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ladditude
2008-05-20, 01:10 AM
So I get to play my first gestalt game ever, yay! Its an Eberron campaign and we are starting at level 2. I'm planning on running a Strongheart Halfling Druid 2//Warblade 2. My plan is to eventually be Druid 20//Warblade 4/Swordsage X/Whatever. Our party also has a Wizard 20// Archivist 20 and a Rogue X/ Silverkeep ______ X//Warblade 20.

So my questions are:
Is taking Warblade levels for survivability worthwhile, or should I just go straight Swordsage?
Is Shifter a good Druid race? Better than extra feats?
What feats should I take (besides Natural Spell)?
What Animal Companion is best for my level?
Will summoning bog down the game a lot?

Any other advice would be nice.

Cuddly
2008-05-20, 01:18 AM
Strongheart halfling is a solid choice, though the small size and physical stat boosts won't mean anything past level 6.

You should get your party to invest skill ranks in "battle language" or find a way for you to communicate with them for when you get wildshape.

Summoning can bog down the game if you don't know what you're summoning, but SNA can be a great resource to spontaneously turn an otherwise useless spell into. Make sheets of monsters you think you'll be summoning often so you don't have to flip through a MM.

For your level, a wolf or riding dog would probably be best.

Eldariel
2008-05-20, 01:50 AM
Actually, over either ToB class, as shocking as it is in this sitiuation, you may want to consider Monk-dip on the other side. You won't be using maneuvers et al. much once you get further in Druid anyways, so maximizing the amount of ass you can whoop by just traditional attacks is probably the most effective way to go. Monk gets you Wis to AC on level 1 along with Flurry of Blows which should be usable in your Wildshape forms too. Beyond that, the next useful ability is Greater Flurry on level 11 though, and that's kinda too far for comfort, so I suppose you may just switch to a ToB-class after the first two levels. Shadow Sun Ninja works fine, giving you another kind of shifting while also advancing Flurry, getting you maneuvers, increasing your speed and giving you some stances. The ones you really want are in Diamond Mind though so judicious Swordsage-dips would be the best for that.

I don't think you need to dip Warblade to survive early on; the few extra hit points won't likely have the time to save you over the time you spend on level 2 and their meaning diminishes with each taken level. What I would do is take Warblade as your 9th (and maybe 10th, for Uncanny Dodge) levels to get Iron Heart Surge and White Raven Tactics, two very useful maneuvers; WRT is probably far better than any Quickened spell you could cast at that point, and Iron Heart Surge is a great way to get rid of stupid ailments. You could max out Swordsage after those and finishing Shadow Sun Ninja. That'd give you back your Diamond Mind access (with nicely improved Initiator Level to boot) and allow you to pick up Stance of Alacrity, the one you'll probably want to be using.


Shifters are a fine Druid-race, but ultimately, especially in Gestalt, feats reign supreme due to their overall power level. Optimization-wise, Strongheart Halfling or Human seems the best, but Shifters have very relevant Druid-bonuses too, so you'll be near the top anyways. Dreamsight Shifters especially (Races of Eberron) are very desirable for the +2 Wis and Speaking with Animals while Shifting. Druid-spells can enhance your natural attacks from Shifting, helping you a lot early on. The first sublevel is an ok option (Animal Companion is awesome though), but stay away from the 5th.


There's a ton of good Druid-feats, but I don't exactly have a list here right now. Anyways, one important thing to clarify with your DM is Natural Bond; if it allows you to boost the higher level companions that treat your Druid level as your Druid level - X for abilities, it's incredible. Otherwise, it's worthless as it only works up to your HD. The different summoning feats (Ashbound Summoning (Eberron), Greenbound Summoning (FR), Rashemi Elemental Summoning (Rashemi), Augment Summoning, etc.) are all worth it since you'll make a fine summoner and with those boosts, the summons will be nuts.

You'll probably want Multiattack to minimize Wildshape penalties on attack, and if you plan on casting a lot, Flyby Attack is great. Improved Natural Attack on your Claws or Bite could be handy (if you're a Shifter, they'll work in your natural form too). You could take Lion's Pounce (Complete Divine) for the ability to Pounce at the expense of Wildshape uses and there're all the X Wildshape feats, which are more or less beneficial (from broken to decent).

You'll want some metamagic in Extend Spell, mayhap Persistent Spell, Quicken Spell definitely and so on. Really, Druids have tons of options and it's up to you what you want to specialize in. As long as you pick Natural Spell, you cannot really make yourself suck.


Animal Companion - Wartrained Riding Dog is the best opener. You can give him armor no problem (they're proficient) and it has all the abilities of a Wolf and then some. This one is easy.


Summoning will indeed bog the game down unless you know what you're doing. Know what you'll summon and what stats it has and you don't need to waste time on them and they'll be handled just as quickly as any other spells.

Bag_of_Holding
2008-05-20, 02:09 AM
Actually, over either ToB class, as shocking as it is in this sitiuation, you may want to consider Monk-dip on the other side. You won't be using maneuvers et al. much once you get further in Druid anyways, so maximizing the amount of ass you can whoop by just traditional attacks is probably the most effective way to go. Monk gets you Wis to AC on level 1 along with Flurry of Blows which should be usable in your Wildshape forms too. Beyond that, the next useful ability is Greater Flurry on level 11 though, and that's kinda too far for comfort, so I suppose you may just switch to a ToB-class after the first two levels. Shadow Sun Ninja works fine, giving you another kind of shifting while also advancing Flurry, getting you maneuvers, increasing your speed and giving you some stances. The ones you really want are in Diamond Mind though so judicious Swordsage-dips would be the best for that.

Swordsage gets AC to armour bonus at 2nd level. It is (despite RAW) applicable while in light armour or unarmoured.

Eldariel
2008-05-20, 02:26 AM
Swordsage gets AC to armour bonus at 2nd level. It is (despite RAW) applicable while in light armour or unarmoured.

I know. My point was that Monk gets it level 1, along with a host of other benefits that can be used as a Druid (I forgot, the feat is great; Stunning Fist rocks for a Druid with insane Wis, and Improved Grapple isn't bad at all with so many forms doing good Grapple).

Burley
2008-05-20, 08:29 AM
Having played a Druid//Monk and (now playing) a Druid//Ninja: The ninja is more useful than the monk, especially if you're just gonna dip. The Wisdom to AC bonus/AC bonus every 5 levels is the same as the monks, and you get sudden strike. I'd take Sudden Strike over Stunning Fist.
I wouldn't suggest going all twenty levels in it, but if you're only going to take 1-5 levels, I suggest the Ninja over the Monk. (You can sudden strike and use Ghost Step/Ki Dodge while Wildshaped.)

ladditude
2008-05-20, 07:02 PM
So, two levels of monk and then what?

Why wouldn't I use maneuvers, they would simply make my Wildshape even scarier?

Eldariel
2008-05-20, 07:17 PM
So, two levels of monk and then what?

Why wouldn't I use maneuvers, they would simply make my Wildshape even scarier?

You probably will have such a large number of natural weapons that strikes wouldn't be too effective. Two levels of Monk, a ton of Swordsage, 2 levels of Warblade and Shadow Sun Ninja to finish off seem good though.

Cuddly
2008-05-20, 10:09 PM
Actually, you may not always be getting full attacks off, unless you use a shape with pounce. In which case, your damage might not be as high as you'd like to be on any one strike. This can be especially troublesome vs. opponents with DR. A dire tiger vs. a monster that has DR can land a lot of attacks, but does ****e for damage. I've seen cat druids and their buffed cat companion against simple (huge) skeletons lose literally a 100 damage to DR in a battle.

Strikes are great to open a battle with, especially if you can shut down an opponent straight off. You basically get to hit an opponent with a rhino horn AND a save-or-lose or save-or-die in the same instance.

Monk's not an entire waste of levels- stunning fist can be pretty handy, esp. combined with a strike. Imp grapple as a huge creature can also be good.

"All your natural attacks" isn't always the best choice- sometimes you're going to want a single, solid striker. Like being a T-Rex. Or when you're in bird morph fighting aerial foes.