On Selection of Race
Some PrC's have race requirements, but bear in mind almost none have restrictions on adding templates (of which three stand out). You will want to look for bonus feats, skill points, stat boosts to your casting stat, and stat boosts to your damage stat (usually Str, sometimes Dex, rarely others). Races in
BLUE are optimal no matter what, in
BLACK are optimal in some circumstances, such as to qualify for powerful PrC's, and races in
RED are lame for a gish, no matter what. Exceptions do exist, of course, and as a gish, you basically are a giant paradox anyhow.
Human - The only one to break the color code. Unmatched versatility, and you want that as a gish. Want some extra flavor from just the usual bonus feat and extra skill points? Snag a subrace! Incarnum, dragonblood, psionic potential (though those will be covered in their own block further down), there's hardly anything the transplanar cockroach can't do. Able Learner and Otherworldly, and you might as well be a doppelganger.
6/5
Kalashtar - The ideal Psigish race. Read up on Tashalatora...it gives it's benefits regardless of monk levels, meaning you can become a pseudomonk with 0 monk levels. Nice! Free PSP's equal to character level, limited telepathy, and nice racial feats make this another strong choice, even if you aren't psi-focused (though you'll be giving up specialty in your magic type, but oh the flexability possible).
5/5
Neraph - Why is this
blue? Because it's an LA 0 outsider! Free martial weapon proficiencies and easy access to polymorph abuse. Not to mention you look like a miniature freaking SLAAD.
Dwarf - For arcane or divine, Dwarves excel at the tanking cannon. Bonus to a good stat, if you're not a sorc, you get a penalty to a dump stat, and you've got the ability to move at normal speed even in heavy armor. Not to mention the arcane PrC's available make it possible to do just that with 0% ACF. Play these if you want Gimli to fling shit like Gandalf (not to mention you get to take potshots at every fey you find).
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