Prestige Classes

Prestige classes represent the higher order of character classes, those that take previous adventuring experience to enter into and represent rare, elite adventurers: samurai (sam), dragoons (drg), paladins (pal), rangers (rgr), engineers (eng), mystics (mys), templars (tmp), bards (brd), ninjas (nja), druids (drd), mimes (mim), sorcerers (sor), and sages (sag).  All of these are 15-level prestige classes (rather than 10- or 5-levels) because, in spite of being prestigious, they have something in common with the basic classes.  These thirteen classes represent archetypical paths of advancement for many experienced adventurers.
       
The more common 10- and 5-level prestige classes from the Dungeon Master's Guide, Sorcery & Steam, and all of the Complete class books can usually be adapted to Færith, but those prestige classes typically represent  specific organizations or orders, not generic careers like the classes in this chapter.  Such organizations exist in Lethandria (and how), but those are detailed with the campaign setting's geographical and historical information.  (Naturally, many of the 10-level prestige class and 20-level base classes that also fill some of these same roles should not be made available in this setting).

Warriors

All of the prestige warrior classes require a total of 5 previous levels in basic warrior classes, in any combination (including berserker, duelist, explorer, knight, monk, and soldier).  The samurai, the game's only prestige heavy warrior, masters a single weapon through which he can channel powerful chi techniques.  The dragoon is a light warrior who acquires dragonlike characteristics and abilities, and is best known for his signature ability to attack with a lance while diving out of the air.  Paladins and rangers are warriors who learn a variety of special abilities, including the power to cast white magic.  Finally, there are the arcane warriors: the engineer, the mystic, and the templar, each of which learns to combine combat skill with a different arcane discipline (science, psionics, and magic, respectively).  The templar is unique in that this class represents one of only two in the the game (the other being the sage) that can learn to cast both white and black magic at the same time.

Experts

There are only two prestigious expert classes: the bard and the ninja.  Both combine thievery with a little bit of fighting and black magic, to differing degrees.  A ninja is a master of espionage, entry, and assassination, and to that end, becoming a ninja requires 3 previous levels of roguish expert (some combination of thief, investigator, or professional levels), and 2 other levels in whatever classes they choose (to aid a spying shinobi's "cover-story").  Bards are more unique, in that they require previous experience in both roguish and fighting classes: a becoming a bard typically requires 2 warrior levels and 3 expert levels.  However, a special exception exists: noble levels can count as either warrior or expert levels for the purposes of qualifying for the bard class, so a 5th-level noble can skip the usual requirements and jump right into the bard class!

• Bard

• Ninja

Leaders

Prestigious leaders have access to quite the bizarre array of Charisma-based powers.  Druids are divine mages capable of taming animal followers and even shapeshifting into the forms of animals and other natural creatures.  Mimes have ability to absorb, copy, or even reflect spells and spell-like abilities thrown their way; and even when something gets through, a mime can spend a little experience to actually learn any spell-like ability that affects them!  Sorcerers are mages who bind themselves to powerful spirits in exchange for the ability to summon them into battle.  All of these classes are also able to advance the spellcasting ability of a previous magic-using class.  Entering any one of these classes requires 5 previous levels in priest, shaman, or wizard, and the ability to cast 3rd-level spells in that class.

• Druid

• Mime

• Sorcerer

Scholars

The only scholar prestige class is the sage, a master of magic who seeks to transcend the division between white and black magic.  Any character able to cast wizard spells at caster level 3rd and priest or shaman spells at caster level 2nd can become a sage, gaining the ability to improve both spellcasting abilities simultaneously.  Sages are also masters of obscure lore, and at high levels, can do things with magic that no other mage can.

• Sage

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