What is Gestalt?

[Gopalkrishna]

When looking through the pbp recruitment forums, there's always on occasional game mentioned as being 'gestalt,' usually a neverending dungeon game or somethign arena style - what does gestalt mean? That their always recruiting more players?

[Kylarra]

It's a class variant that combines the best aspects of two classes at each level.
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/cl...characters.htm

[Ernir]

It's a D&D 3.5 variant rule.

[Lysander]

Basically with each level you gain the abilities of two classes instead of one, making for much more powerful more versatile characters. It's ideal for games with fewer players so you can have each person filling several roles, or if you want to fight more powerful enemies at lower levels.

[Sinfire Titan]

I see a ninja. That's a lie.

[Prime32]

I see a ninja. That's a lie.

Uh-huh. It's a gestalt ninja//rogue. Who is either Mr. Redundant or Tohno Shiki, depending on whether sudden strike stacks with sneak attack.

[Volkov]

Gestalting dragon hit dice with wizard=epic lulz.

[Yuki Akuma]

Uh-huh. It's a gestalt ninja//rogue. Who is either Mr. Redundant or Tohno Shiki, depending on whether sudden strike stacks with sneak attack.

It does.12

[Lysander]

Warlock/Rogue is a nice combination.

[Murdim]

There's also the Wizard//Factotum. Oh sweet, merciful gods, the Wizard//Factotum. Like a wizard, only with d8 HP, 6 points/level with every skill as a class skill, medium BAB, good Reflex save, Int to initiative, Int to AC, Int to Strength and Dexterity-based skills ; and, by spending some per-encounter Inspiration Points, a ridiculously huge bonus to skill checks, Int to pretty much anything else, a crappy Sneak Attack, a small heal, Turn Undead, some nifty additional spells that you don't even need to learn, and the possibilities to duplicate any EX class feature, ignore effing magic resistance, and cast several spells in a turn.

[Lycanthromancer]

Warlock/Rogue is a nice combination.

The combat abilities don't really synergize well, unless you can get multiple attacks with the warlock (such as through eldritch glaive, assuming the DM lets you use the glaive as...well...a glaive). However, it's excellent for being stealthy and as a trapspringer.

The general rule for combat with a gestalt character is that you pick up one active class (that uses actions for its abilities) and one passive class (that buffs you passively). There are exceptions (such as psychic warrior//psion), but they don't come up often.

Also, you'll want to minimize Multiple Attribute Dependency (MAD), as the best synergies happen with classes that cover for each others' weaknesses.

The power paradigm generally stays about where it'd be in non-gestalt (for instance, tier 1s are tier 1s regardless of gestalt), but some classes break this balance completely. For instance, factotum is "only" a tier 3 class, but it skyrockets in power in gestalt, especially with Int-focused classes like psion or wizard; factotum, in fact, is one of the most powerful passive classes in gestalt, when it's good, but not horribly powerful, in normal play.