PF Swashbucker/Fighter Gesalt help

[Roto]

So my DM is running a Pathfinder gestalt game. My most recent character just died in it, however, and I could use some help with my next one. Per my DM, I am to play a half-dragon/human and am allowed to swap the Str bonus for a Dex bonus if I so want.

I'm thinking swashbuckler/fighter (I was told by my DM that if I did so, I'd have to take the corsair archetype for fighter); and I was looking at a crit build. Is it possible to do both a TWF and a crit build?

It's a 25 point build game.

[Hrugner]

If you want to dual wield weapon finesse weapons and get dex to damage on them you pretty much need a Sawtooth saber and to be a swashbuckler, I don't know if sawtooth saber shows up on the pirate weapon group or not. You're also losing "precise strike" by having another weapon in the other hand. I don't think that's ideal.

I doubt it's the best use of your gestalt to take two classes that are very similar(fighter and swashbuckler). The main benefit of gestalt characters is breadth, you can stack up on one thing loading up on tons of feats, but you lose out on options in play. I'd recommend that, unless you really need tons of feats for something specific, you look at a class with good fort and will saves that supports your swashbuckler saves. Magus would be great if you didn't want to dual wield weapons; I think it's also the only non-divine fort and will class. Warpriest could be interesting just to bump up the damage on your little weapon and get some swift cleric spells. Inquisitor could be fun if you want to use teamwork feats to burn through the large amount of potential attacks of opportunities you'd have available. Sohei would let you flurry with an Urumi (at fifth level), using finesse and letting you grab slashing grace.

but, I don't know what your games are like, so my advice here is pretty limited.

[Grod_The_Giant]

TWF and crit builds go together well, since it gives you extra chances to crit. A pair of Keen kukris is the standard starting point, I believe. However,

I doubt it's the best use of your gestalt to take two classes that are very similar(fighter and swashbuckler).
If it's starting at low levels, it might be worth it to start, especially if you're trying to do something feat-intensive like dex-based TWF. But overall, I have to agree: apart from a good Fort save and a handful more bonus feats, fighter isn't really adding anything to Swashbuckler. You'd probably be better off, both mechanically and fun-wise, using something else:

Brawler would be pretty much a direct upgrade from Fighter--you still get bonus feats, but you also get Martial Flexibility for even more feats, Unarmed Strike (which, by my reading, can be used with Precise Strike, since you're either not attacking with a weapon in your hand, or not attacking with your hand at all; you may need to use a feat to do slashing/piercing unarmed strikes, though), and built-in TWF.
Monk, with the appropriate archetype (Sohei, perhaps) can do similar things with using unarmed strikes and Flurry to add extra attacks to Precise Strike
A sneaky class like Rogue, Ninja, or Slayer goes nicely with the Swashbuckler's light-armor-combat mastery, giving you more skill points and a sneak attack to pump up your single-attack damage further.
An Int-focused class like Alchemist, Investigator, or Magus all go nicely with the Inspired Blade archetype, although they're starting to add on magic you might not want. (Although alchemy might be fun if you fluff the extracts as mixed drinks)
You could obviously take a full Cha or Int-based caster and focus on self-buffs, but at that point the Swashbuckler has pretty much become a supporting element.

[Arutema]

Not mentioned above:

Paladin adds some nice passive defenses based on Cha, the Swashbuckler's Panache stat. Though it does add to the Swift action bottleneck the Swashbuckler has when you want to smite evil or lay on hands.

[grarrrg]

I'm thinking swashbuckler/fighter (I was told by my DM that if I did so, I'd have to take the corsair archetype for fighter)

Why are you "required" to take Corsair if you go Fighter?
Are the other players getting similar restrictions?

[Grod_The_Giant]

Not mentioned above:

Paladin adds some nice passive defenses based on Cha, the Swashbuckler's Panache stat. Though it does add to the Swift action bottleneck the Swashbuckler has when you want to smite evil or lay on hands.
True, but it adds a whole new set of roleplaying restrictions that generally don't mesh well with Swashbuckler fluff, and you can't really ignore Paladin flavor without DM permission. (Though it's a pretty decent choice if you want to be a paladin)