Truly Strange Gestalt Help

[Trekkin]

I'm trying to build a character for a level 10 3.5 Gestalt campaign, and we're using 4d8drop lowest, so I've got odd stats; 22 15 12 18 20 9. Apparently this is "because it was funny", according to the DM.

Almost all 3.5 material is available, subject to a fairly lenient DM's approval, and the only restrictions are that I be chaotic evil and some form of Necromancer or other arcanist so as to fit my backstory. I've been given to understand that undead minion armies are rather too clunky and expensive to make a useful basis around which to build a character (especially since we're going up against devils), so I thought I'd ask the Playground:

1. Is there some feasible way to make the undead anything more than walking piles of HP?
2. What else could I do or be that fits the theme and is reasonably powerful? I guess I'm just wondering what possible kinds of Necromancers there are, thematically, and which of them synergize well with gestalt.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

Gloura (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ex/20031003e), possibly add on Unseelie Fey (winter aspect) if available.

LA +2/ Fey 7/ Bard 1// Bard 3/ Paladin of Slaughter 2/ Dirgesinger 5

Your racial spellcasting ability is not based on your HD, so it doesn't fall on any specific level. Therefore, you would start out with 11th level Bard spellcasting ability. Your next levels should be probably more Bard along side of Sublime Chord, and probably pick up some prestige classes to advance the casting of one or the other. You should end up with 21st level Bard spellcasting and 10th level Sublime Chord casting, with all the Dirgesinger goodies, which should get extremely fun if you're killing outsiders. Be sure to get Melodic Casting (CM).

[HunterOfJello]

Are you restricted to being an Arcane spellcaster who uses Necromancy?

Wizards who use necromancy can be quite effective at debuffing, although they really aren't "minionmancers" who run around with large groups of undead at their beck and call.

Your other options as a Wizard are playing a Necromancy Specialist Wizard (Necromancer) or a Necromancy Focused Specialist Wizard (DoubleNecromancer?). These two options will give you significantly more necromancy spells to prepare each day, but put you in a position to focus directly on necromancy spells all the time. Really, Wizard Necromancers will spend more time with powerful debuff and disabling spells like Fear spells, Enervation spells (yay negative levels!), bestow curses (also fun), and debuff rays.

Wizard Necromancers can be very fun. Necromancy as a wizard spell school is usually considered a school to either drop or go all in on. In this situation I'd reccomend going all in.

~

The Dread Necromancer class is a T3 pseudo-sorcerer who plays well from what I've heard. I've only seen Sorcerers, Warmages, and Beguilers in practive, yet I assume the Dread Necromancer also plays well. The Dread Necro is probably the best or next to the best Minionmancer class for a character who wants to run around with a large or small legion of undead following their orders. By adding in Corpse Crafting feats from Libris Mortis, they can create some pretty powerful undead to use when slaugthering entire villages in minutes. The class is simpler to play since it has spotaneous spellcasting. I'd reccomend giving it a once over and talking to one or two people who have played one to get a better perspective on it.

~

In the end, Clerics are usually considered much better at necromancy than many other classes. Playing an Evil Cleric will give you Rebuke or Control Undead along with Inflict ______ Wound spells so that you can constantly gain control over undead and raise their hp as you desire. Clerics get their ridiculously long list of buffing spells along with a nice handful of debuffs and strong spells that they can use to buff themselves in a fight. Clerics going into the Bone Knight or Ruby Knight Vindicator prestige class can be especially fun if you're interested in running into battle alongside your minions. (You might have to check with your DM about the CE part though if you're interested in RKV since Wee Jas is LN.)

[Trekkin]

I am rather restricted to being some kind of necromancer, and it is preferred that I go primarily arcane. The build I'm currently looking at is:

Dread Necromancer 10//Cloistered Cleric 3/Necromancer 2/True Necromancer 5

And on to higher levels in DN/TN. The problem with that (and yes, the gestalt theurge has been approved as long as the progression increases apply to classes on the same "side" of the gestalt) is that it's rather a one-trick pony. It can rebuke undead well and create undead well, but other than that it's a healbot only with negative energy, and I'm probably going to have to resort to caster level shenanigans to make undead competitive with what we're likely to be facing.

[Gabe the Bard]

Be a gestalt bard/archivist and take the Requiem feat (from Libris Mortis) which lets your bardic inspirations affect undead creatures.

The archivist will give you everything you need to animate undead and buff them with spells and dark knowledge. The bard will give you even MORE buffing potential with inspire courage and inspire greatness, boosted by Song of the Heart, Dragonfire Inspiration (if you're a dragonblood subtype), and Inspirational Boost.

If you have room, take Corpsecrafter and Destruction Retribution feats (also in Libris Mortis) for banzai exploding undead, which will deal even more area damage thanks to the added hit dice from inspire greatness.

[dspeyer]

For really useful undead minions play a vampire. Then you can turn humanoids with useful class levels into vampire spawn. It'll take up most of one side of the gestalt, but you can run a full caster up the other.

Edit: make sure to get a cloak of Night's Mantle to protect you from sunlight, probable 57kgp.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

Considering you expect to fight a lot of outsiders, I'd say Dirgesinger is going to be one of the more useful choices you can make. Animate a creature, and it keeps all its supernatural and spell-like abilities, which is unbelievably good if you're targeting outsiders' corpses. You only get one such minion, and it only lasts as long as you sing, but you can Gentle Repose your favorite corpse and use it day after day.

I'd go something like Dread Necromancer 10// Bard 1/ Paladin of Slaughter 2/ Unarmed Swordsage 2/ Dirgesinger 5, and then take more Dread Necromancer with Sublime Chord. Advance your Sublime Chord casting with Initiate of the Sevenfold Veil and maybe Abjurant Champion or Archmage. Get Ascetic Mage to add your Cha bonus to AC in light armor, and don't forget about Melodic Casting.

[DeAnno]

If you feel like some metamagic shenanigans, Shivering Touch and Enervation are both Necro spells.

[Quietus]

I am rather restricted to being some kind of necromancer, and it is preferred that I go primarily arcane. The build I'm currently looking at is:

Dread Necromancer 10//Cloistered Cleric 3/Necromancer 2/True Necromancer 5

And on to higher levels in DN/TN. The problem with that (and yes, the gestalt theurge has been approved as long as the progression increases apply to classes on the same "side" of the gestalt) is that it's rather a one-trick pony. It can rebuke undead well and create undead well, but other than that it's a healbot only with negative energy, and I'm probably going to have to resort to caster level shenanigans to make undead competitive with what we're likely to be facing.

Be sure to find out how your rebuke pools work. Are they separate amounts that you can use 3+cha/day on each side? Or do you get 3+cha/day and stack all your rebuke levels together? Either way can be used to your benefit.

[ShneekeyTheLost]

My suggestion:

Dread Necro//Warblade

Dread Necromancer is a great class. It does the whole 'blarg, blarg, death, fear me' thing, and Warblade gets you full attack bonus and good combat options.

Now then, the build I once did, I happen to call 'the Scarecrow'. This is facilitated by being a Gestalt class, so I don't have to jump through three or four hoops and break out a couple of obscure loopholes and a regional feat to get it to work right.

Dread Necro/Dread Witch//Warblade

Preferabally, Dread Necro7/Dread Witch5/Dread Necro1//Fighter2/Warblade11

Here's why:

Dread Witch lets you use Fear effects, even on things immune to fear! This is awesome and made of win.

Now then, at Dread Necromancer 8, they get an Advanced Learning. So at that point, they have an effective caster level of 12, which means up to 6th level spells. So you pick up Aura of Terror.

Now then, Aura of Terror is a lot of fun, because it increases the radius of the Fear Aura you already have, increases the DC of the save (on top of the DC boost from Dread Witch itself), and increases the fear one step.

Now Fell Frighten tacked onto it makes anyone who gets within 15' of you panicked, even things normally immune to fear (yes, you can make a Dragon piddle self and run). Even if they MAKE their save, they're still at least Shaken, and ready for the second part of a one-two combo.

This is, of course, in addition to having all the stances and maneuvers a Warblade has, a full base attack bonus, and a great way to kick arse in general. Warblade also lets you pick up the line of maneuvers from Diamond Mind which are 'replace your regularly scheduled saving throw with a Concentration check'. Mind you, it's not only easy to maximize a concentration check, it's something you're probably already doing, by virtue of being a caster.

So now you're almost impossible to hit with a Save or Lose effect. It's hard to hit you in melee because it's hard to keep yourself from cowering in fear just by virtue of getting close to melee range of you.

From there, look up the spell Enervation. Now look up the 'mailman' build, and all the ways you have to reduce metamagic spell level adjustments. You won't need to do all of them. Just Arcane Thesis, Split Ray, Empowered, and a couple others is good enough to insta-gib just about any extraplanar you run across even remotely close to your CR.