This is a PrC package that adds four new Prestige classes. They can be played with most community modules and all three official campaigns.
Version 3.5 is now available.
If you have an older version installed, the 'Version Information.txt' file lists the differences between versions.
WARNING: These classes are NOT standard DnD classes.
The main purpose of these classes is to support a very popular and interesting type of character build, the self-buffed Arcane or Divine spellcaster, who is transformed, through magic, to a powerful warrior. Each class follows a different approach to achieve this, as it is explained in the following paragraphs:
Important: Before using these classes, please read the pdf documentation files. They contain vital information!
Knight of Mystra
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Concept: Remove character development 'side' obstacles that prevent melee spellcasting builds.
An Eldritch Knight alternative for Arcane casters.
Class strength: Somewhat stronger than other classes.
Spellcasting: Full Arcane or Divine spellcasting progression.
If trying to create a melee Arcane or Divine melee spellcaster character, a number of 'side' obstacles exist in the game (or could be called character development 'holes') just to prevent such a build. Things like low BAB, Arcane Spell Failure and low HD for the Arcane spellcasters, knockdown chains and especially dispel 'bombardment' situations, all these ruin the whole concept of the buffed spellcaster. If spellcasters are to be left to fully deploy their buffing talents, these problems must be 'smoothed' and this is exactly what this class attempts to do.
Holy Guardian
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Concept: The ultimate buffer (new buffing spells added).
Class strength: Notably stronger then other classes
Spellcasting: Full Divine spellcasting progression.
Holy Guardians are Elite Clerics who have been chosen by their deity to be the watchful protectors of their church. Even though the intense study of the divine has left the Holy Guardians physically weaker than the simple Clerics, their magic is much stronger resulting in a much stronger character.
The power of the Holy Guardians comes from their dedicated class spells. These are normal spells (added to the cleric spellbook) but they have restrictions which only allow Holy Guardians of some level to cast them. These spells can be found in two special cleric domains.
Holy Blade
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Concept: A Stormlord alternative.
Class strength: A balanced class, with reasonable powers.
Spellcasting: Full Divine spellcasting progression.
The Holy Blade class has many similarities with the Stormlord class and could be considered as an alternative with some improvements (like the odd weapon collection of the Stormlord). Since the Stormlord class was used as a measure for the bonuses granted by the Holy Blade class, I believe that the latter can be safely assumed to be balanced, so it can be used with most modules and campaigns without breaking the game.
Arcane Fighter
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Concept: Solve key problems for Arcane melee builds.
Class strength: Can't be said for sure, could be considered somewhat stronger than other classes.
Spellcasting: Partial Arcane spellcasting progression.
This class tries to solve three key problems for an Arcane spellcaster melee build: low BAB, low hitpoints and arcane spell failure which prohibits use of heavy armor (and hence an AC loss that must be compensated). The main characteristic of this class is that the fixes for the above problems extend over all character levels (and not only class levels).
To determine the strength of each class, I tried to compare them against these 'prototypes':
Divine casters: Cleric + Stormlord with Spear & Monkey Grip
Arcane spellcasters: Wizard + Eldritch Knight with Light Armor & Greatsword.
At the right of this page you can find three quick reference cards which show level progression for the Holy Blade, the Arcane Fighter and the Knight of Mystra classes.
Installation or the PrC pack is very simple, just follow the instructions in the txt file found in the zips.
Two versions of the pack are provided. One that can be combined with Netriak's buff preservation mod, which is essential to play buffed characters in SoZ, and the normal version for everything else (if you want to play SoZ without Netriak's mod use the normal version).
Finally, I would like to thank EwaldTheUnimaginative whose great TlkEdit2 utility I used to create the tlk file.
10 - A Masterpiece, Genuinely Groundbreaking 9 - Outstanding, a Must Have 8 - Excellent, Recommended to Anyone 7 - Very Good, Deserves a Look 6 - Good, Qualified Recommendation 5 - Fair, Solid yet Unremarkable 4 - Some Merit, Requires Improvements 3 - Poor Execution, Potential Unrealized 2 - Very Little Appeal 1 - Not Recommended to Anyone
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at 2010-11-28 07:07:08
