Gestalt Characters and XP penalties

[Ferox4]

A question for those of you who use the Gestalt Character build. Do you use XP penalties if the character's classes (excluding favored class, of course) are more than a level apart from one another?

 

[Zurai]

I only enforce Multiclassing XP penalties per-side. In other words, a Fighter 1/Rogue 2//Cleric 3 elf wouldn't have penalties, but a Fighter 1/Rogue 4//Cleric 5 elf would.

 

[Ferox4]

Ah - hadn't looked at it that way. I'm beginning a gestalt campaign and have not played w/ gestalt characters as yet. Thanks.

 

[Hypersmurf]

I only enforce Multiclassing XP penalties per-side. In other words, a Fighter 1/Rogue 2//Cleric 3 elf wouldn't have penalties, but a Fighter 1/Rogue 4//Cleric 5 elf would.

What about a Fighter1/Rogue2/Cleric2//Cleric3/Rogue2?

-Hyp.

 

[Zurai]

What about a Fighter1/Rogue2/Cleric2//Cleric3/Rogue2?

-Hyp.

No penalty. Each side of the gestalt has a gap of no more than one level between the highest and lowest base class level.

Another example:

A F1/R3//C1/W3 would get double-penalized, because both sides have more than a 1-level gap. (assuming the race didn't have any of those classes as favored classes)

 

[irdeggman]

See I always looked at gestalt as being a single class" at each level.

So each combination is actually only 1 class. This fits since you do not get all the benefits of each class when gestalting in the first place.

This makes the process quite a bit more complicated to account for though, but hey you are already into more complicated because you went gestalt in the first place.

 

[Hypersmurf]

No penalty. Each side of the gestalt has a gap of no more than one level between the highest and lowest base class level.

Right, but you're saying a gestalt character with 1 level of Fighter, 4 levels of Rogue, and 5 levels of Cleric gets a penalty, but another gestalt character with 1 level of Fighter, 4 levels of Rogue, and 5 levels of Cleric doesn't.

A F1/R3//C1/W3 would get double-penalized, because both sides have more than a 1-level gap. (assuming the race didn't have any of those classes as favored classes)

But a F1/W1/R2//C1/R1/W2 wouldn't take any penalties at all.

This character took the same class levels at the same character level, but yours takes double XP penalties and mine doesn't.

-Hyp.

 

[Zurai]

Well, for one thing, I don't allow players to "flip sides" with their class levels. You can't go Fighter 1//Cleric 1 -> Fighter 1/Rogue 1//Cleric 1/Fighter 1, for example. Once you start a class or prestige class, you can only take it on that "side" of the gestalt for the remainder.

I never claimed this was the 'correct' way to do it, nor that it made good internal logic sense. It's just the way I handle it, and it eliminates a large number of abuses that can happen with gestalt characters.

 

[Hypersmurf]

Well, for one thing, I don't allow players to "flip sides" with their class levels. You can't go Fighter 1//Cleric 1 -> Fighter 1/Rogue 1//Cleric 1/Fighter 1, for example. Once you start a class or prestige class, you can only take it on that "side" of the gestalt for the remainder.

So if I want to be a F/MU/Th, for example...

At level 1, I take Rogue and Fighter levels.
At level 2, I take Rogue and Wizard levels.
At level 3, I take Wizard and Fighter levels.

... so I have 2 levels in each class at 3rd level.

You wouldn't permit that?

-Hyp.

 

[MithrasRahl]

It's an interesting concept, locking in a class to one side or the other. It makes the player seriously think about how they're gonna do it.

Total aside, but if you're running a gestalt campaign, how much stronger do the bad guys need to be?