looking for a good warlock/gestalt build new to class

[Jestyen]

ok So I'm joining a gestalt campaign, starting lv 10, and I'm looking for a good warlock gestalt build. The group consists of two clerics, a wizard, and planar shepherd druid(going azure sky) I'm looking for something to hopefully keep up.

Any build advice would be nice. I'm thinking of hellfire warlock for a prestige and using eldritch claws or eldritch glaive.

I'm fairly new to gestalt characters and brand new to warlocks.

I do plan on reading this (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?252715-The-New-Warlock-Handbook-3-5-WIP) for help as well but I have no idea what to do on the other side of the gestalt.

[Xerlith]

If you're going Clawlock, Tiger Claw Warblade can stack you up on attacks/round. Cleric dip gives you Turn Undead and three (Cloistered Cleric) domains which you can trade for Devotion feats. Travel and Knowledge devotion are obscenely good.

for a Hellfire warlock, Binder dip for Naberius is a must.

Does your DM rule that Hellfire can be used with Eldritch Claws?

[Jestyen]

If you're going Clawlock, Tiger Claw Warblade can stack you up on attacks/round. Cleric dip gives you Turn Undead and three (Cloistered Cleric) domains which you can trade for Devotion feats. Travel and Knowledge devotion are obscenely good.

for a Hellfire warlock, Binder dip for Naberius is a must.

Does your DM rule that Hellfire can be used with Eldritch Claws?

edit
yes the rule is it can be used with hellfire.yeah I figured a binder dip was necessary.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

Enlightened Spirit in CM, you'll see it mentioned in that handbook you linked as a purple choice for gestalt. Go something like Warlock 20// Anything 5/ Enlightened Spirit 5/ Anything 5, and you'll be amazing.

Note that Enlightened Spirit 5 gets you a greater shape invocation, at the same level as Warlock 10. This gives you access to greater invocations one level earlier, so your Warlock invocations known can be three least, two lesser, four greater, three dark, instead of three of each category. Since you get celestial flight from Enlightened Spirit you're not taxed a lesser invocation on fell flight, so the difference is a net gain of a greater general invocation. For this reason I wouldn't start taking Hellfire Warlock until 11th level at the earliest, though personally I'd prefer to finish Enlightened Spirit before even starting it.

That other class can be just about anything you want. I'm a big fan of Mystic Ranger from Dragon 336, which gets 1st level spells at its 2nd level, 2nd level spells at 4th, 3rd level spells at 6th, etc. so with ten levels of it you'll have 5th level Ranger spells. You can get Sword of the Arcane Order to be able to prepare Wizard spells in those slots even! Also consider combining that with Wildshape Ranger (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/variantCharacterClasses.htm#ranger) or you could just dip a single level of that for Fast Movement.

For an Eldritch Claws build, go with a race that can get Rapidstrike and Improved Rapidstrike in the Draconomicon. Elans (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/psionicRaces.htm#elans) are Aberrations, and you can add on the Magic-Blooded template from Dragon 306 so that changes to -2 Wis. I'd go with the following:
1. Warlock 1// Warblade 1
2. Warlock 2// Binder 1
3. Warlock 3// Warblade 2
4. Warlock 4// Warblade 3
5. Warlock 5// Warblade 4
6. Warlock 6// Enlightened Spirit 1
7. Warlock 7// Enlightened Spirit 2
8. Warlock 8// Enlightened Spirit 3
9. Warlock 9// Enlightened Spirit 4
10. Warlock 10// Enlightened Spirit 5
11. Warlock 11// Enlightened Spirit 6
12. Warlock 12// Enlightened Spirit 7
13. Warlock 13// Enlightened Spirit 8
14. Warlock 14// Enlightened Spirit 9
15. Warlock 15// Enlightened Spirit 10
16. Hellfire Warlock 1// Warblade 5
17. Hellfire Warlock 2// Warblade 6
18. Hellfire Warlock 3// Warblade 7
19. Warlock 16// Warblade 8
20. Warlock 17// Warblade 9

[Jestyen]

Enlightened Spirit in CM, you'll see it mentioned in that handbook you linked as a purple choice for gestalt. Go something like Warlock 20// Anything 5/ Enlightened Spirit 5/ Anything 5, and you'll be amazing.

Note that Enlightened Spirit 5 gets you a greater shape invocation, at the same level as Warlock 10. This gives you access to greater invocations one level earlier, so your Warlock invocations known can be three least, two lesser, four greater, three dark, instead of three of each category. Since you get celestial flight from Enlightened Spirit you're not taxed a lesser invocation on fell flight, so the difference is a net gain of a greater general invocation. For this reason I wouldn't start taking Hellfire Warlock until 11th level at the earliest, though personally I'd prefer to finish Enlightened Spirit before even starting it.

That other class can be just about anything you want. I'm a big fan of Mystic Ranger from Dragon 336, which gets 1st level spells at its 2nd level, 2nd level spells at 4th, 3rd level spells at 6th, etc. so with ten levels of it you'll have 5th level Ranger spells. You can get Sword of the Arcane Order to be able to prepare Wizard spells in those slots even! Also consider combining that with Wildshape Ranger (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/variantCharacterClasses.htm#ranger) or you could just dip a single level of that for Fast Movement.

For an Eldritch Claws build, go with a race that can get Rapidstrike and Improved Rapidstrike in the Draconomicon. Elans (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/psionicRaces.htm#elans) are Aberrations, and you can add on the Magic-Blooded template from Dragon 306 so that changes to -2 Wis. I'd go with the following:
1. Warlock 1// Warblade 1
2. Warlock 2// Binder 1
3. Warlock 3// Warblade 2
4. Warlock 4// Warblade 3
5. Warlock 5// Warblade 4
6. Warlock 6// Enlightened Spirit 1
7. Warlock 7// Enlightened Spirit 2
8. Warlock 8// Enlightened Spirit 3
9. Warlock 9// Enlightened Spirit 4
10. Warlock 10// Enlightened Spirit 5
11. Warlock 11// Enlightened Spirit 6
12. Warlock 12// Enlightened Spirit 7
13. Warlock 13// Enlightened Spirit 8
14. Warlock 14// Enlightened Spirit 9
15. Warlock 15// Enlightened Spirit 10
16. Hellfire Warlock 1// Warblade 5
17. Hellfire Warlock 2// Warblade 6
18. Hellfire Warlock 3// Warblade 7
19. Warlock 16// Warblade 8
20. Warlock 17// Warblade 9

So would you not recommend a dip in binder to prevent con damage? I do like where you're going and I'll check out enlightened spirit.

[Xerlith]

So would you not recommend a dip in binder to prevent con damage? I do like where you're going and I'll check out enlightened spirit.

Right side, second level. There is the Binder dip.

[Jestyen]

Right side, second level. There is the Binder dip.


yup I missed it. Awesome.

I'll def look into this.

[Red Fel]

Enlightened Spirit in CM, you'll see it mentioned in that handbook you linked as a purple choice for gestalt. Go something like Warlock 20// Anything 5/ Enlightened Spirit 5/ Anything 5, and you'll be amazing.

Agreeing with this. Enlightened Spirit is one of those classes that could be awesome, but is easily overshadowed by so many better options for the investment. In a gestalt, it just glows. Warlock + ES + HFW + Eldritch Claws makes for some truly outrageous damage.

Be sure to take Beast Strike and IUS. IUS will make your unarmed attacks effective; Beast Strike will make them outrageous. Here's why. Eldritch Claws deal damage totalling your Eldritch Blast + your unarmed attack, and because they're claws, you get two of them. Beast Strike allows you to add claw damage to your unarmed strikes and grapple damage. So basically, your unarmed attacks would deal (Unarmed Damage + (Unarmed Damage + Eldritch Blast)), getting you double unarmed. You would also get those as iterative attacks. You would also get your claw attacks as secondary attacks (at -5 penalty) after your unarmed strikes. Take Snap Kick and you can add an extra unarmed strike (with double unarmed damage + Eldritch Blast again) at the end of an attack.

Throw on SUS if you're feeling sadistic.

EDIT: As an alternative to Enlightened Spirit, consider Telflammar Shadowlord or Crinti Shadow Marauder. Take the Flee the Scene invocation, which references Dimension Door. Thanks to either of these two classes and their Shadow Pounce ability, you can make a full attack (with claws!) at the end of a teleport. You can basically pop all over the battlefield and shred faces.

[Snowbluff]

As far as I can't tell, Hellfire doesn't work with Eldritch Claws. You're better off stacking unarmed damage to replace the HFW and Binder levels.

IIRC, Beast Strike and Rapid Strike are mutually exclusive. Beast Strike let's you use Flurry of Blows, though. Maybe you can add on Precocious Apprentice and Ascetic Mage if you're going for a monk style build.

[Red Fel]

As far as I can't tell, Hellfire doesn't work with Eldritch Claws. You're better off stacking unarmed damage to replace the HFW and Binder levels.

IIRC, Beast Strike and Rapid Strike are mutually exclusive. Beast Strike let's you Flurry of Blows, though. Maybe you can add on Precocious Apprentice and Ascetic Mage if you're going for a monk style build.

OP's DM has allowed Hellfire with EC. But yes, it's a good "ask your DM" point.

And Beast Strike may be usable with Flurry, but Eldritch Claws may not.
A monk may not use eldritch claws as part of her flurry of blows.
Note that I use the term "may" in the conditional sense, as in "maybe, maybe not," because the language is ambiguous. On the one hand, you can certainly use unarmed strikes in Flurry; Beast Strike adds your claw damage to your unarmed strikes, problem solved. On the other, however, it's not clear whether the Eldritch Claws language keeps you from using your claw attacks, which are not special monk weapons and thus cannot be used to Flurry, or whether it keeps you from using the Eldritch Claws invocation. If the former, no problem; you can use Beast Strike, add claw damage, and omit the claws as secondary weapons. If the latter, however, you wouldn't have claws at all, rendering Beast Strike useless (for Flurry purposes).

Frankly, I find Beast Strike a superior choice to Rapidstrike, because Beast Strike, for no penalty and only one feat, allows you to seamlessly tack your claw damage onto your unarmed strikes, doubling your unarmed strike damage and granting you iteratives. Rapidstrike has substantially higher prerequisites than Beast Strike, and grants you a single extra attack at a -5 penalty (or take the second feat, Improved Rapidstrike, for more attacks at more penalties). Frankly, it's easier just to tack it onto your iteratives.

Of course, if you're not worried about Flurry (heh, worry about flurry) then this is a non-issue.

[Jestyen]

As far as I can't tell, Hellfire doesn't work with Eldritch Claws. You're better off stacking unarmed damage to replace the HFW and Binder levels.

IIRC, Beast Strike and Rapid Strike are mutually exclusive. Beast Strike let's you Flurry of Blows, though. Maybe you can add on Precocious Apprentice and Ascetic Mage if you're going for a monk style build.


how does beast strike grant flurry of blows. Just curious.

[Snowbluff]

how does beast strike grant flurry of blows. Just curious.

Sorry, I mean that it would let you use FoB if you had it. It's an extra attack, and having a gestalt would likely mean full BAB to negate the penalty.

I didn't mean combining Eldritch Claw strikes with unarmed ones either. If you are at a point where having more than 2 unarmed attacks is possible, you are probably better of with the higher damage Beast Strike and Flurry hits.

[Jestyen]

Sorry, I mean that it would let you use FoB if you had it. It's an extra attack, and having a gestalt would likely mean full BAB to negate the penalty.

ok that makes sense to me now. Thanks.

[Renen]

Or... get flyby attack, and go for skirmish.
I see lvl 7 gestalt get 9d6 from combining skirmish and eldrich blast every round