That Other Guy |
So I have a campaign design where PC's are gestalted by having two people fused together in a horrid eldritch curse.
There will be Gestalts, and non-gestalts, because not everyone will be affected by the curse. This being said, because it is a curse, the Gestalts will be a bit bewitched, and one of these forms will be a different starting level than the non-gestalt PC's.
I want to figure out how to balance it enough so that there are benefits and drawbacks from choosing either option, and I thought the biggest would be the level difference. Also, defining the 'CR' of a Gestalt PC would be very helpful in determining good encounter allowances for the game.
I will probably also mete out several free bonuses to both options, moreso the non-gestalts, and the gestalts will again have other incurred effects of the curse than just the level difference.
But I want both options to offer different things and be fun.
At the end of the day, the baseline question looks like:
Gestalt PC lvl X = 'Normal' PC lvl (?)
I'm looking for more of a best-fit answer here than a definitive one, so rough ideas are extremely viable.
Thanks team.
chaoseffect |
1 person marked this as a favorite. |
My opinion... don't do this. The power level of Gestalt vary WILDLY from build to build. Party balance is almost completely impossible. I suggest all or nothing.
I agree with this. It's impossible to come up with any formula for how much of a benefit being gestalt is due to the extreme variance. Gestalt reminds me of Mythic in that it is something that can let a mediocre character builder make their poor build good and something that lets the good builders make the DM cry. God help you if you have a great min maxer.
I run a gestalt game and I've seen combos that are less effective than someone just running a single class and I've seen level 10s able to rip through mid 20s CR encounters. I've seen some s$$%. You can't quantify it.
Nyaa |
3.5 gestalt rules suggest CR+1 or +2 depending on monster's reliance on saving throws. That being said, mixing gestalt and non-gestalt in a party is a bad idea, as is having half of party affected by a terrible eldritch curse. Either make gestalt monsters a campaign theme, or make all players play said monsters.