Optmizing a Gestalt Paladin/Warmage

[ArqArturo]

So, it's been a pretty strange month, and while my Midnight game is running smoothly (aka the players are getting the grimdark feel of the game), I kinda want to be a player more than a DM at this rate (I'm also GMing for an Iron Kingdoms game, so yeah).

A friend is going to DM a game, and he's letting me play a gestalt character. It's the first time I do a gestalt, so, from my understanding:


You get the best HD
You get the best BAB
You get the two best saves
You get both spellcasting lists and separate spells per day
You get both skills sets and the most skillpoint from one or the other class
You get all class features


That being said, I'm the only gestalt character in the party, but, considering both classes, I don't think I'm not as broken. The rest of the party is:


Dream Dwarf Shugenja (I think he'll be Earth)
Illumian Cleric
Gray Elf Wizard (Generalist)
Halfling Druid
Human Barbarian


Also, we rolled our stats, mine are: 12, 15, 15, 18, 17, 16. So my stats could be ordered in:


Str 15
Dex 12
Con 16
Int 18
Wis 15
Cha 17




I'm thinking of playing a Raptoran warmage, and focus first on a combination of melee and spell damage at early levels, if the going gets tough, and then become a full blaster. However, I don't know what feat to pick, maybe Skill Focus (Concentration), or Toughness?. We're all starting on level 1, but I do want to plan ahead (The DM loves high-stakes, high-XP, low treasure adventures).

So far, the idea is to be Gestalt 6/Divine Oracle 2 (Warmages get True Strike, and I will be getting eclectic learning)/Silver Pyromancer 5/Holy Scourge 5/??? 3; and, the feat selection so far would be:

1.- ??? (Maybe Arcane Disciple?)
3.- Empower Spell
6.- Arcane Strike
9.- Ranged Smite (Dunno if the regular smite works on ranged spells)
12.- ???
15.- ???
18.- ???

Yup, making gestalt characters is fairly new and strange XD; so, any suggestions would be welcome :smallsmile:.

Also, we're using the Fantasy adaptation pantheons of D&D that is in Deities & Demigods, thus we're playing a D&D setting of Europe, with Greek and Eyptian (maybe some Asgardian gods, too, the shugenja player is interested) clerics running around.

[Jeff the Green]

Well, to start with I'd put the 18 in Charisma (your casting stat) rather than Intelligence (skill points and a small amount of extra damage).

Second, your build would more likely be Warmage 6/Divine Oracle 2/Warmage +1 (7)/Silver Pyromancer +4 (5)/Warmage +1 (8)/Holy Scourge +4 (5)/Something 2//Paladin 8/Silver Pyromancer 1/Paladin +4 (12)/Holy Scourge 1/Paladin +6 (18). While you can only take one prestige class at a time, you still get to gestalt it with a base class. This layout also lets you have full casting by putting the non-casting levels of the PrCs on the Paladin side where they don't matter so much.

Or, actually, switching out Paladin after four levels for another base class(es) would be good; Paladin doesn't offer much beyond 4th. Crusader, Warblade, Binder, Totemist (especially since you said this is likely to be low-wealth), Marshal, and Factotum are all good options. Personally I'd go Paladin 4/Warblade 1/Marshal 1/Factotum 2/SP 1/Factotum +4 (6)/HS 1/Factotum +6 (12). You'd get Wall of Blades to shore up your likely low AC, up to 4th-level Sorcerer/Wizard spells as SLAs, Charisma to saves and Initiative, and Intelligence to just about everything.

[TSED]

If you don't expect the game to get past level 5 or so, go ahead and put that 18 in int. If it's going to go any higher than that, pfeh. Int doesn't matter to a warmage OR to a paladin after those few levels where it can actually do enough damage to earn its keep. HD scale so much faster than your int mod can hope to.

"What? They have an int-dependent class feature for blasting!" Well, yeah, but warmages aren't actually that good at blasting and so the class feature is actually a trap. You want blasting, go be a wilder or kineticist or something from psionics. Warmage strength comes from being able to cast any spell they know as long as they have the slot left. The spellcasting mechanics are amazing.

So what you want to do is go into classes that provide more spells known. Sandshaper, rainbow servant, whatever. Prestige class out into classes that give you new spells known and you'll love it. If you're willing to, consider putting a high-enough stat in wisdom and taking Arcane Disciple a time or two. It's pretty cool and sort-of-kind-of synergizes with paladin spellcasting.

Alternately, what you can do is just focus hardcore on a paladin build as if building an ungestalted one, and use the warmage side as a 'fallback.' I wouldn't normally recommend this, but you're the only gestalt and that is kiiiind of unfair. The fact that you're a gestalt amongst mostly t1s makes it really hard for me to gauge how hard I should push optimization advice. Especially with that onegestalted barbarian hanging out in there. Why do you get it and not him?

[ArqArturo]

The Barbarian player didn't go gestalt becase (I think) he wants to abuse the crit range of the falchion and be the frontline tank, but in retrospect, a Barbarian/Paladin of Freedom/Champion of Gwynharwyf could be just as destructive (Dunno if both Divine Grace features stack, though), and to be fair, I think even the halfling is more tank-ish than the barbarian.

On the subject of the Warmage list, I did thought of abusing Arcane Disciple shenanigans, but in order to be a Sandshaper, I guess I'd go with the Sentinel variant of the paladin (though that would mean kiss LoH goodbye, not that I wouldn't mind much), Although the rainbow servant would be better, since the standard paladin can get there. There's also the chance of being a Paladin of Freedom, since a lot of the deities we're using in are Chaotic, and have the Healing domain O.o

[TSED]

But... but... he can still abuse the crit range of a falchion while gestalted. I don't get his logic. (He can also frontline MUCH better while gestalted.) At least try to get him an awesome LA'd template or race or something?


Derrrrp, I forgot about the alignment bit on Sandshaper. If you want a book thrown at you, "Neutral Good" might net you a free PHB to the temple. If you do go Paladin of Freedom, there's also prestige bard to consider. (I aped that one directly from the warmage handbook!). I haven't looked it up but the gist I got was "add bard spells to your spellcasting list, rox0r."

[ArqArturo]

Yup, in between sushi he decided to gestalt as a paladin of freedom, and now we're both kind of the frontline tanks, along with the cleric of thor player, who say he'll be multiclassing as warlock, and get the Eldritch disciple prestige class. I did take Arcane Disciple at 1st level, so far (duh) and chose the War domain from Athena, so it makes me a heavy hitter, maybe next I'll take Power Attack, and perhaps getting another Arcane Disciple Domain and turn into a gish :smallamused:.

The game started rather well. I depended a lot on my Fist of Stone spell to buff my overall strength (I'm using a Two-Handed weapon, so the DM ruled that the +6 Str in one arm can only count on both as long as I'm using a weapon two handed) when diving with my halberd. Other than that, the blasting part was mostly useful vs mooks (the generalist uses debuffs most of the time). We all owned the run, except for the shugenja. Earth is very buff-oriented, and the Order of the Gentle Rain makes it more of a heal-bot.