GreatWyrmGold
2021-03-24, 04:58 PM
I don't know why this thought came to me earlier today, but it did, and now I'm going to talk about it.
What are prestige classes?
In D&D 3.5 (and 3.0), prestige classes were a type of character class. They were distinguished from ordinary classes by two main factors: They were only available to higher-level characters (generally 5th level at the minimum), and were much more specific than any base class. (Usually—"archmage" is still pretty generic.) Prestige classes allowed a far greater range of character customization, giving you the option of getting some specific class to make your (say) wizard distinct from all the other wizards you'd played...in theory.
In practice, most prestige classes were ridiculously specific, with only one or a handful of character concepts that could fit them and some extremely gimmicky powers. Also, with few exceptions, prestige classes didn't advance any of your base class abilities except spellcasting (which isn't as bad as it sounds, since 3.5 classes tended to be frontloaded, but it's still not good).
Do prestige classes fit into 5e's design paradigm?
Not really.
5e's subclasses are meant to fill the design needs which prestige classes filled in 3.5—they provide mechanics for more specific character concepts, new options for players to get excited over, etc. Some would argue that subclasses do this better than prestige classes, since you pick a subclass in your first few levels instead of needing to wait until the mid-levels to see any reflection of your choices. (They're usually not quite so uselessly gimmicky, so that's another improvement.)
The way subclasses are tied to core classes also restrains them, both for worse and for better. Sure, it greatly reduces their potential scope, but it also means subclasses won't be as worthless or broken as they could be in 3.5. There's not enough space to squeeze in too much busted stuff, any busted stuff that slips in will be spread over the entire level range, and even the most uselessly situational abilities can't erase the base class abilities that the characters would still get.
And let's face it, 3.5's class bloat would have been a problem even if all those classes were well-designed.
But just because most of the same ground is covered by subclasses doesn't mean there's no place for prestige classes in 5e, does there?
...It kinda does?
Nuh-uh.
Then what purpose would a prestige class serve?
In my opinion, a potential prestige class needs a few things to justify not making it a subclass.
First off, it should be at least a little "prestigious". A mere different method/focus for one's magic or fighting or whatever is better-suited to a subclass than a prestige class; prestige classes should generally involve either developing some unique skill, training with some elite organization, or something along those lines.
Second, there should be enough mechanical content to fill a class (without resorting to boring filler abilities). If you can't come up with at least mildly interesting mechanical expressions of a character idea, maybe you don't need to codify it into a mechanical system.
Third, it should be either broad enough to apply to multiple classes (e.g. all arcane casters, all martial classes) or intended as a specialization of an existing subclass. This would make it either too general or too specialized to work as a simple subclass.
If your idea has only one of the above (or none), consider whether you can make it as a subclass.
Let's say that I have an idea for a prestige class. How should I build it?
This probably deserves its own section.
Prestige Classes and Tiers
5e has a fairly rigid schedule for handing out new abilities, which sounds bad but is probably a good thing. To start with, it means that you aren't likely to get many classes like 3.5's fighter or monk, who respectively had a very flat and boring power progression and a rather messy one. More relevantly for homebrewers, it gives you a fairly clear guide for when characters should get various abilities (which you can see, for instance, here (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gR9yfTbXJ2mMz0vYkdVQIzQWKTw9IODpzteFJShl1zo/edit#)).
The most obvious way this comes across is in the tiers of play. At each new tier, characters gain some ability which greatly improves their capabilities—extra attacks, a potent new level of spells, faster recharge of Bardic Inspiration, etc. Prestige classes can't follow quite the same format, since you don't start playing them at level 1, but you can still fit them into the standard progression. Prestige classes usually grant cool new abilities for a character to use, as do tier-ups; just have your prestige class become available at a new-tier level and have it provide new abilities at an appropriate rate to match a single-class character.
Tiers are irritatingly but not irreparably uneven in length. Tier 1 is the four levels from 1-4, Tier 2 is the six from 5-10, Tier 3 is the six from 11-16, and Tier 4 is the last four levels, 17-20. Obviously, a prestige class wouldn't be designed for Tier 1, and I think we won't lose much if we ignore the possibility of a Tier 4 prestige class. So prestige classes would be designed for tiers 2 and/or 3.
How could we fit a prestige class into the level progression? I have two ideas, which I hope the following table will help explain.
Ordinary Class Level
Prestige Class Level [A]
Prestige Class Level
1
—
—
2
—
—
3
—
—
4
—
—
[B]5
1
—
6
2
1
7
3
2
8
4
3
9
5
4
10
6
5
11
7
6
12
(8)
(7)
13
(9)
(8)
14
(10)
(9)
15
(11)
(10)
16
(12)
(11)
17
(13)
(12)
18
(14)
(13)
19
(15)
(14)
20
(16)
(15)
Technically 20th level isn't a new tier, but the capstone is kind of like a new tier.
Idea A: Have a class that characters can qualify for after 4th level, where its first and seventh levels gives the equivalent of a new-tier abilities. Idea B: Have a class that characters can qualify for after 5th level, where its sixth level gives a tier-equivalent ability. In either case, if you want a big prestige class, you can extend it further, with another tier-up ability at the twelfth or thirteenth prestige class level.
I like the feel of Idea A better; you pick up a new prestige class and immediately get a shot of power, replacing whatever similar boost you might have gotten from your base class. (And, of course, it's bookended by a prestige capstone several levels later.) But it has a big downside—nothing's stopping you from picking up the prestige boost and also the 5th-level tier ability one right after the other. Or, worse, taking one level each of multiple prestige classes after five levels of a base class! So, idea B and its six-level prestige classes is probably better.
What would work as prerequisites?
In 3.5, there were these things called "base attack bonuses," "base saving throws," and "skill ranks" which were often used to level-gate prestige classes. For better and for worse, these qualities have been rolled into a single number—proficiency bonus. While requiring that anyone taking a prestige class have a proficiency bonus of at least +3 would block tier 1 characters, it wouldn't be very interesting. The perk of having all those different numbers was that they provided a level gate with character. A class requiring 8 ranks in Hide and Move Silently implies a different flavor than one requiring a base attack bonus of +5 (as well as making it easier/harder for certain classes to enter).
Without that option, we should turn to class abilities. (This is, incidentally, another way that Idea B works better—no class gets anything distinct at 4th level.) If you want a wide variety of classes to be able to enter, your best options are "Extra Attack" and "able to cast 3rd-level spells" (or some subset of 3rd-level spells, e.g. "3rd-level spells with the Fire descriptor" or "3rd-level divination spells"). The former would let in any martial-oriented character of appropriate level, and the latter obviously focuses on primary casters.
Of course, if you have a specific class in mind, you can just pluck that class's 5th-level class feature. If you're creating an exorcism-themed cleric prestige class, for instance, the cleric's Destroy Undead feature is probably a good prerequisite. A monks-only prestige class might require Stunning Fist. Of course, as mentioned above, I think prestige classes should either be broad enough that multiple classes can enter or narrow enough for only a subset of one class; class abilities don't fit that very well. Abilities potentially possessed by multiple classes work better for the former, while the latter obviously works with subclass abilities. For instance, a prestige class which let druids wild-shape into dragons might require the moon druid's combat wild shape ability.
Not all requirements are about making sure you have the right levels to get in; some are flavorful more than anything. Specific races, proficiency in a specific skill/tool/etc, and performing peculiar deeds all work as prestige class requirements; they provide some restrictions on what kinds of characters can join the class, but mostly serve to inform readers what kind of characters should join. A tanky class which requires Intimidate proficiency is going to seem more brutal and less cultured than one which requires History proficiency, even if they offer the same mechanical benefits.
Finally, prestige classes are classes, and by their nature you need to multiclass to obtain one, so you should also have at least one attribute requirement. Part of me wants to say "Just pick a relevant attribute and require a 13," but another part of me argues that prestige classes are Special and should have a requirement of 15 instead. Something for people who actually have a prestige class in mind can figure out, I guess.
What would work for class features?
Something that fits the class. I know this sounds like a cop-out, but the whole point of a prestige class is that it's different.
That said, I do have two suggestions:
Keep in mind what character level each class level will be gained at, and what a single-class character would get at that level. A table like the one I gave above might be useful.
Make sure the class's abilities will continue to be useful as the character gains levels in other classes. The divine duelist's capstone ability might be good at 11th level, but if the campaign goes on long enough to hit tier 4, you don't want the duelist to be left with two classes' worth of abilities that stopped being useful ages ago.
Oh, and "+1 level of existing spellcasting class" was a staple of prestige classes for a reason. If you want spellcasting to continue to be a significant part of your prestige class,
Beyond that...proofread, make sure not to write anything too broken, and be creative.
Can you provide an example?
Heck, I'll provide two. But they're both ideas I came up with specifically to have an idea to use here, so they're probably not going to be ideal.
On one hand, we have the Cavalier, a prestige class based around mounted combat, designed to fit on any martial class chassis. On the other, we have the Thrall of Juiblex, a very specific prestige class for warlocks serving the slime-demon Juiblex who themselves become slime-like. One is a specialized skillset that any martial class can learn (theoretically including Monk), while the other is a fairly specific character concept. The latter is partly inspired by a prestige class in the BoVD, but mostly by how weird a slimy servant of Juiblex would be.
Prerequisites
The cavalier is a martial class. Extra Attack is an obvious generic prerequisite to tack onto this class. Beyond that, cavaliers obviously need to know basic horsemanship; the Handle Animal skill should handle that. Throw in proficiency with the lance, that most classic of equestrian weapons, and Dexterity
Attributes: Dexterity 13*, plus any multiclassing requirements for their prior class(es)
Proficiencies: Handle Animal, lances
Class Features: Extra Attack
*15 if you decide prestige classes need that extra barrier
The Thrall of Juiblex is intended for Warlocks of the fiend patron, but I don't want to be that blunt in saying it. Luckily, there's a straightforward workaround. 3rd-level spells are a natural 5th-level gate, and guess what one of the fiend pact's 3rd-level spells is? Stinking cloud. Not the most Juiblexey spell in the book, but it's a contender.
I'm willing to have an eldritch invocation as a requirement, too. (This lets other spellcasters join if they pick up the Eldritch Adept feat, which is fine by me..) One of the BoVD ToJ's abilities lets it use alter self at will, and part of this class's concept is becoming more amorphous, so Mask of Many Faces seems like a decent requirement.
Let's wrap things up with a skill proficiency (Arcana will have to stand in for Knowledge (the planes)) and a couple of special flavor requirements.
Also attributes. Slimes are traditionally hardy, and the BoVD version required a good Fortitude save, so a Constitution requirement alongside Charisma seems fine.
Attributes: Constitution 13, Charisma 13*, plus any multiclassing requirements for their prior class(es)
Class Features: Mask of Many Faces eldritch invocation
Proficiencies: Arcana
Spellcasting: Must be able to cast stinking cloud.
Special: Must be able to speak and read Abyssal.
Special: Must have been polymorphed or experience some sort of shape changing experience.
Special: The thrall of Juiblex is initiated in a horrific rite that involves the sacrifice of a living being. At least three oozes, slimes or puddings must be present for the ritual. The victim of the ritual must be dissolved in acid.
*15 if you decide prestige classes need that extra barrier
Chassis
Most basic elements of a class can't apply to a prestige class, because multiclassing doesn't usually provide extra proficiencies in 5e. That said, hit dice still exist.
Cavaliers are a martial class, and Thralls of Juiblex were pretty hardy (especially for spellcasters), so both get d10 hit dice, and increase their hit point total by 1d10 (or 6) plus their Constitution modifier per level.
Cavalier Features
First, I go to the Mounted Combat section to see if I can think of any neat equestrian abilities to stick into the class. Un/Fortunately, the rules for mounted combat are pretty simple and straightforward. The only things that come to mind are letting your mount take different kinds of actions when you control it and maybe not letting your opponents choose whether they target you or your mount for AoO's.
The second one is really niche, and would mostly serve to either use your poor horse as a living shield or stop people from cutting the horse from under you. Useful, but probably not game-changing on its own. The former...it amounts to letting your mount do things. The main thing you'd most often want to do with a mount is attack. Maybe there's a more straightforward way to do 90% of what people would want to free up their mounts to do? Or would the additional freedom of being able to attack or have their mount do anything else be better?
Most historic cavalry (leaving out ones who fought with bows, javelins, etc) fought by charging at enemy lines to break them up, either by freaking them out or by getting them to chase the cavalry when they feigned retreat. (Here (https://acoup.blog/2019/05/04/new-acquisitions-that-dothraki-charge/) is a blog post where a PhD explains in detail how this works.) Of course, it would be impossible to try and implement detailed mechanics for the psychological impact of cavalry in a tabletop wargame, and pointless to do so for an RPG where combat rarely involves more than a dozen combatants.
Still, I think drawing on that idea—of cavalry charging in and routing the enemy with their sheer presence—is something worth drawing on. Even though feats are (technically) an optional rule, the Charger feat is a decent place to look at for inspiration.
Some kind of trample-ey ability could be useful, too. Fits in with the “shock cavalry charge” thing. Focusing on that, on charging and terrifying opponents, seems like a good direction to go.
The last ability—Dread Shock—has two parts. One intensifies the effects of the charging abilities by letting them apply to multiple attacks—more damage, more chances to frighten enemies. The other effectively forces enemies to run away at least a little if they want to do anything, giving an opportunity attack (and another chance to frighten remaining enemies).
I’m not sure about the balance. On one hand, if the attack, Extra Attack, and mount attack all hit, that’s triple the bonus damage and triple the fear chances. On the other hand, if only one of those attacks hits, then the only benefit this ability provides is forcing the enemies to run a little harder.
Level
Features
1
Spirited Charge
2
Two Ride as One
3
Ability Score Improvement
4
Terrifying Charge
5
Two Fight As One
6
Dread Shock
Spirited Charge: Cavaliers tend to enter combat by charging directly at the enemy, weapon pointed at the enemy. To use this ability, your mount must use the Dash action and move at least 10 feet in a straight line towards an enemy, and you must take the Attack action. When performing a spirited charge, your first successful attack deals an additional 5 damage.
Two Ride as One: A cavalier knows their steed as well as they know their own body, and the steed responds in kind. At second level, you gain advantage on any Handle Animal checks involving a creature you ride regularly. In addition, you may direct a mount you control to take the Help or Ready action in combat (in addition to Dash, Disengage, or Dodge). Finally, when your mount would take damage from an attack, spell, or similar effect, you may use a reaction to take that damage yourself instead.
Ability Score Increase: When you reach 3rd level, you can increase one ability score of your
choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can’t increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.
Terrifying Charge: Starting at 4th level, the sight and sound of your charging horse inspires terror in your enemies. The first time you hit with an attack in a turn you use Spirited Charge, that creature and all others within 30 feet of the target who are hostile to you must make a Wisdom saving throw. The DC is equal to 10 plus your proficiency bonus; if the target of your attack was killed or incapacitated by your attack, all other creatures make their saving throw with disadvantage. Any creatures who fail this saving throw are frightened of you for one minute or until you are slain, incapacitated, or unhorsed.
Creatures who are adjacent to and frightened of you have disadvantage on attacks and cannot take the Aid action.
Two Fight as One: A cavalier’s mount fights as fiercely as its master. Starting at 5th level, you may direct a mount you control to take the Attack action. In addition, you may use Spirited Charge in a turn when your mount takes the Attack action (it must still move at least 10 feet in a straight line).
Finally, when using Spirited Charge, your mount may make an attack with a hoof, claw, or similar appendage against an opponent you attack. If that attack hits, the target must make a Strength saving throw (DC = 8 + your Proficiency bonus + your mount’s Strength modifier) or be knocked prone.
Dread Shock: At sixth level, the fear of a cavalier’s charge intensifies to a fever pitch. When using Spirited Charge, all attacks you or your mount make that turn deal an additional 5 damage. (This does not stack with Spirited Charge—your first successful attack does not deal an additional 10 damage.)
In addition, all attacks you or your mount make before the end of your next turn activate your Terrifying Charge feature. Finally, creatures who are frightened of you cannot take actions if they are within reach of your weapon. (They can move away and then take an action that turn, but incur an attack of opportunity.)
Note: I considered experimenting with prestige subclasses, specifically breaking this into a Lancer and a Cavalier subclass with features at 2nd and 5th level. Then I realized that requiring horse archers to be proficient with lances, while not terribly game-altering nor as historically inaccurate as it sounds, would be weird in a fantasy world.
Because I wanted to make this pun, but couldn’t justify adding lightning powers to the cavalier.
Thrall of Juiblex Features
With the cavalier, I was free to make whatever within the broad constraints of “shock cavalry”. The Thrall is not only tied more strongly to an existing 3.0 prestige class, but to a specific class and class progression.
Let’s start with spellcasting: It’s progressing as normal. I’m torn on whether or not to include Mystic Arcanum in that spell progression; it feels hacky, but the way warlock spell progression works means that if I didn’t, a warlock who took all six levels of Thrall immediately wouldn’t see any improvements in spellcasting power for several levels thereafter, just a couple of new spells they already knew. I decided against doing so in the end, but mostly because Mystic Arcanum would replace the prestige class capstone.
Speaking of which, I’m keeping one of the eldritch invocations warlocks get at this level range. That helps the class feel warlocky.
Now for new features.
I started in an odd place with this class—the capstone. I know I want the Thrall to transform into an amorphous, monstrous thing, and I want it to be more meaningful than a handful of random immunities. But I also don’t want to radically, permanently transform the character in a way that would ruin their ability to do normal person things.
Luckily, shapeshifting is already part of the class’s power set, so turning into a blob (or being a blob and turning human) isn’t exactly out of the question. But then, the question is “What does the blob do?” Do I want to make it a melee combatant, pushing the prestige class in a gish direction? If so, what do I do about the fact that gish warlocks are likely to pick Pact of the Blade? (Oozes are notorious for not using swords.) If not, what do I focus the class on? Poisoning enemies? Summoning oozes/demons? Shapeshifting for social situations?
...the gish thing probably makes the most sense, with a side of social stuff. So I should probably put some thought into the Pact of the Blade. Maybe a first-level ability that deals acid/poison damage, which you can empower by absorbing the pactblade?
The BoVD class had a Corrosive Touch ability, which makes sense to include if we’re making this a gish. It dealt acid damage on a touch, obviously. A fairly straightforward adaptation would basically serve as a bonus touch-range attack cantrip, which is cool but not that great on its own. Throw in some physical damage alongside it and it’s kinda like green flame/booming blade without the side benefits, but since it’s an attack instead of a cantrip it can be used twice with Thirsting Blade. This seems like it could be good, but probably not overpowered if I drop the damage for a single attack a smidge.
Thralls of Juiblex get a new spell level at 2nd level, so they shouldn’t get too much of a feature there. But they still deserve something...maybe that’s a good place to stick an ability making their disguise self more convincing?
With all of that, there’s only room for the capstone—some kind of slime transformation—and one other ability. I’m torn; I was thinking of throwing in some kind of mitosisy ability that basically let you summon slimes (since the BoVD Thrall had so many summoning abilities), but I feel like there needs to be a stepping stone between “nerfed alter self” and “turn into a blob”.
That last empty spot happens to be at 10th level, when an ordinary Fiend-patron warlock would get Fiendish Resilience, so some kind of damage resistance makes sense. The inability to change what kind fo damage you resist is a pain, so let’s add another “you can pretend to be a wider variety of things” ability in there.
I never got around to deciding what being a big slime actually did, huh? Hold on, let me write some stuff that sounds cool but wouldn’t be too broken for an at-will ability. Damage resistance...big slam...no equipment...hm...
Level
Features
Spellcasting
1
Corrosive Touch
+1 level of existing spellcasting class
2
Fluid Form
+1 level of existing spellcasting class
3
Ability Score Improvement
+1 level of existing spellcasting class
4
Eldritch Invocation
+1 level of existing spellcasting class
5
Turbulent Form
+1 level of existing spellcasting class
6
Amorphous
+1 level of existing spellcasting class
Spellcasting: Whenever you gain a level in Thrall of Juiblex, you gain new spell slots (and spells/cantrips known, if applicable) as if you had also gained a level in a spellcasting class to which you belonged before adding the Thrall level. You do not, however, gain any other benefit a character
of that class would gain (improvements to wild shape, additional sorcery points, and so on). If you had more than one spellcasting class before becoming a Thrall, you must decide which class to add each level for this purpose.
Eldritch Invocations: When you gain a level in this class, you can choose one of the invocations you know and replace it with another invocation that you could learn at that level. Add your Thrall of Juiblex class level to your warlock level (if any) for the purposes of qualifying for eldritch invocations, whether they are gained through this feature or some other means.
In addition, at 4th level, you gain an eldritch invocation of your choice. You have access to the same list of eldritch invocations as a warlock.
Corrosive Touch: You may let your acidic fluids seep through your skin to digest your food or enemies. When used on inanimate organic matter such as wood or leaves, this fluid renders it digestible (though likely unappetizing). You may attempt to splash a creature within reach with acid as a melee spell attack. If you hit, you deal 2d8 acid damage; this increases to 3d8 at 11th level and 4d8 at 17th level.
If you have the Pact of the Blade feature, you may manifest your pact weapon as a modified limb. This limb may be unnaturally enlarged by your shapeshifting, swollen with fluids, or otherwise obviously altered. Regardless, this limb deals 1d10 bludgeoning damage plus 1d8 acid damage (2d8 at 11th level and 3d8 at 17th). This limb is treated as your pact weapon as long as it is enlarged (for instance, for the purpose of invocations which affect your pact weapon).
Fluid Form: As you dedicate your body to Juiblex, it begins to lose cohesion, letting you manipulate it on a more fundamental level than you could before.
When you cast disguise self, it causes your features to physically distort. The changes are imperfect, and any transformed body parts gain a slightly slimy texture; a creature who uses its action to inspect your appearance can realize that something is wrong by succeeding on an Intelligence (Investigation) check against your spell save DC plus five.
In addition, the range of forms you can appear to take expands. You may change your apparent race, height, weight, facial features, sound of your voice, hair length, coloration, or distinguishing characteristics, if any. This does not change your statistics, you can’t appear as a creature of a different size, and your basic shape must be similar to your natural form. (A typical bipedal humanoid could take the form of an ape or other knuckle-walking creature, for instance, but not an obligate quadruped.)
Turbulent Form: Your body no longer has any meaningful internal anatomy; externally, you only have what anatomy you want. You gain resistance to piercing damage, unless that damage is dealt by a magical or silver weapon.
In addition, you can appear to take a wider variety of forms with disguise self; you can change your size by up to one category, or take the form of a creature with a different shape (such as a serpent or giant spider). Neither of these changes your statistics, except for the space you occupy. You may also take the form of an object, as long as that object is no more than one size category larger or smaller than your normal form.
Using tubulent form (except for the damage resistance) strains your shapeshifting abilities; a Wisdom (Perception) check against your spell save DC lets an observer immediately recognize that something is off.
Amorphous: Having fully dedicated your body to Juiblex, your true form is now an amorphous blob (though you can maintain your former shape without issue) Transforming into your true form requires a bonus action, and has the following effects:
You absorb all items you are carrying or wearing into your form. Magic items continue to function, but you cannot make weapon attacks.
Your size increases by one category, affecting your space but not reach.
Your armor class is equal to 13 + your Dexterity modifier, and you gain resistance to slashing damage (unless dealt by a silver or magical weapon).
You gain a slam attack, dealing 1d6 bludgeoning damage plus the acid damage from your corrosive touch. If you have the Pact of the Blade feature, you instead deal 2d8 bludgeoning damage plus the acid damage from your corrosive touch, and the slam is treated as your pact weapon.
You may return to your former shape, or any shape you could take with disguise self, as an action.
I'm open to feedback about the classes themselves, but they’re secondary to their purpose of demonstrating how my ideas about prestige classes could work. Which I hope I’ve done well.
What are prestige classes?
In D&D 3.5 (and 3.0), prestige classes were a type of character class. They were distinguished from ordinary classes by two main factors: They were only available to higher-level characters (generally 5th level at the minimum), and were much more specific than any base class. (Usually—"archmage" is still pretty generic.) Prestige classes allowed a far greater range of character customization, giving you the option of getting some specific class to make your (say) wizard distinct from all the other wizards you'd played...in theory.
In practice, most prestige classes were ridiculously specific, with only one or a handful of character concepts that could fit them and some extremely gimmicky powers. Also, with few exceptions, prestige classes didn't advance any of your base class abilities except spellcasting (which isn't as bad as it sounds, since 3.5 classes tended to be frontloaded, but it's still not good).
Do prestige classes fit into 5e's design paradigm?
Not really.
5e's subclasses are meant to fill the design needs which prestige classes filled in 3.5—they provide mechanics for more specific character concepts, new options for players to get excited over, etc. Some would argue that subclasses do this better than prestige classes, since you pick a subclass in your first few levels instead of needing to wait until the mid-levels to see any reflection of your choices. (They're usually not quite so uselessly gimmicky, so that's another improvement.)
The way subclasses are tied to core classes also restrains them, both for worse and for better. Sure, it greatly reduces their potential scope, but it also means subclasses won't be as worthless or broken as they could be in 3.5. There's not enough space to squeeze in too much busted stuff, any busted stuff that slips in will be spread over the entire level range, and even the most uselessly situational abilities can't erase the base class abilities that the characters would still get.
And let's face it, 3.5's class bloat would have been a problem even if all those classes were well-designed.
But just because most of the same ground is covered by subclasses doesn't mean there's no place for prestige classes in 5e, does there?
...It kinda does?
Nuh-uh.
Then what purpose would a prestige class serve?
In my opinion, a potential prestige class needs a few things to justify not making it a subclass.
First off, it should be at least a little "prestigious". A mere different method/focus for one's magic or fighting or whatever is better-suited to a subclass than a prestige class; prestige classes should generally involve either developing some unique skill, training with some elite organization, or something along those lines.
Second, there should be enough mechanical content to fill a class (without resorting to boring filler abilities). If you can't come up with at least mildly interesting mechanical expressions of a character idea, maybe you don't need to codify it into a mechanical system.
Third, it should be either broad enough to apply to multiple classes (e.g. all arcane casters, all martial classes) or intended as a specialization of an existing subclass. This would make it either too general or too specialized to work as a simple subclass.
If your idea has only one of the above (or none), consider whether you can make it as a subclass.
Let's say that I have an idea for a prestige class. How should I build it?
This probably deserves its own section.
Prestige Classes and Tiers
5e has a fairly rigid schedule for handing out new abilities, which sounds bad but is probably a good thing. To start with, it means that you aren't likely to get many classes like 3.5's fighter or monk, who respectively had a very flat and boring power progression and a rather messy one. More relevantly for homebrewers, it gives you a fairly clear guide for when characters should get various abilities (which you can see, for instance, here (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gR9yfTbXJ2mMz0vYkdVQIzQWKTw9IODpzteFJShl1zo/edit#)).
The most obvious way this comes across is in the tiers of play. At each new tier, characters gain some ability which greatly improves their capabilities—extra attacks, a potent new level of spells, faster recharge of Bardic Inspiration, etc. Prestige classes can't follow quite the same format, since you don't start playing them at level 1, but you can still fit them into the standard progression. Prestige classes usually grant cool new abilities for a character to use, as do tier-ups; just have your prestige class become available at a new-tier level and have it provide new abilities at an appropriate rate to match a single-class character.
Tiers are irritatingly but not irreparably uneven in length. Tier 1 is the four levels from 1-4, Tier 2 is the six from 5-10, Tier 3 is the six from 11-16, and Tier 4 is the last four levels, 17-20. Obviously, a prestige class wouldn't be designed for Tier 1, and I think we won't lose much if we ignore the possibility of a Tier 4 prestige class. So prestige classes would be designed for tiers 2 and/or 3.
How could we fit a prestige class into the level progression? I have two ideas, which I hope the following table will help explain.
Ordinary Class Level
Prestige Class Level [A]
Prestige Class Level
1
—
—
2
—
—
3
—
—
4
—
—
[B]5
1
—
6
2
1
7
3
2
8
4
3
9
5
4
10
6
5
11
7
6
12
(8)
(7)
13
(9)
(8)
14
(10)
(9)
15
(11)
(10)
16
(12)
(11)
17
(13)
(12)
18
(14)
(13)
19
(15)
(14)
20
(16)
(15)
Technically 20th level isn't a new tier, but the capstone is kind of like a new tier.
Idea A: Have a class that characters can qualify for after 4th level, where its first and seventh levels gives the equivalent of a new-tier abilities. Idea B: Have a class that characters can qualify for after 5th level, where its sixth level gives a tier-equivalent ability. In either case, if you want a big prestige class, you can extend it further, with another tier-up ability at the twelfth or thirteenth prestige class level.
I like the feel of Idea A better; you pick up a new prestige class and immediately get a shot of power, replacing whatever similar boost you might have gotten from your base class. (And, of course, it's bookended by a prestige capstone several levels later.) But it has a big downside—nothing's stopping you from picking up the prestige boost and also the 5th-level tier ability one right after the other. Or, worse, taking one level each of multiple prestige classes after five levels of a base class! So, idea B and its six-level prestige classes is probably better.
What would work as prerequisites?
In 3.5, there were these things called "base attack bonuses," "base saving throws," and "skill ranks" which were often used to level-gate prestige classes. For better and for worse, these qualities have been rolled into a single number—proficiency bonus. While requiring that anyone taking a prestige class have a proficiency bonus of at least +3 would block tier 1 characters, it wouldn't be very interesting. The perk of having all those different numbers was that they provided a level gate with character. A class requiring 8 ranks in Hide and Move Silently implies a different flavor than one requiring a base attack bonus of +5 (as well as making it easier/harder for certain classes to enter).
Without that option, we should turn to class abilities. (This is, incidentally, another way that Idea B works better—no class gets anything distinct at 4th level.) If you want a wide variety of classes to be able to enter, your best options are "Extra Attack" and "able to cast 3rd-level spells" (or some subset of 3rd-level spells, e.g. "3rd-level spells with the Fire descriptor" or "3rd-level divination spells"). The former would let in any martial-oriented character of appropriate level, and the latter obviously focuses on primary casters.
Of course, if you have a specific class in mind, you can just pluck that class's 5th-level class feature. If you're creating an exorcism-themed cleric prestige class, for instance, the cleric's Destroy Undead feature is probably a good prerequisite. A monks-only prestige class might require Stunning Fist. Of course, as mentioned above, I think prestige classes should either be broad enough that multiple classes can enter or narrow enough for only a subset of one class; class abilities don't fit that very well. Abilities potentially possessed by multiple classes work better for the former, while the latter obviously works with subclass abilities. For instance, a prestige class which let druids wild-shape into dragons might require the moon druid's combat wild shape ability.
Not all requirements are about making sure you have the right levels to get in; some are flavorful more than anything. Specific races, proficiency in a specific skill/tool/etc, and performing peculiar deeds all work as prestige class requirements; they provide some restrictions on what kinds of characters can join the class, but mostly serve to inform readers what kind of characters should join. A tanky class which requires Intimidate proficiency is going to seem more brutal and less cultured than one which requires History proficiency, even if they offer the same mechanical benefits.
Finally, prestige classes are classes, and by their nature you need to multiclass to obtain one, so you should also have at least one attribute requirement. Part of me wants to say "Just pick a relevant attribute and require a 13," but another part of me argues that prestige classes are Special and should have a requirement of 15 instead. Something for people who actually have a prestige class in mind can figure out, I guess.
What would work for class features?
Something that fits the class. I know this sounds like a cop-out, but the whole point of a prestige class is that it's different.
That said, I do have two suggestions:
Keep in mind what character level each class level will be gained at, and what a single-class character would get at that level. A table like the one I gave above might be useful.
Make sure the class's abilities will continue to be useful as the character gains levels in other classes. The divine duelist's capstone ability might be good at 11th level, but if the campaign goes on long enough to hit tier 4, you don't want the duelist to be left with two classes' worth of abilities that stopped being useful ages ago.
Oh, and "+1 level of existing spellcasting class" was a staple of prestige classes for a reason. If you want spellcasting to continue to be a significant part of your prestige class,
Beyond that...proofread, make sure not to write anything too broken, and be creative.
Can you provide an example?
Heck, I'll provide two. But they're both ideas I came up with specifically to have an idea to use here, so they're probably not going to be ideal.
On one hand, we have the Cavalier, a prestige class based around mounted combat, designed to fit on any martial class chassis. On the other, we have the Thrall of Juiblex, a very specific prestige class for warlocks serving the slime-demon Juiblex who themselves become slime-like. One is a specialized skillset that any martial class can learn (theoretically including Monk), while the other is a fairly specific character concept. The latter is partly inspired by a prestige class in the BoVD, but mostly by how weird a slimy servant of Juiblex would be.
Prerequisites
The cavalier is a martial class. Extra Attack is an obvious generic prerequisite to tack onto this class. Beyond that, cavaliers obviously need to know basic horsemanship; the Handle Animal skill should handle that. Throw in proficiency with the lance, that most classic of equestrian weapons, and Dexterity
Attributes: Dexterity 13*, plus any multiclassing requirements for their prior class(es)
Proficiencies: Handle Animal, lances
Class Features: Extra Attack
*15 if you decide prestige classes need that extra barrier
The Thrall of Juiblex is intended for Warlocks of the fiend patron, but I don't want to be that blunt in saying it. Luckily, there's a straightforward workaround. 3rd-level spells are a natural 5th-level gate, and guess what one of the fiend pact's 3rd-level spells is? Stinking cloud. Not the most Juiblexey spell in the book, but it's a contender.
I'm willing to have an eldritch invocation as a requirement, too. (This lets other spellcasters join if they pick up the Eldritch Adept feat, which is fine by me..) One of the BoVD ToJ's abilities lets it use alter self at will, and part of this class's concept is becoming more amorphous, so Mask of Many Faces seems like a decent requirement.
Let's wrap things up with a skill proficiency (Arcana will have to stand in for Knowledge (the planes)) and a couple of special flavor requirements.
Also attributes. Slimes are traditionally hardy, and the BoVD version required a good Fortitude save, so a Constitution requirement alongside Charisma seems fine.
Attributes: Constitution 13, Charisma 13*, plus any multiclassing requirements for their prior class(es)
Class Features: Mask of Many Faces eldritch invocation
Proficiencies: Arcana
Spellcasting: Must be able to cast stinking cloud.
Special: Must be able to speak and read Abyssal.
Special: Must have been polymorphed or experience some sort of shape changing experience.
Special: The thrall of Juiblex is initiated in a horrific rite that involves the sacrifice of a living being. At least three oozes, slimes or puddings must be present for the ritual. The victim of the ritual must be dissolved in acid.
*15 if you decide prestige classes need that extra barrier
Chassis
Most basic elements of a class can't apply to a prestige class, because multiclassing doesn't usually provide extra proficiencies in 5e. That said, hit dice still exist.
Cavaliers are a martial class, and Thralls of Juiblex were pretty hardy (especially for spellcasters), so both get d10 hit dice, and increase their hit point total by 1d10 (or 6) plus their Constitution modifier per level.
Cavalier Features
First, I go to the Mounted Combat section to see if I can think of any neat equestrian abilities to stick into the class. Un/Fortunately, the rules for mounted combat are pretty simple and straightforward. The only things that come to mind are letting your mount take different kinds of actions when you control it and maybe not letting your opponents choose whether they target you or your mount for AoO's.
The second one is really niche, and would mostly serve to either use your poor horse as a living shield or stop people from cutting the horse from under you. Useful, but probably not game-changing on its own. The former...it amounts to letting your mount do things. The main thing you'd most often want to do with a mount is attack. Maybe there's a more straightforward way to do 90% of what people would want to free up their mounts to do? Or would the additional freedom of being able to attack or have their mount do anything else be better?
Most historic cavalry (leaving out ones who fought with bows, javelins, etc) fought by charging at enemy lines to break them up, either by freaking them out or by getting them to chase the cavalry when they feigned retreat. (Here (https://acoup.blog/2019/05/04/new-acquisitions-that-dothraki-charge/) is a blog post where a PhD explains in detail how this works.) Of course, it would be impossible to try and implement detailed mechanics for the psychological impact of cavalry in a tabletop wargame, and pointless to do so for an RPG where combat rarely involves more than a dozen combatants.
Still, I think drawing on that idea—of cavalry charging in and routing the enemy with their sheer presence—is something worth drawing on. Even though feats are (technically) an optional rule, the Charger feat is a decent place to look at for inspiration.
Some kind of trample-ey ability could be useful, too. Fits in with the “shock cavalry charge” thing. Focusing on that, on charging and terrifying opponents, seems like a good direction to go.
The last ability—Dread Shock—has two parts. One intensifies the effects of the charging abilities by letting them apply to multiple attacks—more damage, more chances to frighten enemies. The other effectively forces enemies to run away at least a little if they want to do anything, giving an opportunity attack (and another chance to frighten remaining enemies).
I’m not sure about the balance. On one hand, if the attack, Extra Attack, and mount attack all hit, that’s triple the bonus damage and triple the fear chances. On the other hand, if only one of those attacks hits, then the only benefit this ability provides is forcing the enemies to run a little harder.
Level
Features
1
Spirited Charge
2
Two Ride as One
3
Ability Score Improvement
4
Terrifying Charge
5
Two Fight As One
6
Dread Shock
Spirited Charge: Cavaliers tend to enter combat by charging directly at the enemy, weapon pointed at the enemy. To use this ability, your mount must use the Dash action and move at least 10 feet in a straight line towards an enemy, and you must take the Attack action. When performing a spirited charge, your first successful attack deals an additional 5 damage.
Two Ride as One: A cavalier knows their steed as well as they know their own body, and the steed responds in kind. At second level, you gain advantage on any Handle Animal checks involving a creature you ride regularly. In addition, you may direct a mount you control to take the Help or Ready action in combat (in addition to Dash, Disengage, or Dodge). Finally, when your mount would take damage from an attack, spell, or similar effect, you may use a reaction to take that damage yourself instead.
Ability Score Increase: When you reach 3rd level, you can increase one ability score of your
choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can’t increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.
Terrifying Charge: Starting at 4th level, the sight and sound of your charging horse inspires terror in your enemies. The first time you hit with an attack in a turn you use Spirited Charge, that creature and all others within 30 feet of the target who are hostile to you must make a Wisdom saving throw. The DC is equal to 10 plus your proficiency bonus; if the target of your attack was killed or incapacitated by your attack, all other creatures make their saving throw with disadvantage. Any creatures who fail this saving throw are frightened of you for one minute or until you are slain, incapacitated, or unhorsed.
Creatures who are adjacent to and frightened of you have disadvantage on attacks and cannot take the Aid action.
Two Fight as One: A cavalier’s mount fights as fiercely as its master. Starting at 5th level, you may direct a mount you control to take the Attack action. In addition, you may use Spirited Charge in a turn when your mount takes the Attack action (it must still move at least 10 feet in a straight line).
Finally, when using Spirited Charge, your mount may make an attack with a hoof, claw, or similar appendage against an opponent you attack. If that attack hits, the target must make a Strength saving throw (DC = 8 + your Proficiency bonus + your mount’s Strength modifier) or be knocked prone.
Dread Shock: At sixth level, the fear of a cavalier’s charge intensifies to a fever pitch. When using Spirited Charge, all attacks you or your mount make that turn deal an additional 5 damage. (This does not stack with Spirited Charge—your first successful attack does not deal an additional 10 damage.)
In addition, all attacks you or your mount make before the end of your next turn activate your Terrifying Charge feature. Finally, creatures who are frightened of you cannot take actions if they are within reach of your weapon. (They can move away and then take an action that turn, but incur an attack of opportunity.)
Note: I considered experimenting with prestige subclasses, specifically breaking this into a Lancer and a Cavalier subclass with features at 2nd and 5th level. Then I realized that requiring horse archers to be proficient with lances, while not terribly game-altering nor as historically inaccurate as it sounds, would be weird in a fantasy world.
Because I wanted to make this pun, but couldn’t justify adding lightning powers to the cavalier.
Thrall of Juiblex Features
With the cavalier, I was free to make whatever within the broad constraints of “shock cavalry”. The Thrall is not only tied more strongly to an existing 3.0 prestige class, but to a specific class and class progression.
Let’s start with spellcasting: It’s progressing as normal. I’m torn on whether or not to include Mystic Arcanum in that spell progression; it feels hacky, but the way warlock spell progression works means that if I didn’t, a warlock who took all six levels of Thrall immediately wouldn’t see any improvements in spellcasting power for several levels thereafter, just a couple of new spells they already knew. I decided against doing so in the end, but mostly because Mystic Arcanum would replace the prestige class capstone.
Speaking of which, I’m keeping one of the eldritch invocations warlocks get at this level range. That helps the class feel warlocky.
Now for new features.
I started in an odd place with this class—the capstone. I know I want the Thrall to transform into an amorphous, monstrous thing, and I want it to be more meaningful than a handful of random immunities. But I also don’t want to radically, permanently transform the character in a way that would ruin their ability to do normal person things.
Luckily, shapeshifting is already part of the class’s power set, so turning into a blob (or being a blob and turning human) isn’t exactly out of the question. But then, the question is “What does the blob do?” Do I want to make it a melee combatant, pushing the prestige class in a gish direction? If so, what do I do about the fact that gish warlocks are likely to pick Pact of the Blade? (Oozes are notorious for not using swords.) If not, what do I focus the class on? Poisoning enemies? Summoning oozes/demons? Shapeshifting for social situations?
...the gish thing probably makes the most sense, with a side of social stuff. So I should probably put some thought into the Pact of the Blade. Maybe a first-level ability that deals acid/poison damage, which you can empower by absorbing the pactblade?
The BoVD class had a Corrosive Touch ability, which makes sense to include if we’re making this a gish. It dealt acid damage on a touch, obviously. A fairly straightforward adaptation would basically serve as a bonus touch-range attack cantrip, which is cool but not that great on its own. Throw in some physical damage alongside it and it’s kinda like green flame/booming blade without the side benefits, but since it’s an attack instead of a cantrip it can be used twice with Thirsting Blade. This seems like it could be good, but probably not overpowered if I drop the damage for a single attack a smidge.
Thralls of Juiblex get a new spell level at 2nd level, so they shouldn’t get too much of a feature there. But they still deserve something...maybe that’s a good place to stick an ability making their disguise self more convincing?
With all of that, there’s only room for the capstone—some kind of slime transformation—and one other ability. I’m torn; I was thinking of throwing in some kind of mitosisy ability that basically let you summon slimes (since the BoVD Thrall had so many summoning abilities), but I feel like there needs to be a stepping stone between “nerfed alter self” and “turn into a blob”.
That last empty spot happens to be at 10th level, when an ordinary Fiend-patron warlock would get Fiendish Resilience, so some kind of damage resistance makes sense. The inability to change what kind fo damage you resist is a pain, so let’s add another “you can pretend to be a wider variety of things” ability in there.
I never got around to deciding what being a big slime actually did, huh? Hold on, let me write some stuff that sounds cool but wouldn’t be too broken for an at-will ability. Damage resistance...big slam...no equipment...hm...
Level
Features
Spellcasting
1
Corrosive Touch
+1 level of existing spellcasting class
2
Fluid Form
+1 level of existing spellcasting class
3
Ability Score Improvement
+1 level of existing spellcasting class
4
Eldritch Invocation
+1 level of existing spellcasting class
5
Turbulent Form
+1 level of existing spellcasting class
6
Amorphous
+1 level of existing spellcasting class
Spellcasting: Whenever you gain a level in Thrall of Juiblex, you gain new spell slots (and spells/cantrips known, if applicable) as if you had also gained a level in a spellcasting class to which you belonged before adding the Thrall level. You do not, however, gain any other benefit a character
of that class would gain (improvements to wild shape, additional sorcery points, and so on). If you had more than one spellcasting class before becoming a Thrall, you must decide which class to add each level for this purpose.
Eldritch Invocations: When you gain a level in this class, you can choose one of the invocations you know and replace it with another invocation that you could learn at that level. Add your Thrall of Juiblex class level to your warlock level (if any) for the purposes of qualifying for eldritch invocations, whether they are gained through this feature or some other means.
In addition, at 4th level, you gain an eldritch invocation of your choice. You have access to the same list of eldritch invocations as a warlock.
Corrosive Touch: You may let your acidic fluids seep through your skin to digest your food or enemies. When used on inanimate organic matter such as wood or leaves, this fluid renders it digestible (though likely unappetizing). You may attempt to splash a creature within reach with acid as a melee spell attack. If you hit, you deal 2d8 acid damage; this increases to 3d8 at 11th level and 4d8 at 17th level.
If you have the Pact of the Blade feature, you may manifest your pact weapon as a modified limb. This limb may be unnaturally enlarged by your shapeshifting, swollen with fluids, or otherwise obviously altered. Regardless, this limb deals 1d10 bludgeoning damage plus 1d8 acid damage (2d8 at 11th level and 3d8 at 17th). This limb is treated as your pact weapon as long as it is enlarged (for instance, for the purpose of invocations which affect your pact weapon).
Fluid Form: As you dedicate your body to Juiblex, it begins to lose cohesion, letting you manipulate it on a more fundamental level than you could before.
When you cast disguise self, it causes your features to physically distort. The changes are imperfect, and any transformed body parts gain a slightly slimy texture; a creature who uses its action to inspect your appearance can realize that something is wrong by succeeding on an Intelligence (Investigation) check against your spell save DC plus five.
In addition, the range of forms you can appear to take expands. You may change your apparent race, height, weight, facial features, sound of your voice, hair length, coloration, or distinguishing characteristics, if any. This does not change your statistics, you can’t appear as a creature of a different size, and your basic shape must be similar to your natural form. (A typical bipedal humanoid could take the form of an ape or other knuckle-walking creature, for instance, but not an obligate quadruped.)
Turbulent Form: Your body no longer has any meaningful internal anatomy; externally, you only have what anatomy you want. You gain resistance to piercing damage, unless that damage is dealt by a magical or silver weapon.
In addition, you can appear to take a wider variety of forms with disguise self; you can change your size by up to one category, or take the form of a creature with a different shape (such as a serpent or giant spider). Neither of these changes your statistics, except for the space you occupy. You may also take the form of an object, as long as that object is no more than one size category larger or smaller than your normal form.
Using tubulent form (except for the damage resistance) strains your shapeshifting abilities; a Wisdom (Perception) check against your spell save DC lets an observer immediately recognize that something is off.
Amorphous: Having fully dedicated your body to Juiblex, your true form is now an amorphous blob (though you can maintain your former shape without issue) Transforming into your true form requires a bonus action, and has the following effects:
You absorb all items you are carrying or wearing into your form. Magic items continue to function, but you cannot make weapon attacks.
Your size increases by one category, affecting your space but not reach.
Your armor class is equal to 13 + your Dexterity modifier, and you gain resistance to slashing damage (unless dealt by a silver or magical weapon).
You gain a slam attack, dealing 1d6 bludgeoning damage plus the acid damage from your corrosive touch. If you have the Pact of the Blade feature, you instead deal 2d8 bludgeoning damage plus the acid damage from your corrosive touch, and the slam is treated as your pact weapon.
You may return to your former shape, or any shape you could take with disguise self, as an action.
I'm open to feedback about the classes themselves, but they’re secondary to their purpose of demonstrating how my ideas about prestige classes could work. Which I hope I’ve done well.