Favorite 3.X Prestige Class

[Lastgrasp]

What's everyone favorite Prestige Class from 3.X? It could be coolest theme, best abilities, close to your heart, etc. It can be from Paizo, Wotc, 3rd party publishes. What prestige class stands out for you and you thoroughly enjoyed playing?

List the source from where the prestige class came from.

[Tyndmyr]

I'm a fan of Urban Savant, Cityscape.

Information is power. Full-casting classes are always good. This one basically tells the GM to hand you the character sheet for what you're fighting. It's terribly easy to pick the right saves to target when you know the exact save bonuses.

It's probably among the best PrCs for making a full-on batman wizard that really does know exactly what tool to use at all times.

[Tr011]

Daggerspell Mage (think CAdv).
Also Master of the Nine (ToB) sounds nice themed to me.

Ofc, playing Duelist is always good if you know Monkey Island good enough to quote it all the time.

And the Metaphysical Spellshaper (Book of Erotic Fantasy) and the Metamagic Trickster (CScou) are mechanically interesting but easy to get overpowered.

[Greymane]

I'm fond of the Assassin out of the DMG, actually. To me, it's perfect.

You keep a decent skill list, some SA progression, and get some interesting abilities. I like the Death Attack but the three rounds thing is a bit much. Most importantly: It gives you spells. They keep you relevant, and there's even splatbook support for them!

[Pechvarry]

Ghostwalker from Sword and Fist (3.0). At least at that time of my life, there weren't many heroes in media who were steeped in shadow. Its main feature was the ability to lose fights to become awesome, so it was actually a pretty awful class.

Recently, I've been really digging the Dragon Lord from Dragon Magic. I wouldn't feel this way if it required the entrant to be dragonblooded.

Eternal Blade is sweet. Training in your sleep is some awesome fluff.

Doomlord from Planar Handbook is another Ghostwalker -- everything about the fluff tells you "this should be a bad guy" and then you see that it can easily be someone with good alignment. At which point you start imagining the hero with this mindset, and it's awesome. Once again, the class is more than a little subpar. Though I think it gets a smite move that ignores hardness.

[Tr011]

I'm fond of the Assassin out of the DMG, actually. To me, it's perfect.


Oh yeah, I forgot the Assassins. They are imo perfectly balanced and flavorful. But the Alignment-Prereq is not so cool (since making them good in a strange way would be funny).

[Amphetryon]

Jade Phoenix Mage. Just a really good blend of fluff and mechanics, ToB and arcane.

Fochlucan Lyrist, because I'm old-school like that.

[Undercroft]

When i DM:
Cancer Mage (because i love tacking it on just about everything)
Ur Priest (to give my monsters faster progression on divine casting)

When i play:
Assasin (so fun :D)
Anima Mage (also fun :D, plus i love binders)
Hellfire Warlock (100% more warlocky evilness)

[Hyfigh]

I really love the Chameleon. I like the entire premise of the PrC.

[Essence_of_War]

I really like the Sanctified Mind (LoM)
and the Eternal Blade (ToB).

I think they are both really well designed PrCs.

[Feytalist]

Master of the Unseen Hand (CW). I like how it takes one single aspect/ability/spell and goes nuts with it. Plus, secretly, deep down, we all know that we want to be telekinetics.

Plus its fun.

[Akal Saris]

Jade Phoenix Mage. Just a really good blend of fluff and mechanics, ToB and arcane.

Fochlucan Lyrist, because I'm old-school like that.

Jade Phoenix Mage is also one of my definite favorites. I'd say my absolute favorite is Malconvoker though. I really love summoning, and malconvoker captures the "playing with fire" aspect of conjuration that I really like.

Close behind those two are Black Dog and Master of Shrouds.

[Crosswinds]

Beast Heart Adept from Dungeonscape.

The idea of a guy that makes friends with monsters rather than killing them (and then uses said monsters to kill other monsters) is just too awesome not to try at least once.

[Deadtissue]

The Ghostwalker was one I always tried to create a viable character with but could never quite pull it off.

Another one I really liked was the Elemental Archon in FRF&P as having 3 mephit followers is fun! I successfully ran a cleric of Kossuth with this prestige class and had a ball.

[Curmudgeon]

I rather like the Eye of Lolth (Drow of the Underdark), but the entry requirements are rather extensive:

Race: Drow.
Skills: Hide 8 ranks, Knowledge (religion) 4 ranks, Listen 8 ranks, Spot 8 ranks.
Feats: Cautious Attack (see page 47).
Domain: Trickery.
Special: Evasion.
Special: Sneak attack +2d6 or skirmish +2d6.

[Akal Saris]

Beast Heart Adept from Dungeonscape.

The idea of a guy that makes friends with monsters rather than killing them (and then uses said monsters to kill other monsters) is just too awesome not to try at least once.

Another great PrC!

[Sdonourg]

I like Anointed Knight (BoED), Stormsinger (Frostburn) and Soul Manifester (Mind's Eye).

[Tokuhara]

I have 3 favorites, and all for different reasons:

1. Fist of Raziel: When Lawful Good isn't good enough...
2. Scion of Dantalion: Shonen hero PrC.
3. Deadgrim: I absolutely adore the flavor of the class. It's sad I've never actually PLAYED a deadgrim, but I love the fluff

[McSmack]

I don't use a lot PrC's because I don't get to play very often. Some of my favorites when I did get to play though are-

1) Elemental Savant. I have soft spot for element specialist blasters. IIRC the 3.0 version was better.

2)Eternal Blade (ToB). I tried to homebrew this type of PrC long before ToB was around. I always fight to houserule out the elf requirement though, partly because it's limiting but mostly because I hate elves.

3) Cannith Wand Adept - Sharn City of Towers. dual wielding wands at +5 CL AND getting to siphon wand charges to use as psudo-action points? Sign me up! I love me some artificer gunslinger action.

4)Heir of Siberys - Giant magic tattoo. Siberys marks are crazy awesome (2/day). A three level PrC for 2/3 caster, all good saves, 0.75 BAB, and a bonus feat.

[sovin_ndore]

They aren't the most efficient classes, but there are some PrCs that I can't help but love...

1. Thief Acrobat (both 3.0 and 3.5)
2. Mindbender
3. Master Thrower

[Veyr]

Malconvoker (Complete Scoundrel), Chameleon (Races of Destiny), Eternal Blade (Tome of Battle), Swiftblade (web enhancement), Ultimate Magus (Complete Mage), and Ur-Priest (Complete Divine) come to mind. I love Binders (Tome of Magic), but I'm not a huge fan of their prestige classes. I wish the Fiendbinder (Tome of Magic) was good.

[Kyrinthic]

Hulking hurler, loved it even before I found out how cheesy it can get, its just a lot of fun to randomly pick crap up and throw it at people.

Rainbow servent was always fun, lots of neet flavor, and crosses the line with arcane and divine magic.

And a second vote for master of the unseen hand, which just has style.

[Sitzkrieg]

The Oozemaster(Masters of the Wild) is sort of a running joke with my group. The idea behind it is hilarious, but the actual class is terrible. Virtually everything it gets is counter-productive or doesn't compliment anything else that they get. (For instance, they lose Charisma points as a class feature, but also gain a bonus to Disguise.) Fortunately, this makes it even funnier because it makes them even more pathetic and sloppy.

[Kylarra]

Swiftblade and JPM are some of my favorites.

[The Ogre]

Vermin Lord (BoVD): I asked my DM to change it so that I got 8/10 caster levels instead of the icky 6/10 and drop the evil requirements for the PrC requirement and to get Verminfriend (why is this an evil feat?). Not optimal mind you, but things got to be really interesting once I got Hivemind active.

Talon of Tiamat (Draconomicon): I like the fluff of being subserviant to evil dragons.

Pale Master (Libris Mortis): Very cool fluff especially if you're playing a Dread Necro. Too bad it doesn't provide Rebuke Undead.

Knight of the Sacred Seal (ToM): I'm a fan of the Persona series and the binder is one of my favorite classes.

Bear Warrior (CW): I turn into a bear whenever I rage. Nuff said.

Blackguard (DMG): I love taking this whenever I play an evil paladin variant from Unearthed Arcana. It sucks the PrC requirement is 5 ranks in Hide. Intimidate would have made much more sense.

[PollyOliver]

I tend to like quick, smart warrior-types or roguish fighters with a touch of magic, so swiftblade and eternal blade are among my favorites. I also quite like dervish, as well as Tel'flammar shadowlord. Arcane archer is to me an awesome idea, but I don't think it follows through with even halfway decent crunch (my DM's version, however, is quite fun). Depending on your balance point, assassin is pretty apt, and I think elegant in its simplicity (though the whole three rounds thing is a little argh).

I'm also fond of master of the nine in concept, but the feat pre-reqs are pretty harsh unless you can pick them up for free somewhere. Lion of talisid is also up there for me.

[Tokuhara]

I tend to like quick, smart warrior-types or roguish fighters with a touch of magic, so swiftblade and eternal blade are among my favorites. I also quite like dervish, as well as Tel'flammar shadowlord. Arcane archer is to me an awesome idea, but I don't think it follows through with even halfway decent crunch (my DM's version, however, is quite fun). Depending on your balance point, assassin is pretty apt, and I think elegant in its simplicity (though the whole three rounds thing is a little argh).

I'm also fond of master of the nine in concept, but the feat pre-reqs are pretty harsh unless you can pick them up for free somewhere. Lion of talisid is also up there for me.

Lion's a blast if you are playing a Goody Two-Shoes Hippie druid. Armies of Holy Lions. What's not to love?

[Blisstake]

Initiate of the Seven Veils (something like that). What can I say, I like pretty colors :smalltongue:

Chameleon. The versatility of this class is pretty fun. You get a lot of interesting options, even if you're a lot better at level 15 than level 20.

Shadow Sun Ninja. I really like the contrast between light and dark, and it's got a really interesting capstone.

[RaginChangeling]

Most of my favorites have been mentioned, the Beast Heart Adept and Chemeleon are absolutely fantastic.

I'm also a huge fan of the Warshaper (Despite the shoddy wording) and the Cabinet Trickster for virtually any Changeling I play.

Exotic Weapon Master and Master of Masks, though a bit weak are also really fun classes.

[Hyfigh]

Oooh yea... I definitely love the flavor of the Mind Bender/Thrallherd. Too bad for the Mind Benders crap-tastic caster level progression and the fact that both classes main features are shut down by level one spells. Stupid compulsion ending Protect from X's...

[GoatBoy]

Techsmith (F&P) gets to build a robot buddy. This is already a recipe for awesome.

Arcane Hierophant and Eldritch Disciple are theurgic classes done right - with actual class features.

[danzibr]

Pyrokineticist
Swift Blade
Arcane Heirophant

And... I'm sure there are more. Some I like for mechanical reasons, but as far as cool goes, those 3 come to mind.

[Aricandor]

Most of the PrCs from the Shadow Magic chapter in Tome of Magic are rather interesting to me (particularly Child of Night and Master of Shadow) but I'm just a sucker for the whole flavour of the shadow magic so...

Jade Phoenix Mage and Malconvoker are my favourites in general for being a couple of those few cases where fluff and crunch work together into a beautiful, functional and (reasonably) well-tuned whole.

[CTrees]

Shadowdancer. Love it! I just wish the shadow companion was better (maybe a shadow version of druid animal companions? I don't know).

EDIT: Oh, and I think it was the Alienist? The Lovecraft-style-cultist-esque one from something like Complete Arcane. I liked that one and the PrC devoted to spheres of annihilation a lot, as well, just because of fluff (huge Lovecraft fan...)

[slaydemons]

I have an odd love the mystic theurge (DMG) and I think its called dread necromancer from (LM) let me double check that one

[Tokuhara]

I have an odd love the mystic theurge (DMG) and I think its called True Necromancer from (LM) let me double check that one

fixed that for you

[Divide by Zero]

Radiant Servant of Pelor. It's just so easy to roleplay it completely over the top. Even the name screams large ham (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/LargeHam).

[Legend]

Jade Phoenix Mage. Just a really good blend of fluff and mechanics, ToB and arcane.

Fochlucan Lyrist, because I'm old-school like that.
Those are my top two choices as well, along with a particularly cheesy but fun Incantatrix.

[HalfDragonCube]

I like Mystic Theurge (DMG) if the DM let you do shenanigans, and Master Specialist (CM) has a nice bunch of things to do when you run out of your pumped-up spells.

True Necro would be good if it didn't have such high requirements and drop two levels of casting progression from each of your classes, and it forces you to be more MAD.

[herrhauptmann]

Swiftblade. From a web enhancement. Not all wizards are calm and composed, some are hyper like ADD kids on crack.

I actually like the dwaven defender, deepstone sentinel(ToB), and deepwarden (RoS). A shame that all 3, despite being intended for the defense of the dwarven cities, are fairly lackluster in actual mechanics, with fairly harsh entry prereqs.

[Lateral]

My top one is Pyrokineticist (XPH), no question there. It's not really optimal, but who cares? It can make people explode and they can light themselves on fire. Awesome.

After that, I really like the Constructor (M's E), Primeval (Frostburn), War Mind (XPH), and Shadowcraft Mage (RoS) for both flavor and mechanics.
Constructor takes one of the best psionic powers (Astral Construct) and makes it way more awesome- I only play it in parties with all members at least moderately optimized and above tier 4.
One of my first characters I ever took all the way to 20 was a Wildshape Ranger/ Barbarian with a lion theme who went into Dire Lion Primeval, using Wildshape to fuel his Primeval Form. He had a Dire Tiger cohort and a Cheetah animal companion; we made wildcat jokes every session.
The War Mind, to me, is a perfect prestige class for a melee class that isn't a Tome of Battle class (they don't really need it) or Psychic Warrior (they already get powers). They're great for psionic races with normal classes, like Barbarian.
Shadowcraft Mage is just so deliciously cheesy. I love it.

Aside from those, I like the idea of the Green Star Adept, Mindbender, and Metamind, but they're so horribly done. (Mindbender dips are nice, though, and I've used them heavily.) I like Thrallherd as a DM for NPCs, but it's just too overpowered for me to consider it for a PC without changing the abilities to not have Thralls and instead have other thematic abilities that aren't pumped versions of the most borked feat in existence.

[Person_Man]

I rather like the Eye of Lolth (Drow of the Underdark), but the entry requirements are rather extensive:

Race: Drow.
Skills: Hide 8 ranks, Knowledge (religion) 4 ranks, Listen 8 ranks, Spot 8 ranks.
Feats: Cautious Attack (see page 47).
Domain: Trickery.
Special: Evasion.
Special: Sneak attack +2d6 or skirmish +2d6.


It's not that hard to get into. There's a Lesser Drow somewhere that's LA+0 and still counts as a Drow. 2d6 Sneak Attack from one level of Swordsage or 2 feats (Assassin's Stance) Evasion from a ring or 2 feats (Shape Soulmeld and bind chakra on Impulse Boots). There's also various PrC out there that provide caster and Sneak Attack progression.

But I'm curious as to why you would want to get it in. Over 10 levels, you get 5 levels of divine casting progression, 3d6 Sneak Attack, Hide in Plain Site, and some modestly useful sneaky stuff that can be duplicated with spells. Did I miss something?

[Curmudgeon]

The thing you're missing is that the Eye of Lolth Hide in Plain Sight has all the characteristics of the good Supernatural versions (Assassin, Shadowdancer), but is Extraordinary. That means you can walk around with an Antimagic Field going, Hide right in the faces of your enemies, and nullify their magical defenses as you sneak attack them to death. :smallbiggrin:

[Dralnu]

Master of Nine (ToB) is my favorite. Gives me a great Avatar vibe and I love those endless options.

Runners-up:
Assassin (DMG). Solid and exactly what you expect. Gets even better with SpC.
Jade Phoenix Mage (ToB). I love gishes, and this is my favorite PrC gish.
Black Flame Zealot (CD). Terrible PrC, but man do I love that flavor! I'll have to make some baddies with this PrC some time down the road.

[Tokuhara]

I completely forgot Zerth Cenobite... Dang it. I plan on actually homebrewing a version that incorporates ToB into it.

[AlhazTheRed]

I love the Arcane Archer and Dwarven Defender. They have cool abilities, but more important style. They fill unique and interesting roles, and help define the character as something special.

[McSmack]

I tend to like quick, smart warrior-types or roguish fighters with a touch of magic, so swiftblade and eternal blade are among my favorites. I also quite like dervish, as well as Tel'flammar shadowlord. Arcane archer is to me an awesome idea, but I don't think it follows through with even halfway decent crunch (my DM's version, however, is quite fun).

The Arcane Archer from PF is pretty sweet they fixed a lot of the issues with it.

Forgot to put Dervish on my previous list, but it's definitely one of my favorites.

Abjurant Champion is also on my list, though I've yet to get to play one.

[hivedragon]

ninja spy from oriental adventures has huge skill bonuses

[Optimator]

Sublime Chord, CA.

[Choco]

Walker in the Waste.

Unfortunately I haven't been able to play one yet, never would have worked out with the types of campaigns/parties I have had over the years.

[Draconi Redfir]

Trollblood (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=190082&highlight=Trollblood) :smallbiggrin:

[CTrees]

Constructor takes one of the best psionic powers (Astral Construct) and makes it way more awesome- I only play it in parties with all members at least moderately optimized and above tier 4.

I might just be being blind, but what was the source for Constructor?

[TheGeckoKing]

If Southern Magician is allowed, I do love me some Geomancer. I know using Mage Armor and the like is more optimized, but there's nothing like spamming Prismatic Sprays while in power armor (Mechanus Gear).

There's also the Ur-Priest for cheesy awesomeness, Warforged Charger for turning you into a robot, Incanatrix is fun, Zhenterim Skymage is awesome for having a cool pet that can ACTUALLY be useful without being a Druid or taking a "meh" feat. Lastly, I always enjoyed Shadowcraft Mage, just to mess with my opponents;

"My lies are more powerful than reality! AHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

[Optimator]

I might just be being blind, but what was the source for Constructor?

It's from a Mind's Eye article. http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20040625b

[CTrees]

Ahhh... that explains everything

[Lastgrasp]

Master Chymist (APG)
Master of Shrouds (LM)
Red Mantis Assassin (ISG)

[Greenish]

Revenant Blade (PGtE), because valenar elves are awesome and Revenant Blade is like a normal valenar elf squared.

Runner up, Gatecrasher (MotP) has very cool fluff, and brilliant look: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/MotP/Gatecrasher.jpgThe crunch didn't convince me, though.

[GoatBoy]

Renegade Mastermaker (MoE) is a fantastic, functional "mad scientist" concept.

Shadowbane Stalker (CAdv), for being the only class I've found which serves as a functional skillmonkey/divine caster. Feel free to correct me if you've found another.

Bone Knight (5N) for being a true "marshal of the undead hordes," complete with armour and weapons made of bone.

[Greenish]

Also, lest you think I detest spellcasters, I'd also like to mention Cataclysm Mage (Explorer's Handbook).

Behold! http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/exhbk_gallery/90597.jpg

Speaking of Explorer's Handbook, it also has bard-oriented PrC for becoming a captain of your own airship. Does that rock or does that rock?

[GoatBoy]

Also, lest you think I detest spellcasters, I'd also like to mention Cataclysm Mage (Explorer's Handbook).

Behold! http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/exhbk_gallery/90597.jpg

Speaking of Explorer's Handbook, it also has bard-oriented PrC for becoming a captain of your own airship. Does that rock or does that rock?

You forgot to mention Thunder Guide. One of its class features lets you GIVE A UNIVERSITY LECTURE. That is the single best class feature of any class or prestige class in all 3.5.

[Greenish]

You forgot to mention Thunder Guide. One of its class features lets you GIVE A UNIVERSITY LECTURE. That is the single best class feature of any class or prestige class in all 3.5.You're also a pulp hero, literally. Another class feature makes the premiere newspaper of Khorvaire to publish a serial featuring your daring deeds.

Also, you get to travel on lightning train and airships free of charge. Yeah, that PrC is special.

[Edit]: Of course, the capstone of Cataclysm Mage makes all the dragons in the world want to kill you, which is arguably much greater notoriety.

[Zaq]

I love Ironsoul Forgemasters. They take stereotypical dwarves and make them stereotypically dwarfier, which I love. Plus, incarnum is awesome.

My favorite PrC that I've ever played is the Chameleon, hands down. But then, that character was a Chameleon long before he took any levels in the class. (Binder/Incarnate, baby. Reinvent yourself every day.)

I like the Earth Dreamer. I almost played one once, but I went for Holt Warden instead, which is also delightful.

Someday I hope to play in a campaign where I can be an Alchemist Savant. I just can't bring myself to play an Artificer, though. Too much power and too much bookkeeping. Yes, I know you don't strictly HAVE to be an Artificer to be an Alchemist Savant, but let's be honest here.


Revenant Blade (PGtE), because valenar elves are awesome and Revenant Blade is like a normal valenar elf squared.

Runner up, Gatecrasher (MotP) has very cool fluff, and brilliant look: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/MotP/Gatecrasher.jpgThe crunch didn't convince me, though.

I love Gatecrasher just because it gives a set and flat DC to open a portal created by a deity. There's gotta be some hilarious shenanigans you can do with that. The rest of the class? Eh. Cool picture, though.

[holywhippet]

I like the sacred fist PrC - it takes monk in a direction that it really needs to go. The full BAB progression and the clerical spells make it better than a regular monk IMO.

[Alleran]

I like the Rainbow Servant and the Dweomerkeeper, mostly. Dweomerkeeper may be overpowered, but it is deliciously characterful for a follower of magic deities.

[Geigan]

Now here's a controversial one. I liked Frenzied berserker. I really felt the "uncontrollable rage" archetype needed representation, and it did that. May not have been healthy for party survival but it did it.

I like JPM but its also the only thing that advances ToB and casting progression so if you don't like the label that says "for good guys only" then you have to houserule it or you're SoL. It's good but annoying when I have to bend over backwards to make it work(and only with two disciplines at that).

I also liked Exemplar for it's sheer lulziness. I can do this thing so awesome that people like me. It's just so funny for some skills.

I like synthesis classes that bind two types together like arcane and divine casting(mystic theurge), spontaneous and non-spontaneous(ultimate magus), and etc.(JPM, any of the casting+warlocks) Not because I like to play them so much as I like the option being there.

I also gotta hand it to Eternal Blade for just being downright well designed in general(maybe minus the elf prereq).

[Thurbane]

Coolest concept but crunch = fail? Elemental Warrior, Shadow Blade, Dragon Samurai...

[GoatBoy]

Coolest concept but crunch = fail? Elemental Warrior, Shadow Blade, Dragon Samurai...

Duelist, Green Star Adept, Defiant, Enlightened Spirit...

This should be is own thread. In fact, it probably has several times over.

[Viktyr Gehrig]

Sublime Chord from Complete Arcane. I like Bards. I like 9th level spells. Two great tastes that go great together! This is even better if I can get Witch spells, either in addition to or in lieu of, Sorcerer spells.

Lyric Thaumaturge from Complete Mage. Pretty much the same deal.

Wyrm Wizard from Dragon Magic. It loses too many caster levels and I hate prepared casters. But put Arcane Preparation on a Bard/Sublime Chord, and both of those problems go away.

Hmm. I am sensing a theme here...

Soulbow from Complete Psionic. This actually turns the Soulknife into a worthwhile class.

Sangehirn (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20040625c). On an Ardent. Gestalt. Combined with the above. Bonus points for Elan.

[Feytalist]

I must say I like Argent Savant (CA), because if you want to go blaster, you might as well go force.

Plus empowered orb of force with force specialisation: can you say Kamehameha?

[fortesama]

My personal favorites:

-Swiftblade
-Eternal Blade
-Incantatrix
-Ruby Knight Vindicator

[Veyr]

Oooh, I forgot War Weaver (Heroes of Battle) and Sublime Chord (Complete Arcane).

[Eldariel]

Something like:
- Swiftblade
- Eternal Blade
- Ruby Knight Vindicator
- War Weaver (hi, action economy, SUP? You're about to get abused)
- Slayer
- Archmage
- Revenant Blade

What can I say, I apparently like swords blades.

[Carbon12]

Hmm...I have a few.

Dwarven Defender, Hammer of Moradin, Jade Phoenix Mage, Incantrix, Mystic Theurge, and I know it's a bad class, but one of my all time favorites is the Windwright Captain out of Explorer's Handbook.

[Dusk Eclipse]

My favourite Prg. Classes:

Suel Arcanamach: I don't know as much as I like the complete mess of classes that usually make Gish builds, the ability to do it with a single class it is too awesome, and it also gives you a pretty good defence against the bane of Gish and self-buffing characters, a hefty bonus to CL against dispel attempts.

Assassin: One of my favourite archetypes and the class itself is not really bad, the spell list in core is not bad; but the splatbook support made it really shine, i is a shame that Death Attack is so useless; but on the rare times it works I tell you it is worth it.

Tellflamar Shadow Lord: Shadow Pouncing. Just Shadow Pouncing (and the become a shadow to avoid death ability is pretty cool too.

Slayer: Cause psionic gish with many skillpoints (4+int and usually a a psion base) are awesome, plus it gives proficiencies and as a Dip it can work quite well on other gish builds (it can be entered without any previous manifesting)

Ordained Champion: Make room for the real War Priest

Revenant Blade: Valenar Elves are awesome + warriors who keep alive an ancient tradition+ making TWF actually viable= Insant favourite.

Jaunter: A nice class for mobilitu based melee-ers and can make for an awesome gish prg class if you use the adaptation (and keep the bab 3/4)

Knight of the Raven: Haven't had the opportunity to play one, but the raven companion looks great and I can make an Odin-lite (getting the second raven is trivially easy)

Ninja Spy: I am sucker for stealth types and all those exotic proficiencies are just gravy.

Swiftblade (and a psionic adaptation) are simply awesome

[Thurbane]

I forgot to mention Knight of the Sacred Deal. If you're a Binder, there's almost no reason not to take this PrC. 5/5/ Binding advancement, full BAB, full MWP and armor proficiency. The only real downside, is that you are basically locking one of your Binding slots into the same vestige each day...

[Dusk Eclipse]

I forgot to mention Knight of the Sacred Deal. If you're a Binder, there's almost no reason not to take this PrC. 5/5/ Binding advancement, full BAB, full MWP and armor proficiency. The only real downside, is that you are basically locking one of your Binding slots into the same vestige each day...

Not a problem if you select the right vestige (Zceril is awesome, and Naberious has some good tricks for sacking your stats for fun and profit):smallbiggrin:

[Squiggles]

I've always been fond of Olin Gisir from Lost Empires of Faerun.

It's more or less an elven Lorekeeper but I love the flavor.

[Hiro Protagonest]

Revenant blade: very cool.

Eternal blade: also very cool, combine with Revenant blade for amazing fluff, with your ancestor also being your spirit guide.

Kensai: awesome, only thing I don't like is the fact that it has ride ranks in it's prerequisites, while the sample kensai (a monk) doesn't focus on mounted combat at all.

[slaydemons]

Kensai: awesome, only thing I don't like is the fact that it has ride ranks in it's prerequisites, while the sample kensai (a monk) doesn't focus on mounted combat at all.

thats because *insert inappropriate joke here that involves pun* and I forgot these awesome guys I add this to my list I never played one but they seem a bit like paladins to me

[PersonMan]

I love Seeker of the Song(Complete Arcane), especially when combined with Dirgesinger(Libris Mortis). Being able to, in two rounds, debuff enemies, buff allies and blast enemies for 20d6+20d6 acid damage is...pretty nice, even though you do need to wait until level 17 or so to be able to do that.

I also like Anima Mage(Tome of Magic), partially because its table, pages and name just seem to ooze "this is cool", but also because of its class features, although I've only played it once.

[Gecks]

A few of my faves (have not played them all, a lot have already been mentioned):

Eternal Blade
Deepstone Sentinel (not great crunch, but decent enough to be usable in many situations- too bad the levels where it comes into play contain some of the worst stone dragon strikes)
Alienist (mainly just for the fluff)
Battlesmith (Not great abilities after the 1st level, but I am a sucker for both crafting and "wise warrior" archtypes, and in a low-op game it would be a great way for a dwarven fighter-type to stay at least somewhat relevent at higher levels as the primary magic weapon and/or armor crafter)

[Esser-Z]

Swiftblade and Chameleon are my two favorites.

[ffone]

Oh yeah, I forgot the Assassins. They are imo perfectly balanced and flavorful. But the Alignment-Prereq is not so cool (since making them good in a strange way would be funny).

I wish it just said 'nonevil assassins instead get a nonlethal-damage version of Death Attack (target that fails Fort is unconscious for X hours instead of dead)." Rather than trying to sell people on the Book of Exalted Deeds holy slayer or the April Fool's Joke 'Avenger' (or whatever the Lawful Assassin at wizards.com was)>

[PollyOliver]

I wish it just said 'nonevil assassins instead get a nonlethal-damage version of Death Attack (target that fails Fort is unconscious for X hours instead of dead)." Rather than trying to sell people on the Book of Exalted Deeds holy slayer or the April Fool's Joke 'Avenger' (or whatever the Lawful Assassin at wizards.com was)>

Yeah, it always bothered me that they made a non-evil assassin (it is avenger, btw) as an April Fool's joke, because "haha, you can't have a non-evil assassin" and then suddenly decided that you can. Not that I mind that you can, but it's just one more tidbit of hypocrisy that occasionally threatens my enjoyment of some of the actually good stuff in BoED. Also, the slayer of domiel's version of death attack sucks horribly, because the target has to be low on hp anyway. At that point, just stab them again. Argh.

[Divide by Zero]

I wish it just said 'nonevil assassins instead get a nonlethal-damage version of Death Attack (target that fails Fort is unconscious for X hours instead of dead)."

Considering that assassins can already make nonlethal Death Attacks (though it's only 1d6+1/level rounds), I really don't see why nonevil ones couldn't just do that anyway.

[Optimator]

SOme of my other favorites:

Nentyar Hunter from Unnaproachable East. 5 compact levels of awesome. Not actual awesome, mind you, but I think considering the prereqs and what you get it's good deal. Fifth levels spells from a small but potent list and some decent features.

Runescarred Berserker, UE. We all know the glory of this class.

Talontar Blightlord, UE. Underpowered NPC villain class for Druids, but flavorful as all-get-out. I made a PC for a one-shot who was using (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/variantCharacterClasses.htm#druid)both (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/variantCharacterClasses.htm#druidVariantDruidicAve nger)of the alternate Druids from UA and wielded a glaive, rolling around the forest hunting animals. He was still good. I hope I get to play him again once he's higher level and can throw around more Druid buffs. Now that I think about it, the DM at the time let the class advance casting at all levels since I gave up wildshape and the companion and some of the PrC's abilities boost those.

Peerless Archer, Silver Marches. Power Shot and the rest is serviceable as well. One of the best archery PrCs.

Justice of Weald and Woe, Champions of Ruin. Another one of the best archery classes. Half Ranger Half Assassin and a decent spell list, including a lot of good archery-specific spells from the same book.

[Lateral]

Considering that assassins can already make nonlethal Death Attacks (though it's only 1d6+1/level rounds), I really don't see why nonevil ones couldn't just do that anyway.

Because you'd never use that. That gives you less than a minute to escape until they wake up, or else you just kill them while they're paralyzed, in which case why did you paralyze them instead of just killing them outright?

[Undercroft]

Because you'd never use that. That gives you less than a minute to escape until they wake up, or else you just kill them while they're paralyzed, in which case why did you paralyze them instead of just killing them outright?

So you can douse them in oil and make with the burning of course.
My players are pyromaniacs ¬.¬

[Maho-Tsukai]

Check my name. Maho-Tsukais and Tainted Sorcerers(the non-OA/generic Maho-Tsukai) are awesome. Yes, they can also be horridly broken with taint OP but that's not why I like them. I like them due to flavor...something about an evil spellcaster with creepy blood-based magic and spells powered by their own wickedness and evil just sounds awesome, and Mahos get some fun exclusive spells from D20 Rokugan, some of which are VERY "2e D&D."

My favorite 3.5e character ever that I played was a cloistered cleric/tainted sorcerer who used the dynamic priest feat to be a cha-based clerical necromancer. Loads of fun, and flavorful to boot with all his blood-casting and taint accumulation.

[El Dorado]

The Dervish (Complete Warrior). All ten levels of it.
Sacred Fist (Complete Divine). Ten levels of full BAB. 8/10 divine casting. Handful of class features. Dovetails nicely with monk.
Sublime Chord (Complete Arcane). When you're bard wants a *little* more arcane casting. . .

[Dralnu]

Revenant blade: very cool.

Eternal blade: also very cool, combine with Revenant blade for amazing fluff, with your ancestor also being your spirit guide.

Kensai: awesome, only thing I don't like is the fact that it has ride ranks in it's prerequisites, while the sample kensai (a monk) doesn't focus on mounted combat at all.

These demand to be merged all in one build. Do it!

[Aron Times]

Swiftblade
Abjurant Champion
Dracolexi
Sandshaper


Basically any sorcerer prestige class that is powerful without being broken.

[Nerocite]

Sea Mother Whip: Lightning Bolt!
Soul Eater: Touch people and they die.
Rainbow Servant: Built-in cleric abilities, and wings.

[Etrivar]

Daggerspell Mage, from Complete Adventurer, for flavor and crunch
Enlightened Spirit, from Complete Mage , purely for flavor, because the crunch is atrocious
Invisible Blade, from Complete Warrior, mostly for flavor
Argent Savant, from Complete Arcane, for specializing in the one thing no one can block (except you)
War Weaver, from Heroes of Battle, for being the most insane class for buffing that exists

[TheGeckoKing]

Another, when the DM has finally said "Aw, forget balance", is the Dragon Ascendant. A RAW way of getting DvR 0? Oh yes, I'll take that. :smallbiggrin:

[Optimator]

Sacred Fist (Complete Divine). Ten levels of full BAB. 8/10 divine casting. Handful of class features. Dovetails nicely with monk.


It's even better when you read the class description instead of the table :smallwink:

[navar100]

Master Of Nine - Book of Nine Swords
Church Inquisitor - Complete Divine
Sacred Exorcist - Complete Divine
Radiant Servant of Pelor - Complete Divine

[Greenish]

So you can douse them in oil and make with the burning of course.
My players are pyromaniacs ¬.¬All players are. :smalltongue:

These demand to be merged all in one build. Do it!Would probably be epic, if you wanted more than a few levels.

Earliest entry to RB is after 5 levels, and you'll want all five levels since the capstone is so brilliant. That gets you to level 10, after which you'll qualify for EB, which takes you all the way to 20 for the capstone (which, again, is one of the best things in the PrC), though if you'd settle for EB 2 for piercing DR you could fit some Kensai in the end.