icefractal
2021-10-04, 08:17 PM
PCs fielding a large number of minions is often problematic from a "real time taken" standpoint. One fairly common house-rule is to ban such abilities, or limit them to 1/character. And those work ok, but I've got a less restrictive idea that I'm curious about:
Limit one extra creature per PC. If you would gain additional creatures, instead super-gestalt them all together.
Super-Gestalt is just Gestalt but for everything in the stat-block, not just class levels, choosing which one to take in the case of conflicts. As an example - you have an animal companion (Druid 7, brown bear), a familiar (Wizard 3, bat), and a cohort (Dwarf Rogue 8):
Size: Medium (rogue)
HD: 8d6 (rogue)
Speed: 40 (bear), fly 40 (bat)
AC: +4 natural armor (bear)
BAB: +6 (rogue)
Attacks: bite 2d6 (bear), 2 claws d8 (bear; only when hands are empty though)
SA: improved grab (bear), sneak attack +4d6 (rogue)
SQ: low-light vision (bear), blindsense 20 (bat), darkvision 60 (rogue), scent (bear), improved evasion, share spells, deliver spells, empathic link (all bat), improved uncanny dodge, trapfinding, trap sense +2 (all rogue)
Base Saves: Fort +5 (bear), Reflex +6 (rogue), Will +2 (rogue)
Abilities: Str 27 (bear), Dex 18 (rogue), Con 19 (bear), Int 10 (rogue), Wis 14 (bat), Cha 12 (rogue)
Skills: All the ranks, but not stacking for the same skill
Feats: All the feats
Appearance: A winged bear with a beard and opposable thumbs? :smalltongue:
While this could probably create an invincible creature, in the same way as Illithid Savant, that's already something that could be done (Emerald Legion, etc), and best dealt with by just disallowing it.
That said, would this be remotely balanced (as in 'not break things too badly'), would you use it, and what combinations would you make if so?
Limit one extra creature per PC. If you would gain additional creatures, instead super-gestalt them all together.
Super-Gestalt is just Gestalt but for everything in the stat-block, not just class levels, choosing which one to take in the case of conflicts. As an example - you have an animal companion (Druid 7, brown bear), a familiar (Wizard 3, bat), and a cohort (Dwarf Rogue 8):
Size: Medium (rogue)
HD: 8d6 (rogue)
Speed: 40 (bear), fly 40 (bat)
AC: +4 natural armor (bear)
BAB: +6 (rogue)
Attacks: bite 2d6 (bear), 2 claws d8 (bear; only when hands are empty though)
SA: improved grab (bear), sneak attack +4d6 (rogue)
SQ: low-light vision (bear), blindsense 20 (bat), darkvision 60 (rogue), scent (bear), improved evasion, share spells, deliver spells, empathic link (all bat), improved uncanny dodge, trapfinding, trap sense +2 (all rogue)
Base Saves: Fort +5 (bear), Reflex +6 (rogue), Will +2 (rogue)
Abilities: Str 27 (bear), Dex 18 (rogue), Con 19 (bear), Int 10 (rogue), Wis 14 (bat), Cha 12 (rogue)
Skills: All the ranks, but not stacking for the same skill
Feats: All the feats
Appearance: A winged bear with a beard and opposable thumbs? :smalltongue:
While this could probably create an invincible creature, in the same way as Illithid Savant, that's already something that could be done (Emerald Legion, etc), and best dealt with by just disallowing it.
That said, would this be remotely balanced (as in 'not break things too badly'), would you use it, and what combinations would you make if so?