I've noticed it in a lot of recruitment threads. I think gestalt needs the right (usually small) party and the right (usually homebrew for balance) campaign to work out, but I keep seeing 5-8 gestalt players for pre-written adventures. Now I don't mean to put anyone down who enjoys this kind of play, I am just wondering where the surge of popularity has come from?
I wonder if it could be that people kind of see PbP as a chance to try more experimental styles of play. It's easier to do multiple PbP games at once, so trying something new doesn't mean much sacrifice, where with FtF games, committing to something more experimental could mean giving up more tried-and-true styles of play for several months of doing something you end up being not that into. It's the reason I'd probably be more likely to try gestalt in a PbP game.
RPG Superstar 2015 Top 32, RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
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I would also hazard a guess (having not played gestalt myself) that it's a bit more complicated, which can be easier to manage in the slower pacing of a PbP compared to trying to remember everything "on the spot" in a face-to-face game.
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This is one reason I haven't been applying to any PbPs, because most of them are using these rules and I know nothing about them,they seem complicated.
I wouldn't say most; of the nine currently showing as active in Recruitment atm, one is explicitly labeled as gestalt.
This is a digression. The gestalt rules are actually fairly straightforward, AIUI: you progress in two classes simultaneously. At each level, you take the best of both class features. Ranger/wizard? At L1, you have +1 BAB (from ranger; better than +0 from wizard), +2 FORT (ditto), +2 REF (ditto), +2 WILL (from wizard; better than +0 from ranger), 1d10 HP (from ranger; better than 1d6 from wizard), wizard spell use, favored enemy, proficient in all martial weapons, etc.
Bizarrely Pale King was thinking the same thing myself... The whole appeal gestalt has always been somewhat of mystery as which each book/supplement released we get ever more options.
With regards the recruitments - gestalt will typically switch me off a recruitment unless the setting/scenario or GM combo is too good to be ignored.
Guess my mind set is olde school - want the best of both words, either look at a class that potentially offers elements of both (new hybrid classes being a prime example) or multiclass?
I also find it a lot easier to monitor and run "vanilla" characters on a day-to-day basis, as they are undeniably easier (and less complex) to work with. Hats off to those that can run plethoras of gestalt characters :)
Gestald characters are the way the old D&D 2nd edition worked with multiclassing.
All, except humans, where allowed to take 2 or even 3 classes simultaneously, and abilities, THAC0 and saves worked the same as the gestald today.
The difference was that in D&D they had to divide evently the xp for the classes they got.
This is one reason I haven't been applying to any PbPs, because most of them are using these rules and I know nothing about them,they seem complicated.
They're not really, the rules are simple, get all your unique class features, and take the highest one in things like hit die and saves, best of both worlds. I've been annoyed by this move towards gestalt though because I've learned I hate building gestalt. The rules be simple, the execution on the other hand, not so much.
To the OP's original question, I rarely see the DM's proposing gestalt AP's who don't intend to highly modify the baddies to compensate for the power level of the PC's.
And clearly there are enough people who enjoy playing gestalt that there's a welcome audience to the idea. I certainly enjoy playing it.
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a couple reasons I think may be causing it:
1. PbP itself. In a PbP game, the more players you have, the longer it takes for everyone to post, the longer it takes the game to move forward. The more players, the more likely one will have life come up and be forced out for a few days, or even a week. Which slows down game progression, which in turn leads to the dangerous "dead zone" of PbPs. Therefore, gestalt allows the GM to pick 3 players instead of say 5. limiting this, while still keeping a fair power level/expected roles covered.
2. Its newish. People have played almost every class, multiple times by now. Gestalt offers new things, and allows SEVERAL ideas that, otherwise are HORRIBLE options to be done in game for flavor, and still function extremely well mechanically.
3. Because, no matter what you do, if a player wants to break something, they will break something. So give them a lower power floor so it's harder to break things to a degree that leaves other players far behind, or force them to take double/triple the time to work out how to make their PC triply as effective as others. I've noticed most won't take the extra time.
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The problem is that these games are gestalt that are accepting 4 to 6 players. There is no problem finding players on PbP forums for APs which a majority of these recruitment are for.
It is silly though because it becomes a "arms race" because modules and APs are not made to be for a gestalt'ed party. So now the DM has to do even more work to ramp up the encounters. I mean really, gestalt Kingmaker? The encounters are easy enough already with a 20 point buy and 6 PCs.
So now DM's have more complex PCs they are running, modifying modules and are typically have never ran a PbP game before. All these things combined leads to the game dying out within 6 months. And good luck trying to find a replacement DM.
Nebten expressed my thoughts better than I could have. I've seen gestalt games end up with SEVEN players. No matter what the GM throws at them above and beyond the AP they are going to steam roll it.
Because waiting 3 days to be able to type "I attack *insert fluff* kinda sucks. The more your character is able to do the shorter the period you feel useless. In tabletop sometimes other character shine a moment. Social encounter? Time for the bsrd! 15 minutes later and a few monty python jokes new stuff happens and your 6 cha barbarian can do something that doesn't hurt the party. Pbp is slow. Much slower than tabletop.
I just spend a year. A literal year, playing a halfling archer without a bow. We started at lvl 1, she couldn't afford one, and every single foe in that module happened to be medium sized. Now I happened to build her well, and she proved useful nontheless. But just imagine if she wasn't.
I mean really, gestalt Kingmaker? The encounters are easy enough already with a 20 point buy and 6 PCs.
The encounters as written are easy enough with a *15* point buy and 6 PCs. I ended up using Alexander Kilcoyne's conversion document for Stolen Land, and they still rode roughshod over most of the encounters. (Though the punched-up big centipede gave them some trouble....)
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Because gestalt is awesome?
Speaking rather frankly, I have not used anything other than gestalt for my home Pathfinder campaigns ever since I discovered the rules years ago on Obsidian Portal.
There are SO many character concepts that are essentially invalid unless you level dip like a madman and reach 10th level or so. By then, you have played the character so differently from the core concept for so long that playing it like you want almost seems wrong.
With gestalt, you have a much easier time getting your concept to work a LOT earlier in the campaign, thus allowing you more freedom to play as you desire during the campaign.
At least, this is my opinion on why gestalt is so popular. I know my opinion matters little, but I just felt like offering my two cents on the matter.
It's good to get some answers on this, since I've been wondering the same thing. I was typically thinking, 'Why gestalt? Is one character class not good enough?', but that's also because I look at it as a chance to develop a character and test the theory behind the class. One other class alters the variables.
To be fair, because of life, I realize that getting those novel-worthy posts from players are rare. When there's a game where several of the players are producing like that, I'm inspired to do the same, and when that happens, the game is magical. I've only had it happen twice, once in a WotR game, and a D20 Modern game.
Here's hoping for another. ;)