What are some great gestalt combos for the first 5 levels?

I've been thinking Duskblade/Warmage but there might be snazzier ones.

For a bit higher level a Rogue/Fighter who adds Assassin levels for maximum sneak attack dice would be nasty... squeek in some Scout and you have the ultimate light fighting badass (so long as you take a high crit range weapon, Improved Crit and the PHB 2 feat that lets you add your various SA type dice to any critical).

What ideas am I missing out on?

I'm thinking psion/fighter should be a good combo. There are lots of psionic powers that improve your melee abilities, but they're kind of wasted on a class that has a 1/2 BAB, d4 HD, and no good weapons. Plus, psionic powers aren't hindered by armor.

Quote from: DackeI'm thinking psion/fighter should be a good combo. There are lots of psionic powers that improve your melee abilities, but they're kind of wasted on a class that has a 1/2 BAB, d4 HD, and no good weapons. Plus, psionic powers aren't hindered by armor.

Good idea.

Would a Psi Warrior/Fighter be a good combo? You'd have more feats than you could spend and some powers to boot.

Quote from: BolverkGood idea.

Would a Psi Warrior/Fighter be a good combo? You'd have more feats than you could spend and some powers to boot.

no - it would actually end up being a weaker gestalt class than a psion / fighter.

the way to get really powerful gestalt combos is to pick two very different classes and combine them, rather than use two similar classes. the less overlap between the classes, the more powerful the overall gestalt character will be. preferably using overlapping stats in order to focus on one single higher ability....

so a cleric/monk would be more powerful, in the long run, then a fighter/monk.

if you're looking for a hardcore melee setup that gets you a lot of feats, fighter/rogue is the way to go. want a spellcasting powerhouse? cleric/wizard or sorcerer/favored soul. barbarian/druid is a nasty combination - consider a barbarian raged dire-bear and you get the idea...

Quote from: BolverkWhat are some great gestalt combos for the first 5 levels?

Let's see, in our Gestalt campaign, I played a Goblin Swashbuckler/Fighter-Rogue/Invisible Blade.

He was a killer.  Fought with a pair of magic barbed daggers...  He forced a giant to make (and fail) a massive damage save, when he did 53 points of damage on a single Critical Sneak Attack in a surprise round.

:heh:

I quit playing not long after that...  he ended up being far better at what he did than I originally expected him to be, and he started to get boring.

If you are looking for cheese festy goodness, warlock and rogue.  So very very wrong.

Quote from: CyclotronLet's see, in our Gestalt campaign, I played a Goblin Swashbuckler/Fighter-Rogue/Invisible Blade.

He was a killer.  Fought with a pair of magic barbed daggers...  He forced a giant to make (and fail) a massive damage save, when he did 53 points of damage on a single Critical Sneak Attack in a surprise round.

:heh:

I quit playing not long after that...  he ended up being far better at what he did than I originally expected him to be, and he started to get boring.

And just what level did he hold in each? the question, after all, is for a lvl 5 character, and you can't even get to invisible blade before you are 6th (stupid rule about meeting prereqs BEFORE you can enter the PrC)

Myself, I've had some terrific results with rogue/rangers, and even more terrific by adding levels of cleric, and later assassin...  but that takes us far above the level dictated.

Quote from: SvartalfAnd just what level did he hold in each? the question, after all, is for a lvl 5 character, and you can't even get to invisible blade before you are 6th (stupid rule about meeting prereqs BEFORE you can enter the PrC)

So what? He can't plan ahead a little?  :rolleyes:  Relax.

At 5th level, he was a Rogue 5-Swashbuckler 3/Fighter 2 with Two-Weapon Fighting, Weapon Finesse, Two-Weapon Defense, Quick Draw, and Weapon Focus (dagger). With all the skill ranks from Rogue, he easily meets the prerequisites to take his first level in Invisible Blade at 6th level, and is already exceptionally useful both in and out of combat even without any spellcasting ability.

The character hit his peak at 10th level, once he got his last level in Invisible Blade.

Quote from: BolverkGood idea.

Would a Psi Warrior/Fighter be a good combo? You'd have more feats than you could spend and some powers to boot.

Not really.

The thing is that a psi warrior is already sort of halfway between a psion and a fighter. That means they give up some of the psion goodness (power points, powers known) in order to get some fighter goodness (feats, armor, BAB, hp).

But when you gestalt, you would have gotten that fighter goodness anyway, so why give up your psi goodness for it?

I agree with Dack.  When Gestalting the key to success is to put together two complementary but non-overlapping classes.  Hybrid classes like Psi Warrior or Duskblade were designed to emulate a Psion/Fighter or Wizard/Fighter.  For maximum buttkicking skip the Duskblade and go Fighter/Sorcerer or whatever.

Personally, I'm found of putting two spellcaster classes together, ideally both classes power off of the same stat: Sorcerer/Paladin, Sorcerer/Warmage, etc.  My current guy is a Favored Soul/Bard.

The most powerful combos I have seen are things like Swashbuckler Rogues, or Warmage Clerics.  The real power in gestalts comes from diversity more than heavily focusing further.  If you combine two PrCs that have the same base attack and saves, you lose out on a portion of the power overall.

I've seen a decent Psychic Warrior/Fighter Human Paragon combo that had 12 by 4th level or so, with something like 12 feats by 6th level, and it was decent, but lacked the sheer versatility that all the other characters had.

Quote from: jrientsI agree with Dack.  When Gestalting the key to success is to put together two complementary but non-overlapping classes.  Hybrid classes like Psi Warrior or Duskblade were designed to emulate a Psion/Fighter or Wizard/Fighter.  For maximum buttkicking skip the Duskblade and go Fighter/Sorcerer or whatever.

However, it should be noted that many "hybrid" classes have some abilities that cover up weaknesses in the classes that make it up. For example, the Duskblade has the ability to cast spells in light armor (and eventually in medium) and to channel spells via his weapons. You don't get that with a fighter/sorcerer.

That's what's so great about the fighter/psion - the psion's powers are not limited by armor

I admit it's dull, but you just can't go wrong with fighter/rogue.  But I tend to favor the non-spellcasting classes in D&D, so it has a natural appeal.

The thing I love about gestalting is that yes, you're more powerful, but not enough to break the game.  I have yet to see it produce any more ridiculous characters than plain old munchkinizing does.

Fighter/knight would be pretty potent

All the knight's abilities (including a d12 HD) + all the fighter's feats :win:

I've been thinking about what has been said in this thread and for the most part I agree.

I still however think that if you overlap properly you could work out some damn nasty combos. 50% more sneak attack damage with some fighter edge is a hell of a bonus to a rogue and 75% more feats and some complimentry powers is awsome for a fighter design a two weapon fighting weapon master extrodinaire is as deadly as a more diverse combo.

I see it not only as a tool to diversify but one that allows a level of specialization of abilities that is impossible with just plain old munchkinism.