Unusual / Powerful / Interesting (etc.) Gestalt combinations...

[rounser]

The less abilities the classes share, the more powerfull is the gestalt.

I disagree, and think you're oversimplifying.

For instance, a class whose abilities don't work in armour coupled with one that does challenges your rule of thumb, as does synergy between abilities (such as monk attacks coupled with cleric touch range spells) and depending on the same or different ability scores (one of the primary reasons why monk/druid is such a strong combination).

If it was as simple as you state, Fighter/Wizard would be one of the best combinations...which I don't really think it is.

 

[takyris]

Cleric/Rogue -- about the only thing that the cleric doesn't have going for him is skills, and adding in the most powerfully skilled character (and giving him all good saves and some nifty abilities if he's willing to stick to light armor) makes for somebody who is a powerful and useful spellcaster and just as fun to play out of combat, too.

Paladin/Rogue pretty much operates just like the standard multiclass version, which is flavorful, interesting, and really difficult to explain satisfactorily to old-school GMs.

Ranger/Wizard is one I like -- more skills than the fighter/wizard, and less assumption that you're supposed to be tanking in heavy armor. Stick with archery, of course.

Cleric/Bard -- like the Cleric/Rogue, but with less sneak-attacking and more magic. The overlap is nowhere near overpowered -- bardsong means that you can't cast clerical spells unless you stop singing (or take something silenced) -- but if you took some combat domains, you'd have a powerful combatant who had a ton of utility ability as well. And all good saves.

 

[cignus_pfaccari]

As a note, I'm of the opinion that combining two classes with the same save set is a poor choice. You're losing one of the main benefits of gestalting, which is to get better saves. If you can offset the classes by one level somehow, then it gets better. After all, if you did that, a Monk/Favored Soul would get a +22 to each save at 20th level.

Also, in the posited scenario, they'll have to fulfill a lot of roles between the two of them. So, they'll want to diversify capability.

Monk/Psychic Warrior is a very good combo. They use the same stats, the abilities mesh incredibly well, and the Psw's bonus feats really help the monk a lot. Just imagine the carnage you can get with a fully augmented Psionic Lion's Charge with a Flurry of Blows.

Rogue/Psion would be nice, too. A high Int rewards both classes, and the abundance of Ray powers means you can use those to sneak attack (which, in the long run, saves power points, since you can do more damage with the same application of resources). You can use your powers to get sneak attacks more often, and use those same powers to rain elemental death on those you can't sneak attack.

The same goes for the Rogue/Wizard, except you have to carry spellbooks around.

Rogue/Swashbuckler seems to be a good option, too; you get Weapon Finesse for free and get to add your Int to your weapon damage on anything that is vulnerable to crits, and gives you a great deal more HP, so you can actually hang out in melee combat.

Favored Soul goes well with many things, due to its all good saves. I can easily see a Favored Soul/Paladin unleashing holy retribution, and that combo will have better spellcasting than normal; FS uses Wis and Cha for casting, and, by chance, Paladins like both stats, too. Favored Soul/Fighter is nice, too; you can just dump Charisma and heal/buff you and your party with your spells.

Fighter/Bard screams to use Arcane Strike from Complete Warrior. OTOH, you have to not dump Charisma to do that.

Ranger/Healer, now that I think about it, might be a good choice. You've got only one shared save (the other two being offset, for a +15 instead of +12 at 20th level), and loads of healing ability. Ranger/Cleric is probably a better all-around choice, though.

Rogue/Monk gives you more skill points and makes you a much tougher scout than either alone. It's a bit hard, since you have five attributes to concentrate on now, but it's doable. A minor sticking point might be that anyone playing this will be obligated to wear black pajamas and call themselves a ninja. Then again, when you hit someone in melee and they're flanked, they'll squeal from how many d6s you're throwing at them.

Brad