warhulk gestalt

[Nosta]

I need idea on how to build an ogre warhulk gestalt build
level 20 stats rolled 18,18,16,14,14 14
I need to know what should the other classes be
and what weapon would be good for this beast to swing around

[OldTrees1]

What are the other people playing(so that we know what optimization level to aim for)?

Also how does your DM rule on LA for Gestalt characters(does it penalize both sides or only one side?)

What sources do you have access to(Races of Stone, Tome of Battle, Complete Warrior, Complete Champion, and Magic Item Compendium come to mind)?

How do you want to fight? Do you like the PHB manuevers(replace an attack/AoO) or the ToB manuevers(refreshing encounter powers) more? Are you looking for high damage or looking for a variety of different attacks?



I would probably suggest either some multiclassing(Barbarian/Martial Rogue) or a ToB class like Warblade or Crusader.

[Rebel7284]

First of all, are you set on Ogre? The Half Ogre, most recently printed in Races of Destiny, page 96, is much better. Same +2 LA, but you don't have to worry about the 4 racial hit dice and can thus take 4 more class levels!

Second of all, how is your DM handling the LA and HD in gestalt?
Do you gestalt
- Just your class levels?
- Class levels and racial hit dice?
- Class levels, racial hit dice, and LA?

Also, note the miniatures handbook errata which fixes some confusing wording about War Hulk. http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/dnd_mi_errata.pdf

War Hulk: In the mighty swing ability, replace "standard action" with "attack."

The best class to pair with War Hulk is probably Cleric. Getting a ton of buffs on you to last all day with Divine Metamagic makes you much more powerful and flexible. If you want to stick with mostly non-magical abilities, you can go Warblade or Crusader from Tome of Battle. These classes add some much-needed flexibility to D&D melee characters.

You should also probably take a level of Lion Totem Barbarian from Complete Champion because pounce is nice.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

Forget Ogre. Go with a Water Orc (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/races/elementalRacialVariants.htm#racesOfWater) and the Half-Goristro (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20060630a) template (bottom of the page). An Ogre has 4 racial HD and a +2 LA, so six wasted levels. A Water Orc Half-Goristro has only a +4 LA, so four wasted levels. An Ogre gets Str +10, Dex -2, Con +4, Int -4, Cha -4, +5 natural armor, and is large size. A Water Orc Half-Goristro gets Str +20, Dex -2, Con +12, Int -2, Wis -2, Cha +0, +7 natural armor, and is large size counting the adjustments for the size increase (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/improvingMonsters.htm#sizeIncreases). On top of that, the Water Orc Half-Goristro gets a swim speed, two slam attacks that deal damage as two-handed weapons, DR, SR, resistances, immunities, and spell-like abilities. Throw on Lolth-Touched from Monster Manual IV for another +1 LA, which gives you Str +6, Con +6, +4 Hide and Move Silently, and immunity to fear effects*, but it makes your character chaotic evil when it's obtained, though you could have gradually changed your alignment afterward.

You'll want to include at least nine levels of Fighter with Dungeoncrasher in Dungeonscape, Zhentarim Soldier (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20060327a), and free Dead Levels (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/cwc/20061013a) class features. You'll also want the feat Imperious Command in Drow of the Underdark, plus the Never Outnumbered skill trick in Complete Scoundrel. Using Intimidate to demoralize creatures is not explicitly labeled as mind-affecting, only that creatures immune specifically to fear effects cannot be affected by it. Undead are immune to mind-affecting effects, but can still be panicked by a Chill Touch spell because they're not specifically immune to fear effects. A Paladin's Aura of Courage is an example of something that would make someone immune to Intimidate, as is a Lolth-Touched creature's immunity to fear. This character will be able to use Intimidate to demoralize an opponent as a swift action, so you'll still be able to full attack in the same round. Once per encounter you'll be able to affect every opponent within ten feet of your character with this thanks to Never Outnumbered. An affected opponent will cower for one round, and then be shaken on the following round thanks to Imperious Command.

For Intimidate bonuses, there's going to be a few sources. Max ranks is important, Charisma isn't very important but needs to be high enough to take Imperious Command. You'll get a size bonus against medium and smaller foes. Since your character is an Orc with a half-template, you should be able to take anything that a Half-Orc qualifies for, so say you visited the Otyugh Hole in Complete Scoundrel to get Menacing Demeanor without spending a feat on it. Consider taking a level in Half-Orc Paragon (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/races/racialParagonClasses.htm#halfOrcParagon) to get an additional +4 to Intimidate. You'll have Skill Focus for free from Zhentarim Soldier, and you can take Willing Deformity in Heroes of Horror for another +3, and it qualifies you for other deformity feats that may be interesting. You'll also want to include one or three levels of Orc Paragon (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/races/racialParagonClasses.htm#orcParagon) just to get rid of the light sensitivity.

Get Knock-Back from Races of Stone, so you'll be able to make a free bull rush on every hit, and every time you knock an opponent into a solid obstacle (such as the ground if you're flying above them) you'll deal 8d6 plus three times your Str bonus in damage from Dungeoncrasher. Get Knock-Down (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/divine/divineAbilitiesFeats.htm#knockDown) and every hit will also knock your target prone. Since every attack hits every target in reach, you can sweep everyone into a corner and dungeoncrash them into the dirt. Anyone who tries to get up from prone will provoke an AoO that also hits and dungeoncrashes everyone. Anyone who tries to move away provokes an AoO that also hits and dungeoncrashes everyone. Use a large size Living Chain in MIC (+1 weapon price plus 2k for living chain plus masterwork chain price) with Sweeping added (increase +1 weapon price to +2 weapon price), as well as Wrathful Healing in Enemies and Allies, which heals you for half the damage you deal per hit (+2 weapon price increases to +5 weapon price).

I would include plenty of Warblade levels in the build, since it gets a d12 HP, superb maneuvers and stances, and can be added to Fighter to qualify for Weapon Supremacy in PH2. Something like the following:

1. LA +1// Warblade 1
2. LA +2// Warblade 2
3. LA +3// Warblade 3
4. LA +4// Warblade 4
5. LA +5// Warblade 5
6. Fighter 1// Warblade 6
7. Fighter 2// Warblade 7
8. Fighter 3// War Hulk 1
9. Fighter 4// War Hulk 2
10. Fighter 5// War Hulk 3
11. Fighter 6// War Hulk 4
12. Fighter 7// War Hulk 5
13. Fighter 8// War Hulk 6
14. Fighter 9// War Hulk 7
15. Warblade 8// War Hulk 8
16. Warblade 9// War Hulk 9
17. Warblade 10// War Hulk 10
18. Warblade 11// Half-Orc Paragon 1
19. Warblade 12// Orc Paragon 1
20. Warblade 13// Fighter 10

That gets a +20 BAB and counts you as a Fighter 18 for qualifying for feats, so your Fighter 10 bonus feat can be Weapon Supremacy. I would assign your stats as follows: Str 18, Dex 18, Con 14, Int 14, Wis 14, Cha 16. You'll need to put a level-up point into Int to qualify for Combat Expertise to get Improved Trip and Knock-Down, the other four can go into Str. With the race, template, and size bonuses, plus level-ups and a +6 enhancement, and of course War Hulk, you'll have Str 74 for a +32 bonus. That means +48 damage on two-handed attacks, including your natural slam attacks when needed, and Dungeoncrasher deals 8d6+96 damage all by itself.