Using Gestalt?

[scourger]

For one play by post I ran, I allowed the PCs to be gestalted with any of the npc classes. It basicly allowed anyone to add a fighter bab and d8 hit die, or 6 skill points and a bunch of new class skills, or a minor spellcasting progression and familiar to their character. It gave a lot of well rounded characters, and I didn't have to look for bizarre abuses to ward off.

I like this idea. I may give it a try with the right campaign.

 

[scourger]

The only thing I would recommend is that once you choose two classes, that's it. No "multiclassing" and no prestige classes. That way you're not going crazy worrying about figuring out attributes as much.

Another great suggestion. I'm really glad I'm reading this thread, now.

 

[Herobizkit]

Gestalt characters are great. I'm running a solo player campaign and he's gestalted a Paladin/Rogue. Fits his character to a "T", especially when you throw away alignment rules like I do.

His "core" NPC's are also Gestalts. And his main villains. I don't bother to make any other adjustments to monsters etc.

IMO, gestalts work best for DM's when your number of players is less than 4. I would think that the DM would be asking for trouble if he had larger groups of gestalt PCs.

 

[SidusLupus]

I enjoy playing and running gestalt. Currently the game I'm dming is 3 gestalt pcs and they're doing fine and I dont think that I have a problem with challenging them. They just reached 6 and are enjoying themselves. We have a Paladin/ (Fighter/ Rogue), a Cleric/ Rogue and a Warlock/ Warmage. The warlock warmage will be interesting to see how it goes. His previous Druid/ Fighter was slain in combat so that's the new character.

As for ever going back to "regular" characters, I'm not sure I could. I think I would feel awful limited but I suppose I'm probably spoiled. I enjoy the flexibility that it brings to the table. A major thing that keeps everything in check is the limit of actions/ round. Gestalt have a lot of options, but you can't very well do them all at once. Another thing which I resolved to do was to give them exp more like regular characters so that they don't skyrocket through levels like the very first game we played when we were learning the rules. Some might be fine with it, but there's a lot of content you'll end up skipping if you level too quickly as a gestalt character could.

Gestalt is recommended for less than 4 players only so I'm curious how the games go where you have 4+ of them running around. That must be somewhat of a nightmare. Also, as part of that, someone mentioned they play a non gestalt character where everyone else is gestalt, and I dont see how that would work. You don't feel totaly overshadowed by the other players in that kind of a setting?

 

[Nightfall]

Gestalt is recommended for less than 4 players only so I'm curious how the games go where you have 4+ of them running around. That must be somewhat of a nightmare. Also, as part of that, someone mentioned they play a non gestalt character where everyone else is gestalt, and I dont see how that would work. You don't feel totaly overshadowed by the other players in that kind of a setting?

So far I've only gotten 4. We'll see if we ever get our Warforged back. *admits to also being curious about the Warmage/Warlock gestalt as we level.*

I was the one saying I'm not doing gestalt. My way of compensating (at least in my mind) is to turn my one and ONLY true weapon into something akin to an artifact. So while the Warlock/Warmage MIGHT blow the crap out of stuff, I'll be the one doing the slicing and dicing along with possibly more stuff to keep the party alive as well as fullilfuling my character's goal of completely obliterating Xoriat from existence.

Kory,

I understand that I guess my question was more like why out right banning. With your explanation, I can see that reason more clearly.

FYI, I am going to try, if my githzerai paladin dies, to Gestalt two AU/AE classes. Warmain and Mageblade.

 

[tetsujin28]

When WotC's Arcana book came out with all of the variant rules I know some people on these boards were going to try some gestalt PC games. Has any one run such a campaing?

I have never seen such a book, and have no idea what you're talking about. Are you speaking of the Complete Arcana? I don't remember the word 'gestalt' being mentioned in any of the chapters.

 

[Vurt]

I have never seen such a book, and have no idea what you're talking about. Are you speaking of the Complete Arcana? I don't remember the word 'gestalt' being mentioned in any of the chapters.

Unearthed Arcana.

Cheers,
Vurt

 

[Nightfall]

Which is what we've been talking about for the past 1 and half!

 

[Thanee]

When WotC's Arcana book came out with all of the variant rules I know some people on these boards were going to try some gestalt PC games. Has any one run such a campaing? How did it go? What are the pros/cons of doing so? Did you use published adventures and if so how did they work?

Hi!

I'm running a Gestalt campaign right now (well, two actually, but one has only started).

It's three players and I was aiming for generalist types and not overly specialized characters, which the Gestalt rules nicely allowed for. The characters are a Dwarven Cleric/Fighter (currently dead, thanks to some power-attacking falchion-wielding critically-hitting hobgoblin; yes, *ouch*), a Human Ranger/Warmage and a Human Scout/Warlock.

I completely disallowed multiclassing to make things easier.
I also disallowed mixing two pure spellcasting classes.

The PCs and very few major NPCs are the only Gestalt characters, all others are normal.

I must say, that it works very well. The characters are surely more powerful, but mostly in breadth of ability, they are not (much) more powerful in their specialized areas than typical characters (i.e. the Warmage's spellcasting is just the same, the Warlock's Eldritch Blast is slightly more powerful, because of the interaction with the Skirmish ability, but there is nothing excessive, the characters still appear in play as pretty normal people of about their level).

Bye
Thanee

 

[Nightfall]

What level characters we talking here Thanee?