Greetings, though I may be new to this board, I assure you I am no newcomer to the world of D&D.  I played off and on from age 12 to 22, then really got into it again with the release of v3.5.  Being a certified bookworm, and an almost fanatical drive to obtain knowledge or random sorts, I've been soaking up every last thing relating to v3.5 that I can get my hands on.  As such, I doth overflow at the mental seams with juciy D&D knoweldge, both mechanical and applicable.  I've been the player, the dungeon master, and even just an observer.  I've designed balanced races, classes, prestige class, spells, magical items, you name it.

Of course what is knowledge worth if you hoard it unto thyself?  Thus, I offer up any knowledge and advice I have to those that would but ask.  Whether it be a question about whether certain status effects stack, or perhaps curiouslty on building a better adventure.  Ask away o' seekers of information, ask away.

 

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"Apparently getting your ass kicked is now part of a complete breakfast." - Roy Greenhilt, Order Of The Stick


- An Answerer of questions, and Questioner of answers.

Heh. Between you, Galuf (stat guru), Evil Princess Sarah Chlyallia (Queen of D&D naughtiness), and Twitch (umm... 'nuff said) we're developing quite a D&D think tank.

Or something.

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I swear, now you're just doing it to piss me off.

With your extensive D&D history, do you have any prestige classes that would be suitable for a High Lord, he's several thousand years old, being of a race made up by myself, and I want a prestige calss so delightfully uber, that the PC's won't dare even think of callenging him if I tell them about it.

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A Good Deed is its own reward.
That, and getting to go to heaven.

Phoenix of Borg:

Heh. Between you, Galuf (stat guru), Evil Princess Sarah Chlyallia (Queen of D&D naughtiness), and Twitch (umm... 'nuff said) we're developing quite a D&D think tank.

Or something.

Heh, I've been playing D&D (all versions of it) for about thirteen to fourteen years so I've got a bit of knowledge stored away Phoenix. I don't exactly have a specialty but I certainly know my creatures as this forum can attest.

Pfsh. I figured it went without saying. You are after all, a King.

Also- what the hell is a prestige class? *curses her original AD&D rules*

Oh, I tried to get a copy of the 3.5 rules just so I could finally know what everyone was talking about, but it turns out the gaming shop right between Barnes and Noble and the liquor store where I had always gotten Magic cards and MageKnights figurines for my bro, where they all kinds of stuff, is GONE. So I go to the hobby shop in the mall, and after wading through the rc cars and model trains, not only did they not have it, the girl working there didn't even know what Dungeons and Dragons was. Grr. The guy with the beard who ran the old store knew where verything was.

I am however, wary of a rules system that requires a multi-volume Dungeon Masters Guide

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I swear, now you're just doing it to piss me off.

3E D&D requires only the Players Handbook, the Monster Manual and the Dungeon Master's Guide. Three books and you are ready to roll. There are many other books you can use if you want but they're supplemental and if you don't have them or don't like them, you don't need them. While there is a DMG 2, that book has extras to help DMs and option rule variants. Its not necessary to play the game.

A prestige class is a specialist class that takes several levels for a PC to qualify for it. For example, Assassin is a prestige class. To become an assassin you need to be evil, have 4 ranks in the skill Disguise and 8 ranks in the skills Hide and Move Silently. Plus you need to kill someone for no reason other than to join the Assassins' Guild. That means, the earliest you can become an assassin is 6th level because you need 5 levels in rogue or something else that gives you access to Hide and Move Silently as class skills.

There is a huge range of prestige classes. They give you a variety of special abilities so you can tailor your character though there is always a trade off as you are no longer progressing as your base class. If your PC becomes a sorcerer/dragon disciple you can eventually gain wings and other neat draconic abilities but your spell progression is practically non-existant. The prestige classes give you more flexibility but they too are optional. Its all down to personal choice.

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Nihil est ab omni partum beatum.
(Nothing is an unmixed blessing)

Morrigan:

3E D&D requires only the Players Handbook, the Monster Manual and the Dungeon Master's Guide. Three books and you are ready to roll. There are many other books you can use if you want but they're supplemental and if you don't have them or don't like them, you don't need them. While there is a DMG 2, that book has extras to help DMs and option rule variants. Its not necessary to play the game.

A prestige class is a specialist class that takes several levels for a PC to qualify for it. For example, Assassin is a prestige class. To become an assassin you need to be evil, have 4 ranks in the skill Disguise and 8 ranks in the skills Hide and Move Silently. Plus you need to kill someone for no reason other than to join the Assassins' Guild. That means, the earliest you can become an assassin is 6th level because you need 5 levels in rogue or something else that gives you access to Hide and Move Silently as class skills.

There is a huge range of prestige classes. They give you a variety of special abilities so you can tailor your character though there is always a trade off as you are no longer progressing as your base class. If your PC becomes a sorcerer/dragon disciple you can eventually gain wings and other neat draconic abilities but your spell progression is practically non-existant. The prestige classes give you more flexibility but they too are optional. Its all down to personal choice.

 

Thank you Morrigan.  I'm afriad I was unable to post last night on the boards, due to it being crunch time for me.  What I mean is I'm putting the finishing touches on a campaign that is scheduled to begin tomorrow afternoon, and me being the picky detail-centric person I am, I want everything to be perfect.

And Morrigan hit upon something quite key too.  The key word being 'optional'.  The mantra for Wizards of the Coast when they procured D&D was options and flexibility.  They wanted to give us, the players, a game that though structured with rules allowed for the utmost flexibility to create whatever we could imagine.  Want to be a guardian of nature that can take the form of, well, anything?  A druid leading to the master of many forms PrC would fit that bill.  Or maybe you want to become a raging, stampeding, nigh unstoppable combat machine?  A barbarian who prestiges into the Frenzied Berserker PrC becomes just such a warrior (and since I've actually tried this combo, I can tell you they are quite formiddable, if slightly unstable).

 

Of course, the ultimate flexibility is that to create whatever you want, simply using rules and pre-existing examples to guide you.  For example, I designed a prestige class I call the 'Unerring Sniper', a PrC that requires stealth, as well as extensive training with projectile weapons.  AS the PrC progresses, a character becomes better at shooting at targets farther and farther away (taking fewer penalties), as well as gaining skills that make the player harder to find.  I've created a race of lizard humanoids, who are a rustic and quaint, but ferocious in protecting their own.  I designed their society to be one focused more on ancestor worship, and based much of their behaviour on ancient native american societies.

But I've blabbed enough.  I've created weapons, spells, magic items, base classes, and enough other stuff to fill up pages upon pages.  But, I digress from the purpose of this thread, which was to allow any that have questions regarding the new v3.5 D&D system, to ask them.

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"Apparently getting your ass kicked is now part of a complete breakfast." - Roy Greenhilt, Order Of The Stick


- An Answerer of questions, and Questioner of answers.

So a prestige class is basically the same concept as dual classing in BG, except you have to be a certain level first. Got it.

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I swear, now you're just doing it to piss me off.

Not really. Dual classing is multiclassing in 3E. There's no restarting from the begining when you take a new class. Your PC is a fighter/rogue or a ranger/paladin/monk based on the class you pick at each level. You could, if you really wanted to, be a barbarian/bard/druid/fighter/ranger/rogue/sorcerer/wizard. You can mix and match all the base classes regardless of your race (unlike dual classing in BG).

Think of prestige classes like joining a guild or a knightly order. Not everyone with the same prestige class has the same combination of base classes. For instance, the mystic theurge PrC allows you to progress as a divine and an arcane caster so you can be a cleric/mage, druid/sorcerer, bard/ranger or whatever combo you want so long as you qualify for the prestige class (you need second level divine and second level arcane spells plus some skills).

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Nihil est ab omni partum beatum.
(Nothing is an unmixed blessing)

Shh... It made sense in a semiconsious state early this morning. I get it now though.

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I swear, now you're just doing it to piss me off.

There's enough collective D&D knowledge on this forum to write a Dungeons & Dragon Encyclopaedia.

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Scratchit: But he's a cripple!
Blackadder: He's not a cripple, Mrs Scratchit. Occasionally saying "Phew! My leg hurts!" when he remembers to wouldn't fool Baldrick!

yeah, each one of us has some knowledge on this game (althought some of us have more ranks than the rest)

by the way, phoenix, for a summarized and, well, crude version of the 3.5 i recommend the SRD

http://d20srd.org/

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Which Naruto Character Are You?
Test by naruto - kun.com

Small bit of most likely useless information: You can sing and play flute at the same time.

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"Everything is run by women, hence making us men just playtoys and slaves. Dont even think of arquing with them since they can make your life a living hell. In the end there will be no need for us men since women can do it by themselves."
- Me, just before I got twacked with an aluminium pipe.

Although very off topic, how? The flute's a wind instrument. Therefore you need to use your mouth to play it.

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A Good Deed is its own reward.
That, and getting to go to heaven.

Prowl, you have my eternal love.

SQUEEE!!! *goes off to read*

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I swear, now you're just doing it to piss me off.