Obscure Classes

[kbob]

I found some obscure class that looks like it was intended to be a joke but actually has stats and level progression (The Brickmaster - a character class that seems to have an unhealthy relationship with bricks). The class made me laugh and I think I'm gonna play one just for the fun of it.
That made me curious as to what else may be out there. Has anyone come across any obscure classes (non-homebrew) that has been published? Feasible to play or not, I'm just curious as to what may exist that most have never even heard of.

[BowStreetRunner]

There's always the Halfling Whistler (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/prc/20061121a).

[Ghen]

The Gentleman Explorer cracks me up, but he's pretty OP to be honest.

[ColorBlindNinja]

Are we talking about D&D 3.5, PF, D20?

For 3.5, I feel the need to mention the Sha'ir (Dragon Compendium), the Wu Jen (Complete Arcane), and the Shugenja (Complete Divine).

I feel all three are overlooked classes (though really all the classes in Dragon Compendium arguably qualify).

While the Healer (Miniatures Handbook) is far less obscure, I greatly enjoy it.

[Venger]

I found some obscure class that looks like it was intended to be a joke but actually has stats and level progression (The Brickmaster - a character class that seems to have an unhealthy relationship with bricks). The class made me laugh and I think I'm gonna play one just for the fun of it.
That made me curious as to what else may be out there. Has anyone come across any obscure classes (non-homebrew) that has been published? Feasible to play or not, I'm just curious as to what may exist that most have never even heard of.

define obscure. do you just mean from a weird source? do you want just official stuff, or terrible homebrew as well? do you want classes with peculiar themes?

one that checks several of those boxes (and is a pretty good class) is body leech (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20040925a) a decently spoopy psionic class about imprisoning people in your basement and using them for power point batteries.

[Kelb_Panthera]

I don't think I've ever heard anyone mention OA's sohei, like, ever. It's a kind of a monk/paladin hybrid with just a tiny splash of barbarian that's actively worse than all of them at being those things. It's not unusable but it's definitely pre- prestige filler.

[The Viscount]

If we're talking about Halfling Whistler we have to mention its partner in crime, the Dwarven Chanter. (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/prc/20061128a)

I'll also mention Knight of the Raven for being in the very small club of classes from adventure modules.

[ColorBlindNinja]

I don't think I've ever heard anyone mention OA's sohei, like, ever. It's a kind of a monk/paladin hybrid with just a tiny splash of barbarian that's actively worse than all of them at being those things. It's not unusable but it's definitely pre- prestige filler.

I have soft spot for classes that suck, I'll have to check that one out.

[mabriss lethe]

In keeping with the Sohei, there's also the OA Shaman, though it's actually pretty good. Kind of a grab bag of other class' features coupled with the OA spell list.

[kbob]

These are good!
@Venger. By obscure I mean some material printed or released somewhere with WoC affiliation (i.e. Dragon magazine #?) but is also something people are not aware of and is just different.
Thanks!

[Venger]

dragon magazine is third party. if you want content from it I'm sure you'll get lots of it. I'm just not especially familiar with it myself.

great rift skyguard is a prc about being a dwarf skydiver who owns a hippogriff.

[Goaty14]

great rift skyguard is a prc about being a dwarf skydiver who owns a hippogriff.

For the capstone; he gains usage of a catapult.

Also where do you guys find all of that stuff from D&D Archive? It's *very* hard to navigate that site.

[Kelb_Panthera]

For the capstone; he gains usage of a catapult.

Also where do you guys find all of that stuff from D&D Archive? It's *very* hard to navigate that site.

Razor sharp Google-fu.

Use the search filter "site:archive.wizards.com" and the general term(s) for what you're looking for. If you're not sure what you're looking for, fish around a bit or ask in a forum like this one for help.

[digiman619]

If we include Pathfinder, there's a base class based of Vampire Hunter D, unimaginatively called the Vampire Hunter (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/base-classes/vampire-hunter/).

[darkbuu_1]

This is a Dragon magazine prestige class so I don't think this is really the right place for this but I feel like more people need to know about the barber (http://www.realmshelps.net/charbuild/classes/prestige/alqadim/barber.shtml).

It's been a while since I've read the issue but I remember it being intended for PCs and it not being a joke, for the right character it looks like it could be pretty good.

[Venger]

This is a Dragon magazine prestige class so I don't think this is really the right place for this but I feel like more people need to know about the barber (http://www.realmshelps.net/charbuild/classes/prestige/alqadim/barber.shtml).

It's been a while since I've read the issue but I remember it being intended for PCs and it not being a joke, for the right character it looks like it could be pretty good.

barber's cute, but it's pretty underwhelming. I used it once when I statted sweeney todd.

[Mike Miller]

Mystic, the very first prestige class printed in Dragon magazine. It is all about free metamagic. The early 3rd edition ideas are so imbalanced that it is funny. Some of the early ideas that people writing to the magazine had about what would work in the "new" edition are great, too.

[BowStreetRunner]

Razor sharp Google-fu.

Use the search filter "site:archive.wizards.com" and the general term(s) for what you're looking for. If you're not sure what you're looking for, fish around a bit or ask in a forum like this one for help.
You can also start with The Dungeons & Dragons Website for Dummies (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/fool/welcome)and go from there. Some of the links are broken, but most still work.

[atemu1234]

Sha'ir (Dragon Compendium)

From the same source, I rather enjoy the Mountebank. Underpowered, yes, but enjoyable.

[Mike Miller]

Eldritch Master is pretty neat, from Dragon magazine. I forget if that one received an update and republish later on

[Troacctid]

I'll also mention Knight of the Raven for being in the very small club of classes from adventure modules.
Also in that club: Doomdreamer. I don't think I've ever seen that one mentioned in optimization discussions, even though it is quite powerful.

[Zombulian]

Also in that club: Doomdreamer. I don't think I've ever seen that one mentioned in optimization discussions, even though it is quite powerful.

Wow I have literally never heard of that class. I do love Knight of the Raven though, used to use it to give Mystic Ranger turning.

Sohei was always a class that I was curious about, but have seen so little discussion. Probably because it's bad.

My favorite PrC of all time is fairly obscure, it's the Charlatan from Dragon Magazine. A 5 level PrC centered around the Bluff skill where you pretend to be a caster! It's hilarious and can be strangely effective.

An honorable mention is the Zhentarim Skymage which is hilarious because it gives you a flying mount where the only limitation is a HD calculation and it has to be able to fly. Which can lead to some waaaaaaaacky stuff.

[Troacctid]

Also in that club: Doomdreamer. I don't think I've ever seen that one mentioned in optimization discussions, even though it is quite powerful.
Wow I have literally never heard of that class.
Yes, and it comes with what is functionally an ACF for Clerics as well. Are you a Cleric of Tharizdun or the Elder Elemental Eye? Congratulations, you get a bonus to your effective Wisdom equal to half your Cleric level for the purpose of bonus spells and save DCs!

[Warchon]

My brain melted a little reading the Barber page, simply because (due to a minor typo) it details that poisons they use can deal i extra damage per die. (Presumably it should be 1.) I don't even want to begin trying to wrap my brain around trying to make mathematically imaginary hitpoints make sense.

[Venger]

My brain melted a little reading the Barber page, simply because (due to a minor typo) it details that poisons they use can deal i extra damage per die. (Presumably it should be 1.) I don't even want to begin trying to wrap my brain around trying to make mathematically imaginary hitpoints make sense.

aren't all hit points imaginary?

[Nifft]

My brain melted a little reading the Barber page, simply because (due to a minor typo) it details that poisons they use can deal i extra damage per die. (Presumably it should be 1.) I don't even want to begin trying to wrap my brain around trying to make mathematically imaginary hitpoints make sense.

On a critical hit, the damage is multiplied.

So you just need to find a weapon that multiplies your damage by another imaginary number and you're back on the axis.

[Venger]

On a critical hit, the damage is multiplied.

So you just need to find a weapon that multiplies your damage by another imaginary number and you're back on the axis.

Is there some obscure exotic weapon on a table someplace with a 2 in superscript that you could misread as a ^2? Then it'd make you deal real damage again.

[Warchon]

I think Venger has it, you'd need to square the damage somehow. i times a real number is still on the imaginary axis.

[Venger]

yeah, just misread the superscript on a weapon like battlehorn or crescent scythe, assume it's a square weapon, and make it deal real damage.

[Warchon]

Well...there's still the issue of that being weapon damage and the Barber bonus being poison damage. Is there some way we can convert between the two? Maybe some rogue PrC or some weird elementalist trick?

Barber figures out how to deal quadratic damage with this one weird trick. Batman wizards hate her!

[Warchon]

I'm uh. Kinda derailing the purpose of this thread for some nonsensical whimsy on Barbers though. Just a sec, I'm gonna open up a new thread!

[Thurbane]

A couple I never see referenced, possibly due to the obscurity of the source: High Handcrafter and Pathwarden, both from the Shackled City hardcover adventure path. It enjoys the same official status as Dragon Compendium. I believe both classes got tweaks from the magazine print to the hardcover product.

Pathwarden is a fairly underwhelming 5 level PrC which mainly seems to be ptched at rangers.

High Handcrafter is a little more interesting. 6 skill points a level, some stuff related to crafting a talisman that goves you some earth based SLAs and (IMHO) the best part: 3 bonus feats over 5 levels. (you can chose 3/5 casting instead, but I can;t see why you'd enter this class as a caster). Unlike the Pathwarden above, the bonus feats aren't from a defined list, so the PrC can be very handy if you're looking to rack up some bonus feats for whatever reason. Entry reqs are skill ranks and one Skill Focus feat, so you'll end up two feats ahead. You also need to be good (meh) and speak Terran.

Both PrCs have some organization based reqs too.

Here's a list of online only PrCs that I complied a while back, if anyone's interested:


3.0:

Arcane Duelist (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/re/20030224a)
Arch Psion (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20021122b)
Ballisteer (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20030426b)
Cerebral Assassin (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20030207b) (not to be confused with this (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyk85mXpbG4)).
Crystalsinger (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20011123b)
Dark Hunter (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/fey/20030315a)
Devotee of Sardior, Defender of Sardior (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20030926a)
Diamond Warrior (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20020927b)
Guardian of the Road (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/re/20030623a)
Kineticist (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20030328b)
Lady/Lord of the Dead (https://www.wizards.com/dnd/article.asp?x=dnd/dx20021031x)
Life Eater (https://www.wizards.com/dnd/article.asp?x=fr/pg20020911b)
Meditant (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20020623b)
Mindknight (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/re/20020819a)
Percipient (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20031024a)
Planar Vanguard (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20031219a)
Psionic Dragon Comrade, Dragon Defender (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20040327a)
Ruby Disciple (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20030124c)
Seradessian Covert (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20040227a)
Truth Seeker (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20020623c)


===================

3.5:

Avenger (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/prc/20070401a)
Body Leech (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20040925a)
Child of Khyber (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ebds/20070416a)
Cold Iron Warrior (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/fey/20040507a)
Constructor (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20040625b)
Courtier (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/fey/20030905a)
Crystal Master (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20040625d)
Dwarven Chanter (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/prc/20061128a)
Eye of Xanathar (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/prc/20061107b)
Halfling Whistler (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/prc/20061121a)
Master Harper (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/frx/20030604a)
Psychic Assassin (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20040723d)
Psychic Theurge (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20040925b)
Psychic Weapon Master (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20040827d)
Sangehirn (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20040625c)
Silverwood Arcanist (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/re/20031209a)
Silverwood Outrider (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/re/20031202a)
Soul Manifester (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20060217a)
Subverted Psion (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20051125a)
Swiftblade (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/prc/20070327)

[Telonius]

Planeshifter is a pretty obscure prestige class from Manual of the Planes. I used it to nice effect in the Elder Evil villainous competition. It has some seriously weird and wacky abilities, like being able to Plane Shift at will, tearing out chunks of one plane to put them in another, Telepathy (for reasons that I can't even begin to figure), and eventually getting an ever-growing Demiplane that doesn't cost any XP.

[The Viscount]

It's certainly not as obscure as Doomdreamer, but I'll also mention Thrall of Eltab. It's in a normal book, Champions of Ruin, but is tucked in the back with some big monsters instead of with the rest of the Prestige Classes, kind of like how Players Guide to Faerun has vile and exalted PrCs in a different section, except Thrall of Eltab is the only PrC in CoR banished to the back.

[Zombulian]

It's certainly not as obscure as Doomdreamer, but I'll also mention Thrall of Eltab. It's in a normal book, Champions of Ruin, but is tucked in the back with some big monsters instead of with the rest of the Prestige Classes, kind of like how Players Guide to Faerun has vile and exalted PrCs in a different section, except Thrall of Eltab is the only PrC in CoR banished to the back.

Along similar lines is the Maho Tsukai in OA I guess.