The characters are currently level five, probably going to around level ten or thereabouts; they're built using standard gestalt rules. Splatbooks and setting-specific stuff are allowed freely, as are flaws, though templates and ECLs aren't. Stat generation was done by stat matrix, 5d6 best 3. The stat line I've chosen is a fairly good spread, 18 17 15 13 11 11.
The build I've been tossing around is a Warforged Lion-Totem Barbarian/Totemist, to take advantage of Pounce with Girallion Arms, allowing Reckless Rage to give my silly number of attacks a damage boost. However, this seems to be really feat-intensive, especially if I take Jaws of Death. Would I be better served being a Skarn and using my spines? Is Barbarian my best option for a damage boost to my attacks? Prestiging to Totem Rager seems to be a natural fit, but my experience with Incarnum is relatively limited, and gestalt rules add lots of new complications to optimization; are there better choices I'm overlooking?
Any help is very much appreciated.
Totem Rager with Warblade on the other side is pretty good. Though now that I think about it, you won't get to the level where you get the best boosts (you'll get Dancing Mongoose at level 9).
Also... you're not supposed to use "theurge" PrCs in gestalt, and Totem Rage is arguably a Barb/Totemist "theurge" - check what your DM thinks.
My initial inclination might be to go straight Totemist on one side and go Barbarian/Fighter/other "martial" classes on the other: you'll get a melee monster, a Totemist with all the binds, rage, more feats and full BAB.
I'm not very familiar with Skarns, but I hear using their spine is not optimized.
A Totemist with a full set of class features from another class scares me.
Meanwhile, imagine pairing an Incarnate, with all those melee-boosting melds, with a full BAB, high-hp class.
One thing to note is that DMs may not allow the Totem Rager as it's in many ways a dual-progression PrC (Totemist/Barbarian). If you can get it, though, so for it.
I do like the look of using the Desert Wind full-attack boosts or Martial Spirit (I think, the Devoted Spirit one which heals you) with the Totemist's many attacks. Something like taking Totemist//Crusader and Barbarian//Swordsage (to keep full BAB) would be a bit wacky, but kind cool.
RE the spines, they can be cool because they provide a bonus natural attack (which isn't a claw or bite, which is good and bad), but I've never really tried using them.
Meanwhile, imagine pairing an Incarnate, with all those melee-boosting melds, with a full BAB, high-hp class.
I do like the look of using the Desert Wind full-attack boosts or Martial Spirit (I think, the Devoted Spirit one which heals you) with the Totemist's many attacks.
Gestalt Sadomasochist, maybe? That could be... evil.
