Gestalt Classes + LA + Monster Classes

[Nifft]

The DM decides what sort of dice are appropriate for each template/race, because it's not that exact. Some ECL+1 races barely make +1, some are very close to being +2. So maybe the "weak" +1 gets a slightly better die than the "strong" one.
[...]
But, it worked fine for us.

Ah, gotcha. Sounds interesting, and I'd like to see some examples, if it's not a bother.

Thanks, -- N

 

[Rystil Arden]

As another alternative, in my alternate gestalt system where I create discrete gestalt classes to help smooth over the edge effects of erratic multiclassing (or templating one side, as Nifft demonstrated), I transform existing level adjustment into racial hit dice (though I will typically weaken Outsider and Dragon HD somewhat) that take up your entire level.

 

[glass]

That makes a lot of sense. Thanks.

I guess I'll drop the idea of this. The problem is, our fourth player (and he's a cleric) in our Savage Tide game has a tendency to just.... not show up. I thought he'd stop doing it when we started playing 3.5E again (he only really likes D&D, not other systems), but he didn't show up last week.

We want to keep on playing without worrying that play will stop when he decides not to attend. Making his char an NPC or player-controlled is not an option (he's the most "rules-heavy" of the group, what with his spell list and all, and it sucks having to spend more time playing someone else's character opposed to your own), so I was going to just switch to Gestalt.

The big problem is, two of the three PCs would have LA levels... I'm trying to figure out the fairest way of doing this.

You could just start the gestalting from the current level, or from the first level that is a real level for everyone. Thatway everyone gets to add some backup capability equally and the worry about balancing LA vs gestalt levels does not arise.


glass.

 

[Storyteller01]

The way we've run it so far:

We have a trollkin totemist 4/fellcaller 4 with a +1 LA. He's a 5th level character.


We also have a black dragon 5/sorcer 5, via a dragon mag monster class.


The trollkin took a hit to both classes, but he gets a feat every 3 levels, attribute every 4 four levels, as well as hp, skill points, and save increases at every level (ie: he has the HD, skills, and saves of a 4th level character).

The dragon, even though it looks like they get a boost, isn't so lucky. His spellcasting improves every level, but we ruled that his skills, saves, and HD will still raise as per the dragon (they're all the higher of the two classes). So he's got the hp, skills, and saves of a 3 HD critter.

We also ruled that since he is taking a monster class, he follows the rules of that situation. So he doesn't get the feat every 3rd level or attribute bonus every 4th level. He gets what the monster class allows. As for as feats go, he has the fewest among the party. And while he does get some significant attribute bonuses, he doesn't get to pick where they go. He's not going to have a charisma increase any time soon.

My two cents...

 

[Drowbane]

Our Shackled City Party (we're currently fighting Kua-toa... looking for some Dwarf) ~

Anixiel ~ Dark (ToM, LA +1) 1/2 Dragon (MM, LA +3) Loresong Spryte (AU) Lurk 3 | Psion 7: Flies, is impossible to Spot when he means to be stealthy, and is one hell of a blaster. Is also the only surviving PC from the original 3 and thus the defacto party leader and... mascot. (looks like a Tiny Black Dragon with butterfly wings)

Darius (cohort of Legion. Leadership HR'd to give option of Cohort at lvl -1 with no followers) ~ 1/2 Celestial (BoED version... +2 LA) Battle Dancer 1 / Fighter 1 / Monk 1 / Shiba Protecter 1 cheesy grin | Cleric 3 / Church Inquisitor 3: Flies, party healer, benchmarks AC for the party, tends to do "fly-by Boot to the Head!" when he isn't healing.

Gelben ~ Gnome... some unholy mix of Psion and half a dozen other classes. Routinely out damages the rest of the entire party with a spring attack. LA free (as far as I know)

Khem-something ~ Ghaele Eladrin (SS 20 level Monstrous progression) 7 | Sorc 7: Flies half the time, blaster, backup healer (around lvl 10 becomes the "Out of Combat Healer" with CLW at will)

Legion ~ Warforged Psion (egoist) 6 / Astral Zealot 1 | Wilder 6 / Astral Zealot 1: Astral Construct summoning specialist (rarely needed :/), high PsP, blaster, metamorph (routinely takes Red Dragon Wyrmling form for the intense fly speed), can heal self, has saved party members with a well timed "Time Hop". LA free.

~~~

Point is, the two characters that lack any sort of LA are just as (if not more) powerful than the characters who has some sort of LA baked into one side of thier Gestalt.

Yeah, we're crazy powerful, but everybody is having a blast. Two of us came close to death last session...

Power is relative.

 

[Viktyr Gehrig]

I allow classes to combine with Monster HD, though I force the combination based on the race in question.

Level Adjustment still sucks. If it's +3 or higher, I usually knock it down a point.

 

[Priest_Sidran]

Personally I hate Gestalt it screws with me and my job as DM because I do not like high powered games. (Unfortunately one of my players wants to always play gestalt). I would instead make the player who doesn't show up a back seat NPC in that he is story wise neutral and in the backgrounds of things. Or barring that have his character be caught up in something that draws him away from the game conveniently during sessions in which the player decides to be a goof.

 

[szilard]

Allow LA to gestalt with Commoner levels.

This will keep them from getting too ridiculously far behind on level-dependent things like hit points and skill points, without providing the benefits of a PC class.

-Stuart