Melee gesalt ?

[silverwolfer]

If I go hardcore melee gesalt, I know am looking at a TOB class one direction, but on the otherside, am I looking more at a divine caster type or more of the blast all day types like DFA and warlocks.

[Ellrin]

If I go hardcore melee gesalt, I know am looking at a TOB class one direction, but on the otherside, am I looking more at a divine caster type or more of the blast all day types like DFA and warlocks.

If you want to up your melee ability to god levels, druid would be best, followed by cleric; that said, binder could be a good non-standard choice, too. You can redefine that side of your gestalt daily, and as you get up in level, you can fulfill multiple roles at once.

[Bearlock]

I always wanted to run a warblade//warmage myself. While the warmage isn't "unlimited" blasting, between the amount of spells you do have and your maneuvers, I think you'd be hard pressed to burn through them all.

I would say make sure you look at pairing classes that have a useful stat in common, for example crusader//warlock or sorcerer or favored soul for minimal cha synergy. Swordsages use wisdom so cleric or druid could work. Warblades use int, so wizard or warmage.

[Savith9]

Warblades use int, so wizard or warmage.

Wizards and Warmage has always been a good combo simply due to warmages add int to their spells for additional damage.

[Vaz]

That is barely anything though, comparatively.

Wu Jen or Spell to Power Erudite is better than Wizard IMHO: Giant Size and Body Outside Body for the Wu Jen while StP Erudite can manifest a ton of powerful spells for no problem whatsoever.

Still, an Archivist 19/Turn Undead Dip//Int based Arcane Caster or StP Erudite is among the best class around for Melee in Gestalt. You can DMM around the low HP and phys stats, while StP Erudite has fun casting all the blasting you could ever want, and more effeciently than a typical spell per day caster.

[DMVerdandi]

That is barely anything though, comparatively.

Wu Jen or Spell to Power Erudite is better than Wizard IMHO: Giant Size and Body Outside Body for the Wu Jen while StP Erudite can manifest a ton of powerful spells for no problem whatsoever.

Still, an Archivist 19/Turn Undead Dip//Int based Arcane Caster or StP Erudite is among the best class around for Melee in Gestalt. You can DMM around the low HP and phys stats, while StP Erudite has fun casting all the blasting you could ever want, and more effeciently than a typical spell per day caster.

Seconding STPerudite//Warblade as first choice.

If not Psionics, then Crusader//Cloistered Cleric is sweet.

Wizard can be good. Generally the armored casting question is going to come up.
Pick up a blended quartz,mithril, thistledown fullplate,
If you can play wizard with the spell point variant, DEFINITELY go for it.

[lsfreak]

If I go hardcore melee gesalt, I know am looking at a TOB class one direction, but on the otherside, am I looking more at a divine caster type or more of the blast all day types like DFA and warlocks.

Don't go the blast-all-day types, because they don't compliment your melee side. A cleric rolling in DMM:Persist uses all those buffs to make you a melee monster, using swift-action spells, powering swift-action Travel Devotion or Law Devotion feats, ect, which leaves your standard/full-round actions open for your melee side. With DFA and warlocks, you have to choose every round whether you're going to do your awesome melee or your awesome* blasts. You want synergy and extra options for when your main thing won't work, but melee/blaster just gives you two main things competing for each other in both actions and feats.

The one possible exception might be a glaivelock or clawlock, but that isn't really in the all-day-blasting style.

My vote would be a buffing-focused cloistered cleric.

*not actually awesome

[Kazyan]

DMM:Persist clerics and StP Erudites; boy, that escalated quickly.

Warlock would be great for a melee gestalt, if only because of Eldritch Glaive. Quicken SLA for swift-action full attacks? Damage that scales with level? Touch attacks? Yes please.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

Stack melee upon melee and take level adjustment and then War Hulk next to full BAB. Something like Water Orc (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/races/elementalRacialVariants.htm#racesOfWater) plus Half-Minotaur plus Half-Goristro (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20060630a).

[lsfreak]

DMM:Persist clerics and StP Erudites; boy, that escalated quickly.

I did word my post poorly; I don't advocate using DMM to persist more than one or two spells. It isn't broken until you start getting multiple turning pools or stacking Nightsticks; three feats and possibly your whole turning pool for one or two good spells is good, two turning pools with 14+ in each all used to get the best buffs for the level is silly.

[FreakyCheeseMan]

It's an unusual choice, but I'd go artificer. Ensure access to the best weapons and armor, and some of the infusions can give a melee class a big boost to versatility.

Plus, artificers can abuse metamagic like nobody's business - set up persisted combat buffs early in the day, and you can be an absolute nightmare of miss chances, resistances and offensive bonuses.

Also, you can sheath wands inside your weapons, and if you're warforged, inside your wrists as well. So, a two-weapon fighter could have immediate access to four different spells without having to spend any actions swapping weapons; I think there's a way to quicken spells, as well, so you could get a wand of True Strike in one weapon, for whenever you really need to land a hit.

[Kane0]

Full melee gestalt? Hmm...

Depends on which ToB you want to go with.
If you're goind swordsage, you want to back it up with HP and BAB, so maybe barbarian or something?
Going Crusader or Warblade means you want skills and out of combat options and utility abilities, so maybe artificer or bard?

Don't forget things like totemist too, they can be pretty good in melee.
A ToB & Incarnum gestalt would be interesting...

[Carth]

Warblade20//wizard5/swiftblade9/abjurant champ5/anyfullcaster1? An extra standard action every turn means you can reliably walk up to anything with a move action, then make a full attack. (EX) 50% miss chance is pretty damned good too.

[avr]

Actually, Warblade//Rogue (or similar to Rogue; Lurk, Psychic Rogue, Spellthief) ain't bad. Robust and effective + Sneak Attack + UMD (or the limited powers/spellcasting of the alternates) for more utility.

[Darth Stabber]

Warblade//Factotum is a ton of fun, all of that nice maneuver business, with the ability to do a limited amount of everything else. Plus the action economy will be forced to answer the court of where on the doll you touched it.

Archivist//Duskblade is remarkably powerful, especially if you get ahold of some turn attempts (usually cleric dip). Beefy cleric and druid buffs, plus channeled harm. Arcane channeling doesn't actually specify arcane spells, thus the divine spells, which are somewhat better for buffing (though wu jen's unique buffs are tempting), and cleric has arguably better touch spells. And since your non-duskblade spells are divine, your armor is only limited by by duskblade.

Druid//totemist is the way be a scary monster. Throwing around 8 attacks per round on a charge without using spells is easy for you. Combining druids ability to turn into animals with totemist's ability add magical beast parts to himself is strong enough on it's own, but add full casting and an animal companion and you are nature's reckoning incarnate (upon further consideration that might be a pun). Favors all saves, and dependant only on wisdom and constitution to a lesser extent. Dipping swordsage2 offers a menagerie of useful toys, and casting stat to AC.

Crusader//wilder is an interesting spin. The problem is that you are combing the most limited manifester with the most limited initiator, so pick your manuevers and powers very carefully. Consider the educated wilder variant to pick up more powers known. Dip 2 levels of paladin and your saves are nigh untouchable (especially will). Focus on buffs and widely applicable utility for wilder (though consider crystal swarm for nor save, no sr, no attack roll damage).

Cleric//swordsage has a lot of potential, those tasty bonuses from buff spells added to your swordsage maneuvers is frightening, even before considering DMM.

[JaronK]

I did word my post poorly; I don't advocate using DMM to persist more than one or two spells. It isn't broken until you start getting multiple turning pools or stacking Nightsticks; three feats and possibly your whole turning pool for one or two good spells is good, two turning pools with 14+ in each all used to get the best buffs for the level is silly.

I dunno, Persistent Boreal Wind is pretty freaking brutal, especially with a Bead of Karma. 15d4 damage to everybody within hundreds of feet in any one direction as an always on effect is pretty devastating.

But that does make Warblade//Archivist very attractive.

JaronK

[GenericMook]

I'm surprised that no one's really mentioned going Ruby Knight Vindicator on the melee, or even the casting side. It's got action economy cheese, 8/10 casting progression, somewhat okay maneuver progression, AND stacking with Nightstick shenanigans!

[Cranthis]

Optimally I would say cloistered cleric on the other side. Your hit die will be covered by the melee, as well as bab, and you will be getting 6 skillpoints a level. Then you jump onto the Knowledge Devotion and DMM: Persist train, and you are a melee monster.

[Tytalus]

I dunno, Persistent Boreal Wind is pretty freaking brutal...

Boreal Wind doesn't qualify for Persistent Spell.

[Cranthis]

Boreal Wind doesn't qualify for Persistent Spell.

Yes it does. It isn't instantaneous, thus persist-able.

[Vaz]

It needs a fixed range. If you Ocular Spell it, fine, but that requires Archivist 6 +Turn Pool + 2 Feats.


Spells with a fixed or personal range can have their duration increased to 24 hours. Spells of instantaneous duration cannot be affected by this feat, nor can spells whose effects are discharged. You don't need to maintain concentration on persistent detect spells (such as detect magic or detect thoughts) for you to be aware of the mere presence or absence of the subject detected, but gaining additional information requires concentration as normal. A persistent spell uses up a spell slot six levels higher than the spell's actual level.

Helps if you know what you're suggesting.

Even then, it wouldn't be turn-offable, outside of Dispelling yourself, which sort of defeats the point. I can't see many Team-members liking you when you turn to face them.

[Gnaeus]

ToB//Synthesist Summoner.

[lsfreak]

I'm surprised that no one's really mentioned going Ruby Knight Vindicator on the melee, or even the casting side. It's got action economy cheese, 8/10 casting progression, somewhat okay maneuver progression, AND stacking with Nightstick shenanigans!

Gestalt doesn't let you take PrCs with dual-progression. Even if a DM allows it, they'd be wise to make you choose a single progression either for the class or for every level. Which would still be good, just not dual-progression and action-economy abusing good.

[Talderas]

Warblade/Dread Necro+Dread Witch. Focus on the fear/debuffing aspect of necromancy and not minonmancy.

[Darth Stabber]

Warblade/Dread Necro+Dread Witch. Focus on the fear/debuffing aspect of necromancy and not minonmancy.

Here's the thing about DN, it's good at minionmancy out of the box. And fear is fun, and when it works it's great, but there are so many things that can easily ignore half of the DN spell list, and what you are recommending falls mostly in that half. They have very little synergy (other than saves), and are dependant on everything but wisdom. Yeah the fear aura is nice, but the "hardcore" of which the OP mentioned demands a much greater level of synergy than warblade//dn can provide.

You are better off with an int caster, since cha is a dump stat for warblades, but int is very useful to warblades. Wizard seems nice, but I would recommend archivist due to armor (and buff spells).

Reminds me of the genius party for three man gestalt: wizard//factotum, archivist//factotum, and warblade//factotum.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

Warblade/Dread Necro+Dread Witch. Focus on the fear/debuffing aspect of necromancy and not minonmancy.

I'd use this build (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=252815#4) for fear/debuffing combined gestalt with Zhentarim Soldier Fighter and one level in Half-Orc Paragon.