DM help making monsters work in a gestalt game

[Fallenibilis]

I recently started DMing WoTBS and i decided to play the game gestalt. And this far no problems i've been gestalting my partys foes with simple classes or applying a simple template to the creatures unable to get classes.

Now however im reaching parts with creatures like trolls, bearded devils, ogres, ect... and im not sure how many levels of a class to place on each side of a gestalt to the creatures balanced.

I was thinking of give the creature equal to its hit die or its challange rating whichever is the smaller of the two numbers, but i'm not sure, any ideas?

Fallenibilis

 

[Lwaxy]

I recently started DMing WoTBS and i decided to play the game gestalt. And this far no problems i've been gestalting my partys foes with simple classes or applying a simple template to the creatures unable to get classes.

Now however im reaching parts with creatures like trolls, bearded devils, ogres, ect... and im not sure how many levels of a class to place on each side of a gestalt to the creatures balanced.

I was thinking of give the creature equal to its hit die or its challange rating whichever is the smaller of the two numbers, but i'm not sure, any ideas?

Fallenibilis

I've hardly ever adjusted the monsters for my gestalt games, except at times making them a bit tougher and adding a few extra spells, resistances or feats. Not many, even, just a few. To make the monsters differ enough, I usually vary the extras they get. So one devil might get a different extra resistance than the next. It used to surprise them, but not anymore

If you notice they have it too easy with the monsters, add some HD ad hoc.


I remember one of my hill people (something like smaller giants) they once just ran over like nothing. So I decided it was a young giant after all and had his big bad brother show up to rescue "lil Anoooo"

But they ended up making peace after that hehe.

 

[Li Shenron]

IMXP gestalt campaigns have two possible motivations: either the gaming group is very small (2 or max 3 PCs) and they are afraid of not being able to cover enough character roles and abilities for the adventures, or the players are just the type that want more powerful PCs so that they don't die too easily.

In either case, you probably don't need to worry about compensating for the monsters. The first type of group is more likely to pick gestalt combinations with the purpose of getting combat covered with one class, and non-combat with the other, so they aren't necessarily going to be much stronger in combat than before. The second group will want to be stronger than before, and compensating monsters with improvement kinds of defeat their original purpose of being gestalt.