The prestige class: perhaps one of the most interesting, hotly debated, and coolest aspects of third edition. Since they were introduced, it seems that nearly everyone has tried their hand at designing their own custom prestige classes, with mixed results and even more debate. This column is for those of you who would like to design your own prestige classes, but find the task daunting or too complex. Through the following months we’ll be looking at all the aspects of prestige class design, from the very basic principles to the most obscure errata and oddest ideas.

It should be stated that prestige class design is as much an art as science. There are very few absolute rules, and finding the proper mix of balance, interest, and power can take years to master. I’ve been designing prestige classes since the start of third edition, with mostly lauded results. While I’m far from a recognized authority on the subject, I feel qualified to teach what I’ve learned through trial and error to others. Even so, if something I’ve lined up doesn’t make sense or seems strange to you, feel free to disregard my device or email me and let me know just how I’ve screwed up.

The first installment of this column is dedicated to the various parts that compose a prestige class. While it may seem remedial or uninteresting to you more advanced designers, it never hurts to review the basics so that we can all start off on the same foot.

Design Standards

For the purposes of this column, and as a general concession to the current design paradigm, I’ll be using the same design standards and layout as presented in the most recent Wizards of the Coast books. The new prestige class entries have greatly expanded background material which can really set a prestige class apart from all the others. It is recommended that you try to follow the current layout methods when designing your own classes, mostly for ease of reading and to ensure that everyone knows where to find all the material.

While we’re on the subject of design standards, there are a few special concerns we need to address. The first and biggest concern is grammar and spelling. Once you’re done with your prestige class, you absolutely need to read it over at least once, out loud if possible. The human mind tends to correct simple grammar and spelling mistakes while reading in your head, so reading things out loud can often spot more grammatical and spelling errors. You can have the best prestige class in the world, but if it’s riddled with spelling and grammatical errors, no one will bother reading your class.

If you have trouble with spelling or grammar, or are not a native English speaker, get a friend who’s good with grammar to give it a read through. All other designers have editors, so there is no reason why you shouldn’t have one too. If you’re designing the class for a player in your group, have your players read it over as well.

Going hand in hand with spell and grammar is proper layout and typography. Try to avoid using a hard to read font face or laying the class out in a strange way. Avoid backgrounds and fonts that are hard on the eyes, as it will detract from your overall design. There is nothing wrong with a simple word document with times new roman typeface – it is tried, true, and easy to read.

Parts of a Prestige Class

The remainder of this column is dedicated to the various parts that compose a prestige class. I’ll be going over each part in brief in this column, and then delve into greater depth in the subsequent two columns. If you’re absolutely confident in your understanding of the various building blocks of a prestige class, you can skip the rest of this column and join us again next month. If you’d like a refresher, or feel you want an overview, read on.

Introductory Paragraph

Every prestige class starts with the name, introductory quote, and a short paragraph or two about the prestige class. The quote is a more recent addition, and the introductory paragraph used to be all of the flavor text that was found in a prestige class. These first few paragraphs are all you have to grab the attention of the reader, so make them punchy, well written, and full of flavor.

Entry Requirements

This section holds a short paragraph on becoming a member of the prestige class, and the actual mechanical entry requirements. The short introductory paragraph is also a recent addition, and now serves as a suggestion as to what classes are best for entering the prestige class and a few other bits of fluff.

Class Table

The class table holds all of the mechanical nuts and bolts of the class, such as the base attack bonus, saving throw progression, special features, and the skill points per level and class skills. Note that the recent design paradigm lists the class skills and skill points directly under the class table, where players can quickly see all the mechanical parts of the class in one area. The title of the table now also holds the hit die of the class, another new change.

Class Features

This is one of the largest sections of the prestige class, and the one that most mechanically minded players will visit first. The class features list all the armor and weapon proficiencies, the spellcasting progression (if any), and all the special features of the class. If it’s a mechanical part of the class, this is the section where it belongs. Generally, each new class feature has a bold title, the type of ability (extraordinary, supernatural, or spell-like), and then the description of the ability. Each class feature gains its own paragraph (or more).

Playing the Class

One of the new additions to prestige classes, this section details how a player goes about playing a member of this prestige class. This section is all fluff and no crunch, and should be of a decent length. It begins with two to four paragraphs of general information, followed by a section on combat, advancement, and resources. This information is both for player and dungeon master, and shouldn’t be treated lightly. The combat, advancement, and resources sections may have their own headers or be a bolded item in one long section, at your choice. (The current style is to give each section its own header).

The Class in the World

This section starts with another quote, generally (but not always) by a member of the prestige class in question. It then goes on to explain how the prestige class fits into the game world at large, and is most helpful for dungeon masters. Like the section above, it also has a few subsections, this time on organization, npc reactions, and the lore section. This an important section for other dungeon masters, as it informs them how to fit the class into the world at large. The lore section can be extremely helpful, as it gives a dungeon master guidelines as to just how much a player knows with an appropriate knowledge check.

The Class in the Game

This is the final section in the class write-up, and is concerned with the use of mechanical features. The introduction paragraph general informs players if they might enjoy the class, as well as a few other mechanical or metagame concerns. An adaptation section follows, informing other dungeon masters of the various ways the class might be adapted to another campaign setting or archetype. Finally, a sample npc is listed for use and an example. The example npc is often the one thing that most other designers who aren’t working for a publishing company choose to omit, simply for reasons of time and general opinions of wasted space.

Conclusion

There you have it: the basic building blocks of a prestige class. Hopefully you now have a solid understanding of how a prestige class is fitted together. In the following two columns we’ll be going over each section more in greater depth, including how each section is designed and written. Until next month, good gaming!