Druid Questions (Weapons and Spells)

[NobleNick]

Hi guys!

I am grooming a fighter to dual over to Druid, specializing in Scimitars. Have several questions.

I see the following in Conlan's shop:
* The Lucky Scimitar -- Scimitar +2, Wielder always under the effects of Luck, can cast Luck 1/Day. Now, it DOES have a bonus of 2 to THAC0, AND it gives the user some magic abilities; BUT it does not have the blue "magical item" border when displayed in Conlan's shop.

QUESTION 1: Is this item considered a +2 weapon for the purpose of hitting monsters that require a +1 or +2 magical weapon to damage? (I don't want to pay $3000+ for this just to get the ever popular "weapon ineffective" message when engaging a mummy or imbued wight, etc.)

QUESTION 2: Any better scimitars waiting out there for a Druid specializing in large swords (and constrained to scimitars)?

QUESTION 3: How do druids acquire spells? (I have a ways to go before worrying about this: need to get my level 7 fighter up to level 13 before dualing over; but I am curious.)

QUESTION 4: I intend to have 4 proficiency points in bows when I dual over. Can Fighter/Druids uses bows (when fighter skills become available after the dual over)?

Thank you.

Party On!

edited to add question 4

[ 10-10-2002, 03:10 PM: Message edited by: NobleNick ]

[Cyril Darkcloud]

Here's a stab at a few answers:

1. I do not recall having gotten 'weapon ineffective' messages when using the luckblade. However, I play my druids primarily as spellcasters and rarely use them in direct melee combat -- and when I do so they are shape-changed.

2. There are at least 2 better scimitars available later in the game not considering the items HOW adds.

3. Druids acquire spells in the same way that clerics do and also receive bonus spells if their wisdom is high enough.

4. I do not dual-class, but I have found that multi-class fighter/druids are able to use bows. That being the case I do not see why a dual-class situation would be different.

[Dundee Slaytern]

Multiclassed Fighter/Druids cannot use Bows. They can only use Slings.

[Jim]

I intend to have 4 proficiency points in bows

In IWD, you may only place a maximum of 3 proficiency points into any missile weapon.

The lucky scimitar should strike as a +2 weapon. The luck bonus while equipped actually means that this weapon provides a +3 THAC0 bonus, but you must have the latest patch installed otherwise this luck bonus is not granted due to a bug. (I've got HoW installed and patch 1.41 corrected this for me).

Ther are some nice scimitars in IWD including Frostbrand +3 and the excellent Valliant (identical to Belm in BG2)

By the way what are your fighters stats? I worked out that for a human fighter -> druid, ideal stats need to be:

STR 15 (absolute minimum for dual classing)
DEX 18,CON 18 (these are optional but need to be high to make an effective tank, otherwise you're taking the fight out of fighter)
INT 9 (minimum to use protection scrolls and not be treated like a moron)
WIS 17 (minimum for dual class, 18 prefferably)
CHA 17 (minimum for dual classing)

so to make a decent F->D I work out that you need at least 94 ability points which is incredibly difficult to roll for a human fighter with mostly 3 minimums! This was for BG2 though so there might be a few differences in IWD.

[Malavon's Rage]

question: can dueled F/D wear plate armor?

[Lord Brass]

The way it should work is, that you continue with your previous abilities (stuck at the level you changed at) which you can use as before. That means no plate armour, if you want to cast spells (or shapechange probably) as a druid. As to weapons, you should be able to use them, but you may find that your new abilities are "turned off" until you remove the offending item e.g. like unequipping a longsword you put into your character's hand. I think that's how it works, as to be honest, I don't bother with dual-classing much. It's sort of okay for BG1, but for games were you can actually gain some decent levels, I prefer to take the time with single or multi-class characters.

[Seraph]

IIRC: A Dueled F/D where the the level of druid is greater then the level of fighter should be able to wear any armor.
Just like a Multi Class F/D.

[NobleNick]

Thanks for the info, folks.

Dundee Stayterns reply makes me think I should clarify one question: Can Fighters dualed over to Driuds use bows AFTER they have achieved a level in Druid that allows them to once again use their fighter skills?

[Jim]

Can Fighters dualed over to Driuds use bows AFTER they have achieved a level in Druid that allows them to once again use their fighter skills?

Nope. Any combination of druid (plain, dual or multi) can not use any missile weapons other than the sling. The dual classed fighter/druid will retain the proficiency points for bows but will still be unable to use them.

I'm still keen to know the stats for your fighter/druid NobleNick.

[NobleNick]

O.K., Jim, Dual-class Fighter/Druid stats for you!

The numbers for fighter, druid and F/D are the minimum allowed in each ability. The numbers for Druulf are what I actually assigned. Re-rolled for 15 minutes or so to get my 88 total:

Class . STR . DEX . CON . INT . WIS . CHA . TOTAL
. .F . . . 9. . . . 3. . . 3. . . 3 . . . 3 . . . 3. . . 24
. .D . . . 3. . . . 3. . . 3. . . 3 . . .12. . .15. . . 39
.F/D . . . 9 . . . 3. . . 3. . . 3 . . .12. . .15. . . 45
Druulf 18/30 . . 9. . .18. . . 8. . .17. . .18. . . 88

Suggestions for re-allocation are welcomed. Maybe top off WIS and pump DEX at the expense of INT? (Originally, I did not want to lower INT too much; because did not want to be overly susceptible to spells. Has anyone with low INT characters found this to be a problem? Is DEX important for THAC0 or damage with ranged weapons?)

Party On!

edited to make table look like a... table!

[ 10-15-2002, 10:44 PM: Message edited by: NobleNick ]