While reading the "PrCs are good"/"PrCs are bad" threads, a thought came to me: could a five-level prestige class be simulated through three prerequisite-heavy feats, ordered in some sort of feat chain, along with a paragraph or two of "fluff" covering the idea? I worked up a quick example.
Edit: It struck me that some people might not realize this is an implementation of the Argent Savant from WotC's Complete Arcane. Credit where credit is due.
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Force Mage
The force mage studies magical force in order to unlock its secrets and control its power.
Force Attack
Your mastery of force spells increases their offensive abilities, and makes them harder to disrupt.
Prerequisites: Knowledge (arcana) 6 ranks, Spellcraft 9 ranks, ability to cast at least five spells with the force descriptor, including one of at least 5th level.
Benefit: You get a +2 competence bonus on attack rolls made with force spells. Force spells you cast that deal hit point damage do +1 damage per die, or +1 total damage if the damage isn't expressed by dice. The DC to counter or dispel any of your force spells is increased by 4.
Force Defense
Your mastery of force spells increases their defensive abilities, and they stay in effect longer.
Prerequisites: Knowledge (arcana) 6 ranks, Spellcraft 9 ranks, ability to cast at least five spells with the force descriptor, including one of at least 5th level.
Benefit: When you cast any force spell that provides an armor or shield bonus to armor class, its bonus is increased by 2. The duration of any force spell you cast is doubled, as if it were affected by Extend Spell, without changing the level or casting time of the spell.
Force Disjunction
Your mastery of force spells allows you to disrupt force effects.
Prerequisites: Force Attack, Force Defense
Benefit: When a force spell or effect deals hit point damage to you, the total damage is reduced by 5. Also, as a standard action, you can dispel a single force spell or effect within 60 feet, even if the effect is normally immune to dispel magic. The DC to dispel an effect is 11 + the spellcaster level of the effect. If the dispelling is successful, all creatures and objects within 10 feet of the effect take 1d6 points of force damage per spell level of the effect.
This is an old idea, and makes perfect sense. In 3.5 people complained when you did this, because it ate up precious feats. I did a conversion of hte Dwarven Defender to a feat chain, and it was obvious after a mere cursory glance that it was overpowered.
Whether this is viable as a feat chain or as substitution levels is an interesting argument. With PF giving out per-level candy, it's actually balanced either way. In 3.5, blank levels meant you took the PrC, kept your feats, because you gave up nothing in the class.
===Aelryinth
Great idea, especially as I am retooling my PrCs to be more organizational in nature. 'Feat-Tree' PrCs look real good. Aelryinth's note on the dreaded 'Feat-Tax' is valid, although the greater number in Pfshould mitigate the impact if not the whining.
A-Might we get a Pf update on you Dwf Defender?
It was nothing special, to be honest.
I just took the class abiities, divided them into five feats, and each feat gave the benefits over the fighter class, with the prior feat as pre req.
So, you got +1 Will Save per feat; A Stance use every other feat; a Dodge bonus every feat after the first; Dr 3/- and 6/- for feats 3 and 5. HP bonus +4 per feat (for the d12 HD), Uncanny dodge when appropriate.
1) Gain Defensive Stance: Will Save +1; HP +4;
2) Will Save +2; Dodge bonus to AC +1; Uncanny Dodge; +4 HP;
3) Will Save +3; Dodge bonus +2; DR 3/-; + another 4 HP; Stance usable 2/day;
4) Improved Uncanny Dodge; Will Save now +4; +4 more hp; Dodge bonus is +4; Greater defensive stance (to +6, etc)
5) DR/6-, Will save is +5; 3 uses of Stance; +4 more HP, Dodge is +5.
Prereqs were +9 BAB and +2 per feat; Martial weapons and Heavy Armor Prof; Endurance, Toughness.
You basically ended up with +20 hit points, a Good Will save, required a high BAB to finish, and 5 feats that were better then anything you could get as a Fighter...WITHOUT the stance. The stance was basically useless. Look at everything else!
==Aelryinth
==Aelryinth
Thx
While reading the "PrCs are good"/"PrCs are bad" threads, a thought came to me: could a five-level prestige class be simulated through three prerequisite-heavy feats, ordered in some sort of feat chain, along with a paragraph or two of "fluff" covering the idea? I worked up a quick example.
Edit: It struck me that some people might not realize this is an implementation of the Argent Savant from WotC's Complete Arcane. Credit where credit is due.
===================
Force Mage
The force mage studies magical force in order to unlock its secrets and control its power.Force Attack
Your mastery of force spells increases their offensive abilities, and makes them harder to disrupt.
Prerequisites: Knowledge (arcana) 6 ranks, Spellcraft 9 ranks, ability to cast at least five spells with the force descriptor, including one of at least 5th level.
Benefit: You get a +2 competence bonus on attack rolls made with force spells. Force spells you cast that deal hit point damage do +1 damage per die, or +1 total damage if the damage isn't expressed by dice. The DC to counter or dispel any of your force spells is increased by 4.Force Defense
Your mastery of force spells increases their defensive abilities, and they stay in effect longer.
Prerequisites: Knowledge (arcana) 6 ranks, Spellcraft 9 ranks, ability to cast at least five spells with the force descriptor, including one of at least 5th level.
Benefit: When you cast any force spell that provides an armor or shield bonus to armor class, its bonus is increased by 2. The duration of any force spell you cast is doubled, as if it were affected by Extend Spell, without changing the level or casting time of the spell.Force Disjunction
Your mastery of force spells allows you to disrupt force effects.
Prerequisites: Force Attack, Force Defense
Benefit: When a force spell or effect deals hit point damage to you, the total damage is reduced by 5. Also, as...
I turned the Spell-warp Sniper into two feats a while back.
Spellwarp (Metamagic)
You've learned how to condense your area spells into a single, concentrated beam that can hit a single target.
Benefit: You can alter the form of certain area spells into rays. You can convert an area spell with instantaneous duration and a range greater than touch. The spell's level, components, range and damage (if any) remain unchanged. However, the spell's area entry is replaced by an effect entry of "ray".
The spell acts in all ways as a ray, and is considered a ray for the purpose of effects that modify or depend on rays. You must succeed on a ranged touch attack to affect an opponent with the spell. Even if the original spell allowed a Reflex save to reduce or negate its effect, the ray does not. However, if the original spell allowed a Fortitude or Will save to reduce or negate the spell's effect, the save still applies.
You can apply other metamagic feats as normal to the spell, as long as they can affect ray spells.
Ray Mastery
You are a master marksman with ray spells.
Prerequisite: Base Attack Bonus of +6, Sneak Attack (or similar ability) of +3d6, Weapon Focus (Ray)
Benefit: You can apply the extra damage from sneak attack to ray attacks against a target within 60 feet, instead of 30 feet. You can also deliver a coup de grace with a ray spell that deals hit point damage. You must be adjacent to your target to deliver the coup de grace.