Crend's quests kinda suck but he's fine as an NPC.

You have not seen Cernd in ToB have you? ;) He can hold his own in a high-level battle.

<font color="lightblue">Actually, it does.
Polymorph: Ogre does just that - turns the mage into an Ogre, by means of a spell. They become by all means an methods an Ogre that can turn into a few other things. [img]smile.gif[/img]
Shapeshift: Werewolf on the other hand isn`t a spell- the shapeshifter can turn into a werewolf at will because they have spent years, maybe decades, gaining control of Lycanthropy. So, if they have that much control over it, why should they loose abilities through it ?? </font>

To be honest, no, I have not seen Cernd in ToB, nor do I ever expect to--at least, not ALIVE, and if so, not for very long. How, exactly, is he going to take on an Iron Golem, except with the Sling of Everard, a tactic that even the scrawniest Level 1 Mage can employ? Cernd's Barkskin and Ironskins aren't going to be any help at all against Draconis, who can easily melt the little wolf pup into the floor before Cernd can do a single HP of damage. He might stand a chance against high-level Illithids, if he can get close enough. As far as I can tell, the only things Cernd has going for him are Ironskins, Insect Plague, Creeping Doom, and Nature's Beauty, and by no means does he have a monopoly on those spells.

To be fair, Cernd might be okay. He might even be good. But you can do better. SO much better.

LennonCook: I suppose that, after years of training devoted to achieving total control over their one bestial form, Shapeshifters might possibly be able to cast their spells as a Wolf (admittedly, mangling the consonants a bit with their wolf's palate and sharp canines). But even granted this possibility, I still consider the ethics of this powergaming advantage to be....not quite immoral, but at least morally sticky. I can see Aerie casting spells with her Ogre mouth and hands a lot easier than I can see Cernd doing the same thing with his paws. The game does not state, "While shapeshifted into animal form, you will be unable to initiate dialogue.....unless you're a Shapeshifter Druid."

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Pfft. Draconis is overrated. ;) 100% Acid Resistance, and any tank worth his salt can tear him down. Cernd is more than capable of defeating Draconis on his own, but to be fair, so do the rest of the melee NPCs.

Iron Golems are no problem, because as I have said, Cernd has Ironskins which will grant him more than enough time to destory the Iron Golem. Now... Admantium Golems, that be a different scenerio, one which even Korgan will be loath to face them in melee combat one on one.

Oh, Cernd has Physical Mirror too. One of those highly underappreciated Priest spells.

Cernd is a good NPC. True, he will never be as good as a player-character Shapeshifter, but he is still powerful in his own right. Oh, and I think they should remove the "Can cast while in Were form" for the Shapeshifter mod. It is the only thing preventing me from downloading it.

The conversations here are definitely a great read.

[ 10-31-2002, 08:29 PM: Message edited by: Jerr Conner ]