Gestalt Character Help (Mongol Archer Thought Experiment)

[sage20500]

So a GM for a game I'm in is getting ready to start up another game for a different group and sent me an invite to play. The setting is homebrew, but it's based on a Swords and Sandals medium fantasy alternate reality of earth, setting period is during the start of the stand in for the Mongol Army beginning their conquest into Eurasia; and we as the players are a part of the Horde. Gm is very set on this game being invested in mounted combat; and aside from Gunslinger for obvious reasons, all PF classes are open, and Sphere's of Might is being put into play (But not Spheres of Power). Race I'm using is Half-Orc so I can use their weapon familiarity to have the Orc Horn Bow count as a martial weapon.

Originally I had the idea for making a Hunter taking the Evolved Companion Archtype on one side and using the other side of my gestalt to go SoM's Conscript in order to get full bab and plenty of access to feats and Talents; but after some consideration I've been heavily considering switching from Hunter to Summoner and using that as my base for building a mounted archer (Mostly just because Hunter's access to teamwork feats doesn't help me as much if I'm actually riding the animal companion since I have no guarantee of anyone else in the group picking up the feats I'd need for archery as well as how hard flanking can potentially become in a mounted army type of game.)

Question now though is I'm not sure if I should use base summoner to just build an interesting mount; or go Synthesist summoner to essentially turn myself into a Centaur that switches between using a Horn Bow and a spear as needed.

Pro's for being a synthestist would be that with the 20pb we're given, I can afford to drop Str and Dex in order to have a better off Int and Wis since I'll be using the Eidolon's physical scores for the majority of the time; this in turn will allow me to have a much higher Dex and Str mod later on that I can use, and once I figure out the sweet spot of where I'll be capping the str at; I can in turn make a decent Mighty Horn Bow that I can use. This would also allow me to have a fair amount of utility when it comes to picking up my evolutions to use since I won't be spending all of my points attempting to gain more natural attacks. Also I can actually benefit using buffing spells on myself. Downside here from what I've seen so far is mostly in terms of BaB. From what I can tell I'm not sure if a gestalt Synthesist summoner can use their other classes BaB while their fused with the Eidolon. Since it calls out that the Summoner uses the Eidolons BaB as well as Armor and Natural armor I'm guessing that would over ride my use of Full BaB from being a Conscript; but at the same time its not as much of a drawback for me since I'll be using Sphere of Might talents which take up my standard actions.

Pro's for being a vanilla summoner is mostly having access to full BaB. Eidolon would mostly be functioning as a horse stand in since I'd be wanting for the most part to play keep away so I can shoot people with the bow; but it would now have the ability to pick up feats so I can potentially allow it to do other things as well later on as needed. Downsides for this would be the fact that I need to have a good Dex and Cha; plus a decent wis for Will saves; which in turn means less skill points from a lowered Int score; as well as almost no str score so I'm stuck with a vanilla horn bow....

What do you guys think; for a game like this which build would you say is possibly the better way to go? Also other side note for Synthesis Summoner when gestalting: If I game weapon proficiency from somewhere else do they still function while fused or do I need to take the Weapon Training Evo to be able to continue using manufactured weapons while fused?

[Kaouse]

If the GM specifically wants Mounted Combat, I wouldn't go for Synthesist Summoner unless you are planning on taking the "Mount" evolution and having another PC ride you into combat.

That can work, but it would require a lot of setup with the other PC, first. Plus, you'll have to work very closely together during the game. But the two of you combined should be way stronger than most other PCs on their own.

[Coventry]

From what I can tell I'm not sure if a gestalt Synthesist summoner can use their other classes BaB while their fused with the Eidolon. Since it calls out that the Summoner uses the Eidolons BaB as well as Armor and Natural armor I'm guessing that would over ride my use of Full BaB from being a Conscript; but at the same time its not as much of a drawback for me since I'll be using Sphere of Might talents which take up my standard actions.

The Paizo FAQ (http://paizo.com/paizo/faq/v5748nruor1fz#v5748eaic9obc) states this about the synthesist:



When fused, use the eidolon's BAB instead of the summoner's class BAB, and add in BAB from other sources as normal.


So the BAB from the Conscript class should still apply (unless your DM rules otherwise).


Also other side note for Synthesis Summoner when gestalting: If I game weapon proficiency from somewhere else do they still function while fused or do I need to take the Weapon Training Evo to be able to continue using manufactured weapons while fused?

The only things that turn off when fused are the summoner's physical stats (the eidolon's take over), and any armor the summoner is wearing. Being fused does not turn off any feats, so why would it turn off the Weapon Proficiency feats? (There is an exception - if the summoner manages to get a feat that grants +Natural Armor when he is not fused, that part of that feat stops working when he is fused. Fortunately, Barkskin can be cast on the eidolon, and an eidolon can wear an amulet of natural armor, so those both work.)