Gestalt halfway through the game

[xkroku]

Hello

I'm currently DMing a high-power campaing, and my players are about to complete one of the bigger quests. Whn I was thinking about the reward, I thought about how fun it would be to give them something gestalt like.

I mean, lets say they absorb some kind of power and poof, you're gestalt now.

Is this possible to give them the opportunity to become gestalt characters halfway through the game? Something like a "half-gestalt"? So when they take let's say, their 11th level they can take 2 classes like in gestalt, so by level 20 they'll be [xxx] 20//[xxx] 10.

Is this a good idea? Or a possible one?

There are 2 players, each is level 10

[ExLibrisMortis]

Totally possible, pretty straightforward, pretty powerful. Not a bad idea, in and of itself, but be aware of what you're getting into!

[xkroku]

Totally possible, pretty straightforward, pretty powerful. Not a bad idea, in and of itself, but be aware of what you're getting into!

Yeah, I know what being a gestalt character means, and being an even slighty optimized gestalt character can substitute an entire party

But there are only two of them, and only one knows anything about optimization. And them being gestalt would only mean that I can raise the monsters CR a bit, so no problem here i think. And this kind of half-gestalt isn't as powerful as a full gestalt

[martixy]

Yeah, I know what being a gestalt character means, and being an even slighty optimized gestalt character can substitute an entire party

But there are only two of them, and only one knows anything about optimization. And them being gestalt would only mean that I can raise the monsters CR a bit, so no problem here i think. And this kind of half-gestalt isn't as powerful as a full gestalt

Well... that's stretching it. Quite a lot actually. The unique thing parties have is the action advantage. That's worth a lot more than class features by themselves.

[Mike Miller]

Action economy is still limited by having two PCs but adding the gestalt should be a solid addition.

I would add it depends on your campaign if it is a good idea but definitely possible.

[Grod_The_Giant]

I might have them go full gestalt just for simplicity, but yeah, totally doable. A neat way to do a power jump or training sequence, methinks.

[martixy]

I might have them go full gestalt just for simplicity, but yeah, totally doable. A neat way to do a power jump or training sequence, methinks.

Don't forget the obligatory training montage (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27F46WPVJBs).

Though personally I'm a fan of the "transformative event". I just have an easier time swallowing the Superpower Lottery (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SuperpowerLottery) than the Training from Hell (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TrainingFromHell) explanation.

[Nifft]

Sounds like an awesome reward for high-level characters.

Hell, you could even use it as a combo reward and breathing room for yourself.

Something like: "Yeah, you guys are now gestalt, but your EXTRA SOUL doesn't have much XP yet. So you'll gain XP at +100%, but only your EXTRA SOUL (gestalt other side) will gain levels, until the two halves are even."

Now they're very rapidly gaining power, which is fun, but their higher-level side is not advancing for several sessions -- and they're eased into the whole gestalt thing, creating their other side organically.

[Dr_Dinosaur]

As a fun, lower power alternative to regular gestalt, consider Prestige Class gestalt. Give them the features of a PrC they qualify for without losing levels in their base classes!

[Mike Miller]

As a fun, lower power alternative to regular gestalt, consider Prestige Class gestalt. Give them the features of a PrC they qualify for without losing levels in their base classes!

That is an interesting idea. It will reduce the amount the character changes, since the PrC will likely be more similar to their original class than some other base class.

[Fouredged Sword]

I like the idea of allowing gestalt levels past a plot point as a cool story function.

I warn that doing anything retroactive should be treated carefully. I have seen groups disband over "Ok, now everyone rebuild their characters!"

[xkroku]

Sounds like an awesome reward for high-level characters.

Hell, you could even use it as a combo reward and breathing room for yourself.

Something like: "Yeah, you guys are now gestalt, but your EXTRA SOUL doesn't have much XP yet. So you'll gain XP at +100%, but only your EXTRA SOUL (gestalt other side) will gain levels, until the two halves are even."

Now they're very rapidly gaining power, which is fun, but their higher-level side is not advancing for several sessions -- and they're eased into the whole gestalt thing, creating their other side organically.

I REALLY love the idea. This will be very fun, and it will solve my other problem (i sort of had to keep them below level 13 for a while :p)



As a fun, lower power alternative to regular gestalt, consider Prestige Class gestalt. Give them the features of a PrC they qualify for without losing levels in their base classes!

I think it's a good idea, but one my players are like Fighter 2/Sorcerer 1/Warblade 1/Crusader 1/(modified) Dragon Disciple 5 and Psion 5/Crystal Master 4/Anarchic Initiate 1 so I would rather to give them freedom to pick their second side



I like the idea of allowing gestalt levels past a plot point as a cool story function.

I warn that doing anything retroactive should be treated carefully. I have seen groups disband over "Ok, now everyone rebuild their characters!"

Yeah, I'm worried about it a bit too, because the Psion guy is the last person that will rebuild his character (he's a bit veeeery lazy). On the other hand I suspect that the gish guy will be very happy :smallsmile:

[TallerSpine]

I REALLY love the idea. This will be very fun, and it will solve my other problem (i sort of had to keep them below level 13 for a while :p)




I think it's a good idea, but one my players are like Fighter 2/Sorcerer 1/Warblade 1/Crusader 1/(modified) Dragon Disciple 5 and Psion 5/Crystal Master 4/Anarchic Initiate 1 so I would rather to give them freedom to pick their second side




Yeah, I'm worried about it a bit too, because the Psion guy is the last person that will rebuild his character (he's a bit veeeery lazy). On the other hand I suspect that the gish guy will be very happy :smallsmile:

Find a character sheet that handles all the gestalt calculations for you (it will make it MUCH easier). I am fond of TOS+, but there are plenty of options on that front.

[BearonVonMu]

Gestalt halfway through the game can work.
When we lost a couple players in a game a few months back, we used a plot device to gestalt the party with vanilla Fighter levels (it helps that everyone in the remaining party were 3/4 BAB d6 or d8 HD classes).
It made the remaining three players a little beefier, much more effective at combat when they wanted to be, and freed up feat slots to boot.
We went from sweating how the campaign was going to continue to being able to soldier on effectively, plus the simple class framework made the rebuilds easy.