Pathfinder/Dreamscarred Press Question

[PsionicFox]

Okay, so I'm soon to be playing in a high-level Gestalt game (18) where I'm planning on running an Investigator|Psion (Transmogrifist)/Metamorph. I'm looking for some guidance as to what I should make my sort of 'go to' metamorphosis manifestation/s, so I can save on downtime by having those stats calculated and on hand.

All DSP and Pathfinder stuff is on the cards, also any suggestions in regards to build would be appreciated. I'm not interested in being super op broken and min-maxed, I just want to pick the collective brains of the playground for some tips and guidance.

Thanks, and Season's Greetings!

[thecrimsondawn]

Okay, so I'm soon to be playing in a high-level Gestalt game (18) where I'm planning on running an Investigator|Psion (Transmogrifist)/Metamorph. I'm looking for some guidance as to what I should make my sort of 'go to' metamorphosis manifestation/s, so I can save on downtime by having those stats calculated and on hand.

All DSP and Pathfinder stuff is on the cards, also any suggestions in regards to build would be appreciated. I'm not interested in being super op broken and min-maxed, I just want to pick the collective brains of the playground for some tips and guidance.

Thanks, and Season's Greetings!

Well sadly my knowledge of the psionics system is very limited as I dont use it much, but I do have a lot of experience with Gestalt so I can give a tip or two for you to ponder over.

First, no matter what 2 classes you pick - any two, you will be ungodly strong. It does not matter how bad they mesh, gaining the class features of 2 classes is very strong - most of all using pathfinders systems. When making your gestalt, you have to ask yourself these questions

1) What is my theme/concept going to be?
Most gestalt builds involve picking a class you want to play as, and then a supplement class to go with, but some concepts require gestalt to truly function, or to get the most out of it - such as a 9th column caster with martial arts gish. Drop any ideas of being strong during building with gestalt, because you will be - one way or another. What matters is your concept that will be fun for you as a player to play

2) Do I focus on my strengths or my weaknesses?
When picking your supplement class, you have a hard decision to make. Do you want to focus more on what your class is good at, or do you want to make up for its weaknesses? A wizard is one of the most powerful classes in the game, but it has poor hit dice, fort saves, bab, and reflex saves, and a real lack of any combat feats. By mixing in a class such as barbarian, warder, or fighter, you end up with a class that is not stuck on the sidelines early game, has no real worries about being in melee anymore, and still packs enough late game damage to end encounters in the blink of an eye. On the other hand you could go wizard/druid as an example to double up on your casting, supplement your casting ability by being able to cast most wizard spells while in wild shape, and bring healing to the table.
Think long and hard about what type of hero it is you want to play and how you want them to play and feel as this will define how much you enjoy your creation.

3) What else do I need?
After you have the two classes down, you should jot all this on your sheet to see what class features you have, or will have, what things you can do, how much you can do it, and where you are lacking. While you have 2 classes, you only have 1 set of feats, so choosing them is very important. For psychic classes, recovering your focus is a big deal so making sure you can do it faster is mandatory. You could opt to focus more on that, maybe even looking into feats such as persistent focus depending on class features, or pick up some martial training feats to get a discipline and stance to copy the effects of something you want to do (such as sleeping goddess 1st level stance that allows you to fly at will). There are even other options such as Akashic veils, metapsionic feats, and so forth.



I dont know if this post will help you at all or not, but this is all I can offer with my limited knowledge of those 2 classes. I wish you the best in your game :)

[PsionicFox]

I certainly appreciate you taking the time to help me out!

The main thrust of the idea is that they are an investigator, and their shapeshifting helps them blend in pretty much anywhere. So we're probably saying she's an Investigator first, with her psionic powers supporting that. Given they let her modify her physical form, she can shore up her attributes as needed pretty much on the fly, which turns her into something of a Swiss Army knife. She can pull out the various Metamorph effects pretty much at-will, especially since she can make it permanent. And then her Investigator Extracts allow her to do more self-buffing.

So for the most part she buffs herself in whatever direction she needs to be buffed in, and goes from there.

And thank you again!

[thecrimsondawn]

I certainly appreciate you taking the time to help me out!

The main thrust of the idea is that they are an investigator, and their shapeshifting helps them blend in pretty much anywhere. So we're probably saying she's an Investigator first, with her psionic powers supporting that. Given they let her modify her physical form, she can shore up her attributes as needed pretty much on the fly, which turns her into something of a Swiss Army knife. She can pull out the various Metamorph effects pretty much at-will, especially since she can make it permanent. And then her Investigator Extracts allow her to do more self-buffing.

So for the most part she buffs herself in whatever direction she needs to be buffed in, and goes from there.

And thank you again!

Ok with that information I may be able to help out some, but it really depends on what your DM will allow.
DSP has a playtest currently going on called Lords of the Wild (its been in playtest for a very long time, not sure whats going on with it but its more or less finished by the looks of it). While it is Werewolf themed, much of the content focuses around shapeshifting instead. There are many feats in there you may find will help your gestalt build. Also a really good prestige class as well called Formless Master.
Other then that, there is Bloodforge which has a large range of heritage feats, some which will complement your build, so this too is worth a once over. Two powerful prestige classes are also listed that may be of note for your build - the Kinslayer (or was it Kith Slayer?) and the Mongrel.

[Vhaidara]

DSP has a playtest currently going on called Lords of the Wild (its been in playtest for a very long time, not sure whats going on with it but its more or less finished by the looks of it). While it is Werewolf themed, much of the content focuses around shapeshifting instead. There are many feats in there you may find will help your gestalt build. Also a really good prestige class as well called Formless Master.

Hello, author present. To clarify the state of the playtest: it's closed, the book is in editing (sadly editing is a scary place handled by higher ups, so no ETA on that)

The playtest document can be found here (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FcMpsY7ancpaWiBpFhI_jlARL8p2OXZhaFxAjzJCyW4/edit). The mentioned sections are the Shifting Feats category and the Formless Master PrC. I wrote Shifting Feats, while Elric (my co-author) topped them off with Formless Master. If you have any questions, then go ahead and ask, I check the site fairly frequently.

[thecrimsondawn]

Hello, author present. To clarify the state of the playtest: it's closed, the book is in editing (sadly editing is a scary place handled by higher ups, so no ETA on that)

The playtest document can be found here (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FcMpsY7ancpaWiBpFhI_jlARL8p2OXZhaFxAjzJCyW4/edit). The mentioned sections are the Shifting Feats category and the Formless Master PrC. I wrote Shifting Feats, while Elric (my co-author) topped them off with Formless Master. If you have any questions, then go ahead and ask, I check the site fairly frequently.

Ohh! Thank you for that reply! I was worried about it, but now I am happy for it! :D
I look forward to the finished product!