Questions on gestalt build

[ByeLindgren]

I have a very vague idea of what I want my gestalt character to look like, so any advice should adhere to Wizard5//_____ going into Wizard//Ur-Priest.

Right now, I have that _____ as Ranger1/Fighter2/Monk2, mostly because of the useful passive abilities, the +4 BaB, the pretty-nice HP, and because I have a backstory concept behind it. Still, I have a few questions:

1. How would multiclass XP penalties work in that situation?
2. How would saves work, and what would the base saves be in this scenario?
3. As I'm not necessarily dedicated to that setup, is there a better way to go about those secondary classes? Unfortunately, I do not have access to ToB, and adding stances and stuff would just add more paperwork to a paperwork-heavy caster. I have access to SRD, CArc, CDiv, CAdv, CWar, Libris Mortis, UA, and XPH (though I'm not fond of adding another caster-like class before Ur-Priest).
4. Just thought of something... 6 is the earliest you can get into Ur-Priest, right?

[Jannex]

1. How would multiclass XP penalties work in that situation?

Ask your DM; in the gestalt games I've been in, we usually throw multiclassing XP penalties out the window, because they're just too much of a headache. I would imagine, though, that if in your game they were still in use, they would be evaluated without regard to the other "column" of classes--in other words, your Wizard levels would not affect the side of the // that had your Ranger, Fighter, Monk, and eventually Ur-Priest levels, but everything within the same column would affect each other.

2. How would saves work, and what would the base saves be in this scenario?

While not required by gestalt rules, it is strongly recommended in gestalt games that everyone use fractional BAB and base saves; in other words, at first level of a class, you will get +2 1/2 in its "good" saves and +1/3 in its "bad" saves, and at every level after first, the "good" saves advance by +1/2, and the "bad" saves advance by +1/3.

3. As I'm not necessarily dedicated to that setup, is there a better way to go about those secondary classes? Unfortunately, I do not have access to ToB, and adding stances and stuff would just add more paperwork to a paperwork-heavy caster. I have access to SRD, CArc, CDiv, CAdv, CWar, Libris Mortis, UA, and XPH (though I'm not fond of adding another caster-like class before Ur-Priest).

You haven't really described what exactly you'd like this character to do, or what his concept is, so I can't really help you in that regard. (Then again, I'm probably the wrong person to ask for advice about full-casters anyway.)

4. Just thought of something... 6 is the earliest you can get into Ur-Priest, right?

I have no idea. Somebody else'll get this one for ya.

[Jack_Simth]

It is possible to take your 6th level as an Ur-Priest, yes; you can qualify after 5th, by way of a Cleric-5 with the Trickery Domain and either Human with an Intelligence of 12+ or another race with an Intelligence of 14+ ... but almost nobody will try that, as you lose all your Cleric spells - level 6 (Ex-Cleric-5/Ur-Priest 1) would be very, very painful. It's better to complexify it up with a Fighter-1/Bard-4 (BAB +4, Base Fort/Ref/Will: +3/+4/+4; 8+4*Int Fighter skill points, 24+4*Int Bard skill points, arcane caster level 4, which adds 2 to the Ur-Priest caster level, everything needed as class skills. Plus a fighter bonus feat).

Your specific build won't do the job, though - you don't have Bluff as a class skill, and you'll need 6 ranks. That build can't get in until 9th due to cross-class rank issues.

Gestalt, to get in as early as possible, you need at least one level in something with Bluff as a class skill. Core, that's Bard, Trickery Domain Cleric, Rogue, and Sorcerer. You also need a good Fort save for at least one level (base Fort and Will save +3 is required). Likewise, you'll need Knoweledge(Religion, The Planes, Arcana) as class skills in there somewhere. If you mix in a level of Rogue, Bard, or Sorcerer, you can pull it off fairly readily. Wizard-5//Rogue-2/Fighter2/Ranger-1 will get you there, and your saves will be almost as good.