So as we dive into the wonderous world of prestige classes, one must first ask “what they heck are they, and what was the point supposed to be?”

Prestige Classes – Their Purpose

At their heart, Prestige classes are a tool by which a DM may allow a character (be it a PC or NPC) to be extraordinarily skilled in one direction or another. A Prestige class is only available to characters above 5th level before entrance to the class, and membership in a Prestige class does not incur the normal penalties of multiclassing.

The original set of Prestige classes available in the DMG include the Arcane Archer, which exemplefies the ability of Elves to become outstanding bowmen and mixes in their predisposition for magic.

The Loremaster class allows continued progression in spellcasting potency but makes the spellcaster more focused upon knowledge skills. Instead of a Wizard with several metamagic feats under his belt, the Loremaster has many obscure and valuable facts at his fingertips.

The ShadowDancer is a spinoff of the skulking Rogue. As with the Arcane Archer, some supernatural juju is thrown in for some spice.

All of these classes primarily server to give a character nontypical abilities while maintaining the core concept of a character. Some Prestige classes exist to allow a character to strongly focus in on a particular aspect of an existing class. Tomorrow we’ll look at the Weapons Master Prestige class from the Sword and Fist supplement as opposed to a straight Fighter doing it the old-fashioned way.