So my character just died...

[Kerrigor]

I am playing a gestalt game, 3.x with a bunch of friends.
While piloting our magical flying tower through Toril (as one does), the party was somehow planeshifted to another plane. My character, Barbarian that he was, charged into battle, and was killed. Well, imprisoned hundreds of feet below the surface by a spell that can only be countered by a 9th level spell, but same difference. The point is that I need a new character.
We have:
1 samurai || paladin
1 bard || cleric/paladin
1 wizard || warcaster
1 druid || sorcerer
1 Uber psionic...thing. Soulknife and something else psionic
1 scout || Favored Soul/Holy Liberator
1 sorcerer || fighter
1 rogue || fighter/ Slayer of Domiel

I was a barbarian / druid, but I'm starting from scratch. I was asked to be a front line fighter or a caster by the group. I don't want psionics. Please don't suggest that.
So. Generation details.

13 free skill points
Can speak Draconic, Elven, Dwarven, 1 free feat
Ability scores are:
17
16
16
16
14
13
I will be joining at level 8.
Questions and/or thoughts?

[Vossler]

I'd go fighter/ stalwart battle sorcerer you would pick buffing spells
Str:16
Dex: 16
Con:17 (+1 levels)
Int: either 2
Wis: either 2
Cha: 16 (+1 levels)
Spells like wraithstrike would be useful also able to wear mithral chain mail or breast plate and ignore spell failure

[Florian]

With those score and 3.P? Human, put the +2 into WIS, either Unchained Monk//Warpriest or Fighter//Warpriest - with a double-weapon, quite fun on a warpriest ;) (Zon-Kuthon, spiked chain and Kython Style for extra funsies - Pain Taster/Umbral Court Emissary can make great tanks, just with out that you stay LN)

[Hackulator]

Go paladin/sorcerer maybe? You'd be a caster AND a front liner if you wanted, with some backup healing thrown in. The only downside is bad skills. There are so many characters with so many classes each I wouldn't even worry about overlap.

[the_david]

Make a Paladin 8 //Ranger 7 + 1 level dip in Beastmaster. Give him Natural Bond and Devoted Tracker from Complete Adventurer. Your mount now has 6 extra hit dice from your druid levels. Grab the DMG and look for the best mount you can find on page 204. You might want to look into that feat from the Draconomicon that gives you a dragon as a mount.

In all seriousness: You're playing a gestalt game in a group of 9 players with incredible stats. Play whatever you want, I don't think it'll matter much.

[Esprit15]

In all seriousness: You're playing a gestalt game in a group of 9 players with incredible stats. Play whatever you want, I don't think it'll matter much.

Pretty much this. If you really want to be a front liner, try a Crusader/Swordsage, take Jontunbrud as a bonus feat (or just be a goliath), and grab a spiked chain of a guisarme. Very few things will get past you. Focus on Devoted Spirit maneuvers from Crusader (healing, drawing aggro, and Thicket of Blades stance) and Setting Sun maneuvers from Swordsage (tripping, throwing, hilarity ensuing). You could even go Master of Nine later on and get the ability that allows you to be in two stances at once for a few rounds a day. You'll need some Monk to probably make the feat requirements, though. Plus between those two you'll have all good saves and full attack bonus, and a pretty happy bonus to AC if your WIS is good.

Actually, now I want to build this.

[rel]

action economy is often the biggest limiting factor on your power level in gestalt. If you go the caster route play a wizard and consider making one side of the gestalt a factotum.

At level 8 you get access to cunning surge which lets you trade 3 inspiration points for extra standard actions.

Build the other half as a standard wizard (given your stat array and party size you don't need to go crazy there) and put any spare feats into the font of inspiration feat for scaling bonuses inspiration points.

As an example lets say you go with a human factotum 8 / wizard 8 and put 3 feats into font of inspiration giving you 5 (base) + 1 (feat) + 2 (feat) + 3 (feat) = 11 points of inspiration every encounter.

Ignoring anything else factotum gives you, you are now a wizard that can generate 3 extra standard actions every single fight.

[Melcar]

I am playing a gestalt game, 3.x with a bunch of friends.
While piloting our magical flying tower through Toril (as one does), the party was somehow planeshifted to another plane. My character, Barbarian that he was, charged into battle, and was killed. Well, imprisoned hundreds of feet below the surface by a spell that can only be countered by a 9th level spell, but same difference. The point is that I need a new character.
We have:
1 samurai || paladin
1 bard || cleric/paladin
1 wizard || warcaster
1 druid || sorcerer
1 Uber psionic...thing. Soulknife and something else psionic
1 scout || Favored Soul/Holy Liberator
1 sorcerer || fighter
1 rogue || fighter/ Slayer of Domiel

I was a barbarian / druid, but I'm starting from scratch. I was asked to be a front line fighter or a caster by the group. I don't want psionics. Please don't suggest that.
So. Generation details.

13 free skill points
Can speak Draconic, Elven, Dwarven, 1 free feat
Ability scores are:
17
16
16
16
14
13
I will be joining at level 8.
Questions and/or thoughts?

Why not go full druid summoner, with augment summoning and Greenbound summoning feats. Also get the feat so you can cast spells in animal form and then just go to town. I personally dont know much about gestalt so, but full druid summoner is great

[Vizzerdrix]

Dwarven Unarmed swordsage// commoner-1 factotum.

Grab the weresheep flaw so everything wants to eat you, then pummel them.

[Celestia]

Go hairy spider warlock//rogue/shadowdancer. Hide in the pocket of a party member and sneak attack with eldritch blast.

[Vizzerdrix]

Go hairy spider warlock//rogue/shadowdancer. Hide in the pocket of a party member and sneak attack with eldritch blast.

Wouldnt he also need the celestial template to gain an int score?

[Sian]

yeah ... Some type of caster (ideally with Int as primary stat) paired with Factorum seems very good ... You do also seem a bit light on the debuffing side so ...

Beguiler || Factorum ??

[Elkad]

Go hairy spider warlock//rogue/shadowdancer. Hide in the pocket of a party member and sneak attack with eldritch blast.

This.
The wacky ideas are exactly what I'd be doing in a party that big.
You can afford to be "broken" and do something fun instead.

Buff your familiar to high heaven and stand around doing nothing yourself (even better if you can just stay in your recliner in the tower).
Put a big template/race on one side like a Centaur or a Vampire.
Or whatever other crazy idea you've ever wanted to try.

[Celestia]

Wouldnt he also need the celestial template to gain an int score?
They're playing a gestalt game. I'm sure the DM would be fine just fiating standard intelligence onto it. A hairy spider roguelock is nothing compared to what he could do.

[Bonzai]

Is Dragon Magazine allowed? Flaws? If so, here is an off the wall suggestion. Go hexblade! Take unseelie fey to get a debuff aura equal to your Charisma. Add in your dark companion alternate Class feature, bind vestige plus improved bind vestige for Focalor. That's a flat out walk around -4 + cha to saves around you. Normally I would add 3 levels of black guard for an additional -2 aura and adding your charisma to your own saves, however the paladin's may object. On top of that you would have your greater hexblade curse for an additional-4. You can take the dreadful wrath, brutal strike, and netherese battle curse for an additional-2 each. All total you can debuff -14 + your cha mod to somethings saves, or just a -4 plus charisma just by standing next to them, your still a full BAB fighter, and now you have super charged the parties casters, allowing spells to land with impunity.

But that's just my suggestion and I do wierd things.

[Vizzerdrix]

Im digging that build, bonzai. I wonder if it has room for pally of freedom-2 and battledancer-1 for more cha use. Hmm...

[Rebel7284]

The standard advise I see when going gestalt is "Wizard, Warblade, Factotum: chose two." This is especially true at level 8 when Factotums get Cunning Surge. Even if it's ruled that Cunning Surge is only usable once per round, extra actions are still great.

How does LA or HD interact with Gestalt in your game? Might be a good chance to pay a rarely seen and fun race. I like Anthropomorphic Baleen Whale.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

Warforged
Crusader 5/ Binder 1/ Hellreaver 2+// Cloistered Cleric 8+

Str 18 (17+1), Dex 13, Con 18 (16+2), Int 14, Wis 15 (16-2+1), Cha 14 (16-2)

Trade your Knowledge domain for Knowledge Devotion, and put at least one rank in every Knowledge skill that identifies a creature type. Your domains should be Wrath and Travel (chasing down those who have wronged you). Get the spontaneous domain casting ACF in PH2 for Wrath. Trade the Wrath domain's power for Divine Restoration in Dungeonscape.

Feats should be Adamantine Body, Stone Power, Extra Granted Maneuver, and Travel Devotion. Use your natural slam attack which adds 1.5x Str to damage with a heavy shield. Always bind Naberius.

If you can use traits, take Quick (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/buildingCharacters/characterTraits.htm#quick).

Keep in mind that your Adamantine Body feat does not cause you to be slowed down due to armor or encumbrance, it just permanently changes your base land speed, so you can still use skills like Tumble with that. You should also trade Ride for Tumble as a class skill (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20070228a).

Get a Lesser Metamagic Rod of Extend to use with Longstrider and Magic Vestment twice, every day. A Cleric doesn't even need to rest to regain spells, you just get them back when you pray at the right time every day. Try to get all of the Necessary Magic Item effects (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?187851-3-5-Lists-of-Necessary-Magic-Items) that you don't already get from spells, domains, and natural immunities.

Put a Wand Chamber on your shield and put a Wand of Rhino's Rush in it. I think there are a bunch of Warforged body upgrades and one can hold wands, but I don't have all the Eberron books. Per the Rules Compendium a wand takes the same type of action to activate as the spell it contains, so the Wand of Rhino's Rush is a swift action to use. Activate that before using Battle Leader's Charge or similar.

Your maneuvers and stances that heal you don't have a reduced effect on you for being Warforged, nor do the heals you get from Hellreaver. I would have Iron Guard's Glare, Martial Spirit, Crusader Strike, Stone Bones, Charging Minotaur, Douse the Flames, Shield Block, Battle Leader's Charge, and Revitalizing Strike as maneuvers and stances known at this level. You'll want to ready Crusader Strike, Revitalizing Strike, Shield Block, Battle Leader's Charge, and any one other maneuver. At the start of an encounter you'll have three of those five maneuvers granted, the second and third round you'll be granted the other two, and on the fourth round it starts over with three of the five granted, so every round you should have a useful one available.

You'll want to get five levels of Hellreaver, then keep taking Crusader after that, and stick with Cloistered Cleric on the other side of the build. Put your level-up points into Wisdom and try to get a high Enhancement bonus item for it. Future feats can include Shield Specialization and Shield Ward, or maybe start taking Combat Form feats from PH2. Remember that with the spontaneous domain casting ACF you can prepare Cure spells in your domain slots, and you can spontaneously cast (Lesser, Greater) Restoration with the Divine Restoration ACF.

At Hellreaver 5 you can take 2 Con damage to regain all of your holy fury, and since you're binding Naberius you'll just heal that up in two rounds. Between your strikes that heal when they hit, the swift action heals from Hellreaver, and the ability to cast healing spells, plus temporary hp from Stone Power and your delayed damage pool and DR, your character should be extremely durable. Cast Greater Resistance in SC every day, it lasts 24 hours and gives you +3 to all your saving throws.

[ayvango]

Cleric going into Bone Knight as front liner (took warforged and air domains to turn wide range of targets) and spell thief to cover skills.

Bone knight gives you bunch of undead immunities, Cleric has spell resistance, Spell Thief can absorb spells, so you could fight at the front with confidence. Also, your entire party are spellcasters, so they have bunch of spells and too little actions to cast them. So you could borrow some spells and cast them on your turn. Stealing enemies energy resistance could also help.

[Goaty14]

Personally speaking; I would go Fighter || Wildshape Ranger/Master of Many Forms
Maybe change fighter to a spell caster for the more extensive versatility, or barbarian for more hit points

Benefits:
Fighter brings you better hit points, and the famed bonus feats
WS Ranger brings skills, favored enemy (you're on the plane of fire, are you staying there?), and a single, not-so-good animal companion
MoMF brings the main front line role you're looking for, I'm also sure there is a handbook somewhere for this PrC

[ATHATH]

Be a Catoblepas on one side. It only costs 6 ECL and lets you be a pig-thing with an absurdly long neck that can shoot friggin' laser beams of death. You'll need to put something high into INT in order to be sapient, though- maybe you're fighting for Catoblepas rights and/or "leading" a herd of "normal" Catoblepases?

Alternatively, just have a really long Savage Progression on one side. How does being an angelic Paladin sound?

Also, just curious- WHY don't you like/want Psionics?

[Quertus]

My character, Barbarian that he was, charged into battle, and was killed.

I was a barbarian / druid, but I'm starting from scratch. I was asked to be a front line fighter or a caster by the group.

Well, for front line + caster, I'd start with Druid, except you just played a Druid, and downplayed that half of the build.

So, I guess I'd second the Paladin | Sorcerer plan. Take as much Charisma to everything add possible. Perhaps combine it with as much of the save penalties build as possible?

[Hackulator]

Well, for front line + caster, I'd start with Druid, except you just played a Druid, and downplayed that half of the build.

So, I guess I'd second the Paladin | Sorcerer plan. Take as much Charisma to everything add possible. Perhaps combine it with as much of the save penalties build as possible?

Take a battledancer dip on your paladin side to get charisma to AC.

[nintendoh]

Warforged
Crusader 5/ Binder 1/ Hellreaver 2+// Cloistered Cleric 8+

Str 18 (17+1), Dex 13, Con 18 (16+2), Int 14, Wis 15 (16-2+1), Cha 14 (16-2)



Not a bad plan... Try Warforged artificer dusk blade. If you have down time that could end epic. How would you feel about playing a warframe character?