I Need a Gestalt Mix Fit For a King

[Pietato]

It is genuinely for the ruler of a nation.

I've got a party of six to nine (it varies, little annoying,) level 6 gestalt adventurers, somewhat caster-heavy, not particularly optimized, and they may end up fighting the Prince of Darkbad, a mid-sized, mostly volcanic nation with an economy based almost wholly around slavery, salt mining, orphan meat, and tourism. They have a macguffin, and he wants it. I run a very serious campaign.

I'm looking for something in the level eight or nine range that can't murder the entire party without a bit of help. ToB was on the table for players, they were warned, none of them took it, and the party doesn't really have any dedicated melee. I've considered ToB//Fighter with several support casters and two or three melee minions. Then again, I've also considered not statting him out and just filling the throne room with traps.

Oh, and for flavor bonus, I'd prefer something which doesn't rely entirely on primal forces or gods. The palace is a Disney Castle in the middle of what is essentially Mordor.

[Kaje]

Battle Dancer 1 / Hexblade 4 (with dark companion) / Paladin of Tyranny 3-4 // Crusader or Warblade 8-9.

Max your cha. Take the two feats to bind the vestige Focalor. Maybe take Travel Devotion.

He engages the party in melee and demolishes their saves. Then his support casters blanket the place with area spells, which he easily shakes off with his cha to saves twice. Plus he's so darn charming.

EDIT: And he strokes a shadowpanther while sitting on his throne. How cool is that?

[Ernir]

6 to 9 level 6 characters are going to slaughter most level 8 to 9 characters (fullcasters making good use of what they can pull off not included) with perhaps disappointing ease due to the weight of actions alone. I'd consider that before deciding the level on the Big Bad.

That being said, Factotum//Warblade for a smart low-magical awesome fighter-guy? If you really want capital-F Fighter in there, I'd suggest taking two (at most) levels of it on the Warblade side, instead...

[Flickerdart]

Psion (Telepath) with a feat for Astral Construct. Between Schism, Linked Power, his summoned Constructs and their own allies turned against them with Telepathy powers, the party's action advantage will be reduced or eliminated outright.

[hex0]

Kensai Variant Fighter 5/Warblade 5
Kensai PRC 4/Warblade 4

[Chilingsworth]

Psion (Telepath) with a feat for Astral Construct. Between Schism, Linked Power, his summoned Constructs and their own allies turned against them with Telepathy powers, the party's action advantage will be reduced or eliminated outright.

do this, with melee classes as the other side of the gestalt, maybe warblade for the int synergy?

[silver spectre]

On the one side go straight warblade. D12 hit dice and improved uncanny dodge can be worth its weight in gold at that level. The manuevers are nice too.

On the other side take five levels of bard to round out your saves and add a touch of magic and ally enhancement.
Then take four levels of bloodstorm blade. That will allow him to mix short range and melee attacks freely, making the casters easier to cope with while still allowing for melee defense.

Lots of hit points, all good saves (close enough), full BAB, good melee and ranged options, add in a little misdirection (like having a stand in on the throne, and the traps you mentioned) and you've got one tough cat to take down that is not a TPK NPC (depending on the party).

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

Elan, Crusader 9// Psion (Kineticist) 9, Extra Granted Maneuver (1), Psicrystal Affinity (P1), Improved Elan Resilience (3), Psionic Meditation (P5), Heavy Armor Optimization (6), Deflective Armor (9). Preferably with full magic/psionics transparency. Max ranks in Psicraft and Concentration, probably Autohypnosis, Diplomacy, Intimidate, Balance, etc.

Powers Known:
1st- Control Object, Force Screen, Vigor, Defensive Precognition, Crystal Shard
2nd- Energy Missile, Share Pain, Ego Whip, Energy Stun
3rd- Body Purification, Dispel Psionics, Time Hop, Solicit Psicrystal
4th- Control Body, Psionic Dimension Door, Psionic Freedom of Movement, Telekinetic Maneuver
5th- Fiery Discorporation, Power Resistance

Stances Known: Martial Spirit, Bolstering Voice, Thicket of Blades
Maneuvers Known: Crusader's Strike, Leading the Attack, Mountain Hammer, Battle Leader's Charge, Revitalizing Strike, White Raven Tactics, Bonesplitting Strike, Divine Surge, Elder Mountain Hammer.
Maneuvers Readied: Elder Mountain Hammer, Divine Surge, White Raven Tactics, Revitalizing Strike, Battle Leader's Charge.

Equipment: +2 Full Plate, +2 Greatsword, Torc of Power Preservation (MIC).

Tactics: I'd give him some animal pets, preferably Warbeast (MM2) Lions. If six PCs are present, he should have one; 7-8 PCs, he should have two, and if all 9 PCs show up, three pets. They should have studded leather barding, and there should be up to three 1st level druid mooks on a balcony out of sight who cast Enrage Animal on each of them and concentrate the entire fight.

At the start of each day: gain psionic focus, Share Pain on psicrystal.
Prior to combat: Force Screen, Power Resistance (with the Torc), Defensive Precognition, Psionic Freedom of Movement, Vigor shared with psicrystal, Control Body on himself, Solicit Psicrystal.

With Share Pain on the Psicrystal, he'll be taking only half damage from every source, and the Psicrystal's Hardness 8 will prevent it from taking much damage at all. Vigor gives them both a nice HP cushion, his Crusader delayed damage pool can be healed via Martial Spirit and Revitalizing Strike, and he can use his racial Resilience ability to prevent even more damage to himself. Once Vigor runs out on the psicrystal he should manifest a fresh one, and his Crusader healing can be used to top off its actual HP as well as his own. The psicrystal should be in a pocket under his armor, thus out of both line of sight and line of effect to his opponents.

1st course of action: Psicrystal causes him to full attack or initiate a strike, occupying his physical actions. He manifests Energy Missile (sonic) targeting opponents' holy symbols and spell foci, spell component pouches, wands they're holding, etc. Repeat until opponents have no more holy symbols, spell component pouches, spell foci, wands, etc. but it shouldn't take more than a few rounds.

2nd course of action: Psicrystal continues to make his body attack while he hemorrhages powers. Refresh Vigor if it's about to run out on his psicrystal. Time Hop on a dangerous looking foe's person or weapon, or Energy Stun (electric) if he can hit multiple opponents with it, or Dispel Psionics if opponents are buffed.

3rd course of action: Psicrystal is still making him attack, such a wonderful trick. He can Ego Whip a low-Cha foe multiple times to disable them, Time Hop opponents, Telekinetic Maneuver to bull rush enemies into whatever pits he has in the throne room, dispel opponents' buffs, etc.

He should never go below 9 powerpoints. Once he gets as low as 9 pp, he stops spending them. When he's close to defeat, throw in a classic line about how if they strike him down he'll become unimaginably powerful, etc. If he would be killed, use Fiery Discorporation (shared with the psicrystal) to cheat death like any good villain should do.

[Telonius]

Oh, and for flavor bonus, I'd prefer something which doesn't rely entirely on primal forces or gods. The palace is a Disney Castle in the middle of what is essentially Mordor.


I run a very serious campaign.

Aw, man. :smallfrown: If it weren't for that, this would be my setup.

Bard//Crusader, or Bard//Warlock. Heavy on the Charisma. Tons of orc minions, each with at least one level of bard themselves. When he starts his Bardic Music, the whole bunch of them bust out in either this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdXQJS3Yv0Y)or this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y30LAj502mY).

[Dictum Mortuum]

It is genuinely for the ruler of a nation.

I've got a party of six to nine (it varies, little annoying,) level 6 gestalt adventurers, somewhat caster-heavy, not particularly optimized, and they may end up fighting the Prince of Darkbad, a mid-sized, mostly volcanic nation with an economy based almost wholly around slavery, salt mining, orphan meat, and tourism. They have a macguffin, and he wants it. I run a very serious campaign.

I'm looking for something in the level eight or nine range that can't murder the entire party without a bit of help. ToB was on the table for players, they were warned, none of them took it, and the party doesn't really have any dedicated melee. I've considered ToB//Fighter with several support casters and two or three melee minions. Then again, I've also considered not statting him out and just filling the throne room with traps.

Oh, and for flavor bonus, I'd prefer something which doesn't rely entirely on primal forces or gods. The palace is a Disney Castle in the middle of what is essentially Mordor.

Assuming he's a living stereotype (or if you prefer analogue) of the nation he's ruling: Slavery, tourism, and orphan meat scream social skills (intimidate! - probably Imperious Command), trickery and deception; he needs access to the Shadow Hand, Setting Sun and Desert Wind disciplines. Everything's pointing at Swordsage, which means that Adaptive Style (and probably Extra Readied Maneuver) is almost an auto-include.

The Volcanic part of the world probably means that he's accustomed to heat and possibly fire. Or maybe it means that, as a ruler, he hails from a royal bloodline that is descended from fire elementals, so it's flavorful to give him the feat Bloodline of Fire from Player's Guide to Faerun. He is also able to avoid fire damage by using the Desert Wind stance Flame's Blessing (along with high tumble ranks).

He's focusing on Charisma and Wisdom. The Charisma seems fitting to the fire-related theme; wisdom is useful to a ruler of a nation. Since he's gestalt, his other side can focus on a specific aspect of his character. For example he can be a Lawful Evil tyrant and grab some levels in Paladin of Tyranny. Or maybe he places his focus in his inner power and he's a lot more sophisticated opponent that he lets out; grab 9 levels of Psychic Warrior.

My build would be:

Human Swordsage 9//Psychic Warrior 9

Feats:
1) Bloodline of Fire H) Earth Sense PW1) Earth Power F) Adaptive Style SW1) Weapon Focus
PW2) Linked Power
3) Shadow Blade (does not have huge synergy, but at least it's in addition to strength)
PW5) Metapower (Expansion, Linked Power)
6) Imperious Command
PW8) Psionic Meditation
9) Gloom Razor

Skills:
Maxed Concentration, Intimidate, Hide, Tumble, Listen.

Maneuvers by level:
1) Distracting Ember, Moment of Perfect Mind, Counter Charge, Clinging Shadow Strike, Shadow Blade Technique, Sudden Leap, Flame's Blessing S
2) Wolf Fang Strike, Child of Shadow S
3) Mountain Hammer
4) Burning Brand, Shadow Jaunt
5) Insightful Strike (can be used with expending your psionic focus for a standard 12), Assassin's Stance S
6) Mind Over Body, Strength Draining Strike
7) Searing Charge
8) Hand of Death, Comet Throw
9) Leaping Flame, Shifting Defense S

Powers by level:
1) Expansion (Synergy with Comet Throw)
2) Vigor
3) Metaphysical Weapon
4) Strength of my Enemy
5) Power Weapon
6) Hustle
7) Concealing Amorpha, Greater
8) Dimension Slide
9) Empathic Transfer, Hostile

Equipment:

Belt of Battle, Discipline Weapons (probably shadow hand), Torc of Power Preservation, Fearsome DotU armor, Gloves of the Balanced Hand.

His tactics include using trickery by constantly moving around (using Sudden Leap or Hustle) and waiting for enemies to miss him due to concealment (Child of Shadow stance or Concealing Amorpha). If he sees an opening he initiates Assassin's Stance and full attacks.

Reaching people shouldn't be a problem with Burning Brand and Expansion, which also greatly helps the awesome crowd control maneuver Comet Throw and demoralizing people to disable them (a move action with Fearsome armor). Shifting Defense can help to get away and to reposition after full-attacking.

[docnessuno]

"Pick a name", the wizard-king

28 PB
Warrior 4 / Duskblade 5
Illusionist 5 / Abjurant champion 4 (Banned: Enchantment and Evocation - ACF immediate magic, PHB2)

Str 14 +2 (level) +2 (item) => 18
Dex 14
Con 14 +2 (item) => 16
Int 14
Wis 8
Cha 12

HP: 10+3d10+5d8+36=85
AC: 10+6(armor)+2(dex)=18 goes to 26 with shield (22/30 if you allow mage armor to benefit from abjurant champion as it was intended to)
Saves: Fort +8, Ref +5, Will +5
BAB: +9
Attack: +15/+10 2d4+9

Feats:
Combat casting
Scribe scroll
Extend spell
Arcane strike
EWP: Spiked chain
Weapon focus: spiked chain
Weapon specialization: spiked chain
Power attack
Improved toughness
2 open feats

Possessions: (WbL is a tad higher than the 9th lvl NPC standard, condidering he is a king)
Metamagic rod, Extend, lesser
Gauntlets of ogre power
Belt of health (as amulet of health +2)
+1, Bloodstone spiked chain (Bloodston from MiC)
Amulet of tears (from MiC)


Duskblade:
1° Lesser deflect, True strike, Ray of enfeeblement, Shocking grasp, Stand
2° See invisibility

Wizard (* = memorized, SpC = Spell Compendium)
1° Shield**, Silent image*, True strike, Ventriloquism*, Identify, Nightshield (SpC)**
2° Wraithstrike (SpC)**, Mirror image*, Resist energy**, Alarm, greater (SpC)*
3° Wraithstrike (extended - SpC)*, Vampiric touch*, Greater mage armor (SpC), Displacement*, Dispel magic*
4° Greater mage armor (extended)*, Greater invisibility*, Enervation, Lesser globe of invulnerability*, Assay spell resistance
5° Passwall*, Persistent Image*

Tactics: When the party will confront him, shey should talk only to an illusory double (Persistent image, Minor image, Ventriloquism), this will give him time to beef up for the encounter before showing up:
Round 1: Quickened (abjurant) Nightshield, Mirror image
Round 2: Extended (rod) displacement, Quickened (abjurant) shield
Round 3: Greater invisibility, (abjurant) Quickened Lesser globe of invulnerability
Round 4 (optional, takes place before round 3): Passwall, activate amulet of tears

Remember that's just 18/24 seconds of buffing. Extended greater mage armor should be already up (lasting 18 hours) and a previous day vampiric touch should be stored in the bloodstone weapon.

Killing time:
Full attack with a good amount of powerattack and arcane strike
Full attack with a good amount of powerattack and wraithstrike to hit touch AC (wraithstrike is usable only if Lesser globe of invulnerability has been dispelled)
Single blow with a good amount of powerattack, channeling shocking grasp (5d6, +3 to hit if the opponent has metal armor) and arcane strike.
Single blow with quickened true strike (duskblade, quicken 1/day), powerattack for 9, channeling shocking grasp (5d6, +3 to hit if the opponent has metal armor) and releasing empowered vampirc touch (6d6, gaining them as temp HP)

As a swift action:
Activate amulet of tears for temp HP
Cast dispel magic to remove enmy buffs
Cast Resist energy if the party is blasting-happy (usable only if Lesser globe of invulnerability has been dispelled)

As a standard action:
Cast passwall for easy escape/cover (only if the oprional preparation round has been skipped)