Character class (Dungeons & Dragons)

A character class is a character's profession or vocation in the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. Choosing a character class is one of the first steps a player must take in order to create a Dungeons & Dragons player character. 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 presented in the Player's Handbook (also often called core classes) are:

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• Barbarian
• Bard
• Cleric
• Druid

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• Fighter
• Monk
• Paladin
• Ranger

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• Rogue
• Sorcerer
• Wizard

In addition a large number of base classes have been released in recent years both by Wizards of the Coast and third parties. As of September 2006 the base classes presented in books by Wizards of the Coast outside of the Player's Handbook for the 3.5 edition are:

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• Archivist
• Artificer
• Ardent
• Beguiler
• Binder
• Crusader
• Divine Mind
• Dragon Shaman
• Dragonfire Adept
• Dread Necromancer
• Duskblade
• Erudite
• Favored Soul

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• Healer
• Hexblade
• Incarnate
• Knight
• Lurk
• Marshal
• Ninja
• Psion
• Psychic Warrior
• Samurai
• Scout
• Shadowcaster
• Shugenja

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• Soulborn
• Soulknife
• Spellthief
• Spirit Shaman
• Swashbuckler
• Swordsage
• Totemist
• Truenamer
• Warblade
• Warlock
• Warmage
• Wilder
• Wu Jen

These new base classes (also called non-core classes or alternate base classes) are considered optional by many people and many classes are not available in all games; classes that bring in a lot of complex rulesets which are not detailed in the core books, such as the psionic classes and those from the Tome of Magic, are among those that are frequently excluded. Besides Wizards of the Coast other companies also publish books that include new base classes.

The Dungeon Master's Guide (both v3.0 and v3.5) include 5 NPC classes

• Warrior
• Commoner
• Expert
• Adept
• Aristocrat

In the very first edition, there were only three base classes, though they were just called "classes" then. They were:

• Cleric
• Fighting man (later renamed Fighter)
• Magic-User (later renamed Wizard)

Other versions of the game have included a variety of other classes:

• Mystic
• Witch
• Race classes (like Elf, Dwarf and Halfling)

Prestige class

Main article: 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 focuses on archery, enhancing natural ability through magic, in ways that other character cannot.

See also List of Prestige Classes.