Character class (Dungeons & Dragons)
Choosing a Character Class is one of the first steps a player must take in order to play the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. Which class the player chooses changes the way they play the game. Player's Handbook, one of the three core rulebooks, lists eleven specific base classes which each fill a different role in a party. Supplemental sourcebooks have added several more classes for players to chose from. The Dungeon Master's Guide introduces prestige classes, and has several examples.
Base class
The first level of any character is a base class, such as fighter or druid. Upon attaining a specified amount of experience points (or XP) the character will go up in level, and the player must choose a class in which to ascend. The amount is equal to (player's current level * 1000 XP) more. Thus, to go from 1st level to second, a player only needs 1000 xp, while going from 2nd to 3rd requires 2000 more, or 3000 total. The player may choose to add the same class again, to become a second level fighter, for example, or to add another class, becoming, for example, a first level fighter, first level druid. This second option is called multiclassing.
A third option, attaining prestige classes, is covered in the next section.
The game has changed significantly, over the years. In the 3.5 edition the base classes are:
In the first edition, there were only three base classes:
Prestige class
Prestige classes are a different form of multiclassing. To attain a specific prestige class, a character must first meet a number of prerequisites, such as a number of levels in a specific class, or certain feats. Specific prestige classes focus on different abilities. For example, the Arcane Archer focusses on archery, enhancing natural ability through magic, in ways that other character cannot.
- See also List of Prestige Classes.
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