[3.5] Qualifying for a Prestige Class

[Arcanist]

Where does it specify that you can take the level you would qualify at a prestige class?

for Example can you take your 7th level as a Loremaster assuming have 10 ranks in 2 knowledges and 3 item creation feats / Metamagics?

[Acanous]

I'd always heard that selecting your next class level was directly after selecting a level-up feat in the order of operations. IE, on level 7, it is the very first thing you do, meaning you'd have to wait for 8 (Due to skill point restriction). You could immediately retrain, though.

No rule page to cite here, so take that with a spoon of salt.

[mattie_p]

You're looking for page 58 of the 3.5 PHB, which describes exactly the order of procedures upon gaining sufficient experience to go up a level. I don't believe that is OGL material, so I can't quote word for word, but you choose the class first, meaning you must meet all pre-requisites at the time you take that class.

"Close enough" OGL-safe material is found on the page describing multiclass characters (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/classes/multiclass.htm). If you apply the steps from top to bottom, it is close enough that unless you have a really weird situation, it will work. But check the PHB first, if you can.

[ScionoftheVoid]

Your class determines the skills which are in-class for you and how many skill points you get, so you have to choose the class before gaining the skills that would allow you to qualify. I'm fairly sure you choose class before feats, too, but not nearly so sure as about the prestige classes thing.

Edit: Swordsaged. But yes, little to do with levelling up is OGL (so, for example, the experience required for a particular level is not on the SRD -- at least, as far as I know, there might be another reason).

[Duke of URL]

Yeah, without going into too much detail, you select your class first, so you must have met all of the pre-reqs prior to leveling up.

[Flickerdart]

Feats and skill ranks are a consequence of gaining hit dice, which means that even if you ignore the level-up order in the PHB, you couldn't have possibly taken your 7th level as Loremaster because you only get the requisite skill ranks after you have acquired your 7th hit die, which means you already have another class level at 7th.