crusader gestalt

[Nosta]

so what is a good class to pair with a crusader to do heavy damage and take the most from the thicket of blade stance? I just hit level 9 and would like to know what would be a good combo to do 3.0 3.5 books allowed

[atemu1234]

Warblade. Just... Warblade.

[Nosta]

Warblade. Just... Warblade.

care to explain please?

[Troacctid]

Warblade. Just... Warblade.

I dunno, seems redundant.

I'm thinking Bard. Inspire Courage is a great damage-booster, and if you go Dragonfire Inspiration, well, all the better. It also shores up both of your weak saves, gives you a ton of skills, adds casting, and is just an all-around good class. Crusader lets you dominate the early and mid levels, and Bard lets you dominate the lategame. All in all, a very well-rounded class combination.

[Aegis013]

Bard is a good one, definitely, particularly if you're looking for straight damage output.

I'd suggest Binder or Incarnate though. They're not really going to substantially increase your raw damage output, but they will provide you a great deal of utility benefit and help you in numerous other areas, while providing some damage boosts.

[Nosta]

Bard is a good one, definitely, particularly if you're looking for straight damage output.

I'd suggest Binder or Incarnate though. They're not really going to substantially increase your raw damage output, but they will provide you a great deal of utility benefit and help you in numerous other areas, while providing some damage boosts.




I do like the flavor for a crusader/binder

care to explain how i'd use such a combo?

[Troacctid]

Incarnate is my second choice. It is a pretty substantial damage boost at mid levels--at level 6 with expanded soulmeld capacity, you are adding an extra 5d6 electricity damage to every single one of your standard action strikes, courtesy of Lightning Gauntlets bound to your hands. You can also tack on even more damage by investing essentia into Bluesteel Bracers or an Incarnate Weapon.

[Red Fel]

so what is a good class to pair with a crusader to do heavy damage and take the most from the thicket of blade stance? I just hit level 9 and would like to know what would be a good combo to do 3.0 3.5 books allowed

The great thing about Crusader in gestalt is that it's fairly NAD (not ability dependent). Apart from the usual need for physical ability scores, you really don't need any specific attribute (e.g. Int for Wizard, Wis for Monk, etc.) to be exceptional. As a result, Crusader blends well with pretty much anything.

So, first, let's look at assets. Crusader is a full BAB class with a good Fort save. To avoid redundancy, your paired class should have good Ref or Will saves, or both. You also want abilities that complement your Crusader abilities.

A nice option is Fighter. Yes, it's completely redundant - the BAB and Fort save are the same - but it grabs you bonus feats. And if you want to make the most of your Thicket of Blades, you'll need feats. The classic combos involving Improved Trip, Knock Down, Karmic Strike/Robilar's Gambit, and a reach weapon will help you.

After that, it's just smart damage dealing. As a Crusader, you don't need a lot of help dealing massive damage. You could grab some levels of Totemist to stack on natural weapons, but you'll likely be using maneuvers rather than full attacks. Instead, I'd suggest focusing on utility. And for utility, I'd go with Warlock.

Warlock reinforces your Will save, which is helpful. It also gives you a bunch of passive all-day powers, which is a fantastic supplement to your existing Crusader abilities. Being able to fly or turn invisible is a profound asset. Further, Eldritch Blast progression will ensure that you can deal damage in melee or at range. And like Crusader, Warlock is fairly NAD, unless you're using invocations which allow saves (and you probably shouldn't be doing that anyway).

[Troacctid]

A nice option is Fighter. Yes, it's completely redundant - the BAB and Fort save are the same - but it grabs you bonus feats. And if you want to make the most of your Thicket of Blades, you'll need feats. The classic combos involving Improved Trip, Knock Down, Karmic Strike/Robilar's Gambit, and a reach weapon will help you.

Rogue is strictly better than Fighter. Exact same feat progression (using the alternate class feature that replaces sneak attack with Fighter bonus feats), but it adds good Reflex saves, 8 + Int skill points (with more class skills), and actual other class features like evasion and trapfinding. The only things you lose out on compared to Fighter are d10 hit die, full BAB, proficiencies, and good Fortitude--all of which you already have from Crusader.

[PsyBomb]

Bard is probably best. DFI and Song of the White Raven are crazy, and half the point of tanking is to make yourself a threat in the first place.

[Silva Stormrage]

Rogue is strictly better than Fighter. Exact same feat progression (using the alternate class feature that replaces sneak attack with Fighter bonus feats), but it adds good Reflex saves, 8 + Int skill points (with more class skills), and actual other class features like evasion and trapfinding. The only things you lose out on compared to Fighter are d10 hit die, full BAB, proficiencies, and good Fortitude--all of which you already have from Crusader.

Not true, fighter has ACF's such as Dungeon Crasher and Zhentriam (The intimidate one that I can never seem to spell correctly) some of those go pretty well with a tanky crusader. If you just want the bonus feats from fighter than yes but fighter DOES have some things to offer.

[Aegis013]

I do like the flavor for a crusader/binder

care to explain how i'd use such a combo?

Simply look for vestiges with complimentary abilities. One awesome combo I've seen in play is Dahlver-Nar's shield self power in conjunction with Crusader's Steele Resolve, with some DR and east healing.

The Crusader used shield self on an enemy and proceeded to stab himself until his enemy died, since well over 50% of the total damage went to the foe, he had HP in spades, and it allowed him to bypass rolling to hit and potentially missing.