[Prestige Classes Rules] - What to say, How to say it?

[Majuba]

The Prestige Enhancement has done a superb job of updating the classes, to make them more interesting and clear.

What they do not yet do is provide any general rules as guidelines, other than the Definition of Terms (added below). As it stands Prestige Classes are exclusively exceptions based, with language often repeated with or without minute changes. I would propose that a few general rules included at the beginning of prestige classes would be a useful addition. Since the multiclassing rules have not yet been released, so some of this may be a bit premature, but neither is there a better time.

There will inevitably be some "wish it worked this way" involved here, but we're looking to clarify what exists, not change it. Some items (such as "how does a class with a Bonus Domain progress in their domains?") won't have a class to point to as an example, and should perhaps be discussed in separate forums.

So, an example:

Advancement of Prior Ability
Unless otherwise specified in the class description, when a prestige class advances a special ability of a base class, the class levels of both stack to determine the strength of the ability, but not the acquisition of new abilities.

For example, a Wizard 7/Loremaster 3 will have a caster level of 10, and use his School powers as a 10th level Wizard, with 5 1st level bonus spells per day. However he will not have acquired the special school power at 8th level or a 5th level bonus spell at 10th.

Remember, this is just an example of the questions that perhaps should be answered in the Prestige Class section, not necessarily how it should actually work.

Thoughts?

Terms:

Spoiler:

Definitions of Terms
Here are definitions of some terms used in this section.
Base Class: One of the standard eleven classes.
Caster Level: Generally equal to the number of class
levels (see below) in a spellcasting class. Some prestige
classes add caster levels to an existing class.
Character Level: The total level of the character, which
is the sum of all class levels held by that character.
Class Level: The level of a character in a particular class.
For a character with levels in only one class, class level and
character level are the same.

[minkscooter]

Nice idea. This makes a good general rule: state the common details once at the beginning. I'd like to see your term definitions in a glossary. I'm hoping the final Pathfinder will outdo the 3.5 PHB's excellent index and glossary. Good organization is another way Pathfinder can really shine compared to the mess of the 4e PHB.