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View Full Version : Gestalt NPC's in a normal world



Choco
2009-01-06, 07:58 PM
I am fixing to DM my first game here in the next few months and just wondered what you guys think about an idea I have for a select group of NPC's:

I have a small, remote faction of very old and powerful humans planned. They really are just normal humans that are born much smarter and stronger than your average folk (why that is the case is of course one of the plot hooks) so I decided that an alternative to making another template is simply making them Gestalt characters (maybe even give the leaders among them 3 classes as opposed to 2) combined with better than average stats. This will definitely make them much more versatile and powerful without making them totally overpowering for the PC's, and I can definitely think of plenty of templates that would make them more powerful than making them gestalt. AND I get the added bonus of pissing off the metagamers...

player: "Ok, we are level 3 and that dude just cast a fireball... judging by what he is wearing he is at least a lvl 5 wizard, which would be close to the CR for this whole encounter... ooo 5d6 damage, he is definitely only level 5 and that was his only fireball, so he shouldn't be that tough. I charge the wizard and attack him"
(next round) me: "The 'wizard' punches you in the face twice and does 2d8 damage..."

So what do you guys think? Have any of you tried this before? If so how did it work out?

The Glyphstone
2009-01-06, 08:07 PM
As long as you keep in mind that it would be a bit higher than a CR5 encounter, I don't see any reason why it wouldn't work.

Choco
2009-01-06, 08:09 PM
As long as you keep in mind that it would be a bit higher than a CR5 encounter, I don't see any reason why it wouldn't work.

Ah yes, true that. I was planning on increasing a Gestalt NPC's CR by 1 but forgot to mention it.

The Glyphstone
2009-01-06, 08:11 PM
I'd say at least 1, maybe 2. It'd have to be a case-by-case basis depending on what classes you mixed, really - a Wizard//Sorcerer isn't going to be as dangerous as a Fighter//Cleric, say.

wadledo
2009-01-06, 08:16 PM
I'd say at least 1, maybe 2. It'd have to be a case-by-case basis depending on what classes you mixed, really - a Wizard//Sorcerer isn't going to be as dangerous as a Fighter//Cleric, say.

Ummm, a Wizard//Sorcerer is far more dangerous than Fighter//Cleric?:smallconfused:

AppleChips
2009-01-06, 09:15 PM
Sorry to impinge on conversation, but what exactly is Gestalt?:smallconfused:

Choco
2009-01-06, 09:18 PM
Sorry to impinge on conversation, but what exactly is Gestalt?:smallconfused:

That would be:
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/gestaltCharacters.htm

Mando Knight
2009-01-06, 09:37 PM
Ummm, a Wizard//Sorcerer is far more dangerous than Fighter//Cleric?:smallconfused:

No, it's not. In order to be an effective Wiz//Sorc, you need both Int and Cha maximized for spellcasting, while a Fighter//Cleric needs the exact same spread of abilities as a normal ClericZilla: just enough Dex to max out their favorite suit of armor, enough Con to last a while, as much Wis as they can afford, and put the rest into Str. The Fighter bonus feats allows the Cleric to free up his normal feats for Metamagic and Turning feats, as his melee combat feats will be coming from his fighter levels.

However, a Monk//Cloistered Cleric might be more effective in combat... as the standard ClericZilla strategy suddenly gets beefed up by massive unarmed damage and Wis applying to both AC and Spells...

tyckspoon
2009-01-06, 09:43 PM
Ummm, a Wizard//Sorcerer is far more dangerous than Fighter//Cleric?:smallconfused:

No, it was right the first time. A Wizard//Sorcerer has a lot of spell slots, but they're still all the same spells he could cast if he was just a Wizard or just a Sorcerer, and he can still only cast the same number per round that he would as a single-classed arcane caster (normally two per round, one Quickened and one regular.) The biggest advantage he gets from being gestalt is having two pools of spell slots to pick from, so he can do something like Quicken all his Wizard spells and still have his Sorcerer slots filled with normal higher-level spells. The character is still very dangerous simply because he is a full arcane caster, but that particular gestalt doesn't do that much for him (now, blend Wizard or Sorcerer with a divine class or maybe Psion and you're getting somewhere.)

The Fighter//Cleric, on the other hand, blends two classes that work very well with each other. Clerics have most of the best personal buffing spells in the game, enough to make them one of the best melee classes if they're built to do it. Combine those buffs with other spells that let the Fighter cover some of his own worst weaknesses and you get a very mean character.