Teutonic said:
1. OK, this is good reason...
2. Are there so many? I know only the forest Runner and the Professional from shadizar
Well, there are the Gunderland Mercenary and Poitainian Knight from
Signs and Portents (reprinted in
Aquilonia), the Gunderland Pikeman (also in
Aquilonia), the Professional (in
Shadizar), the Dancing Savage, Drummer in the Dark, Forest Runner, Hunt Master, Paramount Chief (from AtTR), Merchant Prince, House Agent (from
Messantia), Lord of the Black Ring, Sorcerer of the Scarlet Circle, and Master of the Black Circle (from
Scrolls of Skelos). Also there is a Darfari prestige class in
Signs and Portents.
I am rather disinclined to add more to that list unless I feel additional PrC are extremely appropriate to the culture - or unless I feel the PrC are actually being used, either by players or GMs.
I tend to write the books the way I would want a sourcebook - which means I write them to be useful to me and my games. My players rarely bother with prestige classes. They use skills and feats instead. Thus, most of WotC's books, filled to the brim with PrCs, are largely useless to me. I won't write something I won't use in a game. All the prestige classes in my books exist because I needed a villain who could accomplish something specific. I don't create what I will not use - so if you see a prestige class in a book, it is because I used it for a villain and thought it appropriate for the setting. I don't use prestige classes unless I need something done appropriate for the culture that cannot be done via multi-classing or feat/skill selection.
The best characters are those who are inventive with their abilities and have cultural and personal flavour of their own - not those with improved rules to make the character interesting or different. Just like the best scholars can conserve their sorcery with sleight-of-hand, smoke, mirrors and alchemy, so to are the best characters made. A good bit of discription and misdirection can disguise a class or make it seem interesting and new.
Teutonic said:
3. I thought the meaning of the prestige class is to specialize the character on a higher level. The multi-class is more like the old Kits of AD&D like in the Complete Ranger`s Handbook.
My borderer is now 4th level and we got the book just a few days ago. Now it`s to late to make a dual-class like the skirmisher. Or work the variant rules even you don´t multiclass like it is shown in the table.
No. A prestige class should be prestigious - therefore important to the culture at hand. Not all specialised positions require a prestige class. Anyone who kills for money is an assassin, for example, whether they have a PrC or not. Someone is a skirmisher if they act like one - which is mostly just a matter of appropriate feat and skill selections.
The multiclass progressions are suggestions only. If you want to make a skirmisher as described in
Hyboria's Fiercest, take four levels in soldier.
Teutonic said:
7. I would play the Forest Runner, but at this level I don`t have the prerequisites for it. And one in my group (known on this board here as phlip fry) is thinking about taking the Professional (assassin) class...
Heck, do you realy want to hear all the character?s stories. If someone strts with it it is like opening Pandora`s box.
Yes. I would much rather read about people's characters and their great deeds and boasts instead of rules discussions. RPGs are better (IMHO) when story driven, not rule driven.