| ^ | Indicated an a link to another site. |
Prestige classes are a useful new game mechanic introduced in D&D 3e. They give experienced characters more definition and specialization to their game world, and grant special abilities shared by members of the class.
In AD&D 2e, kits were used for a similar purpose: to better define characters and provide some special abilities. Characters would be tied to the campaign world from the very beginning, and their players would have an aid to their role-playing.
Though prestige classes and kits appear similar at first glance, lending themselves to a one-for-one conversion, they actually have a few important differences. For instance, prestige classes are used primarily to define sets of capabilities that are gained once a character is high enough level to meet the requirements. This implies that a character grows into a prestige class instead of starting out as one. Kits, on the other hand, provide mostly an application of common proficiencies, fitting them into the role a character will play in the world. Unlike prestige classes, characters need to start out with the kit, and will probably keep it throughout their carriers.
With the above definitions, it can be seen that many of the kits from AD&D 2e don't translate well into D&D 3e prestige classes. Most of the old kits can be simulated easily using existing D&D 3e mechanics such as skills, feats and a flexible multi-class system. Presented here are the AD&D 2e Spelljammer kits, along with suggestions on how to use them in the new edition.
Kit Name (Class Type)
This is the name of the kit. In parenthesis, the 2nd Edition class type—Priest, Rogue, Warrior or Wizard—is noted, if available. This is followed by a brief summary of the kit.
Required Skills and Feats: These skills and feats are needed so that the character qualifies for the title and honor bestowed by the kit. Without these skills, a character won't be able to fulfill their assigned role. For example, a Diplomat is of not much use without a Diplomacy skill.
Recommended Skill and Feat: The following skills and feats can help in the pursuit of the role's duties.
Suggested Prestige Classes: A list of prestige classes from the D&D Core Books, the class Guidebooks, the Spelljammer: Shadow of the Spider Moon article, and a few that were created by the net community. In some cases, these are groundling classes that are fairly easy to convert for Spelljammer.
Following this is any additional material that could help in adapting the kit to 3e, or to modify a groundling prestige class for Spelljammer.
The aperusa kit is taken by a type of wandering gypsies. Though originally presented as a kit, they are better treated as a human subspecies. This role is especially fitting for rogues.
Recommended Skills and Feats: Males: Appraise, Disguise, Gather Information, Listen, Profession (gambler), Spot, Tumbling; Blind-Fight Females: Bluff, Craft (cooking), Disguise, Gather Information, Listen, Perform (dancing), Perform (act), Spot
Arcanists are spellcasters who specialize in the magic item trade. Their abilities are mostly knowledge-based, and can be reproduced with various skills.
Required Skills and Feats: Spellcraft
Recommended Skills and Feats: Knowledge (arcana),
Knowledge (history), Speak Language (Draconic)
Suggested Prestige Class:
Loremaster (DMG), multi-class a few levels of Bard
Astrologers are clerics who look upon the structure of the universe and see signs of their gods. Their abilities are knowledge-based, and can be reproduced with various skills.
Required Skills and Feats: Knowledge (religion),
Knowledge (wildspace)
Recommended Skills and Feats:
Knowledge (history: ancient), Knowledge (local),
Profession (wildspace navigator),
Speak Language (any ancient); Phlogiston Sense feat,
Skill Focus (knowledge [religion] or knowledge [wildspace])
Suggested Prestige Classes:
Knight of the Middle Circle (DotF), Loremaster (DMG)
Astronomers are the wizardly equivalent of astrologers. Where astrologers seek signs of their gods, astronomers study the spheres to uncover the secrets of creation. They catalog and collect the histories of star systems.
Required Skills and Feats: Knowledge (wildspace)
Recommended Skills and Feats:
Knowledge (history: ancient), Knowledge (local),
Profession (wildspace navigator),
Speak Language (any ancient); Phlogiston Sense feat,
Skill Focus (knowledge [wildspace])
Suggested Prestige Classes: Loremaster (DMG)
The corsair kit isn't one based on character abilities, but on legal authority given by a sovereign power. All they need is letters of marque, and a way to determine their prey. Fighters and rogues are the best fit for this role.
Required Skills and Feats: Knowledge (nobility and royalty)
Recommended Skills and Feats: Balance, Climb,
Profession (spacehand), Profession (wildspace navigator), Tumble,
Use Rope; Weapon Finesse feat
Suggested Prestige Classes:
Dread Pirate (S&S) (CAd),
Duelist (S&F),
Stellar Corsair
The courier kit is difficult to simulate using existing D&D 3e mechanics, and, as such, is just right for a Prestige Class.
Required Skills and Feats: Diplomacy
Recommended Skills and Feats: Appraise, Disguise,
Forgery, Profession (wildspace navigator), Speak Language (any modern);
Track feat
Suggested Prestige Classes:
Courier^
Crusaders are the military arm of various religious orders. Most of their benefits come from their ties to the church, and are difficult to simulate without resorting to prestige classes. Lower level crusaders work well as multi-classed fighters or paladins.
Required Skills and Feats: Knowledge (religion)
Recommended Skills and Feats: Those appropriate to the
church.
Suggested Prestige Classes:
Divine Crusader (CD),
Hospitaler (DotF) (CD),
Shining Blade of Heironeous (CD),
Templar (DotF)
The Diplomat kit covers a position granted by the rulers of nations. It requires high ranks in Diplomacy skills, but little else.
Required Skills and Feats: Diplomacy
Recommended Skills and Feats: Bluff, Forgery,
Gather Information,
Knowledge (nobility and royalty), Knowledge (history), Knowledge (local),
Listen, Perform (dancing), Sense Motive, Speak Language (any modern), Spot
Characters with the evangelist kit use the voice and personality to convert the masses. The easiest way to simulate this class is with multi-classing. A cleric with a few levels of bard—or even a single-classed bard!—would have the right set of skills to perform common evangelistic abilities.
Required Skills and Feats: Knowledge (religion),
Perform (oratory); Bardic Music ability
Recommended Skills and Feats: Bluff, Diplomacy,
Knowledge (arcana), Perform (musical instrument and/or singing),
Sense Motive
Suggested Prestige Classes: Evangelist (CD)
Frontiersmen are lone explorers of uncharted worlds and spheres. Their abilities are survival based, closely fitting those of a ranger. A small prestige class can help define their unique abilities.
Required Skills and Feats: Survival; Track feat
Recommended Skills and Feats: Climb, Craft (blacksmithing),
Handle Animal, Knowledge (planetology), Knowledge (nature),
Swim; Run feat, Skill Focus (survival) feat
Suggested Prestige Classes:
Planetary Explorer (SotSM)
A geomancer is the planetary equivalent of the astronomer and astrologer kits. They study the various types of worlds, their geographies, their societies and their utility.
Required Skills and Feats: Knowledge (geography)
Knowledge (planetology), Survival
Recommended Skills and Feats: Diplomacy,
Knowledge (nature); Skill Focus (knowledge [planetology])
Suggested Prestige Classes:
Loremaster (DMG),
Planetary Explorer (SotSM)
A harlequin is a wandering entertainer, taking their performances from sphere to sphere. Skills, feats and the Bard class easily simulate the kit's abilities.
Required Skills and Feats: Perform (any two)
Recommended Skills and Feats: Balance, Craft (any),
Diplomacy, Disguise,
Handle Animal, Jump, Perform (any), Profession (gambler),
Speak Language (any modern), Tumble
Suggested Prestige Classes:
Virtuoso (S&S) (CAd)
An imposter is a chameleon, changing identities and personas to suite their needs. The kit's unique skills abilities are hard to implement with a group of new feats, so a prestige class is the best approach.
Required Skills and Feats: Disguise
Recommended Skills and Feats: Craft (any), Diplomacy,
Knowledge (religion), Perform (act), Speak Language (any modern), Spellcraft;
Skill Focus (disguise or diplomacy)
Suggested Prestige Classes:
Imposter^,
Spymaster (S&S) (CAd)
Marines are shipboard soldiers, defending crew and cargo. Their abilities are easily duplicated with skills and feats.
Required Skills and Feats: Weapon Focus (unit weapon)
Recommended Skills and Feats: Climb, Craft (armorsmithing),
Craft (bowyer), Craft (weaponsmithing), Jump, Profession (spacehand),
Profession (wildspace navigator),
Use Rope
Suggested Prestige Classes:
Master Marine^
The role of the medicus is to provide medical help, to friend and foe alike. They are highly skilled in the healing arts, which matches the skills of the D&D 3rd edition cleric very well.
Required Skills and Feats: Heal
Recommended Skills and Feats: Knowledge (religion),
Profession (herbalist); Skill Focus (heal) feat
Suggested Prestige Classes:
Hospitaler (DotF) (CD)
Merchants are the life-blood of the spheres, buying and selling their wares from the largest cities to the smallest outposts. The merchant kit's skills are commonly available and are easily adapted.
Required Skills and Feats: Appraise, Diplomacy
Recommended Skills and Feats: Bluff,
Profession (gambler), Profession (wildspace navigator), Sense Motive,
Speak Language (any modern); Phlogiston Sense feat,
Skill Focus (appraise or diplomacy) feat
Missionaries travel to far off lands, adopting a community of non-believers to convert. Their ability to convert the masses is a perfect fit for a prestige class.
Required Skills and Feats: Knowledge (religion)
Recommended Skills and Feats: Craft (blacksmithing
or carpentry or cooking or weaving), Diplomacy, Handle Animal,
Profession (engineer), Profession (farmer)
Suggested Prestige Classes:
Hospitaler (DotF) (CD),
Planetary Explorer (SotSM)
The privateer kit is a rogue version of the corsair warrior kit.
Salvagers travel the spacelanes, looking for equipment others leave behind. They require a good eye and the patience to pass long hours waiting while looking for junk.
Required Skills and Feats: Search
Recommended Skills and Feats: Appraise,
Craft, Forgery, Jump, Spot, Use Rope
Suggested Prestige Classes:
Master Scavenger
Since not all salvagers are gnomes outside of Shadows of the Spider Moon, the prestige class needs to be modified. The "Race: gnome" requirement should be removed, as well as the Gnome Respect class feature.
A war mage is a wizard that has embraced the art of war. Multi- classing with fighter, or a prestige class, will help them acquire the military skills they need.
Recommended Skills and Feats: Knowledge (history: military),
Profession (wildspace navigator); Metamagic feats, Phlogiston Sense feat
Suggested Prestige Classes:
Eldritch Knight (DMG),
Spellsword (T&B) (CW)
Several ideas for new kits are mentioned on page 57 the Complete Spacefarer's Handbook. These potential kits are also easy to define in D&D 3e rules.
Like the astrologer, astronomer, diplomat and geomancer, any character with the correct cartography skills fills this role.
Required Skills and Feats: Craft (cartography)
Recommended Skills and Feats: Craft (art), Forgery,
Speak Language (any)
Suggested Prestige Classes: Loremaster (DMG)
Though not a good prestige class, this still presents an interesting background to PCs and NPCs.
Pilots are masters of controlling a ship equipped with a spelljamming helm.
Suggested Prestige Classes: Spelljammer Ace (SotSM)
With feats such as Far Shot, this ranged weapon specialist—a Fighter, probably—is a no-brainer to add to a campaign.
Required Skills and Feats: Weapon Focus (ranged weapon)
Recommended Skills and Feats: Far Shot feat,
Point Blank Shot feat, Precise Shot feat, Weapon Specialization (ranged
weapon) feat
Suggested Prestige Classes:
Deepwood Sniper (MotW),
Order of the Bow Initiate (S&F) (CW)
Like the astrologer, astronomer, diplomat and geomancer, any character with the correct ship weapons skills fills this role.
Required Skills and Feats: Siege Weapon Focus feat
A character who tows disabled vessels to a port—for pay, of course—with his ship is nothing more than a Salvager.
Like the astrologer, astronomer, diplomat and geomancer, any character with the correct animal and biology skills fills this role.
Suggested Prestige Classes: Loremaster (DMG)
| (DMG) | from the Dungeon Master's Guide v3.5 |
| (SotSM) | from Shadow of the Spider Moon (Polyhedron #151/ Dungeon #92) |
| (S&F) | from Sword and Fist, the Fighter and Monk classbook |
| (T&B) | from Tome and Blood, the Sorcerer and Wizard classbook |
| (DotF) | from Defenders of the Faith, the Cleric and Paladin classbook |
| (S&S) | from Song and Silence, the Bard and Rogue classbook |
| (MotW) | from Masters of the Wild, the Barbarian, Druid and Ranger classbook |
| (CW) | from Complete Warrior: A Player's Guide to Combat for All Classes |
| (CD) | from Complete Divine: A Player's Guide to Divine Magic for All Classes |
| (CAr) | from Complete Arcane: A Player's Guide to Arcane Magic for All Classes |
| (CAd) | from Complete Adventurer: A Guide to Skillful Characters of All Classes |
