What are your favourite Prestige Classes?

[pabelfly]

So, what are your favourite prestige classes? No limitations on sourcebooks, first or third party, whatever. I just want to know what your favourite Prestige Classes are.

[ciopo]

I'm a sucker for Nature's Warrior. Hellreaver, hellbreaker and Soulguard from FCII are also among my favourites. Not hellfire warlock tho :P

[Beni-Kujaku]

I love very specialized and focused PrC, like Spellfire Channeler, Mage of the Unseen Hand, or the Dragon Magazine Force Missile Mage and of course Spell Sovereign. I also like Bloodstorm Blade, for the sheer amount of options it gives to a throwing-focused martial.

[Inevitability]

I quite like Ordained Champion: easy and potentially early entry, lots of interesting abilities, gives access to a number of concept-enabling tools like wisdom-based melee attacks or swift action Divine Power. My sig contains at least one build making good use of it.

[Kurald Galain]

Stargazer (https://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/prestige-classes/other-paizo/s-z/stargazer/), Brewkeeper (https://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/prestige-classes/other-paizo/a-b/brewkeeper/), and I still really like Arcane Trickster even if it's mechanically not the greatest combo.

[FactualArcher]

My favorite is Fochulan Lyrist, just because of the amount of stuff required to get in. I also like silver Pyromancer because they can use cool paladin spells at practical levels. Also, I find the Bloodhound from Complete Adventurer fun, mostly because they have an ability call Track the Trackless.

[Nihilarian]

I like the Chameleon because having every spell up to level 6 from every list makes it real easy to do themed spell lists. I can grab 95% of spells with sword in the name and make a sword wizard, or grab every spell that can be cast on ammunition and make an archer with something more interesting to do every round than full attack (or manyshot if you build for that)

[Olive_Sophia]

Fiend of Possession. It’s unique and really cool.

Nosomatic Chirugeon, mostly for the crazy casting ability of its pestilential touch. Combos with Warlock or DFA.

Maiden of Pain is really flavorful. And it lets you deliver touch spells with a 15ft reach. You can also deliver them as weapon attacks with the same reach, which can be quite useful. It gives an extra domain, a couple of extra feats, good casting, and a stunning touch.

Grayguard isn’t super good, but it loosens a Paladin’s code of conduct, and allows them to deal damage with Lay on Hands, which I like.

[lylsyly]

Champion of Gywnharwryf on my Melee builds
Maater Specialist and Arch Mage on my Wizard builds
Io7V on my Sorcerer builds
Virtuoso and Sublime Chord on my Bard builds
Arcane Archer on my Scout/Mystic Ranger Swift Hunter builds
Church Inquisitor/Divine Oracle and Contemplative on my Cleric builds

[Telonius]

Planeshifter, Eldritch Disciple, Heartfire Fanner, Warshaper, a couple of homebrews I'd made years back (Master Fletcher and Venomsmith).

One that I really want to love, but is terrible: Master of Masks. Amazing fluff and flavor, works thematically for many of the characters I've played; but mechanically awful after (at most) second level.

[Metastachydium]

Oozemaster. It's demented and I love it. Wanna melt your own face? You can do it! Just use your ability literally called Slithery Face! Wanna melt someone else's face? Just punch them! (Also: seep through cracks! Throw slime! Become jelly-typed with all the benefits!)

I also like Holt Warden a lot. A perfectly decent class with a strong PLANTY theme! (One day I'll combine it with Forest Reeve and Fist of the Forest for the stupid +30' to speed too.)

Then there's stuff like Sacred Fist. Put it on a Cloistered Cleric. Go Q: "A monk, huh? The kind that's a monastic priest or the kind that kicks people?" A: "Yes."

Oh, and Elocater. Just, Elocater. Glidin' about at speed all abvove the stupid terrain! All day, every day!

[Wildstag]

I quite like Ordained Champion: easy and potentially early entry, lots of interesting abilities, gives access to a number of concept-enabling tools like wisdom-based melee attacks or swift action Divine Power. My sig contains at least one build making good use of it.

Seconding Ordained Champion for its potential in making martial-heavy clerics.

I would also include Warshaper (with a liberal but contained usage). At tables I've played at, I can add additional weapons on limbs I already have, provided I only add a size and don't repeatedly increase the weapon sizes. But even without Morphic Weapon, the Body, Reach, Healing, and Immunities abilities are incredibly fun and powerful. I favor races with the (shapechanger) subtype, so Warshaper makes them better.

[Asmotherion]

For optimisation/powergaming purposes: Incantatrix. Too powerful to overlook.

For RP reasons: Mage of the Arcane Order; I like the fact I'm in an elite group of Mages, and that by the final level you get to be their boss; It's fun to RP. It's basically joining a company and working your way up to becoming the Boss.

For both RP and Optimisation Reasons: Hellfire Warlock. The powers are awesome. The RP aspects of being a grey morality guy who uses Evil Powers for the greater good is my bread and butter RP wise. And finally, when I'm meeting a particularly agressive Devil, I can just tell them "I know your Bosse's Boss and if you stand in my way, I'm telling on you". :smalltongue:

[WeaselGuy]

Personally, I really love the Noctumancer. Shadow Magic is just so cool to me.

[Akal Saris]

Some of my favs:
- Malconvoker. I love the idea of tricking devils into working for the good guys.
- Master of Shrouds. I love my summoning prestige classes...
- Unseen Seer: Enables the rogue/thief dream
- Jade Phoenix Mage: My favorite gish prestige class
- Walker in the Waste: I like the concept of a PrC turning you into a mummy-lich at the end of it

[Tzardok]

I'm a fan of theurg classes in general. Incidentally, does anyone know a homebrewed incarnum/shadowcaster theurg?

[Telonius]

I'm a fan of theurg classes in general. Incidentally, does anyone know a homebrewed incarnum/shadowcaster theurg?

Closest I could find was an Incarnum/Binder homebrew: The Midnight Occultist. (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?157493-Midnight-Occultist-3-5-Binder-Meldshaper-PrC-(PEACH)) (Very old post, table formatting is wonky)

[Tzardok]

Thank you. I already know that one. My brother saved it on his PC.

[liquidformat]

My two favorites are primeval and Weretouched Master (the original version not sure why they ruined the prc). I love the concept of having one big nasty melee form.

Fiendbinder is another great one, its fun playing King Solomon.

I also really like Blackguard especially mixed with Shadowbane Inquisitor, its a fun fallen good guy concept and I love that I can end up with a class that is something like Rogue 1/Shadowbane Inquisitor 7/ Blackguard 10

[Quertus]

Well, I've certainly gotten the most mileage out of Tainted Sorcerer, although, if you count as GM, then Fiend of Possession / Fiend of Corruption probably comes in second.

Conceptually, I'm a fan of Devoted Defender. And, although they're old, I've got a soft spot for Archmage, Hierarch, Arcane Archer, and Magus of the Arcane Order.

Oh, and does Ur-Priest count? :smallamused:

[Biggus]

And, although they're old, I've got a soft spot for Archmage, Hierarch, Arcane Archer, and Magus of the Arcane Order.


Do you mean Hierophant or Sapphire Hierarch, or is there a class just called Hierarch that I'm not aware of?

[Olive_Sophia]

Paragnostic Apostle is a good one, too. It's nice when you can choose whatever you want from the class at each level.

[Quertus]

Do you mean Hierophant or Sapphire Hierarch, or is there a class just called Hierarch that I'm not aware of?

Lol, I probably meant Hierophant. Thanks for catching that.

[JoshuaZ]

I am generally a big fan of hybrid PrCs that use two systems. But to be interesting, they need class features. So, Anima Mage and Noctumancer are both fun examples, as are the Pathfinder version of the Cerebemancer or Mystic Theurge. I am not sure why, but the idea of two different forms of magic being used together really appeals to me. That said, some are better at this than others. One of the most disappointing things about the Anima Mage is that it is 90% just new fluff for an excuse to add free metamagic which happens to also advance binding. In that context, I think The Demented One's Pact Scholar is a much more fun class (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?84757-Pact-Scholar-PrC&p=4535015#post4535015), which also has the advantage of being able to play an arcane scholar who dabbles with forbidden spirits without having an evil vibe. If anyone is interested, I can talk a lot about which of the homebrew hybrid classes made in these forums that I particularly like.

[Darg]

I'm a fan of the Argent Fist. There's just something special about the idea of a heavily armored monk using a heavy shield while retaining their AC Bonus.

[quetzalcoatl5]

I realize that it is a suboptimal class from an entry standpoint and all it gives is a smattering of paladin and fighter abilities, but I just love the Pious Templar. It plays so nice with all of the logical points of entry and gives really nice perks.

[H_H_F_F]

I realize that it is a suboptimal class from an entry standpoint and all it gives is a smattering of paladin and fighter abilities, but I just love the Pious Templar. It plays so nice with all of the logical points of entry and gives really nice perks.

Love Pious Templar, hate the True Believer requirement.

For suboptimal PrCs that I just love: I've always had a warm spot in my heart for the DMG Dragon Disciple and CArc's Green Star Adept. Both incredibly fun and flavorful, with interesting and unique mechanical abilities. Their only downside is that they suck.

[redking]

Nightmare Spinner has great flavour. So does Dread Witch. Both are 5 level PrCs, so you can see them to completion easily.

[Paragon]

My favourite class to play is Spellthief and Unseen Seer adds some quality to it I guess (if you count PrCing as multiclassing for the purpose of Master Spellthief)

But my favourite PrC out of the box is Shadow Craft Mage. The sheer versatility is insane

[bekeleven]

Chameleon was already mentioned. I'm a big fan of relatively open-ended classes that give you the tools to do what you want, so I'll also mention the master of many forms.

Most of my (a+ excellent) homebrew classes follow this same design ethos. I always return to "generics" where the player makes build decisions and takes things in their own direction.

[quetzalcoatl5]

I've got a hot take: The 3.5 Warpriest is not nearly as bad as its reputation as long as you consider that It presumably is intended for a martial class to pick up some healing as opposed to a divine caster becoming more martial. If you are playing in a campaign where you lose your Cleric for all of the reasons you might lose a Cleric, such as the player no longer being available, or in one where you need a secondary healer, it isn't unreasonable for a fighter which is going to have trouble at higher levels anyway to pick up some casting. I see people claim that it's really a Paladin prestige class, but I disagree since it doesn't actually advance any Paladin features, just giving some spell like abilities that bolster healing and support, which while not unwelcome isn't a particular upgrade to the base Paladin chassis. I mean, I'm assuming this class is intended to be Fighter 6, Cleric 4, War priest 10 and that will result in a 9th level caster, which will get them to 5th level spells. This means that the character only needs a wisdom score of 15 to function, which isn't all that unreasonable on a martial build that started out with a 12 in wisdom just to have some kind of small bonus to their will save. Between ability score improvements and stat boosting items, most characters could get up to a 15 in a tertiary stat by the end of the game. And in this situation you see the real benefits of the class: the spell like abilities that they get supplement this lesser casting, allowing them to pick up some of the slack as a party healer.

TL;DR The 3 5 War Priest is good for a martial character that didn't intend to become a divine caster to capably function in that roll, though not excel.

[Darg]

It doesn't matter the flavor or the benefits to one side of the coin, all that matters is character power. Wasting character power on martial prowess is the greatest of sins. Any one who actually plays just to play the game and not optimize fun out of a game will find that most classes are reasonable regardless of how crappy they are from an optimization point of view.

[quetzalcoatl5]

It doesn't matter the flavor or the benefits to one side of the coin, all that matters is character power. Wasting character power on martial prowess is the greatest of sins. Any one who actually plays just to play the game and not optimize fun out of a game will find that most classes are reasonable regardless of how crappy they are from an optimization point of view.

I mean, I've been in games where I felt like I really wasn't contributing because I was new and picked a suboptimal class, so there are times where it is something to be concerned about. However, the flip side is that I see optimizers not discuss middling stats! Like my games usually roll for stats and in 3.5 that can mean you're locked out from even using those higher level spells! I've also seen players have to hard pivot existing characters to revised ideas based on story stuff and sometimes that means weird choices.

[pabelfly]

Like my games usually roll for stats and in 3.5 that can mean you're locked out from even using those higher level spells!

Even if you put a twelve in your casting stat, I would think you would be right to cast your spells up to level 20: you eventually get a +6 item and you can put your first stat boost into the casting stat.

[Wildstag]

Can't believe I forgot to shout-out another of my favorite PrCs!

Swiftblade is one of the coolest PrCs out there solely because its prerequisite makes it exceptionally funny, and basically requires you to be an adrenaline junkie or addicted to speed.

[Nihilarian]

Blade of Orien feels like a more balanced shadow pounce class. I turned around on it a lot when I realized the fast teleport and pseudo shadow pounce abilities function off of any dimension leap use, not just dragonmark usage.

[Twelvetrees]

Blood Magus: It fulfills the idea of a spellcaster who can use their blood to empower their magic. Also, brewing potions out of your own blood, scribing spells into your skin, and teleporting through other creatures' blood? Yes, please.

War Weaver: I love that the prereq of Craft (weaving) makes so much sense. Every feature you get builds off of your experience as a weaver.

Streetfighter: Stand Tough is the only unique ability this prestige class gives and it's not particularly good nor does it have many uses. But when you use it to shrug off damage, it makes you feel like a rough-and-tumble streetfighter, which is what really matters.

[vasilidor]

As others have said I like Theurge classes.
I also like Dragon Slayer from AEG Dragons. It isn't that great, but was better than just straight fighter. In those days straight fighter was a low bar of power due to a lack of decent feats.
I also like Shadow Dancer, especially after the Dark Stalker feat became available.
Even though I know it is a bad build, I want to play a sorcerer/fighter/spell sword. It is still ironically better than a straight fighter or a monk.
I also like prestige classes that make monks better.
I love Bear Warrior.

[Harrow]

I want Unbound Scroll to be good so badly. It has a capstone that gives charges to scrolls, letting you use them multiple times. That's basically free scrolls. Every day, free magic items. It seems like it should be good! But, scrolls are basically one-use spell slots that cost money. They're predominantly good for things you could need any day, but don't need every day. If you thought of spell slots in terms of them being free scrolls, then just playing straight wizard would provide with far more "free scrolls", many of a higher spell level (Unbound Scroll's ability caps out at giving extra uses to scrolls of 6th level).

Unbound Scroll has it's place. It can copy scrolls regardless of what list they're from, so you can get off list spells. It also doesn't care about caster level, so if you can buy/somehow craft scrolls of really high caster level, you get some extra mileage out of it. Finally, while it only gets a few uses a day, the writers (I think unintentionally) left off the clause their other abilities have that would have put a time limit on its use. This means that if you have lots of downtime, you can stack up lots of "virtual" scrolls.

It's just unfortunate for me that I tend to be in campaigns where obscure lists, like the Trapsmith, are unavailable, high level casters only exist to try to kill the party, and there's some kind of ticking clock.

[quetzalcoatl5]

Knight Phantom from Eberron: The Five Nations has always been my favorite arcane Gish class. Light armor, d8 hd, full bab, and some nifty features (particularly their heavily boosted phantom steed) make for a compelling package compared to an Eldritch Knight.

[quetzalcoatl5]

I love Bear Warrior.

Me too! Combine with Warshaper and it's SUCH A BRUTE!

[Metastachydium]

compared to an Eldritch Knight.

That's quite the low bar, you know.

[Bad Wolf]

Big fan of Ruby Knight Vindicator for the awesome Wee Jas flavor.

[Psyren]

My favorite is PF1 Evangelist (https://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/prestige-classes/other-paizo/e-h/evangelist/), hands down. Excellent flavor, excellent features, and progresses nearly every base class feature in addition to its own (not even just spellcasting) 9/10 so there's still a reasonable tradeoff. You also have to adhere to your god's dogma to maintain it, so there are roleplay implications as well. You can have an entire party of Evangelists and they'll all be very different from one another.

[quetzalcoatl5]

That's quite the low bar, you know.
But not the lowest!

[Soranar]

I really like vermin keeper,

if you taken an unorthodox entry (paladin or cleric with initiate of Horus-Re or a wildshape ranger) it's a strict power up

the vermin companion (best one is the stag beetle) has really good stats and vermin forms are quite utilitarian, especially the swarms

[Blue Jay]

My favorite prestige classes always seem to clash with my desire to optimize, so my list feels more like a wish list than a favorites list.

I love elemental fire as a character theme, so Elemental Warrior and Pyrokineticist are compelling to me, in spite of optimization concerns. Elemental Warrior relies on short-term self-buffs that activate as a standard action, so it kind of makes me sad. But Pyrokineticist has a decent variety of fire-themed abilities that do different things, including an at-will blast ability, move-action weapon flames, and a save-or-die. But it feels like the abilities come online too gradually and too late to be optimal, so it feels pretty sparse.

I also like spiders, and I had fun with Yathchol Webrider once (as an ettercap with the racial Intelligence penalty waived). Like Pyrokineticist, the advancement feels pretty sparse, though. And you also don't get anything new after 3rd level, but you felt obligated to advance the abilities to their maximum. Web Blast is a great Spider-Man web-slinging attack, and permanent non-magical spider climb is fun too. The rest of it is situational stuff, but the flavor of the class is quite fun. Other spider-themed classes (Arachne, Arachnomancer, Vermin Keeper, etc) are technically better (because they're all spellcasters), but seem a lot less fun.

And I get that a lot of people are annoyed and offended by the way 3e did "female-only" stuff, but I have a fondness for "fairy princess" characters, usually with a healing emphasis and a blend of Cha-to-X options included. So Swanmay and Heartwarder are two prestige classes I enjoy. Whitehorn from Dragon #307 is one I really want to love, because you get to grow a unicorn horn, but the class isn't good, and I feel like the polearm/mounted combat theme doesn't mesh with either the class's own features or the "fairy princess" vibe I wanted from the class.

Dervish is another one I find conceptually interesting, but I haven't yet been able to actually play one (except for one NPC that I made as a DM). Devoted Defender also ticks a thematic box I find compelling, but I don't like the part where you have to pick a single "charge" to benefit from your class abilities each combat.

[Tzardok]

I've got nothing against "female only" classes, I'm just a bit disappointed that there are no "male only" classes for a bit of symmetry.

[Inevitability]

I've got nothing against "female only" classes, I'm just a bit disappointed that there are no "male only" classes for a bit of symmetry.

There's one! Oriental Adventures has the Eunuch Warlock. Though as the name implies, there is a bit of a catch...

[pabelfly]

There's one! Oriental Adventures has the Eunuch Warlock. Though as the name implies, there is a bit of a catch...

Yeah, being a Warlock is a bit of a hurdle.

[Tzardok]

Right. I managed to forget about it. Still, my point about balance stands if we put on one scale roughly a dozen female only classes and on the other scale a single male only class whose main point is being emasculated.

[pabelfly]

Right. I managed to forget about it. Still, my point about balance stands if we put on one scale roughly a dozen female only classes and on the other scale a single male only class whose main point is being emasculated.

There's also Thrall of Kostchchie, from Dragon Magazine 345. It's an Evil Barbarian prestige class.

[Blue Jay]

I've got nothing against "female only" classes, I'm just a bit disappointed that there are no "male only" classes for a bit of symmetry.

I don't know that the asymmetry bothers me that much. I guess I grew up in an environment where "girly" stuff was generally unappealing to the boys, but "boy-y" stuff wasn't necessarily unappealing to the girls; so "no boys allowed" somehow feels less discriminatory to me than "no girls allowed"? :smallconfused:

And, I don't know what I'd want a male-only prestige class to do, anyway. Neither Eunuch Warlock nor Thrall of Kostchchie interest me. I guess Devoted Defender is one I'd only be interested in using on a male character; but that's just a personal preference, not something I'd want imposed on everyone.

Of course, there's no reason why any class has to be gender-locked. Just because I personally wouldn't be interested in playing a male Swanmay doesn't mean it shouldn't be an option for someone else (especially since "male swan-shifter" is a thing in folklore). I'd let you do it in one of my games.

[Tzardok]

Many all-female prestige classes (not all of them, but many) are associated with organisations that for whatever reason are matriarchic, of which the church of Lolth is propably the most iconic example. Another example would be the church of Loviatar, which has two associated prestige classes, both female only.
But there are also patriarchic societies and religions (like Kostchchie, for example). For example, Gruumsh is described as being just as misogynist as Lolth is misandrist, but still all prestige classes associated with him are open to both sexes? Where is the logic in that?

[Inevitability]

Many all-female prestige classes (not all of them, but many) are associated with organisations that for whatever reason are matriarchic, of which the church of Lolth is propably the most iconic example. Another example would be the church of Loviatar, which has two associated prestige classes, both female only.
But there are also patriarchic societies and religions (like Kostchchie, for example). For example, Gruumsh is described as being just as misogynist as Lolth is misandrist, but still all prestige classes associated with him are open to both sexes? Where is the logic in that?

Gruumsh love of bloodshed overpowered his sexism.

In all seriousness, misandrist religions in D&D tend to be more civilized and organized, while the misogynist ones are more barbaric. That means that becoming a Maiden of Pain means (or should mean) getting involved with an actual church, while becoming an Eye of Gruumsh is as simple as being really good at killing and tearing out your own eye.

The Church of Lolth is in a better position to reject 'imperfect' candidates than the scattered worshippers of Gruumsh are, so even if the faith as a whole disapproves of female Eyes of Gruumsh, said female Eyes of Gruumsh can silence those qualms by putting a sword through anyone who has something to say about it.

It's not just gender that this shows for: looking at Gruumsh's prestige classes (Eye of Gruumsh and Blessed of Gruumsh) the first allows for 3 alignments and the second for 6, while Loviatar's PrCs allow for 3 or 2. Lolth is even more extreme: Dread Fang of Lolth and Arachne both only allow one alignment.

[Nihilarian]

For 99% of 3.5 it's just a fluff choice (which is for the best, really) so the 1% of gendered options stick out. Probably doesn't help that all the gendered stuff kinda sucks.

[Anthrowhale]

Easy Dippers: (minimal entry requirements but still give something beneficial)
Paragnostic Apostle (Lesser Aasimar early entry, minor benefits), Church Inquisitor (early entry, domain), Ruathar (nice skills+full casting), Divine Oracle(domain+super evasion), Dragon Slayer (all martial weapons+armors+shields), Mindbender (for Mindsight), Knight of the Weave (perfect Ultimate Magus entry), Sacred Exorcist (Turn Undead), and Contemplative (domain) all come to mind.

Powerclasses: You take these to just straight up load power
Halruaan Elder (caster level 40, easier metamagic), Hathran (caster level 40 for nonarcane), Red Wizard(earliest caster level 40), Incantatrix(persist+metamagic), Ur-priest(early access cleric spells), Heartfire Fanner (Bardic Music + share feats), Sublime Chord (L9 spell graft), Dweomerkeeper (zero expensive components), and Spelldancer (persist+evasion). Faerun seems to have most of these.

Interesting prestige classes: Ones you might take all levels in.
Hexer (full BAB+casting+wizard spells), Unseen Seer(full casting + sneak attack + skills), Geomancer (Sha'ir Gish), Ultimate Magus (Theurge, persist), Warhulk (extra strong large), Fochlucan Lyrist(Full bab theurge), Abjurant Champion (Full bab+casting), Rainbow Servant (Cleric spells on list), Seeker of the Misty Isle (full casting + skills), Mystic Theurge (For Ur-Priest Theurge).

Edit: added a few.

[Inevitability]

Easy Dippers: (minimal entry requirements but still give something beneficial)
Paragnostic Apostle (Lesser Aasimar early entry, minor benefits), Church Inquisitor (early entry, domain), Ruathar (nice skills+full casting), Divine Oracle(domain+super evasion), Dragon Slayer (all martial weapons+armors+shields), Mindbender (for Mindsight), Knight of the Weave (perfect Ultimate Magus entry), and Contemplative (domain) all come to mind.

Powerclasses: You take these to just straight up load power
Halruaan Elder (caster level 40, easier metamagic), Hathran (caster level 40 for nonarcane), Red Wizard(earliest caster level 40), Incantatrix(persist+metamagic), Ur-priest(early access cleric spells), Heartfire Fanner (Bardic Music + share feats), Sublime Chord (L9 spell graft), Dweomerkeeper (zero expensive components), and Spelldancer (persist+evasion). Faerun seems to have most of these.

Interesting prestige classes: Ones you might take 10 levels in.
Hexer (full BAB+casting+wizard spells), Unseen Seer(full casting + sneak attack + skills), Geomancer (Sha'ir Gish), Ultimate Magus (Theurge, persist), Warhulk (extra strong large), Fochlucan Lyrist(Full bab theurge), Abjurant Champion (Full bab+casting).

No complaints about most of these but calling Dragon Slayer 'minimal entry requirements' is odd: Dodge + Iron Will is actually quite the investment.

[Anthrowhale]

No complaints about most of these but calling Dragon Slayer 'minimal entry requirements' is odd: Dodge + Iron Will is actually quite the investment.
I tend to discount Iron Will since you can get it from the Otyugh Hole. Perhaps this is unreasonable, since it makes more sense in the backstory than in role play. Nevertheless, going with that you have a 1 feat tax. I'm not aware of a more efficient approach which keeps casting and BAB (since you use this on a gish).

[pabelfly]

No complaints about most of these but calling Dragon Slayer 'minimal entry requirements' is odd: Dodge + Iron Will is actually quite the investment.

There's the Unsheltered Halfling from Warcraft Races of Dragon #320, which has both Dodge and Iron Will as bonus feats. Or you could combine the Lycanthrope template, which gives Iron Will, with a race that has a bonus feat or the Dodge bonus feat.

[Kish]

Master of Nine.

[Metastachydium]

And one more I forgot to mention before: Survivor. It gives Commoners a purpose! (Also, it's fun.)

[Clause]

dread wich+ nightmare spinner

early entry, total fluff and flavor, sinergies, unique features, etc etc etc

warrior skald. (races of faerum)

zhentarin skymage(champ.ruin)

triadic knight


folchulclan liryst

[Crake]

Even if you put a twelve in your casting stat, I would think you would be right to cast your spells up to level 20: you eventually get a +6 item and you can put your first stat boost into the casting stat.

You can’t always rely on getting the items you need though. 15 is the bare minimum to be able to cast your highest level spell at every level if you put your level up point into your casting stat. With a 12 you NEED a +2 by level 7, and a +4 by 11.

[Frostthehero]

Radiant servant of Pelor is pretty cool IMO. Martial weapon proficiency for clerics isn't a huge deal, but does open up your options a little more. What's really nice is the extra greater turning (at least if you're fighting undead).

Divine oracle is also nice - evasion that works in heavy armor is kind of busted.

Maybe also fatespinner, initiate of the sevenfold veil, and geometer (the last one mostly for compressed spell storage).

I think someone already mentioned mystic theurge, so +1 for that. Losing 3 going behind 3 caster levels sucks, but casting as two classes is awesome.

[Condé]

Thrall of Juiblex.

Entry at level 4 possible.

D10Hp, no bad save, get proficient with all simple and martial weapons and all armors and shields. But the best part... ECL 8 polymorph at-will no caster level or anything needed... Can possibly summon a lot of ooze at-will too.

Sadly, it is 3.0, requires you to be Evil... Even worse, Chaotic Evil because of Thrall to Demon... And to worship Juiblex.

If you can play in an Evil campaign or wave at the special requirement or have a really kind DM, it is a really nice-looking PrC, not very well-known and very, very flavorful.

[Maryring]

I am really fond of Initiate of the Sevenfold Veil. Yeah I know that powerwise it's pretty bonkers, but the reason I love it is because I love playing abjurers, I love rainbows, and I love creating casters that feel like magical girls.

[rel]

Ruby knight vindicator is a fun one

[Vizzerdrix]

Techsmirh and gnome artificer are two of my favorites.

[sleepyphoenixx]

Heartfire Fanner for the ultimate support bard. Your party will love you.

Also pre-errata Weretouched Master is a lot of fun for a melee brute with a lycanthrope flavor.

[Bohandas]

As far as simple prestige classes go I've founf eldritch knight to be effective

[remetagross]

I'm really fond of Shade Hunter. While the evil requirement is a bit odd, this class is the ultimate Indiana Jones. 8 skill points per level, innate arcane casting with a small but useful selection of spells, some spell-like abilities that only work for finding forgotten treasures, and my favourite class feature of all 3.5: Tools of the Trade. Once per day, you can find, lost at the bottom of your backpack, any mundane item in the game that costs less than 10gp per class level. How awesome is that? It's like having the complete inventory of these delicious little items from Complete Scoundrel in your backpack, at all times.

[Eurus]

A bunch of my favorite classes are some variety of dual progression: Sapphire Hierarch, Jade Phoenix Mage, Noctumancer, Anima Mage, Ultimate Magus. (Almost) all the flexibility and utility of a full caster, but you feel like you're doing something more unique. :smallamused:

[Fero]

A bunch of my favorite classes are some variety of dual progression: Sapphire Hierarch, Jade Phoenix Mage, Noctumancer, Anima Mage, Ultimate Magus. (Almost) all the flexibility and utility of a full caster, but you feel like you're doing something more unique. :smallamused:

I second this. Hybrid builds are a blast. I will throw in the Arcane Trickster (although better classes have been printed since I played one) and the Cerebramancer. I had a friend play an Arcane Hierophant and it also looked awesome.

Outside hybrid builds, I really like the Recaster b/c it is so flexible.

[EdokTheTwitch]

War Weaver from Heroes of Battle for the incredibly fun buffing potential, and Runescarred Berserker from Unapproachable East for the flavor of carving runes into your flesh :smallcool:

[Malphegor]

Witchborn Binder because I am FASCINATED by the idea of ‘you get a wage and an expense account’ as a class feature for an incarnum prestige class

Chameleon because ‘why pick a class when you can be a mishmash of multiple as the party needs’. and due to the fun interaction with PGTF’s Mind over Body feat and metamagic feats in your chameleon bonus feat slot to gain +1 max hp each day.

And Yakuza because sure ok level 5 in it makes all your followers Rogues, with a reasonable charisma build and extra followers that’s easily over a hundred people with at least 1d6 sneak attacks