One of my players, running a Cleric, is aiming at a PrC and I got some doubts of how to manage it in Alpha 3:
1) in 3.5, when a PrC granted +1 level of spellcasting, if the level granted was from the cleric class, it did include the Domain spell (the +1 in the advancement charts).
2) in Alpha 3, domain spells have gone in favor of domain powers (as opposed to, say, sorcerer bloodlines). Same thing could be proposed for wizard school powers/extra spells (instead of bonus specialist school spells).
3) So, for keeping class balance and integrity, should we assume that a PrC which grants levels of clerical spellcasting would also grant domain powers per level (replacing domain spells from 3.5) or specialist wizard powers (replacing extra spell from school from 3.5)? Other powers, of course, like extra feats, better channel energy, familiar/arcane focus development would still be frozen at the actual cleric/wizard level.
Opinions would be nice, and some feedback from the designers' intention would be awesome.
Before the introduction of bloodlines for sorcerers, there was no reason not to take a prestige class. Any was better than taking more classes in sorcerer. And I'm quite sure they were introduced to do something against that problem.
And if it's that way for sorcerers, it would be the same for all other classes as well.
Before the introduction of bloodlines for sorcerers, there was no reason not to take a prestige class. Any was better than taking more classes in sorcerer. And I'm quite sure they were introduced to do something against that problem.
And if it's that way for sorcerers, it would be the same for all other classes as well.
But that's why I considered bloodlines different in my initial post: they had nothing equivalent in 3.5, it is a boost to the class which, before, was a mere spellpower increase per level.
On the other hand, both specialist wizards and clerics in PF have their spellpower per level diminished as the domain spells per day and the extra speciality school per day have become level-bound abilities. A 3.5 PrC which gives you +1 casting level gives you domain spell / extra speciality spell when you apply that level to cleric or specialist wizard respectively.
I clearly see the option in terms of making core classes more attractive, but I wonder if it does not require some sort of fine tuning, as 3.5 PrCs do expect the domain usage increase with +spellcasting level advancement.
We've been over this a lot in other threads. The main problem is that the language in the Alpha is careless and unclear.
Most people seemed to agree that an increase in caster level would raise the CL of existing abilities (from domains, bloodlines, or schools), but would not allow gaining of new abilities. This would be consistent with the language for spellcasting prestige classes:
the character gains new spells per day as if he had also gained a level in a spellcasting class he belonged to before adding the prestige class. He does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained, except for an increased effective level of spellcasting.
Also, clerics were grossly overpowered in 3.5. They've been slightly nerfed in some areas (spells per day, for example), but channeling is far more powerful now, so Pathfinder clerics actually have a net advantage over 3.5e clerics. Giving them new SLAs when they take some super prestige class is simply grotesque.
Apparently, the way this abilities are handled has been changed in the Beta. With luck, the language has been clarified as well.
Also, clerics were grossly overpowered in 3.5. They've been slightly nerfed in some areas (spells per day, for example), but channeling is far more powerful now, so Pathfinder clerics actually have a net advantage over 3.5e clerics. Giving them new SLAs when they take some super prestige class is simply grotesque.
You make total sense here. My hope is that, actually, there are fewer "super prestige classes" when PF comes down to statting them. I have been having a look at the Harrower PrC in the new PF Campaign Setting, looks really awesome for character and flavor building for a Desna Cleric (lets her play on her Varisian heritage and stuff; plus it lets me incorporate Harrow reading rules in RotRL), but the class is not overpowered at all (a lot of the Harrowing powers rely on chance when drawing from a deck). I don't know if forfeiting domain SLAs is going to be a real bad enticement.
I hope the beta clears this stuff up