[3.PF] New campaign help

[Stardot]

Greetings /gitp/, I have seemingly gotten the chance to play in a 3.pf game for the first time in quite some time, but I cant decide on a character!

Rules:
-Mixed 3.5/PF
-All sources allowed
- Level 6
- 26 point buy(Stats start at 10 and are bought on a 1-for-1 basis)
-Parhfinder feat progression
-3.5 gestalt rules
-No Evil characters
-Setting is Golarion, but setting-specific material is fine.

What we have so far:
-One player is talking about playing a dragon racial progression from dragon mag. Will likely be a beat stick.
-Druid//Oracle
-Sorcerer//Paladin
-Swordsage//Inquisitor

The game will have rotating DMs, so I cant exactly always count on any one party member being there during a quest.

What I like:
-Racial Progressions/Monstrous Chatacters
-Gishes
-Survivability
-Melee

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

If you're doing the PF ECL = CR rules for monster characters, a Dragonkin in the Draconomicon is only CR 3, but I'm not sure how that would work on a gestalt character.

You already have two Wis-based casters and two Cha-based casters, so you should probably make an Int-based spellcaster. You also already have a shapechanger (Druid), and an actual dragon.

I'd go with some kind of Frostbite Magus build with Enforcer, that focuses on intimidate checks. Combine that with a full BAB class like Duskblade or Warblade, or heavier spellcasting like Wizard or even Beguiler. Include 3.5 tricks like Imperious Command in DotU and the Never Outnumbered skill trick in CS. Take Magical Lineage for Frostbite, along with Rime Spell to also entangle every opponent you hit, and/or combine that with Fell Frighten Spell in LM to cause opponents to become shaken (or escalate their existing condition) for one minute when damaged by that. Be sure to get choice 3.5 prestige classes like Spellsword 1, Abjurant Champion 5, etc.

[Lord Foul]

Hm lots of options really with both 3.5 and pathfinder options on the table

My current favorite divine gish build is somewhere in the ballpark of
Crusader 10/ruby knight vindicator 10//cloistered cleric 5/prestige paladin 3/anointed knight 5/bard 2/contemplative 5

Important feats, holy mount, song of white raven, mounted combat,

Pro: It's incredibly tanky, customizable and has lots of options for combat, with a paladin mount as a paladin of your level +3 (or plus 6 depending on how you count it)

Con: hella mad, with only dex as a real dump stat, and even that only if you don't want to go for reach tank shenanigans with combat reflexes. Though you could also rephrase that as benifiting from every positive stat you happen to get, making a belt of magnificence actually worth purchasing. It's also a bit complicated

Fighter/magus (or alternatively swashbuckler or warblade or crusader) is good for incredible DPS and customization with loads of feats. Be sure to take a trait to reduce the metamagic cost of either shocking grasp or frostbite. My personal preference is frostbite because you could take rime spell and enforcer so that your first level slots do fatigued/shakened/entangled on anything that isn't 1) immune to non lethal, 2) heavily resistant to cold damage

If you want full 9th level spell arcane you could go for something like
Dragonblood shifter 4-6/ranger 10-12/warshaper 4//sorcerer 10-12/dragon disciple 8-10

Required feats: shapeshifting hunter
Recommended feats: favored prestige class, prestige spellcaster

Warlock 10/eldritch theurge 10//wizard 1/unchained rogue 14/unseen seer 5, crazy magical DPS, divination powers and eventually 16th level spell casting with full warlock stuff. Really you don't need the wizard stuff, as much as I like unseen seer as a class, warlock/rogue by itself is crazy potent DPS

If you want something more jack of all trades there's nothing wrong with a bard/Paladin or swashbuckler perhaps a Cayden follower with the exalted PrC

[Stardot]

If you're doing the PF ECL = CR rules for monster characters, a Dragonkin in the Draconomicon is only CR 3, but I'm not sure how that would work on a gestalt character.

I like the suggestion, as Dragon RHD and good stat adjustments are solid for gish, but I'd rather not do anything dragon-like since a player is already playing a dragon racial progression.


so you should probably make an Int-based spellcaster
Completely agree. The DRruid//oracle player suggested I go arcane-focused as a sort of rival to him. I was contemplating a build using Ultimate Magus, maybe with generic spell caster and arcanist.



I'd go with some kind of Frostbite Magus build with Enforcer, that focuses on intimidate checks. Combine that with a full BAB class like Duskblade or Warblade, or heavier spellcasting like Wizard or even Beguiler. Include 3.5 tricks like Imperious Command in DotU and the Never Outnumbered skill trick in CS. Take Magical Lineage for Frostbite, along with Rime Spell to also entangle every opponent you hit, and/or combine that with Fell Frighten Spell in LM to cause opponents to become shaken (or escalate their existing condition) for one minute when damaged by that. Be sure to get choice 3.5 prestige classes like Spellsword 1, Abjurant Champion 5, etc.
I like the combo and will keep it in mind.


Hm lots of options really with both 3.5 and pathfinder options on the table

My current favorite divine gish build is somewhere in the ballpark of
Crusader 10/ruby knight vindicator 10//cloistered cleric 5/prestige paladin 3/anointed knight 5/bard 2/contemplative 5

Trying to avoid divine casting due to other party members.


Warlock 10/eldritch theurge 10//wizard 1/unchained rogue 14/unseen seer 5, crazy magical DPS, divination powers and eventually 16th level spell casting with full warlock stuff. Really you don't need the wizard stuff, as much as I like unseen seer as a class, warlock/rogue by itself is crazy potent DPS

Not a fan of warlocks, but that's a great build!

Thanks for the replies!

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

A Dragonkin is actually a monstrous humanoid, it's just a large scaly humanoid with wings and claws, not an actual dragon. You could reflavor it as a large winged lizardman if you wanted to.


Keep in mind that the gestalt rules state you can't combine two prestige classes on a single character level, a prestige class level must be taken with a base class level or racial HD. It also recommends that dual-progression prestige classes like Mystic Theurge, which would include Ultimate Magus, shouldn't be allowed for gestalt characters.

For a UM build, I'd go something like Wizard 5/ UM 10/ Wizard-Advancing-PrCs 5// Beguiler 1/ Spellthief 1/ Magus 18, using UM to advance Wizard and Beguiler spellcasting. Take the feat Master Spellthief to set your caster level for all your classes to the total of all their effective spellcaster levels combined. Starting at 6th level, you'll have Wizard 6 casting, Beguiler 1 casting, Spellthief 1, and Magus 4 casting, for a combined caster level of 12 for all classes, which UM's Arcane Spell Power +1 increases to caster level 13 for all classes. Since all your classes have the same caster level, UM 1, 4, and 7 can be applied to your Wizard spellcasting. At level 10 you'll have Wizard 10 casting, Beguiler 4 casting, Spellthief 1, and Magus 8 casting, plus Arcane Spell Power +2, for a caster level of 25 in all your classes.