Random Personal DM Thoughts

[JNAProductions]

So, idle musings. Not super well-organized thoughts, so please, ask for clarity where needed.

Gestalt Requirements
Everyone needs to pick two classes-one of which gets casting at level one, and one that does not. This means the absolute minimum casting you can get is Artificer//Non-Magic Class, and the most you can get is Full Caster//Half Caster that's not an Artificer.
The purpose for this is so that everyone gets access to magic in a significant way, but also gets access to non-magic similarly.

Enemies
There will be enemies that require research, where going in blindly is a recipe for a TPK. Some of whom will shrug off magic like it's nothing, but might have a specific weakness-or maybe, you just need to beat their face in and prepare antidotes for their deadly poison.

Expanded Downtime/Rituals/Stuff Like That
I'd want long gaps between adventuring, where PCs focus on their personal projects. I'd also like to expand access to rituals, magic items (minor ones-trinkets and gizmos, not +3 Swords of Death), and various other preparation things.

[Jervis]

So, idle musings. Not super well-organized thoughts, so please, ask for clarity where needed.

Gestalt Requirements
Everyone needs to pick two classes-one of which gets casting at level one, and one that does not. This means the absolute minimum casting you can get is Artificer//Non-Magic Class, and the most you can get is Full Caster//Half Caster that's not an Artificer.
The purpose for this is so that everyone gets access to magic in a significant way, but also gets access to non-magic similarly.

Enemies
There will be enemies that require research, where going in blindly is a recipe for a TPK. Some of whom will shrug off magic like it's nothing, but might have a specific weakness-or maybe, you just need to beat their face in and prepare antidotes for their deadly poison.

Expanded Downtime/Rituals/Stuff Like That
I'd want long gaps between adventuring, where PCs focus on their personal projects. I'd also like to expand access to rituals, magic items (minor ones-trinkets and gizmos, not +3 Swords of Death), and various other preparation things.

Sounds fun honestly. For a gestalt like that I’d probably go with something like Arcana Cleric or Lore Bard//Rogue Thief or Inquisitive personally. Then again that’s basically just a 3.5 loredelver character I wanted to play but never got the chance to. Alternatively Scribe Wizard//Monster Slayer Ranger is basically a mystic ranger and those are always fun. If this happens be sure to post campaign logs, your homebrews always fun so this sounds neat

[JNAProductions]

Sounds fun honestly. For a gestalt like that I’d probably go with something like Arcana Cleric or Lore Bard//Rogue Thief or Inquisitive personally. Then again that’s basically just a 3.5 loredelver character I wanted to play but never got the chance to. Alternatively Scribe Wizard//Monster Slayer Ranger is basically a mystic ranger and those are always fun. If this happens be sure to post campaign logs, your homebrews always fun so this sounds neat

This is very much an early draft-so don't expect anything soon!

But thank you for the compliment. I appreciate it. :)

[MoiMagnus]

Gestalt Requirements
Everyone needs to pick two classes-one of which gets casting at level one, and one that does not. This means the absolute minimum casting you can get is Artificer//Non-Magic Class, and the most you can get is Full Caster//Half Caster that's not an Artificer.
The purpose for this is so that everyone gets access to magic in a significant way, but also gets access to non-magic similarly.
I'm not sure I like how it interacts with the ability scores (though that's easily fixed with Homebrew, and is probably not really an option for a one-time campaign). And I think this makes Barbarians quite uninteresting to play if you don't remove the "no casting spell while raging" part.



Enemies
There will be enemies that require research, where going in blindly is a recipe for a TPK. Some of whom will shrug off magic like it's nothing, but might have a specific weakness-or maybe, you just need to beat their face in and prepare antidotes for their deadly poison.


It can work pretty well for a campaign in which the PCs have the initiative (they're hunting magical creatures, etc) so the question is to find a good balance between trying to do too much and be unprepared, or being overkill but not doing much with your life.

It can be pretty frustrating in campaigns in which the PCs are reactive (big evil god wants to destroy the universe), where failing to prepare as much as the GM secretly decided was required means failing the campaign.



Expanded Downtime/Rituals/Stuff Like That
I'd want long gaps between adventuring, where PCs focus on their personal projects. I'd also like to expand access to rituals, magic items (minor ones-trinkets and gizmos, not +3 Swords of Death), and various other preparation things.

Great!

I suggest "having your own castle/etc" to be added in the mix. This is a great way to give to the players cool and powerfull magical stuff, but that they can only use when at home so they can't take it with them so it doesn't unbalance most of the fights.

Additionally, after a few downtimes, you can ask them to describe what is their second-in-command / advisor / apprentice / whatever. Those half-NPCs/half-PCs are great to introduce plot hooks, to replace a dead PCs, or to start a rescue mission if the PCs get captured.

[Corran]

Gestalt Requirements
Everyone needs to pick two classes-one of which gets casting at level one, and one that does not. This means the absolute minimum casting you can get is Artificer//Non-Magic Class, and the most you can get is Full Caster//Half Caster that's not an Artificer.
The purpose for this is so that everyone gets access to magic in a significant way, but also gets access to non-magic similarly.
Rogue/Caster for me.


Enemies
There will be enemies that require research, where going in blindly is a recipe for a TPK. Some of whom will shrug off magic like it's nothing, but might have a specific weakness-or maybe, you just need to beat their face in and prepare antidotes for their deadly poison.
Too much of the same might get repetitive.



Expanded Downtime/Rituals/Stuff Like That[/B]
I'd want long gaps between adventuring, where PCs focus on their personal projects. I'd also like to expand access to rituals, magic items (minor ones-trinkets and gizmos, not +3 Swords of Death), and various other preparation things.
This sounds interesting. Give everyone their own mini game or present some so that they are encouraged to make their own, after which you just create some light rules to keep it fun. Examples:

Wandering hero: You do not have the luxury of enjoying the pleasure of downtime. There's always someone, somewhere, in need of help, and you've taken the burden of offering yours to anyone who might need it.
Essentially, give certain world areas (in higher levels you might even want to extend this to a bigger scale) -especially ones important to the PC for in character reasons, some threat levels that can either be increased or reduced depending on how well the wandering hero performs during downtime. Is your wandering hero a druid? Well, the land is under serious threat of some kind of corruption. Are they a ranger? The [enter favourite enemy; later on introducing the new ones] are threatening villages in the frontier. Are they a cleric? The worshipers of the evil gods are threatening to get more influence. Etc etc. Play a mini game of choices that may include a few rolls with your player and determine the outcome, then based on that slightly influence the world.

Treasure horder: Maybe you have a dragon ancestor. Or maybe you are just that greedy. No matter how noble or petty, ambitious or basic the reasons may be, your donwtime activities revolve around the accumulation of wealth. The means may vary and are entirely up to you. Are you a trader, are you a gambler, a thief, a monery lender, an innovtive bussinessman? It may not even matter, as long as coins keep adding to the pile. In time, maybe you'll be able to fund the party signifcantly, if they dont have to shave you from any debt collectors first that is. Use your wealth to open some doors and create some new friends. Though be prepared for enemies as well, after all if succesful, it's probably at the expense of someone else. Or maybe you do none of that. Maybe that's your retirement plan, and the only thing you gain out of this is the joy of counting the coins of your (hopefully evergrowing) secret stash.

Inventor: Maybe you've got your own factory with elves (gnomes?) working for/with you. Maybe you are a one man show. But you invent stuff. Or at least you give it your best. Maybe your triple bladed knife design ended up being good only as a tin opener. Maybe your way to get to the moon ended up in a giant catapult. Early days. One day something will work exactly how you imagine it. Or maybe you are much more down to earth already, while knowing to be patient with your more ambitious projects.

Member of ...: You are a member of, something. Maybe it's a faith. Maybe it's a wizardy academy. A thieves' guild, a cult, a tribe or the royal family. Your goal is to move up in the hierarchy. Or maybe it isn't, yet the opportunities will still come accross your way. What you do with them, is entirely up to you. Do prepare for some competition though, if not for a few rivalries.

[Jervis]

Treasure horder: Maybe you have a dragon ancestor. Or maybe you are just that greedy. No matter how noble or petty, ambitious or basic the reasons may be, your donwtime activities revolve around the accumulation of wealth. The means may vary and are entirely up to you. Are you a trader, are you a gambler, a thief, a monery lender, an innovtive bussinessman? It may not even matter, as long as coins keep adding to the pile. In time, maybe you'll be able to fund the party signifcantly, if they dont have to shave you from any debt collectors first that is. Use your wealth to open some doors and create some new friends. Though be prepared for enemies as well, after all if succesful, it's probably at the expense of someone else. Or maybe you do none of that. Maybe that's your retirement plan, and the only thing you gain out of this is the joy of counting the coins of your (hopefully evergrowing) secret stash.



Oh deer... Now I'm picturing a Kobold DB Sorcerer Glory Paladin trying get all the shineys, truly my spirit animal.

[Angelalex242]

Wouldn't the classic pairings (Sorcadin?) simply be stronger than usual?

[JNAProductions]

Wouldn't the classic pairings (Sorcadin?) simply be stronger than usual?

I suppose, yeah. But I've run a lot of gestalt games, and I usually see more variety than just what's most powerful.

[Corran]

Oh deer... Now I'm picturing a Kobold DB Sorcerer Glory Paladin trying get all the shineys, truly my spirit animal.
Get ready for the awkward moment when a pc dies and the party wants to use the diamond from the common loot (in time you'll probably want to trade gold for gems; makes carrying them more easy), where you try to argue that eventually everyone dies while the diamond will stay beautiful forever, and that it would be a shame to ruin it for just delaying the inevitable.

[kazaryu]

So, idle musings. Not super well-organized thoughts, so please, ask for clarity where needed.

Gestalt Requirements
Everyone needs to pick two classes-one of which gets casting at level one, and one that does not. This means the absolute minimum casting you can get is Artificer//Non-Magic Class, and the most you can get is Full Caster//Half Caster that's not an Artificer.
The purpose for this is so that everyone gets access to magic in a significant way, but also gets access to non-magic similarly.

Enemies
There will be enemies that require research, where going in blindly is a recipe for a TPK. Some of whom will shrug off magic like it's nothing, but might have a specific weakness-or maybe, you just need to beat their face in and prepare antidotes for their deadly poison.

Expanded Downtime/Rituals/Stuff Like That
I'd want long gaps between adventuring, where PCs focus on their personal projects. I'd also like to expand access to rituals, magic items (minor ones-trinkets and gizmos, not +3 Swords of Death), and various other preparation things.

i always love the idea of gestalt.
as someone mentioned above, you do need to be ready to answer the questions 'how do ASI's work?' but also 'how do spell slots work'. since anyone that goes fullcaster/half caster will effectively be caster level 30 at max level (and will scale significantly faster during level up).

for my $.02 i don't think it'd be crazy to let such character have their spell slots scale at an accelerated rate. upcasting is typically not game breaking, and they'd still be limited to the spells they could normally cast. essentially treat it like MCing. of course, doing so they'd hit caster level 20 at lvl 14. so their progress would either have to stop, or you'd need to homebrew an extension.


TBH i'd wanna go like...EK/Paladin but the rules wouldn't allow it. idk, cleric/paladin sounds super fun (depending on how ASI's end up working out). either flavored as a super cleric..or a super paladin.
life cleric+paladin for all the super healing (especially if you use tasha's altered spell lists). or go full evil with conquest paladin/evil cleric mix...idk, i just like the idea of mixing those 2.

[Jervis]

i always love the idea of gestalt.
as someone mentioned above, you do need to be ready to answer the questions 'how do ASI's work?' but also 'how do spell slots work'. since anyone that goes fullcaster/half caster will effectively be caster level 30 at max level (and will scale significantly faster during level up).

for my $.02 i don't think it'd be crazy to let such character have their spell slots scale at an accelerated rate. upcasting is typically not game breaking, and they'd still be limited to the spells they could normally cast. essentially treat it like MCing. of course, doing so they'd hit caster level 20 at lvl 14. so their progress would either have to stop, or you'd need to homebrew an extension.


TBH i'd wanna go like...EK/Paladin but the rules wouldn't allow it. idk, cleric/paladin sounds super fun (depending on how ASI's end up working out). either flavored as a super cleric..or a super paladin.
life cleric+paladin for all the super healing (especially if you use tasha's altered spell lists). or go full evil with conquest paladin/evil cleric mix...idk, i just like the idea of mixing those 2.

I’ve always ran spell slots in gestalt as best of level. That is if you’re a full caster on one side you’ll have full spell slot progression and both classes can use. So something like wizard//cleric (not possible here but just as an example) would have the same amount of slots as a wizard or cleric of the level in question

[JNAProductions]

Check some of my recruitment threads for how I handle gestalt. It’s pretty generous.

I’d link it here, but phone posting.