I finally decided to make a druid in HOW, and realized that they weren't all that bad. Some of the new spells were really useful, like the first level sunray, and crushing wave. They're not very good as warriors, but i've got quite a bit of respect for druids now.

<font color="cyan">Every class is good, you just have to learn to use them properly...</font>

I've always liked Druids for roleplaying reasons, but I agree that in IWD without HoW they were a bit less powerful than the other classes, but Static Charge and Creeping Doom alone made them worthwhile, IMO. In HoW, with the new spells, the Elemental Shapeshifting Forms and the immunity to poison, they rock. For some serious butt-kicking action, try a Fighter/Druid. With HoW having a level cap rather than an XP cap, multiclasses can reach level 30 in all of their classes, and a 30/30 Fighter/Druid is an opponent to fear.

It's not that I didn't know what I was doing with one mind you, it's just that Druids never seemed very powerful. The only I ever used was Jaheria, and she never got very powerful. That level one Sunray was Sunschorch. HOW added a *lot* of useful spells solely for druids.

If you want to get geeky and technical; a Dual-classed Fighter-Druid, (29/30), is your toughest fighter druid yet. the most HP (188 for Con 18) and about 16 proficiency slots with the ability to master at least 2 weapons (scimitar and dagger!). It works well in Theory, but it would take either some cheating, or some "treachery" (IE, kill other party members then complete quest to get all the EXP for yourself) to level that druid on the 2nd leg of the journey.

I’m on my second time through IWD (no HOW - yet) and have included a Fighter/Druid in my party for variety and to enjoy the new experience. So far I’ve reached level 6/7, I am in the Dragons Eye and I am not greatly impressed. Let’s hope things get better once the really cool spells become available.

A few comments and questions on my Druid experience :-

I haven’t found a decent weapon for my druid yet, I know there is a nice Scimitar later in the game and Arundel has a nice staff, but generally there is not much to chose from if a magical weapon is needed.

When level 3 spells became available there wasn’t anything worth using and that’s the first time that that’s ever happened to me when new spells become available. Those 3rd level spells are really bad, but I am determined to use Call Lightning at some point in the game even if it means waiting until I get back to Easthaven.

I have just got the shape-shifting ability but so far I can’t decide if this is useful. What sort of tactic can I use that takes advantage of this without getting well and truly beaten-up?

Any advice would be welcome, thanks.

<font color="#a0ff60">Druids are cool. Fighter/Druids rock! It's unfortunate that Black Isle doesn't allow Elven Fighter/Druids.

I can't recommend HoW enough, though. I though Druids' spells were severely underpowered until I got HoW. Now I'm falling in love all over again. :D HoW druids get many cool shapeshifting powers, too.

You need at least one point in Large Swords to use a Flame Blade effectively. FBs are great weapons vs. the undead and vs. trolls.

Druids can use Daggers! I always neglect this fine weapon. There are many, many cool daggers in IWD, and at least one +2 (and other interesting effect) Dagger in Dragon's Eye. I also found a +3 club one time through that area, though not the second time.
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<font color=yellow> -- Nifft</font>

Druids Rock!My one druid killed the Idol with a couple charged spells!

Another Druid question for you guys.

I have the spell 'Static Charge' but so far I can't make it work to order. The instructions aren't too clear - do I prime the charge and then approach the target, or what? Any advice would be helpful, thanks.

You Just Cast It And It Will <u>Randomly</u> Shock A Hostile Creature Every SO Often.

Druids rock, and thats it. And their elemental shapeshift is so handy. Its like having a fighter right there.

When you cast this spell it will proceed to go off once per turn for as many turn as you have druid levels. The spell can be stacked so if you have 10 static charge spells and cast them one after the other they will go off virtually every round (10 rounds to a turn). At higher levels thay also do severe amounts of damage.

Your druidmust be within a certain distance of an enemy for the damage to be done. If there is no enemy in range the spell will remain in force but the damage for that turn will just dissipate.

Finally, and in my opinion the best thing about the spell, it is passive. That means your druid can fight, shapeshift or cast other spells without losing the static charge. It also means that it won't affect any concealment such as invisibilty that the druid has. An invisible druid with static shock can turn a difficult battle into a total walkover, so use with care.

One more thing. Although the affected creature would appear to be random, static shock always damages the creature farthest away within its area effect. Only when two or more creatures are the same distance away does it become random.

Cheers.

Thanks, Sir M. - there's no way I would have figured all that out from the discription on the scroll. As long as it keeps damaging the bad guys and leaves my team alone, then I guess it's OK to put up with the inaccurate aiming.

PS - on the subject of Call Lightning, I managed to kill an enemy with it in Kalduhar (after Dragons Eye) so now only a couple of chapters to wait before I can use it again!