Looking for pathfinder gestalt suggestions

[molten_dragon]

I'm playing in a pathfinder gestalt game coming up, and I'm trying to figure out what to play. I know I want to go slayer or unchained rogue for one half of the build. Any suggestions on what would go well with those two classes? I was thinking possibly sorcerer or oracle, but I'm open to other stuff too.

[TheTeaMustFlow]

Almost anything could work with those two classes. Both are good as 'passive classes' (see here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?239352-Darth-Stabber-s-handy-gestalt-handbook-under-construction)), so mixing them with a full caster seems like a good bet. For example, a Slayer/Oracle will have d10hp, good BAB, all good saves and 6+int skill points, close to the best chassis conceivable. Plus, you know, full casting and all those Slayer goodies. to

It would be useful to know, if possible, what other characters you'll be playing with, what books are allowed, and more info on what kind of character you're interested in playing.

[AvatarVecna]

I'm playing in a pathfinder gestalt game coming up, and I'm trying to figure out what to play. I know I want to go slayer or unchained rogue for one half of the build. Any suggestions on what would go well with those two classes? I was thinking possibly sorcerer or oracle, but I'm open to other stuff too.

Due to it being the part you're decided on, I'm assuming Slayer or Rogue is the role focus of the build, rather than something you're using to supplement the chassis of a caster character. Getting a caster class on the other side should work out well for you if you stick to stuff that doesn't require a saving throw (like buffing, summoning, BFC), but if you're wanting to blast or debuff, your Slayer or Rogue side is gonna suffer.

If you go Unchained Rogue, you'll have Medium BAB and bad Fort/Will. Picking up Oracle or Sorcerer and taking a mystery/bloodline more geared towards combat could do you some serious good, as would picking up a class that gives full BAB; of those classes, which one suits you depends on what you're going for.

Barbarian//Rogue could be interesting with the right combo of abilities (combine a normal pouncebarian with a pile of natural attacks with SA damage, for example), the D12 HD, good Fort, and Will bonus during a Rage will keep you going, and DR is always nice. Downsides: Rage usually makes you decidedly Str focused which might not be what you wanted for your Rogue, Rage generally keeps you from using a number of skills that you might want available in combat as a Rogue for various reasons, and you'll wanna switch out Improved Uncanny Dodge from one of the classes for something else or it's wasted.

Fighter//Rogue gives D10 HD, good Fort, and Full BAB, but the big draw of course is the feats. It's possible you'll find an archetype or two that fits the fighting style you want, though, so that would be good. As far as cheese goes, there's a neat little gestalt trick I found awhile back: take Lore Warden (combining it with another archetype if possible) on a Fighter//Rogue gestalt does lovely things for your Skill Points. Lore Warden gives the fighter an extra 4 skill points per level, but only for Int skills; the trick is that this isn't a change to its base skill points per level, but rather is a class feature. If you're going Fighter//Rogue, you're probably pretty focused on Combat rather than trapfinding (for example), so I would suggest putting those points into monster knowledge skills and then taking Knowledge as an Unchained Skill for a Pathfinder version of 3.5's Knowledge Devotion.

Paladin//Rogue is a fantastic chassis combo (D10 HD, all good saves, 8 skill points per level, full BAB, Sneak Attack + Smite, etc), but if it interests you, you'll wanna make sure your DM isn't a giant ******* about the Paladin oath; I've had DMs who think SA is too dishonorable for a Paladin to employ without falling.

Ranger//Rogue and Slayer//Rogue probably come out pretty similarly, although I'd probably recommend the latter unless you think you'll be able to get good use out of your Favored Enemy choices. Of course, Ranger has casting, and Slayer has more SA, so hmm...up to you, should be pretty similar either way.

Gunslinger//Rogue is a very skilled gunman who's unbelievably deadly in close range. If you're wanting less trick shots and more DPR, you might be better off going Trench Fighter//Rogue...and I think Trench Fighter can be combined with Lore Warden for the trick mentioned above. Still, if you want Trick Shots, much easier to get them via Gunslinger.

Slayer has full BAB, d10 HD, good Fort/Ref, 6 skill points per level, slow SA, and psuedo-Favored Enemy. Biggest chassis issue you have is a Bad Will save, so you probably wanna pick up a casting class. Oracle or Sorcerer could be good, particularly if geared towards battle, while an Int-based caster (Wizard, Witch, or Arcanist) could make it easier to get lots of skill points on top of lots of spells and combat. Since you were thinking of a couple spontaneous casters, I'll assume that's more what you're wanting and suggest Arcanist from those three (although it's not quite a real spontaneous caster, it's still pretty nice). If you go with a caster, though, you're gonna want to stick to stuff that doesn't require saves (buffing, summoning, some BFC) rather than those that do (blasting/debuffing) unless your casting stat has enough synergy with your combat stuff to make it worth pumping up high (like Wisdom). For this reason, Cleric, Druid, or Warpriest could be good for you, although I can understand why they might not be desirable.

[molten_dragon]

It would be useful to know, if possible, what other characters you'll be playing with, what books are allowed, and more info on what kind of character you're interested in playing.

I have no idea what the other players will be playing. We've just started discussing character builds. No book restrictions were mentioned, but I'll probably stick to official Paizo content. Given that it's a high-powered gestalt game, I realize I'll probably need to put some kind of caster on the other half of the build to keep up. But I'm playing an Arcanist, and the party's only arcane caster, in another campaign, so I'd prefer a more passive caster (i.e buff up before combat, and heal up after), with slayer or rogue being the primary focus of the build.

[molten_dragon]

Due to it being the part you're decided on, I'm assuming Slayer or Rogue is the role focus of the build, rather than something you're using to supplement the chassis of a caster character. Getting a caster class on the other side should work out well for you if you stick to stuff that doesn't require a saving throw (like buffing, summoning, BFC), but if you're wanting to blast or debuff, your Slayer or Rogue side is gonna suffer.

Slayer has full BAB, d10 HD, good Fort/Ref, 6 skill points per level, slow SA, and psuedo-Favored Enemy. Biggest chassis issue you have is a Bad Will save, so you probably wanna pick up a casting class. Oracle or Sorcerer could be good, particularly if geared towards battle, while an Int-based caster (Wizard, Witch, or Arcanist) could make it easier to get lots of skill points on top of lots of spells and combat. Since you were thinking of a couple spontaneous casters, I'll assume that's more what you're wanting and suggest Arcanist from those three (although it's not quite a real spontaneous caster, it's still pretty nice). If you go with a caster, though, you're gonna want to stick to stuff that doesn't require saves (buffing, summoning, some BFC) rather than those that do (blasting/debuffing) unless your casting stat has enough synergy with your combat stuff to make it worth pumping up high (like Wisdom). For this reason, Cleric, Druid, or Warpriest could be good for you, although I can understand why they might not be desirable.

Yes, I'd prefer the rogue or slayer part of the build to be the primary focus. Given that this will be a pretty high-powered game I understand the need for a caster class, but I'd prefer not to play an "active" caster as I mentioned above.

Your mention of Druid intrigues me. A slayer / druid seems like a cool concept and synergizes fairly well. I'm thinking of focusing the druid side on buffing and wild shape, plus an animal companion would make flanking for SA easier. On the slayer side I'm thinking I'd focus on the natural weapon ranger combat style.

The main thing I'm wondering is whether I'm giving up damage potential by not going the TWF route, since natural attacks don't benefit from iteratives.

[Psyren]

I would go with Psychic on the other side. This makes your spellcasting silent, which is very useful for a sneak. You can focus on learning buffs and other passive spells if you want the rogue half to be the primary driver.

If Psychic is too much magic I'd consider Occultist, Alchemist or Investigator.

[Grod_The_Giant]

Investigator//Slayer would be pretty fun, I think. Amazing skills and plenty of combat punch to boot.

[CharonsHelper]

If you want to mostly keep up without casting much, going Halfling with Unchained Rogue with Paladin would be pretty awesome. (so long as your GM doesn't go crazy limiting a Paladin from stealth etc.)

All high saves (with extra +1 from Halfling) and CHA to all of them, full BAB, SA etc. With that high CHA you could go with a Feinting build to get SA nearly every round. Either go for Two Weapon Feint or work your way up to Moonlight Stalker Feint.

If you want a class with SA & stealth without Slayer/Urogue specifically, consider going Unchained Monk - Monk of the Mantis archetype combined with Sorcerer. I forget if you can mix Monk of the Mantis with Scaled Fist (Scaled Fist alters the bonus feats while Mantis trades them for SA) but if you can't you could take the Sorcerer bloodline which casts with Wisdom.

You would get all high saves, full BAB, flurry, SA, d10HD, crazy high AC (monk with sorcerer buffs - even just Mage Armor without needing a buddy is nice), and full arcane casting (without being more MAD than a monk normally is). Really - in terms of gesalt power, it's hard to beat the mix of Umonk & Sorcerer.

[AvatarVecna]

If you want to mostly keep up without casting much, going Halfling with Unchained Rogue with Paladin would be pretty awesome. (so long as your GM doesn't go crazy limiting a Paladin from stealth etc.)

All high saves (with extra +1 from Halfling) and CHA to all of them, full BAB, SA etc. With that high CHA you could go with a Feinting build to get SA nearly every round. Either go for Two Weapon Feint or work your way up to Moonlight Stalker Feint.

If you want a class with SA & stealth without Slayer/Urogue specifically, consider going Unchained Monk - Monk of the Mantis archetype combined with Sorcerer. I forget if you can mix Monk of the Mantis with Scaled Fist (Scaled Fist alters the bonus feats while Mantis trades them for SA) but if you can't you could take the Sorcerer bloodline which casts with Wisdom.

You would get all high saves, full BAB, flurry, SA, d10HD, crazy high AC (monk with sorcerer buffs - even just Mage Armor without needing a buddy is nice), and full arcane casting (without being more MAD than a monk normally is). Really - in terms of gesalt power, it's hard to beat the mix of Umonk & Sorcerer.

I imagine Monk can combine well with divine casters like Cleric and Druid, too, although that may be getting a bit further from what the OP's wanting to do, depending.

[BearonVonMu]

If your game is low on the point buy scale (or you just have some rubbish rolls), Unchained Rogue//Synthesist Summoner might be a nice combo, freeing you to use your good rolls or point buy mostly for the mental stats.
If you have good rolls or a generous point buy, Unchained Rogue//Aegis might be better, as it brings a full BAB, free armor, and some neat goodies to the build.

[CharonsHelper]

I imagine Monk can combine well with divine casters like Cleric and Druid, too, although that may be getting a bit further from what the OP's wanting to do, depending.

It does okay mixed with them - but it gains less. Arcane casting is just more powerful than divine.

Normally the main advantages a cleric has over a sorcerer are HD (Umonk has better), armor/shield (Umonk can't wear), high Fort save (Umonk already has), BAB (Umonk has better) and weapon prof (Umonk has better).

Now - the combination would still be very potent, but the sorcerer just gains more from the Umonk than a cleric or druid do from a pure power-game perspective.

Though - isn't there a way for a druid to get a few dice of SA? While not MAX POWER, mixing that with Monk of the Mantis might fit what the OP's going for better.

[molten_dragon]

I would go with Psychic on the other side. This makes your spellcasting silent, which is very useful for a sneak. You can focus on learning buffs and other passive spells if you want the rogue half to be the primary driver.

If Psychic is too much magic I'd consider Occultist, Alchemist or Investigator.

Slayer / Psychic looks pretty interesting. That might be slightly simpler than dealing with all of the form changing that slayer / druid would require.

[molten_dragon]

If your game is low on the point buy scale (or you just have some rubbish rolls), Unchained Rogue//Synthesist Summoner might be a nice combo, freeing you to use your good rolls or point buy mostly for the mental stats.
If you have good rolls or a generous point buy, Unchained Rogue//Aegis might be better, as it brings a full BAB, free armor, and some neat goodies to the build.

We're using a fixed stat array. 18 18 16 16 14 12, and can lower one score by 4 to increase another by 2.

[Psyren]

Investigator//Slayer would be pretty fun, I think. Amazing skills and plenty of combat punch to boot.

Not to mention all good saves and d10 HD. And Sneak Attack stacks with Studied Combat/Strike. Me likey :smallsmile: