Weird question

[Amechra]

Alright, here is my question:

Say I want to run a game where players can pick to play either normal level progression, Gestalt only on odd levels, Gestalt only on even levels, or full Gestalt. Is there a way to balance them relative to each-other, assuming we are attempting to play a Tier 3 game?

[altpersona]

i like this idea of balance, but im not sure what it means.

[Amechra]

By balance, I mean in the vaguest way, as in "what limitations should I put on the players using X leveling method so they don't just mop the floor with the rest".

[TheEndIsNear]

I heard that a good fix is to give gestalt 50% hp. They'll be lower level and gain more exp effectively staying 2-3 levels below the rest but apperently being same powerlevel. Every 2nd level they need twice as much xp to level up kinda thing?

[Havok4]

I heard that a good fix is to give gestalt 50% hp. They'll be lower level and gain more exp effectively staying 2-3 levels below the rest but apperently being same powerlevel. Every 2nd level they need twice as much xp to level up kinda thing?

You mean xp of course.

I was going to give a recommendation of effectively giving the gestalt guys LA +2 on both sides with no benefits, LA+1 for the every other level version. The gestalt methods give great versatility but the regular people would get all of the neat tricks first.

[wotmaniac]

full gestalt = 50% xp
1/2 gestalt = 75% xp  (may need to adjust just a little ... +/- 5%)

[Rebel7284]

Break it up by tier?
Tier 1-2: Normal Progression
Tier 3: Partial Gestalt
Tier 4-6: Full Gestalt

[Havok4]

Break it up by tier?
Tier 1-2: Normal Progression
Tier 3: Partial Gestalt
Tier 4-6: Full Gestalt

That would work, except that the game is going to be tier 3 anyway according to the first post.

[Ithamar]

If they want Full Gestalt, limit it to like 2 or 3 base classes they can choose from for one side of the gestalt.  A T4 or T5 class would probably work best if you're trying to keep the power level down.

[Amechra]

Thank you all for your input. It has been a great help.

[awaken DM golem]

If the 1/2 gestalt part are Tier 1s, you're
basically adding something better than an Adept.

Tier 5 // Adept+ ... doesn't automatically make it to Tier 3.
Tier 4 // 1/2 of any 6th level caster class ... is barely making it to Tier 3, and maybe not.

Consider an Adept // Bard ...
just gets to a Full Casters collection
of only up to 5th and 6th level spells;
but without the extra goodies, and slower progression.