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Prestige Classes were introduced in the third edition of Dungeons & Dragons as a new form of multiclassing with requirements that had to be met by characters before they could enter into the class. I always appreciated this concept but, unfortunately, not the execution. In this document, I am re-envisioning the Prestige Class as a single achievement that activates a bundle of abilities, skills, or other enhancements with requirements based on fictional accomplishments in the game rather than meta character prerequisites.

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(+1)

Cool!
Actually, one could say the original 1e AD&D Bard class was the original prestige class, so the concept goes further back than 3e. But it was much, much harder to become a 1e Bard than it was to enter any of the 3e prestige classes.

Good point! My particular inspiration goes in further back than that— the paladin from Supplement 1: Greyhawk! šŸ˜ You might notice that my two example Prestige Classes are that original paladin class split in twain! šŸ’Ŗ

(+1)

Wasn't the druid also an offshoot prestige of the cleric or am I remembering that incorrectly?

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Unlike sub-classes, Prestige Classes werenā€™t tied to a particular base class. Instead, a character had to meet certain requirements. For example: to become an Arcane Archer, a character had to be an elf or half elf and meet a minimum to-hit bonus. They didnā€™t have to be a fighter. I canā€™t remember if druids began as a sub-class of cleric or if there was an independent class version in Dragon magazine but the gameā€™s approach to some of the extended classes had some twists and turns before they settled down.

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I had not noticed this initially, seems obvious now. Nice! I've been nostalgic regarding Greyhawk of late ;) Thanks for the reminder.