Player characters and their direct cohorts are created as gestalt characters. This give them the potential for enormous growth and eventual prowess, but it comes at the cost of no longer being able to benefit from normal magic items, nor being able to use potions, scrolls, and other magical consumables.

Not all characters are gestalt characters. Gestalt characters in the world are "awakened" by the gods, and that is the only route to becoming gestalt for any non-gestalt creature.

Gestalt characters have the following characteristics:

• Immune to mundane poisons; note that it is possible to create gestalt poisons, so this is not poison immunity.
• Magic items can not affect them, nor can they use scrolls, potions, staves, or other magic consumables.
• Other magical effects still affect them.
• Gestalt characters have access to Gestalt Skills, Gestalt Feats, Gestalt Classes, and can use Panoply.
• Gestalt characters gain the benefits of two classes at each level.
• Gestalt characters always have access to the shadow domains of their deities.

Class Mechanics

A gestalt character essentially takes two classes at each level, gaining the best aspects of each. If the two classes you choose have aspects that overlap (such as Hit Dice, attack progression, saves, and class features common to more than one class), you choose the better aspect. The gestalt character retains all aspects that don’t overlap.

Details can be found in the 3.5 book Unearthed Arcana, p. 72, also available on d20srd Gestalt Characters.

There are some rules and clarifications when combining classes:

• We use the Fractional Base Bonuses house rule (Unearthed Arcana, p. 73)
• The first-level +2 bonus of the good save progression is applied at most once per save, i.e., each save benefits once from the +2 boost the first time a good progression applies to it
• It is not allowed to use combination classes such as the Mystic Theurge as one of your classes.
• When taking two favoured classes at the same time they may not give 2 skill points or 2 HP, but must give 1 skill point and 1 HP.