So I have an upcoming game where we are using gestalt characters. For RP purposes my character was born and raised to be the wizard/(unknown) character's bodyguard. I am definitely taking fighter as one class but am undecided on the other class. I want another class that makes sense and am currently leaning towards a cavalier sword scion/honor guard combo as that appears to fit thematically with my character. My only issue is that their is no syngery outside of the fighter giving me extra feats and weapon bonuses (which is a big deal). I ruled out divine and arcane classes as they don't make sense.
The character is a large fighting machine who has sworn his life to protect the wizard. Any advice would be helpful!
With a poor Will save (in gestalt!) and no focus on wisdom you're a danger to your charge. Maybe you could go with Avenger Vigilante as the other gestalt side? The social identity might be a discreet servant of some kind. The extra skill points and abilities broaden your character out beyond pure combat, which is usually part of the reason for going with a gestalt game. And the vigilante talents in the avenger specialisation are solid in combat.
As an aside - fighter gives feats and weapon bonuses, that's what it does. if you want something else, choose another class.
Fighter//URogue human race with focused study racial trait for skill focus intimidate. Start with sap weapons and Enforcer feat for free intimidate checks. As a bodyguard you intimidate and deal non-lethal to drop threats. You can also get the Merciful enchantment to make any weapon non-lethal, so you can weapon focus something other than saps (or start with a regular weapon and take the -4 to attack til you get merciful). You want to eventually work up to Shatter Defenses at level 6 for guaranteed sneak attacks. Cornugen smash could be a good feat to get too.
Fighter//URogue gives you a good reflex save, dex to damage, full BAB TWF and the feats to do it, high HP, and competent number of skill points.
You still miss out on a good will save but fighter can eventually fill that void. DEX>CON>STR=CHA=WIS>INT. Thug could be a good rogue archtype.
Thanks guys for the advice, got a few good ideas, and am continuing to look around for options. I thought maybe some kind of alchemist and flavor it that the wizard has been teaching him, or I may modify his backstory to make him either a magus or some kind of psychic on the other side of fighter.
A divine class (perhaps not a full-casting one) could still make sense as a devotee of Nethys, or some other deity with the Protection domain (e.g. your character prays to this deity to help him be a better bodyguard). Alignment permitting, you could even go with a Paladin for the auras, healing, and general toughness, and trade away the spellcasting if you want.
Edit: You mentioned Magus, and it definitely makes sense for the Fighter//Magus to be a bodyguard and (formal or not) an apprentice to the Wizard.
A divine class (perhaps not a full-casting one) could still make sense as a devotee of Nethys, or some other deity with the Protection domain (e.g. your character prays to this deity to help him be a better bodyguard). Alignment permitting, you could even go with a Paladin for the auras, healing, and general toughness, and trade away the spellcasting if you want.
Edit: You mentioned Magus, and it definitely makes sense for the Fighter//Magus to be a bodyguard and (formal or not) an apprentice to the Wizard.
I never thought about trying to trade away the spell casting for a paladin. My GM would probably wave the lawful good requirement with some kind of restriction, like I am bound to the wizard or some such thing.
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Ooh I love gestalt
Fighter is somewhat sub par here as a bodyguard (in general it's fine in gestalt so long as you pick something with little overlap like rouge or war priest on the other side)
If third party is allowed I'd go with some combination of warder (sworn protector), magus, vigilante, armiger, depending on what would fit your concept better
Vigilante armiger and warder have a preference if you want a more non magical feel to your guard
Ageis and magus work well if you want to flavor text that you also act as the magician's apprentice
Let's
Look at what combos give us interesting things
Ageis/armiger gives us the ultimate tank d12 HD (treat anything below 6 as 6, average 8 hp) moderately high damage and That's very versatile Very high Hp, AC and DR to make a barbarian green.
Moreover you have nifty abilities that increase the amount of cover your body can provide
Noteworthy dip: 1-2 levels of either vitalist or tactician for their collective class feature and actually getting a use out of your ageis power points
Ageis/magus one of the most magical combos here, very nice burst damage, solid defense, fairly anime esque, full BAB, good HP, DR is nice
Vigalante/magus: good for roleplay, you could disguise yourself as a lowly servant or as a fellow Mage of equal standing to your master, lotsa options here, all good saves
Magus/warder; full BAB, very nice AC, the ability to pull out a new fancy trick for every combat near enough if you really want,
More to come : editing
We are limited to Paizo only stuff, I probably should have said that earlier, sorry about that.
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Oh poo
Then I suggest Vigilantee/something with moderate amounts of magic like magus, warpriest, or kenetist
Fun fresh classes that are versatile and apropriate to your concept but hardly
Alternatively you could pull off your body guarding via healing with a paladi/oracle (life) or by summoning extra meat shields with summoner (maybe skald or vigilante as your secondary class)
Kind of a bummer you can't use dream scarred press's stuff
The rest of the party is consisting of a URogue/Fighter (TWF), Cleric/URogue (they are a "pair") both focusing on stealth. Then myself and the wizard/maybe fighter for feats but unsure.
Alternatively you could pull off your body guarding via healing with a paladi/oracle (life) or by summoning extra meat shields with summoner
Alchemist under the Wizard's tutelage was one of the OP's concepts, and the Alchemist can actually be a summoner (small-s) with the Preservationist archetype, and can learn Summon Monster extracts with the Planar Preservationist feat. So that's another route. The martial side would then be best suited to something that could buff up the summons or grant them teamwork feats.
All these suggestions got me thinking a little more outside my normal box and about my characters backstory, and I was thinking maybe a monk. The monk academy (or wherever monks train) focuses on getting their students ready to be defenders/bodyguard types. Not fully fleshed out backstory modification but it is doable without changing too much. I just have never made a monk before.
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Investigator hits the "learning alchemy" theme but is a better pair for the fighter in gestalt. Studied Combat is a great combat buff, you can get mutagen with a talent, and you get your good will save - plus lots of skill points which can be used for Perception, Sense Motive, Intimidate, Knowledge, and other useful things for anticipating threats.
Fighter/Occultist(Battle Host) could be interesting.
You get a good will, 2 more skills(more with int for spells,) 6th level casting in armor, and extra combat feats.
Flavor the armor/weapon from Panopoly Bond as an heirloom from a long line of defenders for the wizard's house/family. For implement schools, Abjuration & Transmutation have a lot of focus powers that are solid for a bodyguard: Aegis, Energy Shield, Globe of Negation, Legacy Weapon, Size Alteration.
Go with a reach weapon, combat reflexes, pushing assault, bodyguard while enlarged to have a 30ft diameter area of Nope. Pickup Phalanx Formation and people can stand next to you while you push enemies away.
Oh WOW! That was almost exactly what I was looking for and the way your described the Panopoly Bond is perfect! I am not going to do a fighter/UMonk now but instead use this build. Thank you!
Edit: Never mind, I see you've got something else in mind now.
Monk makes a decent side of gestalt, though maybe not paired with fighter. They're more often paired with spellcasters, though a ranger // monk might be interesting. The ranger side would represent wilderness/real world experience there.
In terms of a build, assuming a human guide ranger // sohei qinggong monk, using the Faithful (Iomedae) combat style, feats might go
Human: Power Attack or Combat Reflexes
Monk 1: Stunning Fist, Deflect Arrows, Improved Unarmed Strike
1: Snapping Turtle Style
Ranger Combat Style 2: Bodyguard
Monk 2: Improved Grapple
3: Snapping Turtle Clutch
Ranger 3: Endurance
Swap slow fall at L4 for Barkskin via qinggong monk
5: Snapping Turtle Shell
Swap high jump at L5 for something else via qinggong monk - Feather Step, Message and Ki Stand all seem appropriate.
Ranger Combat Style 6: In Harm's Way
Monk 6: Improved Trip (or Improved Disarm, whatever)
7: Greater Grapple
This lets you use light armor and TWF with a weapon and an unarmed strike effectively. Your defences are solid despite light armor and you can intercept attacks with Bodyguard and In Harm's Way. If you need to lock down an opponent your grapple can do that, though you're not as much of a specialist as a tetori monk you can often start a grapple as an immediate action via snapping turtle clutch.
Monks often train in a monastery or under another monk BTW.
Fighter/Occultist(Battle Host) could be interesting.
You get a good will, 2 more skills(more with int for spells,) 6th level casting in armor, and extra combat feats.
Flavor the armor/weapon from Panopoly Bond as an heirloom from a long line of defenders for the wizard's house/family. For implement schools, Abjuration & Transmutation have a lot of focus powers that are solid for a bodyguard: Aegis, Energy Shield, Globe of Negation, Legacy Weapon, Size Alteration.
Go with a reach weapon, combat reflexes, pushing assault, bodyguard while enlarged to have a 30ft diameter area of Nope. Pickup Phalanx Formation and people can stand next to you while you push enemies away.
I'll add to this that if you're using the Bodyguard feat and you're using Traits, pick up the Halfling-specific version of Helpful via Racial Heritage, or ask your DM to waive that requirement because it's silly to say that you need Halfling DNA to be that helpful.
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If you were to go with monk, they'd be great paired with with magus (kensi), but you got a good build going
You might also want to add combat patrol and deflect arrows for flavor purposes, and given the fact that you're a fighter and thus have feats out the wazo you might want to take a look at the variant multi classing, summoner's one is pretty good, as is alchemist and barbarian
My favorite is still a Ranger/Inquisitor. You've got perfect saves, full BAB, Combat styles, solo/teamwork feats, self buffing, minor healing, favorite enemies... all plus more wrapped up in a tight syngeristic package (both relying on wisdom).
You could go sword and board and focus on feats like Saving Shield. Inquisitor has some nice archtypes that could develop into your honor knight easily.
Just my thoughts (worth .5 cents after taxes)
It looks like your party could use a face so what about avenger vigilante//sorcerer with prestige into Dragon Disciple? You get a slightly smaller HD but you get 6+ skill points and bonuses to being a face so you don't need to invest a ton of points into it. As you level you'll gain a ton of natural armor and some good STR and CON boosts from DD. You can even go sorc//DD at DD 1, 5, and 9 to keep full progression. If you pick up arcane armor training and mastery then you can cast in light and even medium armor, especially with mithril armor.
You have full BAB, good will+reflex saves, spontaneous arcane casting in armor, full 9th caster, make full use of melee sorc natural weapons, untyped STR and CON boosts and get to be the party face.