New player Gestalt Class Build Help: Summoner

[Noda94]

I've been playing D&D 3.5 for about a year now and due to players leaving it has been decided to start a new game. The DM decided that he wants to run a Gestalt campaign where any thing from 3.5 is usable as long as it isn't home brew or dragon magazine, with double the starting gold at Level 5. Which would include Faerun, Oriental, champion of bla bla., etc... I want to make a character that is mostly focused on summoning an army to fight for him, preferably Angels, Daemons, or Elementals (being the least of the 3). please give me your advice on how to command my own horde of death and an army of things i can use for shenanigans.

[Snowbluff]

A cleric into malconvoker might be good for one side. For the other you can grab something to synergize with your stats, like Shiba Protector and Swordsage.

Individual summoned/called creatures have some good SLAs and Spells. For example, a Solar can cast 9th level clerics spells.

[Waker]

A gestalt summoner? Try Conjurer with the Unearthed Arcana acfs on one side to summon an army and Bard on the other side to buff said army.
Conjurer/Malconvoker//Bard/Crusader works quite well.

[eggynack]

I second the malconvoker option on one side. That prestige class is frigging great. One of the best summoning classes is the druid, though flavor probably puts malconvokers more up your alley. I don't think the gestalt aspect will help you that much. If you want, you can put a single level wizard dip on the opposite side from the malconvoker, to gain easy access to rapid summoning. That'd probably be pretty neat. Outside of that, just find something good and passive.

[Slipperychicken]

Lucky for you, summoning is one of the stronger strategies in 3.5 D&D.

There's a Pathfinder class called Summoner, and the Master Summoner variant does this job beautifully straight out of the box. It's compatible, because backwards-compatibility with 3.5 was pretty much the whole point of Pathfinder. I've played the class before and I recommend it if your DM allows it.

I think there's a Conjurer variant in either PHBII or Unearthed Arcana which lets you cast Summon spells as a Standard action, rather than a 1-round. Rapid Summoning, I think.

Augment Summoning is a great feat for any summoner, as it gives delicious (+4 Str +4 Con) stat-boosts to summoned creatures. Very much worth it on any summoner.

If you'd ever like to use the Summon Nature's Ally line (not your stated preference, but I might as well let you know), Greenbound Summoning is absolutely brokenly powerful, giving truly ludicrous boosts and abilities.

[avr]

You might consider for the non-summoning side of the gestalt something like Bard to buff your summoned creatures with your singing, or if ToB is available Crusader or Warblade (& then get a lot of White Raven and/or Devoted Spirit maneuvers which could be used similarly).

[DeusMortuusEst]

Summoning handbook (http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=11186)

Malconvoker handbook (http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=289.0)

Those should give you some hints of what works and what doesn't.

As for the build, I'd go wizard/malconvoker // bard/mindbender/x to be able to summon a lot of things and buff them. The bard side can make you a great party face as well.

EDIT: Marshal might also be interesting to look at, for buffing your summons.

[Randomguy]

Consider putting a high skill point class like Factotum on the non-caster side of your gestalt. That will give you enough skill points to put in social skills like diplomacy and bluff for when you want to start binding things as well as summoning them.

[Slipperychicken]

Also stack up points in Speak Language, because most of your summons don't speak Common. The elemental languages (Auran, Aquan, Ignan, Terran), plus Celestial (angels), Infernal (devils), and Abyssal (demons) catches most of them.

After all, what good is an army if you can't give it orders?

[Noda94]

Summoning handbook (http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=11186)

Malconvoker handbook (http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=289.0)

Those should give you some hints of what works and what doesn't.

As for the build, I'd go wizard/malconvoker // bard/mindbender/x to be able to summon a lot of things and buff them. The bard side can make you a great party face as well.

EDIT: Marshal might also be interesting to look at, for buffing your summons.

okay the one side wizard/malconvoker is fairly a done deal, but on the other side im thinking of burning 3 levels into blood line devil or demon so that those beings are easier to deal with and all the goodies the blood line supplies me.
So at starting ill be Wizard 4/Malconvoker 1 (i think that's the fastest i can gain entry)// Blood line 3 (devil seems like the most logical but im having trouble trying to figure out what i can summon) Bard 2 to buff i guess. ill follow this up most likely with being human to gain an extra feat and im taking a few alternate class features to gain rapid summoning and enhanced summoning, maybe spontaneous summoning or focused specialist. I'm thinking spell gifted and focused traits from unearthed arcana followed by feeble and noncombatant for 2 more feats. At level 5 Believe I will have 5 feats (1 human, 2 level, 2 flaws) with dodge, rapid summoning and augment summoning already in the bag.