Hey everybody, I have a question:

I've been looking at random PRC's to make into characters, and I came upon (lol) an old build of mine that is the Fochlucan Lyrist. It has a laundry list of prereqs:

Decipher Script 7

Diplomacy 7

Gather Information 7

Knowledge (Nature) 7

Perform (String Instruments) 13

Sleight of Hand 7

Speak Language (Druidic)

Neutral good, neutral, chaotic neutral, or neutral evil.

Able to cast 1st level arcane and divine spells

Bardic Knowledge

Evasion

Many of the prerequs make sense: The class is designed to be a hybred druid/bard. The 13 ranks in string instruments mean that they expect you to take multiple levels in bard, along with the bardic knowledge requirement (and 1st level arcane spells). The druid part is required due to being able to speak druidic, only accessable by druids. Clearly a hybred druid/bard. And then, to boot, the fochlucan class boosts arcane and divine casting, bardic knowledge, bardic music, and allows you to wear metal armor even though you are a druid.

My question is this: The class also has a prereq that is evasion. Bard never gets evasion. Neither does druid. Rogue does, at second level. So does Shadow Dancer. No where else does it require anything else outside of the 2 base classes that the class builds upon, and it does not amplify rogue or SD ablilities in the class. So why have that prereq?

Would fellow DM's be OK nixing the evasion requirement? It seems totally random and unnessisary to me, but I want to get other people's Opionins first.

I'm comfortable throwing out the Evasion prereq. It doesn't hyber build the class (I can see requiring a non-optimal feat, but not 2 non-optimal levels.).   In it's place, what about cutting the perform by 2, and adding a skill focus feat?

To be clear:

Change Perform (String) 13 to Perform (String) 11

Remove Evasion

Add Skill Focus (Perform)

Any other thoughs? I know silence doesnt nessisarily imply concent, but I would like some reasons yes or no from others...

ya'all suck. Post more noobs. Still some DM's to hear from...

If the Lyrist boosts arcane AND divine spell casting AND allows metal armor AND removes the arcane failure chance of metal armor then it's the most powerful class I've ever heard of.  We can't weigh in on reducing pre-reqs until the actual benefits of the class are quantified somewhere.

F. Lyricist Has the following:

Full BAB

Strong Rfl/Will

Weak Fort.

Class acts like Mystic Theurge with bard spells/music/knowledge, and Druid Spells only.

Still suffers arcane spell failure, but may wear metal armor (druid oaths would normally prevent that.)

Animal Companion, Wildshape do not improve.

Sev's issue is that the class almost requires that the prosective lyricist take two full wasted levels.  We are not talking about a dead feat...or even two dead feats.  The class has to take 2 full levels that do nothing to synergize with anything else in the class.  It would be like the PrC paladin requiring 1d6 Sneak and casting of level 1 arcane spells.

Oh.  I thought this was a class that Mike made up.  The official version is here:

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ex/20050107a&page=2

If you take out the wasted levels, does this class obsolete the Mystic Theurge? I don't have strong opinions either way.

There are a small number of Theurge-like classes.  This is one of them.  Mystic Theurge is still your best bet for Sorc/Favored Soul, or Archivist/Wizard.  This -IS- the prefered theurge for Bard/Druid.  In theory, Sev could take 3 levels of druid and 4 levels of bard.  He would then take arcane Hierophant or Mystic Theurge for 3 levels, and then F. Lyr. For 10.

End Result is:

17 Levels of Druid Casting

16 Levels of bard Casting

Weak animal companion

14 Levels of Bard Song/Bardic Knowledge

+18 BAB (with gestalt)

As I have been looking at it, I probably wont be playing this class (again). I realized that, at most, I can wild shape 1/day, and wild shape is the main reason i supplement any build with druid.

So Fouchlucan Lyrist, you may be interesting, but not my cup of tea.