Gestalting

[Oompa]

Im looking to make an gestalt character, with no LA, PHB and expanded psionics only and maybe some feats from other books....

Now i was thinking of going fighter and an psionic class to overcome spell failure.. But i am not really into the psionics yet, what is an good psionic class that can buff/heal himself?

Or does anyone have any other suggestions? I've never gestalted before so i dont know much about combining good mixtures..

 

[Nifft]

Ranger // Psion is one of the best options. All good saves, Light armor, effective as an archer, decent hit points, full BAB and fantastic skills. If you have the Wisdom to cast Ranger spells (14), you'll also have the Wisdom necessary to enjoy most of the cool Psionic movement feats.

Egoists have self-buffs and self-healing.

Nomads have movement powers.

- - -

However, the Paladin // Wilder may be more what you're looking for. Paladins can self-heal, and are good tanks. Wisdom is again synergistic for Psionic feats, though Wilders don't get bonus feats. The big pull here is Elude Touch, where you get to add your Cha bonus to your Touch AC, up to your regular AC. Heavy armor shines, and you can tank incorporeals & wraithstrike munchkins better than the average Gish. (One level of Elocator eliminates the main problem with heavy armor... but the prereqs are quite annoying for such a feat-starved combination.)

- - -

Oh, and don't overlook Cleric // PsyWar, for the ultimate self-buff / self-heal PC.

Cheers, -- N

 

[roguerouge]

Beware Multiple Ability Dependency!

 

[Oompa]

Hmm those combi's sound good, especially the paladin/wilder.. I have 28 point buy.. so i need to make good use.. Maybe if i add LA +1 for the half giant with +2 str/con/cha and -2 Dex..

I start at ECL 5.. So if i give up 1 level of the gestalt on one side for the LA..

I could go paladin 5 / wilder 4..

Hmmm

 

[Oompa]

Oh and isnt the Psion, int based?

Anyone ever tried Sorcerer/Wizard?

 

[Nifft]

Hmm those combi's sound good, especially the paladin/wilder.. I have 28 point buy.. so i need to make good use.. Maybe if i add LA +1 for the half giant with +2 str/con/cha and -2 Dex..

I start at ECL 5.. So if i give up 1 level of the gestalt on one side for the LA..

I could go paladin 5 / wilder 4..

That's not how LA works (unless your DM changed it). LA applies to both "sides". It's usually not a good idea.

For a Paladin//Wilder at 28 point buy, you could do: Str 14, Dex 10, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 14. Your Wisdom is fine right there, you can buff your Str and Cha with items later, and your Touch AC is handled by Elude Touch. Buy heavy armor and love it.

If possible, take the Educated Wilder variant presented here: http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20070214a

1 - Pal 1 // Wild 1 -- Power Attack, Cleave -- crystal shard
2 - Pal 2 // Wild 2 -- force screen
3 - Pal 3 // Wild 3 -- Ghost Attack or Psionic Weapon
4 - Pal 4 // Wild 4 -- ego whip or energy stun
5 - Pal 5 // Wild 5 -- (Educated Wilder: mindlink, then go into Thrallherd at 8th level)
---
6 - Pal 6 // Wild 6 -- Divine Might or[/i] Deep Impact -- time hop or energy bolt

Cheers, -- N

 

[BlueBlackRed]

Are you allowed to use options for Unearthed Arcana?

 

[Jack Simth]

Oh and isnt the Psion, int based?

Anyone ever tried Sorcerer/Wizard?

Bad combo, for a few reasons:

1) They've got an absurd amount of overlap on the bad stuff: same d4 HD, same 2+Int skill points per level, same single good save, and so on.
2) They've got a lot of overlap on the good stuff; they have the exact same spell list.
3) They have different primary casting stats (Int, Charisma).

Between the three, it's a really bad combo in Gestalt.

As for the Original Post....
Paladin//Wilder will do rather well (and I'll be using it for the "good idea" example in the hints below, because it matches up with what you requested and it's already been correctly noted as good) - but a few general hints:

1) Select Active/passive combos (or Primary/secondary).
You want one side that has the stuff you'll spend your actions on in combat (focus on this), and the other side that has the stuff that doesn't eat up actions - so you can have a Paladin/wilder, that uses Psionic powers to supplement melee (long-duration buffs, swift-action powers, some utility) or a Wilder/paladin, that uses the Paladin side for saves, armor proficiency, hit points, and a good Fort save. The two play very differently. The Paladin/wilder runs up in melee and smashes things. The Wilder/paladin hangs in the back and zaps away with Psionic powers. To put it another way, pick a role, and select the Active/passive classes around that.
2) Select combos that don't interfere with each other's abilities.
A Paladin//Monk is bad - Paladins aren't a Wisdom based class, and Monk's can't use their abilities in the heavy armor that makes the Paladin work. The Paladin//Wilder doesn't have that issue.
3) Avoid MAD.
Sure, the Cleric//Wizard looks good on paper, but in practice, you've got two Primary Casting Stats. This is bad. Likewise, the Monk//Cleric looks good on paper, but the Monk can't use the Cleric's heavy armor, and needs basically everything but Int and Charisma. The Wilder//paladin, on the other hand, basically just needs Charisma.
4) Avoid overlap of class abilities.
Sure, the Sorcerer//Wizard looks good on paper, but there's very little a Sorcerer can do that a Wizard can't, as they have the same spell list; they've got the same single good save, they both have a d4 hit die, and they both have 2+Int skill points per level. Okay, the combo can cast spells all day long - but when it comes down to it, that's all it has going for it. The Paladin//Wilder, on the other hand, has almost no overlap of class abilities at all - Paladin has a good Fort save, Wilder has a good Will; Paladin has full BAB, Wilder doesn't; Paladin has a d10 hit die, Wilder has a d4 or a d6; and so on.
5) Look for class abilities that compliment each other. The Paladin usually ends up with a low touch AC - the Wilder's Elude Touch ability helps with this. The Wilder isn't very durable - the Paladin's d10 hit die and Heavy Armor Proficiency deal with this quite nicely. The Paladin isn't a full caster for later levels - the Wilder is, and so on.

Oh, and as a Wilder, you want to take Psychic Reformation as soon as possible. Sure, it's XP intensive, but it lets you retool on a day's notice, which is invaluable.

 

[Will]

The TT campaign I'm in is gestalt. No psionics, though.

We have:
Me, Paladin-fighter/Monte Cook Variant Bard.
Got a pass on alignment because we agreed that the 'leadership noble bard' made sense. Cha becomes a key stat that works very well; at 10th level I have +12/+13/+12 saves without considering any equipment. The only downside is that the character is weak in melee; relies mostly on variant bard's decent sonic blasts and healing. Upside is that you can wear decent armor, particularly if you get mithril, and as a non-melee folk a buckler works nicely.
Ended up taking fighter levels instead of paladin levels after 8th level; as more of a caster/healer, my paladin stuff just isn't as attractive. Having more feats is a big plus.

Sorcerer/fighter (archer)
Lots of good here. Sure, she can't wear armor, but with a great attack score and martial feats, she can deliver devastating ranged touch spells, along with helping the party in various ways. Fighter gives her good hit points, and there are two good saves.

Druid/wizard
While there's some MAD going on here, the ability to change form and cast a WIDE variety of spells is very handy. One of the upsides of gestalt is endurance; the druid/wizard can cast spells until the cows come home. It behooves her (and many gestalt casters) to avoid spells with saves; the combination of spread out ability scores and higher-threat enemies can mean spells land a lot less frequently.
One thing she does is often use her druid spells to summon animals, her wizard spells to blast, and then her wild shape to maneuver in combat.

Rogue/cleric
Lots of fun here! It's a little obnoxious that 'cat's grace' isn't a cleric spell, but oh well. He combines the usefulness of a rogue with the durability of a cleric, plus good healing. He ends up stealthing around a lot, complaining about non-crittable opponents, and providing key healing or other utility spells when things go south.

Barbarian/fighter
OMFG. Very good combo. Some might argue that it overlaps too much, but being essentially a barbarian with extra feats is very handy. The guy is terrifying.

Cleric/fighter-dwarven defender
Short, tough, highest AC of the party. All the upsides of a melee-cleric, plus better selection of gear, more hit points, extra feats, and then all the durability and perks of dwarven defender. Meanwhile, he can still heal, cast a variety of useful spells (he's a bit paranoid after our fight in a kua-toan temple and casts Water Breathing daily), and so on.

There are a LOT of cool options. Even some of the 'nonoptimal ones' trade huge flexibility; a sorcerer/wizard is pretty weak but the ability to have upwards of 10 spells per level per day is rather nice.

 

[Herobizkit]

Monk // PsyWar is having a ridiculously effective career IMC, and will have great mileage if you also make him a Duergar (bonus points and tons of useful abilities for a mere LA+1) or a Half-Giant (+2 STR and CON and act like you're bigger when you do stuff like grapple and trip and so on, also +1 LA). Fighter // Psywar would be even more effective, as both sides collect Fighter feats - and you could use all your PsyWar feats to learn new powers to add to your limited list.

Ranger // Soulknife would be fun for two-weapon fighting with free "magic" weapons, though most of the enhancements aren't that super.