Ashworm Dragoon gestalt tank ideas

[Huskergamer]

I have played DnD on and off for years and havent concerned myself with powergaming etc to much and just made characters that are fun to play. However a friend i know is starting a gestalt campaign and im thinking of making a tank/defender type of character. I was thinking of making him a mounted character and i would like to add as one of his classes eventually is the ashworm dragoon from sandstorm. What would be some recommended builds i could use for making a tank mounted character with that in mind? (I find the idea of riding a giant worm like in Dune pretty cool). Or is the ashworm dragoon prestige class not worth it? Or is the tank role not compatible with mounted character role? PLz bear with me this is my first time posting here.

[eggs]

Gestalt tends to leave companion creatures a little fragile. If Devoted Tracker works across the gestalt, it can beef up the ashworm like crazy. If it doesn't, getting some way to share buffs with the Ashworm (Cleric levels on the other side? Totemist with Share Soulmeld?) will similarly patch it up.

[Huskergamer]

when u say totemist I assume u mean from the Magic of Incarnum? also, would it mix well with the knight class from phb2, for base class before switching to ashworm when i have the pre reqs?

[THEChanger]

Totemist is indeed from Magic of Incarnum.

With Share Soulmeld, you could give your Ashworm some pretty nice stuff. There are Soulmelds for teleportation, Soulmelds for extra attacks, and one that gives Pounce which is also nice. It doesn't necessarily mix well with Knight, but you could give your mount a nice boost.

However, in order to qualify for Share Soulmeld, you first need the ability to share spells with your companion, which Ashworm Dragoon doesn't give. You'd need levels in Ranger or Druid, and convince your DM to allow you to designate the Ashworm as your Animal Companion. Alternatively, 5 Levels of Paladin will get you the same thing, and there's a sidebar for that entry.

[eggs]

Yeah, when I hear Ashworm Dragoon, I assume Paladin entry. I might need to revisit the class to see what it offers for non-Paladins.

But until then, something riffing off a {Cleric 5/Prestige Paladin 1/Cleric X//Knight 3/Whatever 3/Ashworm Dragoon 10/Whatever X} base could be neat, and hit your parameters pretty effectively.

(Before really analyzing the options, my first impulses for the "Whatevers" would be Incarnate - also from Magic of Incarnum - or Crusader from Tome of Battle. The problem is that Incarnate has some alignment issues with Prestige Paladin; Totemist is more combat-focused, but probably just as good.)

[Huskergamer]

My DM has suggested this as a possible lvl progression,
2 fighter / 3 paladin / ashworm dragoon 10 / cavalier 10// Full knight progression
He has also just told me that i cant have 2 prestige classes at the same time, because some of the PrC are "WAY TOO BROKEN".
I have also found out i am the only tank character in the party, everybody else is going some version of ninja or shadow caster or duskblade with arcane and divine caster combos.
Is cavalier something i should have in there or not? and im not sure on the full knight progression either, seems like im duplicating some things somehow.