i need a lil input (homebrewed prestige class)

[Starphoenix26]

my Girl and i was wondering about making a PrC that would cover, bards, paladins , and clerics..this is what we came up with:


Divine Songsword


Preres:


Any Good Alignment


Bard, Paladin, Cleric


Attack bonus +6 , charisma mod +3,


skills: knowledge: religion 6, perform 6(sing or musical instrument),


feats: negotiator, weapon focus, magical aptitude


spell must come from the following domains: good, law, protection, healing, luck


hit points: d8


class basics/skills


1st lvl atk +1 fort +1 ref +1 will +2


Voice of Glory (+2 to charisma, subject creatures gains +2 on atk , saves, and skill checks, immune to fear effects, and temp hp equal to caster lvl , max 20, 2 min duration, target , caster and 1 creature per lvl, in 20' radius burst)


Songbird (+2 to perform and charisma checks)


Vocal Blessing : gives himself and all allies a temp +1 per caster lvl weapon bonus - duration 1 hour per caster lvl) burst 30'


spellcasting: +1 of existing lvl


2nd lvl atk +2 fort +1 ref +1 will +2


Song of Protection, self, grants +2 to AC for 10 minutes per caster Lvl max 30 mins


Song of Divine Vengeance, self, grants +2 to atk and damage rolls, duration 10 per caster lvl , max 30 mins.


spellcasting: +1 to existing caster lvl


3rd lvl atk +3 fort+2 ref+2 will+3


Divine Warcry , self or 1 ally gains +6 to atk roll and damage on charge only, opponent must make save or become panicked for 4 rounds, range 20 feet


spellcasting +1 to existing caster lvl


4th lvl atk+4 fort+3 ref+2 will+3


Divine Shatter self or 1 ally, grants target+4 atk and Dam rolls, in addition, a natural critical breaks the weapon/shield of the def


spellcasting +1 to existing lvl

any advice would be highly appreciated.
thanks.

[Hoitash]

I like it. but I'm a noob, though a noob who enjoys playing a paladin and has bard like qualities (in rl.)

[Crossroads_Wanderer]

There are a couple of things in the prereqs that are a little unusual. It is unusual to specify that you have to be a certain class, particularly if you have to be multiple classes to qualify. Usually the prereqs will make you have to be able to cast certain spells or use certain abilities if there is a specific class in mind. Often, though, a prestige class will make the prereqs more general so that there isn't only one way to get in.

I don't think I've ever seen a prereq listing that required a certain ability modifier. Prestige classes are generally tailored so that even the most pathetic character can get one so long as they have enough experience and the right selections.

I think that voice of glory is overpowered. It is better than Inspire Greatness, which is gained at 9th level for a bard. This class can be taken at 9th level if you have any combination of 3/3/2. And that means that you are getting an ability far more powerful than a higher level bard ability when you are only a 2nd or 3rd level bard. Further, when you say that it affects one creature per level, do you mean per bard level, per prestige class level, or per overall character level?

I think if you are following a standard saves progression, your saves at first level should be fort+0, reflex+0, and will+2. At second it should still be +0 for fort and reflex, +3 will. At third it would be fort+1, reflex+1, will+3. At fourth it would be fort+1, reflex+1, will+4.

I don't quite understand what you mean by "+1 per caster lvl weapon bonus". Are you saying that if you are a 5th level caster, you grant them a +5 bonus on attack rolls with their weapons? That is overpowering at any level, particularly since it lasts 1 hour per caster level. By having both effects based on caster level, you are squaring the effectiveness of the ability. Further, think about what happens when your character reaches epic level. If you're leveling up the classes evenly, at 28th level, it will be a 24 hour effect, and it will give a +24 bonus. You are talking about a permanent +24 bonus, and that is something that players will exploit like crazy.

On Divine Shatter and Divine Warcry I think +4 and +6 are a little high, particularly when one of them also adds to the damage roll and both grant other abilities. For Divine Warcry, I would suggest dropping the attack bonus and leaving only the effect, as it is pretty useful by itself. Divine Shatter should probably drop the bonus to damage. I'm not sure if that fully makes it reasonably powered, but that can be discovered through testing. It's often a good idea to test a new class against other classes of equal level in combat. If you have the time, I would suggest putting together two parties (because this is a primarily caster class, so it wouldn't stand up well in one-on-one combat with a fighter) and seeing how well the one party does with the aid of this new class.

The last thing I want to mention is that this class seems to be primarily bard-focused. The abilities do lend to combat, but so do bard song abilities. There aren't any domain-related or even truly divine-related powers. Maybe you can take out a couple of the overpowered abilities and replace them with things that would be more useful to clerics and paladins.

I think that this class is a good first attempt, but it still needs a few kinks worked out so that the bard/cleric/paladin doesn't get all the party action.

[outrider]

Possibly a philosophy or a background for the prc would be good. i would read some of the backgrounds for the prestige classes for examples. I think this would help to concrete the ideas that you have for this.

[Starphoenix26]

first off, thanks for the input, talked it over with the misses, did a lil retweaking..:

Prestige Class (P.E.A.C.H.):
Divine Songsword

Preres:
Any Good Alignment
Bard, Paladin, Cleric
Attack bonus +6 ,
skills: knowledge: religion 6, perform 6 (sing or musical instrument),
feats: negotiator, weapon focus, weapon focus specialization, magical aptitude
spell must come from the following domains: good, law, protection, healing, luck
hit points: d8

class basics/skills

1st lvl atk +1 fort +0 ref +0 will +2
Voice of Glory (+2 to charisma, subject creature gains +2 on atk , saves, and skill checks, immune to fear effects, and temp hp equal to class lvl, max 20, 2 min duration, target caster and 1 creature per lvl, in 20' radius burst)
Songbird (+2 to perform and charisma checks)
Vocal Blessing : gives himself and all allies a temp +1 per class lvl weapon bonus - duration 1 hour per class lvl) burst 30'

spellcasting: +1 of existing lvl

2nd lvl atk +2 fort +1 ref +1 will +2
Song of Protection, self, grants +2 to AC for 10 minutes per class Lvl max 30 mins
Song of Divine Vengeance, self, grants +2 to atk and damage rolls, duration 10 per class lvl , max 30 mins.

spellcasting: +1 to existing caster lvl

3rd lvl atk +3 fort+1 ref+1 will+3
Divine Warcry, self or 1 ally gains +4 to damage on charge only, opponent must make save or become panicked for 4 rounds, range 20 feet
Song of Blessing, self or 1 target, can add target's cha modifier to all saving throws, duration, 10 mins per class level, maximum 30 mins.burst 20 feet radius.

spellcasting +1 to existing caster lvl

4th lvl atk+4 fort+2 ref+2 will+4
Divine Shatter self or 1 ally, grants target+2 to atk and Dam rolls, in addition, a natural critical breaks the weapon/shield of the target defender.

spellcasting +1 to existing lvl

i took in account the a couple of abilities were overpowered, so i reduced them, but wanted to add a little more, so the song of blessing was added.

adjust the class saves, thought they might have been a lil high.

but, yes i wanted to do a class that bards would be featured in, as well as paladins and clerics. think of this as a hyper choirboy, willing to pick up the sword to do his deity's dirty work!

anything else i missed?