Building a gestalt Barbarian/monk/FoF/Psychic Warrior/Ranger character.

[CookieInTheJar]

So i am soon starting to play in a gestalted campaign. And seeing as i havent played 3.5 for a long while, i might need some help to optimize my character. This is especially important seeing as i am going to be playing a more than subpar combo of classes.

We are all starting as some kind of elves, seeing as the backstory of the campaign is something about reclaiming myth drannor from the drows.

My plan is to create a monster in close combat, with focus being on unarmed fighting(yes, i have been watching to many MMA-movies lately).

So far the build goes as so:
I am going with a basic wildelf as class
Ranger 2/monk 2/FoF 3//Feral creature/Mineral Warrior/Barb 3/psychic warrior 2

The variant Classes i am using are the following:
Fangshield Ranger, Overwhelming attack chaos monk, Bear totem barbarian

Everything so far has been accepted.

For scores we are rolling 10 lines of 6 rolls with 4d6 rerolling 1s and 2s, and then picking the best line.

Items so far are:
Sandals of the tigers leap
Monks Belt

In the future the build is going to focus on bear warrior/warshaper //psychic warrior

Is there anything better that i could do with this character? And do you have any recommendations on feat selection?

Love from denmark

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

A Monk's Belt isn't really going to help you. Both Monk and Fist of the Forest grant an "AC Bonus" class feature. Those are two abilities of the same name that grant an unnamed bonus to your AC, and as they have the same name they're considered the same source so they won't stack. You would get your Wisdom bonus plus Monk level-based bonus to AC, or you would get your Con bonus to AC, but not both. You can get the feat Superior Unarmed Strike (ToB) to make your unarmed attacks deal damage as if you had +4 levels of Monk. You can also get the feat Tashalatora (SoS) to make your Psychic Warrior levels advance your Monk unarmed strike, AC bonus, speed bonus, and Flurry of Blows class features.

Note that Mineral Warrior is an acquired template, so you can put its +1 LA at any level you want. Also note that every reference to 'hit dice' in the Feral template is a reference to racial hit dice, not hit dice gained from class levels. If you have no racial hit dice, you don't gain any special attacks or special qualities from it.

Get more Psychic Warrior levels, or you won't have the manifester level to augment your powers and you won't have enough powerpoints to even use very many powers.

[CookieInTheJar]

I thought untyped bonus stacked if they didn't come from the same place, IE Fist of the forest and monk, but not monk and ninja or monk and swordsage.

I might be wrong, but isn't it subject to much discussion whether feral only applies it to racial hd or not, or do you have a source for that statement?

Monks belt is great for allowing my unarmed strike to be 5 levels higher, and the same for my flailing strike which i have from chaos monk instead of flurry.

I am going for practised manifester to make me act as a lvl 6 manifester for powers.

[shaikujin]

A Monk's Belt isn't really going to help you. Both Monk and Fist of the Forest grant an "AC Bonus" class feature. Those are two abilities of the same name that grant an unnamed bonus to your AC, and as they have the same name they're considered the same source so they won't stack.

Isn't that the secondary effect of a Monk's Belt?

Primary effect of a monk's belt for a character with monk levels is that it give increases a monk's unarmed damage and AC progression by +5 levels.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

Isn't that the secondary effect of a Monk's Belt?

Primary effect of a monk's belt for a character with monk levels is that it give increases a monk's unarmed damage and AC progression by +5 levels.

An increase of a single step of unarmed damage is not worth 13,000 gp. He can get Tashalatora and count his Psychic Warrior levels as Monk levels for many of his Monk class features, including unarmed damage. He can take Superior Unarmed Strike to get +4 levels of unarmed damage if that's not enough. The only time it's really worth getting a Monk's Belt if you have no levels of Monk and want to get the AC bonus. There are tons of necessary items (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=187851) that he would be better off getting over a Monk's Belt on this character.


I thought untyped bonus stacked if they didn't come from the same place, IE Fist of the forest and monk, but not monk and ninja or monk and swordsage.

I might be wrong, but isn't it subject to much discussion whether feral only applies it to racial hd or not, or do you have a source for that statement?

Monks belt is great for allowing my unarmed strike to be 5 levels higher, and the same for my flailing strike which i have from chaos monk instead of flurry.

I am going for practised manifester to make me act as a lvl 6 manifester for powers.

Same name = same source. Multiple effects that add your Wisdom bonus to AC would stack if the abilities had different names, or if they granted a specific type of bonus (Deflection, Dodge, etc.). You can get your Cha bonus to AC multiple times, as all of the different ways to do so have different names and are thus different effects. Two effects named "AC Bonus" are the same effect, even if they come from different classes. What ability gets added is irrelevant, the only thing that matters is what the abilities are named and that the bonus is unnamed.

After reading the Feral template again, I stand corrected: The special attacks are based on "monster Hit Dice" which would mean racial hit dice, but the special qualities suffer no such limitation. Hit die increases likewise only apply to racial hit dice unless it's specifically stated that it applies to class levels as well, which Feral does not.

I've already gone over how bad a choice the Monk's Belt would be on this character.

Practiced Manifester helps your manifester levle, but not your base power points. Unless you're going to use Midnight Augmentation + Bestow Power or similar shenanigans, you're going to want more levels for more base power points. Plus Psychic Warrior levels can count as Monk levels for your unarmed strike, flurry of blows (or similar), speed, and AC bonus if you get Tashalatora.

[Artillery]

Barbarian 2/Ranger 2/FoF 3/Slayer 10
Monk 1/Psywarrior 19
Take Tashalatora so Psywarrior levels stack with monk for AC bonus, Flurry, and Unarmed Damage.

Slayer has full BAB and advances manifester level with easy prereqs. Its also SRD.

Something similiar to a King of Smack Build, but use Beast Strike to add your claw dmg to your unarmed dmg.

Feral and Mineral Warrior both approved, wow.
Overall +6 str, -2 dex, +6 con, -6 int, -2 cha. NA +9, Fast Healing 2 increasing to 5 as you level, a bunch of feats as you go up in level, DR8/Adamantine, +10ft move speed, 2 claw attacks for 1d8 at medium.

[shaikujin]

Other ways to boost monk levels with less monks levels:


1) Carmendine Monk Feat: +2 levels (to only 1 monk ability, such as Unarmed damage or AC)
2) Monk's Belt (Dungeon Master's Guide): +5 levels; 12,000 gp
3) Gloves of the Talon (Complete Divine; requires True Believer feat. Specifically stacks with Monk's belt. The updated MIC version does not): +5 levels; 20,000 gp
4) Monk's Tattoo (Magic of Faerun, see if DM allows this to stack): +4 levels; 80,000 gp
5) The Tash feat

[Metahuman1]

Listen, if you really wanna pump yourself up, I'd talk to the DM about letting Unarmed Swordsage stack with Psiwarrior in monks place so that it advances Manifesting and Martial Initiator levels.

Then Do Barbaria 2/Ranger 3/ FotF 3/ Warblade 2/ Slayer 10 on the other side.

Focus the Warblade dip on White Raven and Iron Heart goodies.

Nab Mountain hammer somewhere,

Focus Swordsage On Diamond Mind, then Setting Sun, then if you've got anything left a couple of odd Tiger Claw maneuvers won't hurt.

[Lyndworm]

Same name = same source. Multiple effects that add your Wisdom bonus to AC would stack if the abilities had different names, or if they granted a specific type of bonus (Deflection, Dodge, etc.). You can get your Cha bonus to AC multiple times, as all of the different ways to do so have different names and are thus different effects. Two effects named "AC Bonus" are the same effect, even if they come from different classes. What ability gets added is irrelevant, the only thing that matters is what the abilities are named and that the bonus is unnamed.
Given Wizard of the Coast's usual NPC quality this may not matter to you, but the example Fist of the Forest character adds both Constitution and Wisdom to her armor class. At the very least this implies they stack by RAI, I think.

[Metahuman1]

Given Wizard of the Coast's usual NPC quality this may not matter to you, but the example Fist of the Forest character adds both Constitution and Wisdom to her armor class. At the very least this implies they stack by RAI, I think.

Pretty sure FotF has a clause that says they don't.

Deepwarden form Races of Stone on the other hand....