Bard gestalt help

[Theodred theOld]

Working on a gestalt bard. On the bard side the focus is on IC and DFI(+9&+8). I was thinking psionic on the other side, probably wilder. I've got 11 levels to mess with. Any thoughts. Melee focus would be ideal.

[Troacctid]

Psion is better than Wilder, even considering that you lose the Charisma synergy. Ten gazillion extra powers known is far superior to a few extra bonus power points. Especially since the main benefits a Wilder is supposed to have over a Psion include improved BAB, skill points, and hit dice--all of which are removed in gestalt.

[Grod_The_Giant]

Divine Bard//Psychic Warrior? Wis SAD (especially if you take Intuitive Attack) and a more gish-focused list.

Or for something different, Totemist makes a brutal counterpoint to a DFI bard. Not only do your attacks to +yesD6 damage, you can make lots of them at once at barely any penalty, thanks to the magic of natural attacks. I was playing with Manticore Belt a little while back in a non-gestalt build and with a little effort-- and a familiar-- I managed to rack up something like 182d6 damage/round, before Splitting. Rock out with Landshark Boots or Girallon Arms and enjoy the carnage.

[stanprollyright]

Bard//Paladin is the classic one. A summoning-focused druid or necromancer cleric could be awesome too, to spread those buffs around. Or favored soul has the cha synergy. Crusader for cha-synergy and White Raven maneuvers.

A Zhentarim Fighter on AoO lockdown mode would be rather elegant: your regular feats for bard stuff and fighter feats for melee, your actions for buffing/debuffing/casting while still doing damage with AoOs, and with good reach you can cast spells on the front lines without worry. The Fighter side is very dip-friendly too, so you can grab some Crusader and/or Paladin levels.

[Theodred theOld]

Bard//Paladin is the classic one. A summoning-focused druid or necromancer cleric could be awesome too, to spread those buffs around. Or favored soul has the cha synergy. Crusader for cha-synergy and White Raven maneuvers.

A Zhentarim Fighter on AoO lockdown mode would be rather elegant: your regular feats for bard stuff and fighter feats for melee, your actions for buffing/debuffing/casting while still doing damage with AoOs, and with good reach you can cast spells on the front lines without worry. The Fighter side is very dip-friendly too, so you can grab some Crusader and/or Paladin levels.
I do like the improved economy of use AoO for lock down tripping while spellcasting but it's almost to much with DFI and all the rest going on. I figure on wilder for both the CHA synergy and simplicity of use. As a psionic noob, having a few powers to use alot sounds better than all the powers to sift through and choose. Also I should mention that most bard spells I will use will be cast prior to combat, leaving actions available for telekinetic maneuvers and face punching.

[dspeyer]

I'll agree that psion beats wilder here. If you're melee focused, you don't need high save dcs, and if you run out of power points you can just use arcane spells or violence.

Having some actual melee in the build would be good though.

I propose psion (egoist) 8 / crusader 3 with Practiced Manifester. You get 4th level powers, but you can augment them to 6th level equivalent. You also get 4th level maneuvers. And since you start crusader with 3rd levels, you get to pack it with good stuff.

[Ellowryn]

I propose going full Crusader. 10d's for HD, full BaB, and the wonderful Song of the White Raven feat so you can use your bardic music as a swift action. Grab a bunch of White Raven and Devoted Spirit and go toe to toe with CODzilla's in melee.

[Âmesang]

I'm probably the only one who'll suggest barbarian/bard. Not the most optimized, but damned if you won't be the most metal character…

[stanprollyright]

Bard 9/Jade Phoenix Mage 1/Sublime Chord 2/Jade Phoenix Mage +8//Anything 8/Crusader 1/Seeker of the Song 10/Anything +1