My first Gestalt character

[Hexmonk21]

Alright, so this is my first post on the forum and I also consider myself new to D&D in general. So I apologize if some things I say are strait up wrong and would appreciate being corrected.

Basically I wan't suggestions and critique on this build. It's a very new kind of play for me and I'm honestly a little scared of it. lol

I've played in two other games before, both were 3.5 and I played a ranger to level 6 and a fighter/EWM to 16. So I'm not very comfortable with magic and casting spells at all. This time a different friend decided he wanted to run Pathfinder: Rise of the Runelords. He said he played it all summer as a Gestalt and it was super fun and difficult. So everyone agreed to play.
DM is only allowing core books. No PHB II or RotW, etc. Complete warrior/whatevers are fine, but no crazy templates. Just base races and half-folk.
Well that was a few weeks ago... No idea when/if this game will actually happen but I want to be prepared if it does.


So without further wait, my idea-


I like to call her Katya the Cursed Monk.
I want to make a Human-
Monk 6/ Kensai 9/Paladin of Tyranny 3/ Blackguard 2 // Hexblade 20

I should also mention that this would be my first evil character and the most optimization I've ever attempted.

Her first level would use the Passive Way fighting style
for Combat Expertise, then normal monk for Combat Reflexes and Improved Trip. I'll have her use a Guisarme for good reach while tripping and Unarmed strikes for damage.

Not sure what to choose on Hexblade Bonus feat side. Spell Penetration and Greater with Combat Casting and a focus... figured I'd wait and see which school I used the most.

The 3rd level of PoT is for Aura of Despair which would help my Curse with a -2 to their saves. BG also gets it but with a bad rebuke undead instead of divine health like the Paladin. Thus 3 levels of PoT. Sadly the 3rd level stops me from getting last level of Kensai.

For feats I'll probably take (this isn't the actual order they'll be taken in):

Power Attack
Ability Focus (Curse)
Weapon focus (Unarmed)
Improved Familiar
Cleave
Improved Sunder
Improved Natural Attack
Superior Unarmed Strike

I want to max or close-to-max my saves and Curse ability. A couple people have warned me that Hexblade is bad, but I really wanna play it! As childish as that sounds; I want to find a way to make it work. I planning on a LE familiar probably an Imp.

Questions-

Can I enter Blackguard by making a deal or "peaceful contact" with my Imp familiar?
Should I not drop that last level of Kensai? Is it worth it?

[Waker]

I like to call her Katya the Cursed Monk.
I want to make a Human-
Monk 6/ Kensai 9/Paladin of Tyranny 3/ Blackguard 2 // Hexblade 20
Why are you taking levels of Blackguard? The class doesn't really offer you anything that taking more levels of PoT wouldn't give you already. The most you get out of it is 1st level Blackguard spells. I would suggest dropping that from the build and taking more PoT and/or Kensai.



For feats I'll probably take (this isn't the actual order they'll be taken in):

Power Attack
Ability Focus (Curse)
Weapon focus (Unarmed)
Improved Familiar
Cleave
Improved Sunder
Improved unarmed strike
Superior Unarmed Strike

You have Improved Unarmed Strike already from being a Monk. If you drop BG, you won't need Improved Sunder.

[Hexmonk21]

Why are you taking levels of Blackguard? The class doesn't really offer you anything that taking more levels of PoT wouldn't give you already. The most you get out of it is 1st level Blackguard spells. I would suggest dropping that from the build and taking more PoT and/or Kensai.

BGs have the Dark Blessing ability it is exactly like a Paladin's Divine Grace. But has a different name. So it stacks, that is what I was told anyways.
So with 2 levels in BG and 2 in PoT I could add my CHA mod in to all saves twice.


You have Improved Unarmed Strike already from being a Monk. If you drop BG, you won't need Improved Sunder.

Sorry, I'll fix that! I meant Improved Natural Attack.

[Waker]

BGs have the Dark Blessing ability it is exactly like a Paladin's Divine Grace. But has a different name. So it stacks, that is what I was told anyways.
So with 2 levels in BG and 2 in PoT I could add my CHA mod in to all saves twice.

This is true, though you might want to be aware that some DMs frown upon Divine Grace/Dark Blessing stacking. Though from a strict RAW standpoint, you are correct that since they have a different name and are untyped, they work together.

[Jack_Simth]

Some general gestalt advice:

1) Be aware of the power level at your gaming table. It's really easy to make an unoptimized character in gestalt. It's not hard to make a very powerful one. Trouble is, if there's a wide power gap in the party, the DM's job is much harder. You really don't want to make the game hard on the DM.

2) Be aware of power curves. Melee-based classes do well at low levels. Full Casters rule the roost at high levels. Skillmonkey classes lie somewhere between the two at most levels. A Melee//Full Casting setup will generally do quite well at most levels. If you're starting at high level, the Melee segment is mostly unnecessary. If you're starting at low levels, you'll still want to have the Full Casting for later.

3) Be aware of the action economy. Sure, that Wizard//Cleric might look good initially... but if the Wizard side is actively using spells, and the Cleric side is actively using spells... you'll never run out of spells, but on any given turn, it's very unlikely that you'll be able to make use of both sides. You generally want to look for active//passive combinations - Monk pairs well with Cleric, for instance - Monks get a lot of passive defences that key off of Wisdom, which is the Cleric's main casting statistic.

4) Be aware of your attribute dependency, and avoid MAD. That Monk//Paladin has lots of class features... but needs Str for attack and damage, Dex for AC, Con for HP, Int for skills, Wis for AC, and Cha for Paladin abilities. There is no dumping anything. A Druid//Monk, on the other hand, can act as a Druid and really only needs to worry about Wisdom and Constitution.

5) Be aware of how your DM handles level adjustment. It's not mentioned directly in the gestalt rules, such as they are. If you can put racial hit dice and level adjustment on one side just like you would classes, consider templates. Anything that boosts your primary abilities statistics is quite valuable for your active side.

... and that's probably enough.

[Hexmonk21]

This is true, though you might want to be aware that some DMs frown upon Divine Grace/Dark Blessing stacking. Though from a strict RAW standpoint, you are correct that since they have a different name and are untyped, they work together.

Thank you for clearing that up for me. Honestly where I first heard about the Divine Grace/Dark Blessing stacking was from a story about one of my DM's past characters. So if he doesn't allow it I'll be kinda sad, but he may have been testing it to see if he would allow it or not. I'll just have to ask him though.



Also thanks Jack_Simth for the tips. My character will most likely use high str and cha. Is that too MAD? I figured with a cape and some bracers I shouldn't have to worry that much about it.