Gesalt Build Help, DreadNecro//Barbarian or Fighter

[VestigeArcanist]

I have decided to toss my hat into a gesalt game for the first time. I have decided to be a draed necromancer on one side, and a Martial type on the other. ToB isn't possible do to teir limitations placed by the DM. I will be starting at level 1, and I do not know to what level it will end.

One of my first level feats will be Tomb-Tainted Soul, obviously. This is even more useful than normal since there will probably be no PC clerics.

Beyond that I am loss. I am stuck on choosing a race, and I am not sure where to take the character beyond the first level. Any thoughts?

[Hiro Protagonest]

Um... ToB isn't allowed due to tier limitations and you're playing a dread necro? Either your DM is misremembering dread necro as tier 4, or he's being unfair to non-casters.

[VestigeArcanist]

Actually the limitation is thus: take the tier number for each class. Add them together. They must equal 7 or higher. Therefore, I may play a 1+6, 2+5, or a 3+4. I am attached to using Dread Necromancer for personal healing and for the character concept. So I must use a class at tier 4 or higher. Ergo, no ToB classes.

[Man on Fire]

My first thought: No matter what you do, this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1n29MtAX7E) should be your theme song.

Okay, more seriously - Barbarian brings better hit dice to the combination, but Fighter gives you more feat. The thing is, that guy should probably be more of a dexterity-based fighter because Dread Necromancer can wear only light armor without risking spell failure. There is another option - Paladin of Tyranny or Slaughter (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/variantCharacterClasses.htm#paladinofSlaughterClas sFeatures) (Lawful or Chaotic Evil variants from SRD), Paladin's hit dice, adds your charisma bonus to saves and gives you evil version of Paladin's abilities, that mixes well with Dread Necro's climatically. I may even try this one myself.

[Urpriest]

Yeah, I'd suggest one of the Paladins over Barbarian as well. Samurai might actually be interesting, since both it and DN can do Intimidate optimization pretty well.

[Hiro Protagonest]

Yeah, I'd suggest one of the Paladins over Barbarian as well. Samurai might actually be interesting, since both it and DN can do Intimidate optimization pretty well.

Or Zhentarim Soldier (Champions of Valor web enhancement, just look it up, follow the link to the Wizards article, and download it). Which is high tier 5 or low tier 4 (I'm not sure which without Dungeoncrasher). Oh, and maybe Dungeoncrasher (Dungeonscape).

[Bosaxon]

I did something similar to your concept: human Dread Necromancer//Dungeoncrasher Fighter eventually built into Occult Slayer for the hell of it. It was a very fun build to play, although we started at level 4 where I already had some of that lovely bull rush damage.