Ok so I was watching Buffy and after looking at her, save for the superhuman strength and such. Really speaking she kind of appeared to be a Inquisitor and UC Monk. The monk for her specialized hand to hand skills and the Inquisitor gets a few of her key abilities to know things about bad guys and of course her ability to shrug off some effects.
Not trying to make an exact copy but the idea of an Inquisitor//UC Monk just seems like a good combo. Decent AC thanks to Wis to AC, Wis goes to spells as well which gives you even better versatility and Monster Lore needs good Wis.
I was thinking if I took a VMC Bard this would be even higher and give the character access to inspiring their group. Knowledge Devotion feat makes you a sure thing to kick ass for your goal.
Any ideas?
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Frankly I'd probably model her as a Brawler//Paladin but Inquisitor//UC Monk works and is a ridiculously good gestalt. Not only do you get Wis synergy, but you get full BAB, all good saves (plus Improved Evasion and Stalwart), lots of skills, and good mobility. Judgment is great on a full BAB character, and Bane works really nicely with the extra attacks from flurry.
Snake Style and Boar Style work well with the Stern Gaze bonuses, though I'm not sure how well they fit Buffy (Boar Style in particular is a stretch).
VMC bard is optional. I don't think Buffy is that much of a knowledge character, and while I can see her having Inspire Courage I don't think she's a good enough leader that it's necessary to the concept. The teamwork feats the inquisitor gets represent the ability to benefit from allies - or try the Preacher archetype if you prefer to be able to benefit from a quick quip in combat or yell a warning to a friend.
Sanctified Slayer and Vampire Hunter archetypes may be thematic, though the latter is generally underpowered unless you're in a very undead-focused campaign (and Buffy really wasn't that specialized).
Instead of giving up a bunch of feats to identify monsters just give up one. Improved Monster Lore gives you +1/2 level to identify monsters. While Buffy may have been good at identifying monsters I don’t see her knowing a lot about history or geography.
Buffy didn't ID the monsters. She reported back descriptions and the rest of the gang ID'd the monsters.
I'd suggest pair monk/brawler with ranger or something else with favored enemy.
Yes I know but she could ID on how to kill them. Remember her and Angel seemed to have an innate knack for killing a foe if they where engaged in battle and could not get out to report the description.
I seem to recall she killed one demon and got the aspect of the demon and she killed it fairly easily using a common skill of course but the fact she sort of knew how to fight it was more what I looked at it as.
But you do have good points.
I think what needs to be determined is how powerful do you want to be, vs how close to being Buffy? Buffy didn't cast spells mid combat. She didn't fling scorching rays via ki powers. She mostly just punched and stabbed and decapitated things, occasionally using her settings around her.
Brawler seems like the most thematically appropriate base class. If you are getting to gestalt in other things, stuff like the Inquisitor will be powerful but not very Buffy like.
What about a Barbarian, or maybe Urban Barbarian? I don't recall Buffy doing the berserker rage thing, but she could certainly had a temper. Rage gives a solid bonus to your flurry, and Superstition, Witch Hunter, and Spell Sunder will make you better equipped to deal with demons and supernatural monsters.
Mutagenic Mauler could also add to how hard you hit, but is probably more appropriate for playing an Angel esque character, who has a monstrous "game face" to bust out.
Honestly I am not sure I want to make this character identical to Buffy in full terms or just really close in terms of capabilities. I considered a Slayer//Investigator but to me that might be closer to a Witcher, or Investigator Magus (Hex Archetype) for spell/Mutagen combos for a witcher build.
Well, if you want functionality over theme, Monk and Inquisitor is great. Inquisitor and Zen Archer is probably better. (Although stat arrays are relevant in that assessment.)
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Inquisitor//UC Monk is certainly one of the best gestalt combinations there is. Thematically it doesn't quite fit Buffy for me, but it's close enough - I'd feel like I'm playing a Buffyverse Slayer.
Making a better conversion is a bit of a challenge in gestalt, because most of the best gestalts involve some level of spellcasting, which Buffy doesn't have. You also generally want all good saves, which is hard without spellcasting because most martials have poor will saves.
Which is why while my first instinct is to make Buffy a Brawler I'm actually going to recommend Monk (Martial Artist). You get all the good saves, but instead of mystical ki abilities you get physical resistances and immunities, plus Exploit Weakness which thematically is pretty similar to her ability to size up an enemy without actually identifying it.
For the other half, your best options would probably be Slayer, Barbarian, or Bloodrager (Untouchable or Spelleater).
Barbarian gives you a significant strength boost, and uncanny dodge and DR complement the martial artist's defenses. Note that the martial artist gives immunity to fatigue which means you can rage cycle at level 5. Think of rage as an adrenaline rush and the flavour is fine - it's also probably the easiest way to get Slayer Strength
Bloodrager would represent the fact that some of a Slayer's strength is supernatural even if they don't actually cast spells. To get rid of the spells, take Untouchable or use Spelleater to turn spell slots into healing (and Slayers do heal faster than normal). Abyssal bloodline is thematic and you can trade out effects that don't fit (like the fire aura) for rage powers using Primalist. Alternatively Destined is a bit more subtle in its effects.
Slayer is not quite as exciting but it's more versatile between skills and better ranged combat (Buffy had a crossbow). You could take VMC (Barbarian) and still get the barbarian's main points. Of course you still don't have casting but that's why Buffy had friends...