Gestalt Warlock 25 / 25 Expert
Core + Completes (dont have the book that gives Eldritch Glaive so dont suggest anything to do with that please) No Dungeon / Dragon mags allowed.
the backstory is as follows: 4 PC's all 25'th level experts working in the capital library, all heads of our respective areas. By chance we do something and get raised by a long forgotten diety to gestalt. We are only allowed to choose 1 class, however from game start we can level as whatever we choose.
Expert is a bit naff, but it gives me skill points and something else (im at work typing this).
Im going for ranged blasting, gunning for the epic warlock feats Eldritch Sculptor (for double range and 2 x attacks) and Paragon Visionary.
Feats are giving me trouble (with such a massive dex, do i want / need Combat reflexes etc...) Has anyone had experience with the Epic Warlock Feats?
We meet tomorrow to discuss what our PC's are going to be like, but game start isn't for a fortnight
I thank you for your time and advice in advance
Anything not a Wizard, Druid, Cleric, Archivist or Dreadnecro will not compete (well). Without epic spellcasting the Wizard will have trouble competing with the cleric without using Shapechange, because he can't get his DCs high enough, and he won't be able to metamagic enough without taking a metamagic cheese class. (If you can't PrC. If you CAN, a wizard/Incant is fine.)
I won't say blasting isn't viable in epic, sometimes it's the last thing you can do. But a Warlock just doesn't do enough damage (without eldritch glaive). Even a Psion is better.
Seriously, if you are restricted to a single class, be a cleric. Take DMM. Break the game.
Or, take Leadership, and Epic Leadership, and get a Cleric cohort as whatever you are. Then have your cleric cohort massively outperform your warlock, and you can still be happy. (Happened to me in an epic game. My ECL 25 cleric cohort is sort of... MUCH better than my ECL 28(after buying back two LA) Lich Dreadnecro.)
Basically it said this: You're a gestahlt, and you choosing Expert as a gestahlt is dim. Do this:
Paladin of Freedom25/Warlock25
Invocations: Eldritch Glaive, Eldritch Spear, Utterdark Blast, Word of Changing, Chilling Tentacles, Vitriolic Blast, Dark One's Own Luck, and some other ones that you like.
Feats: Short Haft, Power Atack (Does this work with an eldritch glaive? If not, skip it. If it does... Practically free damage) Mounted Combat, Spell Penetration, Greater Spell Penetration, Maximise SLA.
This is just a stub, and I'm no expert on either Paladins or Warlocks, but Cha to saves... twice, Full attacks that deal negative energy damage and bestow up to 8 negative levels per round... And all of these as touch attacks, by the way...Highest BAB, d10 hit die, a special mount. Don't even get me started on the potential Leadership abuse.
no eldritch glaive (you guys are so glaive oriented...). Im happy getting 41d6 damage without melee thanks.
Expert gives you 7 bonus feats, and you can pick from the special Generic Feat list. I'd pick: Sneak Attack, Imprived Sneak Attack, Greater Sneak Attack (total: +9d6SA), Trap Sense, Uncanny Dodge, Evasion, Improved Evasion.
Then just run wild with the standard "I'm an invisible flying sniper" schtick. Maybe even be a Pixie (+4LA), so you're only a lv. 21 Expert.
(Consider Binder1/Hellfire Warlock 3/Warlock 21 // Pixie 4 / Expert 21)
Once we start playing we can level up with whatever class we choose, for either side, so i can start prestiging from there.
7 extra feats? i thought you only got the same amount of feats for gestalting, like you get the same skill ranks (not both classes). If i get 2 feat trees for gestalting i will jump for joy!
The Expert Class offers the bonus feats as class features, the same way the Adept class offers Spellcasting. So on the one side you're pretty much a rogue (Sneak Attack, Evasion, U Dodge, Trapfinding, 6+int skills), on the other side a Warlock.
I'm pretty sure the OP is referring to the Expert NPC class from the DMG; not the Expert 'Generic Class' from Unearthed Arcana. The DMG Expert class provides no bonus feats or other features; a Warlock gestalted with DMG Expert is basically a normal (i.e. non-gestalt) Warlock with a few extra skills.
If you absolutely want to go with Warlock:
There's a feat that should change your EB into a Su-ability, which is good, because no SR. Unfortunately you can't use metamagic on it, then. What you want is maximised EB, several times per round.
If you get the UA Expert then it gets a little better, but not much. Even 9d6 SA more won't make that much of a difference, and you're limited to 30ft distance again, which is within melee reach of tough opponents.
Shadowmaster is incredible at any rate and I'd always pick it when going for Epic Warlock. Also, Lord of All Essences is fairly sweet and Morpheme Savant is another one I'd probably want to pick up. Paragon Visionary isn't horrible either, and Eldritch Sculptor of course. I'd take Shadowmaster on 21, Lord of All Essences on 23 and Eldritch Sculptor on 24.
Bonus Human: Pointblank
1st: Precise Shot
3rd: Weapon Focus [Blast]
6th: Ability Focus [Blast]
9th: Spectral Skirmisher
12th: Improved Critical [Blast] - (House Rule adds to multiplier, not range)
15th: Maximise [Blast]
18th: Quicken [Blast]
21st: [Epic] Eldritch Scupltor
23rd Bonus Warlock: [Epic] Extra Invocation (dark - Retributive Invis)
24th: [Epic] Paragon Visionary
26th: will be Dark Transient for Teleporting/Planeshifting and better flying ability
Invocation List - All Shapes (x2 Least, 1 Lesser, Greater and Dark)
Least: Devils Sight, See the Unseen
Lesser: Fell Flight, Flee the Scene, Voidsense
Greater: None!
Dark: Dark Foresight, Path of Shadow, Retributive Invis
Blast is 11D6 + 2D6 item + Potential charges from Warlock Scepter, twice for a full attack, included in AoOps with Hideous Blow, and 3/day quickened.
Crit is x3 making a max crit 35D6 + more. (come down a little from 41D6 ;) )
Any advice or thoughts?
I will take your advice and ditch Focus to go with Combat reflexes, seems sucha waste of dex to only have 1 AoOp/round (fair call?).
just a thought though.
If you absolutely want to go with Warlock:
There's a feat that should change your EB into a Su-ability, which is good, because no SR. Unfortunately you can't use metamagic on it, then. What you want is maximised EB, several times per round.
The feat you're thinking of is Supernatural Transformation, from Savage Species pg. 39. It reads:
One of your innate spell-like abilities becomes a supernatural ability. It is no longer subject to spell resistance, though it can still be suppressed in an antimagic field...etc...
It lists a prerequisite of "Innate spell-like ability" and has been ruled as not applying to Eldritch Blast, particularly due to errata for CAr, as EB is a class feature and thus does not qualify as innate.
You could argue it with your DM, but you may have a tough time of it.
The feat you're thinking of is Supernatural Transformation, from Savage Species pg. 39. It reads:
It lists a prerequisite of "Innate spell-like ability" and has been ruled as not applying to Eldritch Blast, particularly due to errata for CAr, as EB is a class feature and thus does not qualify as innate.
You could argue it with your DM, but you may have a tough time of it.
Allowing it is a small stretch. Basically warlocks are not strong in epic, and giving him a Su that still does f-all for damage isn't nearly overpowered.
Basically the strongest thing he can do is max UMD and get a load of Runestaffs, or scribe scrolls for himself to use.
Allowing it is a small stretch. Basically warlocks are not strong in epic, and giving him a Su that still does f-all for damage isn't nearly overpowered.
Basically the strongest thing he can do is max UMD and get a load of Runestaffs, or scribe scrolls for himself to use.
+1
Still ... if you really want to blast ... take a Warmage - basically does the same thing as a Blaster-sorc but with better specials, better HD and more spells - for utility spells you might need use the PHB ACF eclectic learning (learn new spells from every scool but one level lower if you want to)
Allowing it is a small stretch. Basically warlocks are not strong in epic, and giving him a Su that still does f-all for damage isn't nearly overpowered.
Basically the strongest thing he can do is max UMD and get a load of Runestaffs, or scribe scrolls for himself to use.
Understandable. About half a year ago or so I thought I was so special for thinking of this combo, only to find out people had, of course, already thought of it, and I was shot down.
Of course it would be helpful without overpowering the Warlock, particularly at Epic levels. I just had to point out that the DM might not allow it.
Even though Sorcerer is a lot better than Warmage.
Warmage is good at what it does, but it doesn't beat the flexibility of the Sorcerer. The class features are nice, but again, you can't beat an expandable spell-list.