I like gestalt, and find it to be an easy way to add both survivability and fun abilities to enemies. Here is a Fighter/UnRogue combination that I found thematically appropriate for Fey, and effective enough to make some of the weaker Fey more exciting. I was specifically thinking about Mites and Pugwampi, but any and all Fey are welcome.
I chose the Eldritch Guardian Fighter archetype for several reasons. First, it provides a little animal friend in the form of a Familiar that shares your combat feats. A Protector Familiar makes a lot of sense. Secondly, Eldritch Guardian still has a scaling bonus to Will saves, and retains both armor and weapon training.
The second half of this gestalt is the UnRogue with the Carnivalist and Sylvan Trickster archetypes. The Carnivalist gives you a Familiar that shares your Sneak Attack... and conveniently stacks with the Familiar provided by Eldritch Guardian. It also offers a wide variety of animal training perks that mesh well with the Fey stuff from Sylvan Trickster. Sylvan Trickster provides Wild Empathy, scaling damage reduction, and, wait for it, HEXES!
This combination is mundane/non-magical in nature, despite the Hexes and the Familiar... and the first six levels are almost completely devoted to setup/prep for the rest of the levels. But it does accomplish making a very effective animal trainer with strong Fey flavor.
You give up the first two bonus feats from the Fighter, so you only get two bonus feats in the first six levels. You also give up your first three Rogue Talents, so you have none Rogue Talents in the first six levels. Don't feel bad adding more than six levels, it doesn't get exciting until level 8.
For Tiny Fey, I would use the first available feats to set up mounted combat, riding the Familiar, and use the level five Rogue's Edge for Ride. And the level 10 Rogue's Edge for Handle Animal. These skill unlocks will give your Familiar/mount better saves. And the skill unlocks are free, so yay.
Starting at level 8, you can choose Hexes instead of Rogue Talents and you get scaling DR/cold iron. At level 20, you get 7 Hexes, and DR 10/cold iron.
I'm open to criticism and advice, but I left this open intentionally for other people to use like a template, if they want.
Anyways, here is the level-by-level breakdown:
Fighter:
- Eldritch Guardian
UnRogue:
- Carnivalist, Sylvan Trickster
Skills 8+Int:
1. Finesse Training
1. Wild Empathy
1. Familiar
1(level):
2. Share Training
2. Steel Will +1
2. Evasion
2. Pet Performance
... Distraction
2. Sneak Attack 1D6
3. Armor Training 1
3. Finesse Training
3. Animal Trainer
3(level):
4. Debilitating Injury
4. Resist Nature's Lure
4. Pet Performance
... Fascinate
4(class):
5. Weapon Training 1
5. Rogue's Edge
... Handle Animal or Ride
5(level):
6. Steel Will +2
6. Pet Performance
... Trained Legerdemain
6. Sneak Attack 2D6
6(class):
7. Armor Training 2
7(level):
8. Fey Resistance DR 2/cold iron
8. Fey Tricks
...
8(class):
9. Weapon Training 2
9(level):
10. Steel Will +3
10. Sneak Attack 3D6
10. Rogue's Edge
...
10. Major Fey Tricks
...
10(class):
11. Armor Training 3
11. Finesse Training
11. Fey Resistance DR 4/cold iron
11(level):
12. Major Fey Tricks
...
12(class):
13. Weapon Training 3
13(level):
14. Steel Will +4
14. Sneak Attack 4D6
14. Fey Resistance DR 6/cold iron
14. Major Fey Tricks
...
14(class):
15. Armor Training 4
15. Rogue's Edge
...
15(level):
16. Major Fey Tricks
...
16(class):
17. Weapon Training 4
17. Fey Resistance DR 8/cold iron
17(level):
18. Steel Will +5
18. Sneak Attack 5D6
18. Grand Fey Tricks
...
18(class):
19. Armor Mastery
19. Finesse Training
19(level):
20. Weapon Mastery
20. Master Strike
20. Fey Resistance DR 10/cold iron
20. Rogue's Edge
...
20. Grand Fey Tricks
...
20(class):