Malapterus
2017-12-18, 01:07 AM
The purpose of this thread is to chat about concepts and theory of the ever-popular warrior/caster class concept. Is it worth it? Is it fun? Is it overpowered? For the purpose of this discussion let us assume a gestalt build. I'll talk about some basic ideas; feel free to add your own.
Fighter/Sorcerer
This is the obvious choice to the wide-eyed Gish virgin. Throw a fireball one turn, swing a sword the next; who could ask for more? Hell, perhaps you could throw a fireball and swing a sword on the SAME TURN!- if, Sorcerers were not entirely banned from the use of Quickened Spells. You can kick this build up a notch with spell-storing items and funky wand feats, but this build lacks something vital to a good Gestalt; synergy.
Fighter and Sorcerer do not work together. Nothing they have overlaps; Sorcerers don't need Strength, Fighters don't need Charisma. Outside armor, they do not work against each other, but your attribute points will be spread thin & you'll be losing valuable Sorcerer spell knowledge to make up for what Sorcerer takes from Fighter.
Don't do this. Bad!
Off-Hand Arcanist
Fighter (Armored Mage)/Sorcerer (Metamagic Specialist)
-unarmed strike, twf, bastard sword
Alternate Class Features really improve this build. Armored Mage sacrifices medium & heavy armors you'll never be able to use anyway and gives you light armor, which includes the Mithral Breastplate - arguably the best non-magical armor in the game. Don't forget your Mithral Buckler; every character should have one!
Metamagic Specialist will lose your familiar - a liability in this case, honestly - in exchange for being able to use Metamagic effectively. You'll even be able to Quickened Spell, which will really escalate your potential at higher levels.
Invest a few feats in this build - you'll want Improved Unarmed Strike, Exotic Weapon Proficiency: Bastard Sword, & Two-Weapon Fighting right off the bat. You'll probably want to be a Human for this.
Don't let the Two-Weapon Fighting throw you off; this is a primary Strength build. The Bastard Sword lets you two-hand grip it from the benefits of such when you're not casting, and switch it to a functional & powerful one-hander when you need to cast something.
When casting a touch spell, you can punch someone instead of using a touch attack. Improved Unarmed Strike gives you the ability to do this with some damage on top to carry your high Strength score along with your Shocking Grasp. It also opens you up for a lot of pretty cool Feats, if that's the route you want to take.
Now you won't be climbing the whole TWF tree - we're stopping at the first feat. Two-Weapon fighting kicks in early against crowds of mooks. When you're fighting a lot of little guys and your Str bonus alone is up to the job, you can toss a free punch each round to take out an extra enemy. Later on when you can Quicken spells, you can finally combo melee attacks with spellcasting. There are lots of spells you can use first to line up that sword swing, and there are lots of feats you can use so that sword swing will set up that spell. You'll have to pick which way you want to fight, due to limited feats and spells, but either way is a good trip.
Arcane Tactician
Monk, Duelist/Wizard
A drawback of Armored Mage is that is only applies to ONE spellcasting class, so you may not be able to prestige your caster, and you can't prestige your Fighter till level 8 or you screw yourself out of spells.
Cast actual armor aside with this Arcane Tactician build. Start out as a Monk and prestige to Duelist at level 10. This has a bit in common with the Off-Hand Arcanist, in that you'll be using your free hand to toss in touch attacks, but you get nice damage bonus & you don't need any if the feats that build requires.
Duelist has a precision bonus that requires no set-up, simply some rules. You have to have a piercing weapon, you cannot wear armor, and you cannot have anything in your other hand. You also cannot attack with a weapon in your other hand. The wording of the latter is important; it specifically states you cannot attack WITH A WEAPON, so your empty-handed unarmed strike is good to go. A Siangham meets the requirements for both Flurry of Blows & the Deulist's Precise Strike, do eventually when not using magic you can perforate the hell out of someone. This build will give you a bab of +16 at level 20, so that's 6* attacks per round each dealing 3d6 + Str, and you can enchant that. If someone takes away your ninja needle, you'll still be able to bare-hand with 1d10 punches; or since Duelist throws in all martial weapons, you can pick up whatever's available and be reasonably effective till you get your exotic pointy stick back.
Wizards have to prepare, but they can Quicken with no problem, so you can easily throw a pre-planned touch attack in with those 6 attacks.
Despite lacking armor usage, Armor Class is really where this picks up. Naked people add their full Dexterity to armor class; Dexterity works well with your ninja needle & adds to Reflex saves and Tumble checks and ranged touch attacks. Monks add Wisdom to Armor Class, and Wisdom is good for Will saves - vital in caster-v-caster. The Duelist layers on top of this, adding up to 10 points of Int to your AC, and I need not tell you why this build needs Int. I'll still tell you; Wizard casting & skill points. Forgot about the skill points, didn't you?
On top of this, Duelist is an extremely mobile and defensive class. Combine Acrobatic Charge with the Monk speed bonus and you can get this extremely flexible character wherever they need to be on the field. They also get +4 to avoiding Attacks of Opportunity, and up to a +10 Dodge bonus when fighting defensively. Add in the skill points and you can have a massive Tumble bonus. Not enough? Abjuration!
The Arcane Tactician build will make you a swift, untouchable, flanking, face-stabbing, battle-casting machine.
The weaknesses of this build? You’re particularly vulnerable to being caught Flat-Footed, so boost those perception skills. You can’t have your Mithral Buckler. Also, it kicks in kind of late in the game. There’s something else, but I done forgot.
*You get 6 attacks because Flurry of Blows is still based on BaB, and you’d be throwing 16/16/16/11/6/1.
Bardbarian
Barbarian/Bard
The number one benefit of this build is that it is fun to say, and that’s a level 1 benefit! Beyond that, it may seem like a silly sort of build, but it’s actually got potential.
Bard spells may not be the best, but they’re still Spontaneous. You can’t cast them in your Rage, but you can use any Bard song that doesn’t require Concentration (with the primal beauty of your savage outburst as your performance). Bard also gives you some stuff to do when you’re not Raging, giving you a tactical advantage as you can be useful before throwing that Rage in.
After your Rage, the builds gets even better. Elation is a reasonably cheap spell that will counter the post-rage Fatigue. What’s better? ‘Rage’ is a bard spell that tosses you back into your Rage state! This is a godsend (arcane nature aside) in long encounters where your Rage will wear off, and saves you the extra Rage feat.
Bard spells also add a lot of flexibility to the all-to-often one-trick-pony that is the Barbarian. Also, if I was your DM, and this is not a guaranteed thing, I’d let you use swap out Perform with Intimidate (for appropriate effects) with your bardic suggestion ability. Some other DMs might charge you a feat for this, which is not a problem.
The second best part? Barbarian Bardic Knowledge. Roleplaying fun abounds when the shirtless brute who breaks walls with his head knows more about things than the Wizard.
The Barbarian side adds more than just Rage; the class features top help avoid traps and beat Will saves are great, and the DR lets you take a little more in the way of risks.
A great feature of this build is that it has no reliance on feats, so you can customize the hell out of it. Rage feats, Metamagic feats, combat feats, any combination, or whatever you want! You don’t get a lot of feats, but you’re not locked into anything.
Bonus Points: see if your DM will let you research a ‘Mass Rage’ spell.
Fanatic
Barbarian/Cleric
Spells to remove Fatigue, buff spells, extra rage feats
-start out by casting mass buffs that benefit you as well as the party, then fly into an empowered rage when the time is right!
This is a fun build so long as you can maneuver around the Nonlawful restriction. Ckerics are already good in a fight compared to other casters and the Barbarian BAB is just gravy on top of that. The proper Domains, such as Strength and Destruction, really enhance this build. Cleric saves & Barbarian Will Save bonuses with Uncanny Dodge can turn this berserker into a siege weapon, able to simply not concern himself with the ramifications of his actions.
Like the Barbdarian, the Fanatic can cast spells to remove his Fatigued condition post-rage. Since it’s not a feat-reliant build, you can get that Extra Rage feat, since the Rage spell is only available to Clerics in a few domains that you might not want. The ‘Wrath’ domain has it, though, and that domain seems appropriate for a Barbarian in some way I can’t put my finger on.
This really shines as a late-game build when you get into that wonderful spell prefix; Mass. Mass Bull’s Strength, Mass Shield of Faith. Mass Buffs hit your allies, which is beneficial to the party, but they also hit you. Instead of having to dive straight into your rage, you can start the encounter as a support character and wait for your moment to switch to front-line Rage fighter. By the time you do, you’ve collected enough buffs to overcome your inability to cast spells in Rage!
Once that rage wears off, instead of being a flaccid lump, you’re back to support character. You spend a couple terms healing and refreshing your buffs; a Mass Heal will shake off that Fatigue as well as restore your party! Then, via feat or spell, you’re back into Rage!
The Fanatic is a Gish build that never has to sacrifice fighting ability for spellcasting. It remains extremely flexible, and highly customizable through Domains and Feats. High saves & DR combined with the ability to rage multiple times in a long encounter and never, ever, run out of steam makes the Fanatic build a powerful addition to any party. It lacks the flash most people want out of a Gish, but if you’re into function, teamwork, and bloody zealotry, it can be a lot of fun.
Feral Sorcerer
Ranger/Sorcerer
Feat: Improved Familiar to make your animal companion your familiar
Feat: Natural Bond
Spell: Spellslayer Arrow
Feat: Smiting Spell
Spells to enhance your rangery dealings
With the advent of expansion books, the Ranger is already pretty Gishy. Once you can start making those Ranger spells do damage or give you a combat advantage, you’re already a fighter/caster. These non-core Ranger spells also have the advantage that, unlike clerics and druids, Wizards don’t tend to have spells to replicate the effects of Ranger spells. Hunter’s Mercy and Sniper’s Shot are great little pocket magic, though the latter doesn’t do this build much good.
For the Feral Sorcerer build you’re going to eschew a lot of the big evocation effects in favor of utility spells; spells that echo the usefulness and class-enhancement of traditional Ranger spells but do so at the level of a full arcane caster. Fly, Dimension Door, Greater Invisibility, True Strike, Magic Weapon, Summon Swarm, Displacement, Shadow Conjuration, True Seeing, Transformation, Control Weather, Ethereal Jaunt, Antipathy, Sympathy, Screen, Iron Body, Freedom, Gate, Dominate Monster, Shapechange – and those are just from skimming the core spells.
Do leave room for some attack spells, though, because you’ll be picking up the Smiting Spell feat. It lets you put a spell into your arrow, and the spell goes off where the arrow hits. Say goodbye to ‘close range’ or ‘touch’ and hello to 1,000+ feet no problem (You picked up True Strike, right?). Load that bad boy up with a Bestow Curse and even if the target makes his save, he’s still got an arrow in his chest.
Back to Ranger spells, take a look at Spellslayer Arrow from Champions of Ruin. It punishes your enemies for their buffs, and technically also for any debuffs your party has thrown on them. Pairs well with Curse of Ill Fortune, since that is temporary and counts as an ongoing spell.
Moving right along here, let’s talk about that animal companion! The Improved Familiar feat is pretty open, and states you can make your familiar pretty much anything within the basic guidelines set forth. If you go with a basic animal companion, it won’t be long before ‘wolf’ or ‘eagle’ meet the criteria, and now your animal companion is also your familiar. This is putting a lot of eggs in one basket, but your bestial buddy now has the benefits of both. Your animal companion can deliver a Touch attack through its bite or claw, and with a little tactical planning your wolf could flank for you, bite your enemy, light him up with a Shocking Grasp, then trip him – all in one turn – and then you bring an easy attack down on his Prone self. Drop a feat on Natural Bond to get your animal companion up to snuff. Keep in mind, as well, that since you’re not trading Wolfy McChompers (Or Eagly McTalons or Camiel McHumps) in for a rhino or something, he’ll be picking up a lot of his own Feats and you can really build him to suit your needs.
Summoned Beastmaster
Ranger (Planar Ranger)/Wizard (Conjuration specialist or conjurer)
Use ability to cast animal spells on celestial/fiendish creatures to buff creatures called by Summon Monster
There’s an ACF for Ranger called the Planar Ranger (Go Go Planar Rangers!). Planar Rangers are a bit more concerned with the realms above and below than the forests most Rangers roll around in. The differences are subtle, and primarily revolve around what they can treat as an ‘animal’. Normally, any animal with the ‘celestial’ or ‘fiendish’ template ceases to be an Animal and becomes a Magical beast. This exempts them from the animal buff spells known to Rangers and Druids. The Planar Ranger specifically ignores this and allows the Ranger to cast Enrage Animal on a Fiendish Octopus just like he can on all the other octopi he meets on a day to day basis.
Another benefit is you can slap the Celestial of Fiendish template on your animal companion. You can go for the Improved Familiar/Natural Bond bit listed in the Feral Sorcerer, but this build is not so much about the animal companion so you can just as easily not. Feel free to save up your Jr Druid Cadet points and cash them in for that Celestial Elephant your parents would never get for you.
The animals you’re concerned about are the animals you will be summoning to your aid via Summon Monster. Call them in and buff the hell out of them with things like Animal Growth and metamagic feats (a Maximized Summon Monster should summon the monsters with max HP, no?) and since you still treat them as animals, your Ranger instincts will guide them true.
You’ll most likely be going with a Conjuration specialist, but Abjuration could work well here as well. You could even pick-and-choose at the Conjurer ACF options. I also think there’s a spell out there somewhere that lets you make summoned creatures explode, but I don’t think a Ranger would be up for that.
Fury of Nature
Barbarian/Druid
Barbarian Rage + Wild Shape for the win.
Spells: Aspect of the Wolf, Animal Growth - research other 'aspect' animals
Magic item enhancer that keeps your gear functional in ani-mode (DM approval on aspect of the wolf)
Healy spells to cure fatigued condition
Extra Rage feat
Do you want to play the worst possible smelling character that cannot be taken anywhere? This Fury of Nature build is for you! Barbarians and Druids synergize well enough on their own, together you can combine their abilities to turn into feral beasts to turn into something really monstrous. It’s as easy as Wild Shape + Rage! Much like the Fanatic build above, you can spend some time buffing yourself before Raging. The lack of armor is not a problem as neither class really uses it and you get the DR from Barbarian and Natural Armor from whatever you turn into. Both classes have nature-based abilities and low expenses compared to other classes. Also, like other Gish-Barbarians, you have stuff to get you back on your feet after a Rage expires.
There’s one spell that really ties it together, though – Aspect of the Wolf. Aspect of the Wolf works a lot like Wild Shape, with the difference being that it changes your type to Animal and thus makes you a target for Animal-only spells. The Natural Spell feat should let you cast spells in this form, unless your DM is a complete ****. You then cast Animal Growth on yourself before going into a Rage and your Strength and Con go through the roof as you pick up magical protections and enhanced reach.
As a fun bonus, if your animal companion is within 5 feet, the Animal Growth affects them as well for free! They have to keep pretty close, but you still get to be two giant wolves with magic fangs and fur. The Enrage Animal spell will also throw both you and your companion into a free Rage, keeping your normal use per day for other purposes while getting a berserker buddy.
Your DM should allow you to research other Aspect spells based on the base list of Druid companions; these should be easy to write and pre-balanced so it should be no problem to add them to your game. If you do, and your animal companion is close by, it’ll turn into whatever you turn into & you can still fight side by side.
This build allows for some pretty high Ability scores across the board. Your Strength comes from rages, animal shapes, and spells, so you don’t actually have to have very much on your regular body. The same goes for Dexterity – you might need it for some spells, but the full BaB you get from Barbarian not only gives you more attacks as a beast, but makes up for a wimpy Dex for your touch attacks. Pile on Con and mental stats, get those skill points jacked up.
The Fury of Nature build can go back and forth between competent support caster & devastating front-line fighter faster than most enemies can adapt to.
Sneaky Sorcerer
Rogue/Sorcerer
You suffer a little for BaB here, but the Sneak Attack damage and defensive abilities of the Rogue more than make up for it. Ray of Frost allows you to deliver your Sneak Attack damage at 30 feet, as a touch attack, with just a level 0 spell. Greater Invisibility lets you just go to town on an enemy and get your Sneak Attack damage every strike! Much like the Feral Sorcerer, the Sneaky Sorcerer can benefit from spells that move you around; it also benefits well from illusions and enchantments. RaW, a Sorcerer can learn any spell, so when you pick up a scroll of Sniper’s Shot and learn it, you’ll be dealing Sneak Attack damage from any distance you can reach. Headshot! Honestly, this build pretty much writes itself.
Your animal companion is a Raven. Don’t bother getting anything else. The raven can fly and it can stealth, but it can also speak Common[/], making it an invaluable asset. It can listen in on conversations and actually comprehend what it hears, and it can also deliver messages to your allies without any added magical expenditure.
This build gets out of hand when you pick up Arcane Trickster. Now, as a DM, I would rule that you can’t level up side-by-side as both a Rogue and an Arcane Trickster and get Sneak Attack damage from both. I’ve seen it allowed and it is way too powerful. That said, Arcane trickster gets you full Sneak Attack damage AND full Sorcerer casting for the price of half your build. Maybe you can start leveling your other half as a Fighter to improve your BAB and get a bunch of feats; or maybe your DM would let you switch to Feat Rogue and get Feats instead of Sneak Attack from the Rogue side. Maybe you’ll just keep Sorcerer and get double the high-level spells. Maybe you can go with Druid or Ranger and turn that raven into your animal companion so it doesn’t suffer from the one thing you lose from bailing on Sorcerer. Really, you have 10 levels of doing whatever you want with so there’s lots of room for a late-game evolution.
The Sneaky Sorcerer really shines in caster v caster battles. You can hide or go invisible so that the enemy caster can’t get a line of sight, and then ignore his area of effect spells with Evasion. There is a feat or two flopping around out there that make it impossible to tell where your spells are being cast from; definitely pick one up. When it’s your turn, cast [i]Crossbow Bolt to the Throat; he’ll find that one difficult to counterspell.
Hammer of the Gods
Fighter (Dungeon Crasher)/Cleric
This one is pretty similar to the Barbarian/Cleric in many respects, but it replaces the back-and-forth fighter/healer with a more steady all-purpose violent party member. Dungeon Crasher takes away two feats as you level up and replaces them with an ability & an improved version of that ability. It allows you to do more damage to objects, which is always fun, but it also lets you shove someone into a wall for heavy damage. 4d6, then 8d6; it’s like the melee version of Manyshot.
For this you’d want strength and protection spells, perhaps from the Strength and Protection domains, to boost your physical power & to protect your neck that you’ll be spending a lot of time sticking out. Be sure to pick up some Wall spells so you can shape the battlefield to your choosing & have something to shove people into. You’ll need to take Improved Bull Rush, of course, and there are some nice feats to add damage and other effects to that. For extra fun, trap your enemy in a Forcecage with yourself and smash him into the walls until he is dead – cut off from his allies and escape routes.
Since you can damage objects, pick up Improved Sunder & an adamantine weapon. You’ll be stripping enemies of their gear & reshaping the battlefield; no one will ever have a terrain advantage against your party & none of your enemies will know what hit them.
True Templar
Favored Soul/Cleric
Despite the degree of overlap, this lets the character dive headlong into battle and offers great flexibility of their casting.
Feats: Stuff to let you cast your domain spells more times per day
Items: Spell storing
Favored Soul and Cleric overlap a lot. Favored Souls exclusively learn spells that all Clerics automatically know, and don’t get any domains. They do get some weird bonuses, and they pick up a good Reflex save, DR, & energy resistance. Also, they get wings & a weapon proficiency.
What to do with this build is to pick your most used & favorite Cleric spells for your Favored Soul list. This way you’ll always have them, and can prepare more exotic things each day from the rest of massive Cleric list. Your best protections & buffs go on your Favored Soul list, and you can already spontaneously cast Heal spells, so your flexibility is through the roof as a support caster. You can armor up and fight pretty well, or skin down and zip around the battlefield. I’m not sure this really counts as a proper Gish build, and there’s a lot of overlap between the two classes, but you can really make Das Ubercleric & still be battle savvy with this combo.
Templar Warrior
Fighter/Favored Soul
While it may be attractive that you can do full casting in full armor, this is a combo to be avoided. The only synergy between these classes is a free Weapon Focus & Weapon Specialization feat, and two feats are hardly a concern for a Fighter gestalt. Sure, you can don full plate & go out and cast all day, but there is a problem: your spells are garbage. The non-Domain Cleric list pales in comparison to the Sor/Wiz list. You’ll end up as a slightly stronger and much more complicated Cleric with severely reduced spellcasting ability. Stay away from this combo.
Templar Knight
Paladin/Favored Soul
This is a bit better. Paladin & Favored Soul do a lot of the same things, but don’t share much at all in the way of class features. Paladins and Favored Souls both benefit from a high Charisma. You’ll get your full Bab & all three good Saves. The Favored Soul’s spell options do things that a Paladin is expected to do, so while they suffer at enhancing a Fighter’s combat abilities, they greatly enhance a function of the Paladin.
Aside from that, these two don’t really harmonize like some of the above pairings do. There aren’t any features that really resound off each other. The Templar Knight is still a good combo, though, and I’d recommend it for the player whose character is the party leader, or second-in-command.
Devotee of Trogdor
Dragon Shaman/Warmage
Horrific evocation specialist
Non-Core classes! The Dragon Shaman is a non-casting class whose primary feature is ‘Auras’, which are emanations that give the party bonuses. It fills a Bard-like role in that respect, though the effects are more interesting in my opinion. For example, you can set up an energy backlash so that anyone who attacks you or your ally gets zapped for some reciprocal damage.
You also are slowly turning into a dragon, in a similar but superior way to Dragon Disciple. You get a breath weapon that scales up as you level, and is a ‘once every 1d4 rounds’, which opens you up for Metabreath feats. Eventually you get natural armor, claws, and wings.
The Warmage is a battle-ready spontaneous combat caster. The caveat here is that, with a small exception, you do not get to pick your spell list. The spell list is set for you and it’s 95% blasty smashy with some stuff like Dispel Magic & Stinking Cloud thrown in.
Since you’ve taken this class, Evocation is clearly what you want to do. You can stretch out your spells-per-day by interspersing that breath weapon in, and your casting becomes flexible as the Warmage class also offers some free metamagic-like effects. Save your feats for Metabreath & be sure to learn the Dragon Breath spell when you’re allowed to do so at level 11.
At level 20 you’ll be an armored, flying, combat ready warrior raining down all types of energy. The biggest problem, here, besides the commitment to evocation, is the 3/4ths BaB you’re stuck with.
So, there are some ideas from me! I'd like to hear what you all think of them, and I'd to hear what Fighter/Caster class combos you all know of or can come up with.
How do you guys feel about the Gish as a whole? Is it a waste of time, or spread too thin amongst other Gestalt characters? Is it too much? Would you play one in a Gestalt game, or would you rather double-up on one skillset?
Have fun!
Fighter/Sorcerer
This is the obvious choice to the wide-eyed Gish virgin. Throw a fireball one turn, swing a sword the next; who could ask for more? Hell, perhaps you could throw a fireball and swing a sword on the SAME TURN!- if, Sorcerers were not entirely banned from the use of Quickened Spells. You can kick this build up a notch with spell-storing items and funky wand feats, but this build lacks something vital to a good Gestalt; synergy.
Fighter and Sorcerer do not work together. Nothing they have overlaps; Sorcerers don't need Strength, Fighters don't need Charisma. Outside armor, they do not work against each other, but your attribute points will be spread thin & you'll be losing valuable Sorcerer spell knowledge to make up for what Sorcerer takes from Fighter.
Don't do this. Bad!
Off-Hand Arcanist
Fighter (Armored Mage)/Sorcerer (Metamagic Specialist)
-unarmed strike, twf, bastard sword
Alternate Class Features really improve this build. Armored Mage sacrifices medium & heavy armors you'll never be able to use anyway and gives you light armor, which includes the Mithral Breastplate - arguably the best non-magical armor in the game. Don't forget your Mithral Buckler; every character should have one!
Metamagic Specialist will lose your familiar - a liability in this case, honestly - in exchange for being able to use Metamagic effectively. You'll even be able to Quickened Spell, which will really escalate your potential at higher levels.
Invest a few feats in this build - you'll want Improved Unarmed Strike, Exotic Weapon Proficiency: Bastard Sword, & Two-Weapon Fighting right off the bat. You'll probably want to be a Human for this.
Don't let the Two-Weapon Fighting throw you off; this is a primary Strength build. The Bastard Sword lets you two-hand grip it from the benefits of such when you're not casting, and switch it to a functional & powerful one-hander when you need to cast something.
When casting a touch spell, you can punch someone instead of using a touch attack. Improved Unarmed Strike gives you the ability to do this with some damage on top to carry your high Strength score along with your Shocking Grasp. It also opens you up for a lot of pretty cool Feats, if that's the route you want to take.
Now you won't be climbing the whole TWF tree - we're stopping at the first feat. Two-Weapon fighting kicks in early against crowds of mooks. When you're fighting a lot of little guys and your Str bonus alone is up to the job, you can toss a free punch each round to take out an extra enemy. Later on when you can Quicken spells, you can finally combo melee attacks with spellcasting. There are lots of spells you can use first to line up that sword swing, and there are lots of feats you can use so that sword swing will set up that spell. You'll have to pick which way you want to fight, due to limited feats and spells, but either way is a good trip.
Arcane Tactician
Monk, Duelist/Wizard
A drawback of Armored Mage is that is only applies to ONE spellcasting class, so you may not be able to prestige your caster, and you can't prestige your Fighter till level 8 or you screw yourself out of spells.
Cast actual armor aside with this Arcane Tactician build. Start out as a Monk and prestige to Duelist at level 10. This has a bit in common with the Off-Hand Arcanist, in that you'll be using your free hand to toss in touch attacks, but you get nice damage bonus & you don't need any if the feats that build requires.
Duelist has a precision bonus that requires no set-up, simply some rules. You have to have a piercing weapon, you cannot wear armor, and you cannot have anything in your other hand. You also cannot attack with a weapon in your other hand. The wording of the latter is important; it specifically states you cannot attack WITH A WEAPON, so your empty-handed unarmed strike is good to go. A Siangham meets the requirements for both Flurry of Blows & the Deulist's Precise Strike, do eventually when not using magic you can perforate the hell out of someone. This build will give you a bab of +16 at level 20, so that's 6* attacks per round each dealing 3d6 + Str, and you can enchant that. If someone takes away your ninja needle, you'll still be able to bare-hand with 1d10 punches; or since Duelist throws in all martial weapons, you can pick up whatever's available and be reasonably effective till you get your exotic pointy stick back.
Wizards have to prepare, but they can Quicken with no problem, so you can easily throw a pre-planned touch attack in with those 6 attacks.
Despite lacking armor usage, Armor Class is really where this picks up. Naked people add their full Dexterity to armor class; Dexterity works well with your ninja needle & adds to Reflex saves and Tumble checks and ranged touch attacks. Monks add Wisdom to Armor Class, and Wisdom is good for Will saves - vital in caster-v-caster. The Duelist layers on top of this, adding up to 10 points of Int to your AC, and I need not tell you why this build needs Int. I'll still tell you; Wizard casting & skill points. Forgot about the skill points, didn't you?
On top of this, Duelist is an extremely mobile and defensive class. Combine Acrobatic Charge with the Monk speed bonus and you can get this extremely flexible character wherever they need to be on the field. They also get +4 to avoiding Attacks of Opportunity, and up to a +10 Dodge bonus when fighting defensively. Add in the skill points and you can have a massive Tumble bonus. Not enough? Abjuration!
The Arcane Tactician build will make you a swift, untouchable, flanking, face-stabbing, battle-casting machine.
The weaknesses of this build? You’re particularly vulnerable to being caught Flat-Footed, so boost those perception skills. You can’t have your Mithral Buckler. Also, it kicks in kind of late in the game. There’s something else, but I done forgot.
*You get 6 attacks because Flurry of Blows is still based on BaB, and you’d be throwing 16/16/16/11/6/1.
Bardbarian
Barbarian/Bard
The number one benefit of this build is that it is fun to say, and that’s a level 1 benefit! Beyond that, it may seem like a silly sort of build, but it’s actually got potential.
Bard spells may not be the best, but they’re still Spontaneous. You can’t cast them in your Rage, but you can use any Bard song that doesn’t require Concentration (with the primal beauty of your savage outburst as your performance). Bard also gives you some stuff to do when you’re not Raging, giving you a tactical advantage as you can be useful before throwing that Rage in.
After your Rage, the builds gets even better. Elation is a reasonably cheap spell that will counter the post-rage Fatigue. What’s better? ‘Rage’ is a bard spell that tosses you back into your Rage state! This is a godsend (arcane nature aside) in long encounters where your Rage will wear off, and saves you the extra Rage feat.
Bard spells also add a lot of flexibility to the all-to-often one-trick-pony that is the Barbarian. Also, if I was your DM, and this is not a guaranteed thing, I’d let you use swap out Perform with Intimidate (for appropriate effects) with your bardic suggestion ability. Some other DMs might charge you a feat for this, which is not a problem.
The second best part? Barbarian Bardic Knowledge. Roleplaying fun abounds when the shirtless brute who breaks walls with his head knows more about things than the Wizard.
The Barbarian side adds more than just Rage; the class features top help avoid traps and beat Will saves are great, and the DR lets you take a little more in the way of risks.
A great feature of this build is that it has no reliance on feats, so you can customize the hell out of it. Rage feats, Metamagic feats, combat feats, any combination, or whatever you want! You don’t get a lot of feats, but you’re not locked into anything.
Bonus Points: see if your DM will let you research a ‘Mass Rage’ spell.
Fanatic
Barbarian/Cleric
Spells to remove Fatigue, buff spells, extra rage feats
-start out by casting mass buffs that benefit you as well as the party, then fly into an empowered rage when the time is right!
This is a fun build so long as you can maneuver around the Nonlawful restriction. Ckerics are already good in a fight compared to other casters and the Barbarian BAB is just gravy on top of that. The proper Domains, such as Strength and Destruction, really enhance this build. Cleric saves & Barbarian Will Save bonuses with Uncanny Dodge can turn this berserker into a siege weapon, able to simply not concern himself with the ramifications of his actions.
Like the Barbdarian, the Fanatic can cast spells to remove his Fatigued condition post-rage. Since it’s not a feat-reliant build, you can get that Extra Rage feat, since the Rage spell is only available to Clerics in a few domains that you might not want. The ‘Wrath’ domain has it, though, and that domain seems appropriate for a Barbarian in some way I can’t put my finger on.
This really shines as a late-game build when you get into that wonderful spell prefix; Mass. Mass Bull’s Strength, Mass Shield of Faith. Mass Buffs hit your allies, which is beneficial to the party, but they also hit you. Instead of having to dive straight into your rage, you can start the encounter as a support character and wait for your moment to switch to front-line Rage fighter. By the time you do, you’ve collected enough buffs to overcome your inability to cast spells in Rage!
Once that rage wears off, instead of being a flaccid lump, you’re back to support character. You spend a couple terms healing and refreshing your buffs; a Mass Heal will shake off that Fatigue as well as restore your party! Then, via feat or spell, you’re back into Rage!
The Fanatic is a Gish build that never has to sacrifice fighting ability for spellcasting. It remains extremely flexible, and highly customizable through Domains and Feats. High saves & DR combined with the ability to rage multiple times in a long encounter and never, ever, run out of steam makes the Fanatic build a powerful addition to any party. It lacks the flash most people want out of a Gish, but if you’re into function, teamwork, and bloody zealotry, it can be a lot of fun.
Feral Sorcerer
Ranger/Sorcerer
Feat: Improved Familiar to make your animal companion your familiar
Feat: Natural Bond
Spell: Spellslayer Arrow
Feat: Smiting Spell
Spells to enhance your rangery dealings
With the advent of expansion books, the Ranger is already pretty Gishy. Once you can start making those Ranger spells do damage or give you a combat advantage, you’re already a fighter/caster. These non-core Ranger spells also have the advantage that, unlike clerics and druids, Wizards don’t tend to have spells to replicate the effects of Ranger spells. Hunter’s Mercy and Sniper’s Shot are great little pocket magic, though the latter doesn’t do this build much good.
For the Feral Sorcerer build you’re going to eschew a lot of the big evocation effects in favor of utility spells; spells that echo the usefulness and class-enhancement of traditional Ranger spells but do so at the level of a full arcane caster. Fly, Dimension Door, Greater Invisibility, True Strike, Magic Weapon, Summon Swarm, Displacement, Shadow Conjuration, True Seeing, Transformation, Control Weather, Ethereal Jaunt, Antipathy, Sympathy, Screen, Iron Body, Freedom, Gate, Dominate Monster, Shapechange – and those are just from skimming the core spells.
Do leave room for some attack spells, though, because you’ll be picking up the Smiting Spell feat. It lets you put a spell into your arrow, and the spell goes off where the arrow hits. Say goodbye to ‘close range’ or ‘touch’ and hello to 1,000+ feet no problem (You picked up True Strike, right?). Load that bad boy up with a Bestow Curse and even if the target makes his save, he’s still got an arrow in his chest.
Back to Ranger spells, take a look at Spellslayer Arrow from Champions of Ruin. It punishes your enemies for their buffs, and technically also for any debuffs your party has thrown on them. Pairs well with Curse of Ill Fortune, since that is temporary and counts as an ongoing spell.
Moving right along here, let’s talk about that animal companion! The Improved Familiar feat is pretty open, and states you can make your familiar pretty much anything within the basic guidelines set forth. If you go with a basic animal companion, it won’t be long before ‘wolf’ or ‘eagle’ meet the criteria, and now your animal companion is also your familiar. This is putting a lot of eggs in one basket, but your bestial buddy now has the benefits of both. Your animal companion can deliver a Touch attack through its bite or claw, and with a little tactical planning your wolf could flank for you, bite your enemy, light him up with a Shocking Grasp, then trip him – all in one turn – and then you bring an easy attack down on his Prone self. Drop a feat on Natural Bond to get your animal companion up to snuff. Keep in mind, as well, that since you’re not trading Wolfy McChompers (Or Eagly McTalons or Camiel McHumps) in for a rhino or something, he’ll be picking up a lot of his own Feats and you can really build him to suit your needs.
Summoned Beastmaster
Ranger (Planar Ranger)/Wizard (Conjuration specialist or conjurer)
Use ability to cast animal spells on celestial/fiendish creatures to buff creatures called by Summon Monster
There’s an ACF for Ranger called the Planar Ranger (Go Go Planar Rangers!). Planar Rangers are a bit more concerned with the realms above and below than the forests most Rangers roll around in. The differences are subtle, and primarily revolve around what they can treat as an ‘animal’. Normally, any animal with the ‘celestial’ or ‘fiendish’ template ceases to be an Animal and becomes a Magical beast. This exempts them from the animal buff spells known to Rangers and Druids. The Planar Ranger specifically ignores this and allows the Ranger to cast Enrage Animal on a Fiendish Octopus just like he can on all the other octopi he meets on a day to day basis.
Another benefit is you can slap the Celestial of Fiendish template on your animal companion. You can go for the Improved Familiar/Natural Bond bit listed in the Feral Sorcerer, but this build is not so much about the animal companion so you can just as easily not. Feel free to save up your Jr Druid Cadet points and cash them in for that Celestial Elephant your parents would never get for you.
The animals you’re concerned about are the animals you will be summoning to your aid via Summon Monster. Call them in and buff the hell out of them with things like Animal Growth and metamagic feats (a Maximized Summon Monster should summon the monsters with max HP, no?) and since you still treat them as animals, your Ranger instincts will guide them true.
You’ll most likely be going with a Conjuration specialist, but Abjuration could work well here as well. You could even pick-and-choose at the Conjurer ACF options. I also think there’s a spell out there somewhere that lets you make summoned creatures explode, but I don’t think a Ranger would be up for that.
Fury of Nature
Barbarian/Druid
Barbarian Rage + Wild Shape for the win.
Spells: Aspect of the Wolf, Animal Growth - research other 'aspect' animals
Magic item enhancer that keeps your gear functional in ani-mode (DM approval on aspect of the wolf)
Healy spells to cure fatigued condition
Extra Rage feat
Do you want to play the worst possible smelling character that cannot be taken anywhere? This Fury of Nature build is for you! Barbarians and Druids synergize well enough on their own, together you can combine their abilities to turn into feral beasts to turn into something really monstrous. It’s as easy as Wild Shape + Rage! Much like the Fanatic build above, you can spend some time buffing yourself before Raging. The lack of armor is not a problem as neither class really uses it and you get the DR from Barbarian and Natural Armor from whatever you turn into. Both classes have nature-based abilities and low expenses compared to other classes. Also, like other Gish-Barbarians, you have stuff to get you back on your feet after a Rage expires.
There’s one spell that really ties it together, though – Aspect of the Wolf. Aspect of the Wolf works a lot like Wild Shape, with the difference being that it changes your type to Animal and thus makes you a target for Animal-only spells. The Natural Spell feat should let you cast spells in this form, unless your DM is a complete ****. You then cast Animal Growth on yourself before going into a Rage and your Strength and Con go through the roof as you pick up magical protections and enhanced reach.
As a fun bonus, if your animal companion is within 5 feet, the Animal Growth affects them as well for free! They have to keep pretty close, but you still get to be two giant wolves with magic fangs and fur. The Enrage Animal spell will also throw both you and your companion into a free Rage, keeping your normal use per day for other purposes while getting a berserker buddy.
Your DM should allow you to research other Aspect spells based on the base list of Druid companions; these should be easy to write and pre-balanced so it should be no problem to add them to your game. If you do, and your animal companion is close by, it’ll turn into whatever you turn into & you can still fight side by side.
This build allows for some pretty high Ability scores across the board. Your Strength comes from rages, animal shapes, and spells, so you don’t actually have to have very much on your regular body. The same goes for Dexterity – you might need it for some spells, but the full BaB you get from Barbarian not only gives you more attacks as a beast, but makes up for a wimpy Dex for your touch attacks. Pile on Con and mental stats, get those skill points jacked up.
The Fury of Nature build can go back and forth between competent support caster & devastating front-line fighter faster than most enemies can adapt to.
Sneaky Sorcerer
Rogue/Sorcerer
You suffer a little for BaB here, but the Sneak Attack damage and defensive abilities of the Rogue more than make up for it. Ray of Frost allows you to deliver your Sneak Attack damage at 30 feet, as a touch attack, with just a level 0 spell. Greater Invisibility lets you just go to town on an enemy and get your Sneak Attack damage every strike! Much like the Feral Sorcerer, the Sneaky Sorcerer can benefit from spells that move you around; it also benefits well from illusions and enchantments. RaW, a Sorcerer can learn any spell, so when you pick up a scroll of Sniper’s Shot and learn it, you’ll be dealing Sneak Attack damage from any distance you can reach. Headshot! Honestly, this build pretty much writes itself.
Your animal companion is a Raven. Don’t bother getting anything else. The raven can fly and it can stealth, but it can also speak Common[/], making it an invaluable asset. It can listen in on conversations and actually comprehend what it hears, and it can also deliver messages to your allies without any added magical expenditure.
This build gets out of hand when you pick up Arcane Trickster. Now, as a DM, I would rule that you can’t level up side-by-side as both a Rogue and an Arcane Trickster and get Sneak Attack damage from both. I’ve seen it allowed and it is way too powerful. That said, Arcane trickster gets you full Sneak Attack damage AND full Sorcerer casting for the price of half your build. Maybe you can start leveling your other half as a Fighter to improve your BAB and get a bunch of feats; or maybe your DM would let you switch to Feat Rogue and get Feats instead of Sneak Attack from the Rogue side. Maybe you’ll just keep Sorcerer and get double the high-level spells. Maybe you can go with Druid or Ranger and turn that raven into your animal companion so it doesn’t suffer from the one thing you lose from bailing on Sorcerer. Really, you have 10 levels of doing whatever you want with so there’s lots of room for a late-game evolution.
The Sneaky Sorcerer really shines in caster v caster battles. You can hide or go invisible so that the enemy caster can’t get a line of sight, and then ignore his area of effect spells with Evasion. There is a feat or two flopping around out there that make it impossible to tell where your spells are being cast from; definitely pick one up. When it’s your turn, cast [i]Crossbow Bolt to the Throat; he’ll find that one difficult to counterspell.
Hammer of the Gods
Fighter (Dungeon Crasher)/Cleric
This one is pretty similar to the Barbarian/Cleric in many respects, but it replaces the back-and-forth fighter/healer with a more steady all-purpose violent party member. Dungeon Crasher takes away two feats as you level up and replaces them with an ability & an improved version of that ability. It allows you to do more damage to objects, which is always fun, but it also lets you shove someone into a wall for heavy damage. 4d6, then 8d6; it’s like the melee version of Manyshot.
For this you’d want strength and protection spells, perhaps from the Strength and Protection domains, to boost your physical power & to protect your neck that you’ll be spending a lot of time sticking out. Be sure to pick up some Wall spells so you can shape the battlefield to your choosing & have something to shove people into. You’ll need to take Improved Bull Rush, of course, and there are some nice feats to add damage and other effects to that. For extra fun, trap your enemy in a Forcecage with yourself and smash him into the walls until he is dead – cut off from his allies and escape routes.
Since you can damage objects, pick up Improved Sunder & an adamantine weapon. You’ll be stripping enemies of their gear & reshaping the battlefield; no one will ever have a terrain advantage against your party & none of your enemies will know what hit them.
True Templar
Favored Soul/Cleric
Despite the degree of overlap, this lets the character dive headlong into battle and offers great flexibility of their casting.
Feats: Stuff to let you cast your domain spells more times per day
Items: Spell storing
Favored Soul and Cleric overlap a lot. Favored Souls exclusively learn spells that all Clerics automatically know, and don’t get any domains. They do get some weird bonuses, and they pick up a good Reflex save, DR, & energy resistance. Also, they get wings & a weapon proficiency.
What to do with this build is to pick your most used & favorite Cleric spells for your Favored Soul list. This way you’ll always have them, and can prepare more exotic things each day from the rest of massive Cleric list. Your best protections & buffs go on your Favored Soul list, and you can already spontaneously cast Heal spells, so your flexibility is through the roof as a support caster. You can armor up and fight pretty well, or skin down and zip around the battlefield. I’m not sure this really counts as a proper Gish build, and there’s a lot of overlap between the two classes, but you can really make Das Ubercleric & still be battle savvy with this combo.
Templar Warrior
Fighter/Favored Soul
While it may be attractive that you can do full casting in full armor, this is a combo to be avoided. The only synergy between these classes is a free Weapon Focus & Weapon Specialization feat, and two feats are hardly a concern for a Fighter gestalt. Sure, you can don full plate & go out and cast all day, but there is a problem: your spells are garbage. The non-Domain Cleric list pales in comparison to the Sor/Wiz list. You’ll end up as a slightly stronger and much more complicated Cleric with severely reduced spellcasting ability. Stay away from this combo.
Templar Knight
Paladin/Favored Soul
This is a bit better. Paladin & Favored Soul do a lot of the same things, but don’t share much at all in the way of class features. Paladins and Favored Souls both benefit from a high Charisma. You’ll get your full Bab & all three good Saves. The Favored Soul’s spell options do things that a Paladin is expected to do, so while they suffer at enhancing a Fighter’s combat abilities, they greatly enhance a function of the Paladin.
Aside from that, these two don’t really harmonize like some of the above pairings do. There aren’t any features that really resound off each other. The Templar Knight is still a good combo, though, and I’d recommend it for the player whose character is the party leader, or second-in-command.
Devotee of Trogdor
Dragon Shaman/Warmage
Horrific evocation specialist
Non-Core classes! The Dragon Shaman is a non-casting class whose primary feature is ‘Auras’, which are emanations that give the party bonuses. It fills a Bard-like role in that respect, though the effects are more interesting in my opinion. For example, you can set up an energy backlash so that anyone who attacks you or your ally gets zapped for some reciprocal damage.
You also are slowly turning into a dragon, in a similar but superior way to Dragon Disciple. You get a breath weapon that scales up as you level, and is a ‘once every 1d4 rounds’, which opens you up for Metabreath feats. Eventually you get natural armor, claws, and wings.
The Warmage is a battle-ready spontaneous combat caster. The caveat here is that, with a small exception, you do not get to pick your spell list. The spell list is set for you and it’s 95% blasty smashy with some stuff like Dispel Magic & Stinking Cloud thrown in.
Since you’ve taken this class, Evocation is clearly what you want to do. You can stretch out your spells-per-day by interspersing that breath weapon in, and your casting becomes flexible as the Warmage class also offers some free metamagic-like effects. Save your feats for Metabreath & be sure to learn the Dragon Breath spell when you’re allowed to do so at level 11.
At level 20 you’ll be an armored, flying, combat ready warrior raining down all types of energy. The biggest problem, here, besides the commitment to evocation, is the 3/4ths BaB you’re stuck with.
So, there are some ideas from me! I'd like to hear what you all think of them, and I'd to hear what Fighter/Caster class combos you all know of or can come up with.
How do you guys feel about the Gish as a whole? Is it a waste of time, or spread too thin amongst other Gestalt characters? Is it too much? Would you play one in a Gestalt game, or would you rather double-up on one skillset?
Have fun!