masks: The concept is something I fell in love with (see avatar), even though The most I think I'd ever use the class is about 2 levels, though the Iron Chef threads have caused me to reconsider this stance.

PrC Paladin: Get everything one wants out of a Paladin with all of the heartbreak cut out. Other than the fun times of code of conduct interpretation. But even then, losing 1-3 levels to one's spell casting and abilities is a lot easier to swallow than losing everything because the DM felt like being "dramatic."

Ruby Knight Vindicator: I just love the name. :smallbiggrin: The fact that it's good enough for some to term it the Windicator just makes me want to try it out even more.

Bone Knight: Though, really, if I were to go with a Jacinite Cleric, I'd probably go into this PrC for the necromancy synergy. Also, the possibility of becoming Old-School Vader is a nice possible interpretation. :smallbiggrin:

Gadora
2011-01-20, 01:35 PM
The three that I am dying to try out are the Dervish, the Malconvoker, and the War Weaver.

I want to try Dervish because it looks like melee done fun, and I want to see what happens if you give one a drow scorpion chain. I'd love to play a Malconvoker because I love the summoner archetype. I'm not sure what exactly it is that attracts me to War Weaver, but it looks like it could be fun.

Volthawk
2011-01-20, 01:56 PM
I like Constructor, personally. I prefer Astral Constructs to summons, and this adds more options, which is always nice.

Urpriest
2011-01-20, 01:59 PM
No love for Fleshwarpers?


Oooh yes yes this. I really wish it were easier to get into, and that the designers didn't screw up with Graft Flesh. Still awesome, and getting in is half the fun! Come to think of it, these dudes wouldn't be that bad on an Ur-Priest chassis...hmm...

Gadora
2011-01-20, 02:50 PM
I like Constructor, personally. I prefer Astral Constructs to summons, and this adds more options, which is always nice.

Where is that from?

Volthawk
2011-01-20, 02:50 PM
Where is that from?

The WoTC website. (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20040625b)

Bang!
2011-01-20, 03:51 PM
Scarlet Corsair from Stormwrack. It takes the duelist/swashbuckler idea, and makes it actually work with bonus damage, free feints and intimidation toys. And it doesn't rely on ToB, for groups that don't own or dislike it.

CycloneJoker
2011-01-20, 04:59 PM
Oooh yes yes this. I really wish it were easier to get into, and that the designers didn't screw up with Graft Flesh. Still awesome, and getting in is half the fun! Come to think of it, these dudes wouldn't be that bad on an Ur-Priest chassis...hmm...

I just realized you can advance Ur-Priest with Fleshwarper. Something like Paladin of Tyranny 2/Sorcerer 3/Ur-Priest 2/Fleshwarper 10/x 3, with the Paladin there for Fort save+Grace, easily replaceable, could work.

Master_Rahl22
2011-01-20, 05:07 PM
My favorites, in no particular order:

Malconvoker - Lying to evil creatures to get them to do good, and making them better at it because of how good you are at lying? Awesome. Note that this is only one of 2 arcane/divine caster PrCs I ever play.

Dervish - Very fun in combat to simply Tumble around cutting things up into ribbons.

Shadow Sun Ninja - I love unarmed fighters, I love ToB, this does both well.

Totem Rager - I like Totemists with lots of natural weapons, and this class does that but turned up to 11.

Sacred Fist - I love unarmed fighters, and an unarmed fighter with Cleric spells is that much more awesome. This is of course the other caster PrC that I ever play.

Lateral
2011-01-20, 05:32 PM
Oh, yeah, I forgot Constructor and Thrallherd.

Also, Shadowcraft Mage-- it may be easily processed into cheese, but it's damn tasty.

Tekren
2011-01-20, 08:02 PM
My favorites to play-

Magus of the Arcane Order- Like the fluff, fun to have _any_ utility spell.

Fatespinner- Lucky, Lucky!

Archmage(noting arcane trend)-Spell power makes it fun!

Radiant Servant of Pelor- Everything I play as a 'good' cleric, better.

Initiate of the Sevenfold Veil- CHEESE!

Dungeon Delver- Just ridiculously fun to play.

Urpriest
2011-01-20, 08:10 PM
I just realized you can advance Ur-Priest with Fleshwarper. Something like Paladin of Tyranny 2/Sorcerer 3/Ur-Priest 2/Fleshwarper 10/x 3, with the Paladin there for Fort save+Grace, easily replaceable, could work.

Won't work unfortunately, you need a bonus feat at 7th to get in to Fleshwarper that early.

Thurbane
2011-01-20, 08:29 PM
Two I realy like fluff-wise, and wish they'd been a little bit less underwhelming, are the Elemental Warrior (PH) and the Shadowblade (ToM) - both give melee types quasi-magical powers...but for some odd reason, they decided to give them medium BAB. Also, I wish Elemental Warrior was a 10 level PrC.

Meleemancer
2011-01-20, 09:19 PM
I have to say that my favorite is the Master Chymist from Pathfinder, the idea of playing Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde appeals to me. Other than that the Warshaper with Changeling entry just sets my heart aflutter.:smallbiggrin:

Psyren
2011-01-20, 11:11 PM
My favorite is probably Meditant (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20040827c), especially the fact that they are better at being a Psion Uncarnate than the actual Psion Uncarnate is. It is feat-intensive to qualify for but has great benefits (and the feats are pretty decent (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20040827b) too.)

Lex-Kat
2011-01-21, 05:01 AM
My favorites, by book
Complete Adventurer: Daggerspell Shaper
Complete Arcane: Wild Mage
Complete Divine: Divine Crusader
Complete Mage: Wild Soul
Complete Scoundrel: Spellwarp Sniper
Complete Warrior: Thayan Knight
Defenders of the Faith: Sacred Fist
Drow of the Underdark: Kinslayer
Dungeon Master Guide: Arcane Archer
Frostburn: Frostmage
Masters of the Wild: Deepwood Sniper
Oriental Adventures: Battle Maiden
Races of Destiny: Chameleon
Races of Stone: Goliath Liberator
Races of the Wild: Stormtalon
Sandstorm: Scion of Tem-Et-Nu
Song and Silence: Thief-Acrobat
Stormwrack: Scarlet Corsair
Tome and Blood: Bladesinger
Underdark: Shadowcrafter

DarkEternal
2011-01-21, 09:44 AM
I liked the Outlaw of the Crimson road(I think that was the name, though really, I could be wrong, it's also a 3.0 class, found in Song and Silence, I believe). I liked the "being a part of an organisation" part and the fact that they are pretty much unliked everywhere they go.

Never found a good prc to being a gutter fighter. Basically a monk without all the "enlightened" fluff to it, just a guy who's really tough and knows how to hit you so it hurts. I remember there being a Streetfighter prc, but it's rather...mediocre.

Greenish
2011-01-21, 10:13 AM
Never found a good prc to being a gutter fighter. Basically a monk without all the "enlightened" fluff to it, just a guy who's really tough and knows how to hit you so it hurts. I remember there being a Streetfighter prc, but it's rather...mediocre.Fist of the Forest can serve, if you're really serious about living in the gutters.

Binks
2011-01-21, 11:00 AM
I've always been find of soulbow (kill it with mind bullets!) and cragtop archer (even without cheesy optimization a half a mile shot at no penalty. Awesome. Still want to try a gestalt cragtop soulbow for mind bullets at half a mile :) ).

Another one I'd love to try sometime is warforged juggernaut (who doesn't want to be the kool aid man when it comes to entering a room :) )

Others in no particular order:
Thrallherd (fluff is cool, abilities nice as well)
Master of nine (good abilities, and what tob char doesn't want to be the master?)
Jade phoenix (for reasons already mentioned)
Divine oracle (because while I'll probably never play one the fluff is cool)

Urpriest
2011-01-21, 11:12 AM
Fist of the Forest can serve, if you're really serious about living in the gutters.

Indeed. Check out my Iron Chef entry, Bu the Hobo Fist (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=9823742&postcount=125) for a prime example.

Tetsubo 57
2011-01-21, 04:13 PM
Beast Heart Adept is pretty awesome.

But I think my favorite would be the Dragon Disciple. I know it isn't 'optimal'. But I love the idea of transforming into a dragon as you level.

Thespianus
2011-01-21, 04:40 PM
Over 80 posts and no love for the Invisible Blade?

I spent weeks trying to come up with a cool way to use the Invisible Blade. The concept is *awesome*, but the execution of the PrC is so sad. I know it was ripped from it's original form, and all that, but an intelligent TWF class that fights in almost no armor, feinting and laughing at the BSF-types is so awesome.

However, at the end of the day, it turned out to be hopeless. I still have the different builds somewhere on a laptop harddrive. Page after page with Rogue/Swashbuckler/Fighter-combinations to finally get the Invisible Blade-levels into the build and .. it all turned out MEH. :(

Still, I love that lil' PrC.

ex cathedra
2011-01-21, 04:47 PM
Eh, get any reasonable DM ever to accept the requirement changes that the class' designer suggested, throw in Surprising Riposte, and you have a perfectly decent tier 3.5 or so character.

Thespianus
2011-01-21, 04:51 PM
Eh, get any reasonable DM ever to accept the requirement changes that the class' designer suggested, throw in Surprising Riposte, and you have a perfectly decent tier 3.5 or so character.
Even with the requirement changes (which I didn't know of at the time), the errata makes the capstone Feint-feature pretty sad.

Surprising Riposte, however, changes the playing field quite a bit. I should revisit my old builds and see how they fare. Thanks! :) My favorite PrC suddenly got useful! :)

EDIT: After the weeks I spent trying to find a solid build for the Invisible Blade, my DM also made the TWF feat tree cost one , not three, feats. That changes a lot too. ;)

EDIT2: I've gone over one of the builds, and it turns out pretty ok at around level 10 or so. Granted, the Will-save is horrible (Swashbuckler, Rogue, Fighter and Invisible Blade) and the Int-to-AC-feature of the Invisible Blade only gives you +5 to AC at the end of the PrC, which is a sad limitation.

Never mind, too much off topic, my bad.

BiblioRook
2011-02-06, 02:19 AM
I was just looking over Races of Destiny when I discovered the Loredelver. It's now pretty high on my list of PrCs to aspire to.
I mean, you get a Rogue's evasion, a Bard's bardic knowledge, as well as three at-will spell abilities (detect magic and arcane sight), all while basically getting full spell progression.
Being fond of magical Rogues as well as the fluff of dungeon crawling librarians, tere's nothing not to like about this class.
Well, almost. It's restricted to Illumian, which actually seems slightly arbitrary as nothing in the prerequisites suggest that to be necessary. But it's still something I can work around as Illumian aren't really that bad of a race (just one I wouldn't normally play).

Sidenote, I guess if I'm talking about Races of Destiny I have to give the Chameleon it's props too. THat's another one I really want to try out someday.