Improved Faldorn. Help needed. (Spoilers)

[Sever]

Needing advice from anyone who's managed to kill Improved Faldorn. Apparently completing this quest is no longer possible without a druid in the party so i reluctantly signed Cernd on for the job. It's occured to me before that some of the Tactics tweeks are a little unfair but this one's just silly. As far as i can tell, she's got spell trap, spell turning, stoneskin, improved invisibility and possibly true sight before the fight even starts. (Druids know high level mage spells now? [img]graemlins/1ponder.gif[/img] ) I managed to buff Cernd up to 18 in STR, DEX and CON and give him barkskin, bless, improved invisibilty, potions of defence and speed and a further speed bonus from Arbane's Shortsword but, even then, he can't get off a useful spell before she shapeshifts and attacks him. Shifting into greater werewolf form (which, after pre-buffing, gives him 21 STR, 20 DEX, 25 CON, -11 armour and a really low THAC0) allows him to survive a few rounds longer but he's still unable to wear down her stoneskin.

I'm already a bit miffed that i have to sign on a druid for this one job, so i REALLY don't want to have to waste further time and xp training him up to be able to kill her. Does anyone have any ideas?

[Harkoliar]

you do know your companions can help in from afar? outside the ring?

[Imrahil]

It's pretty much designed for a party which has kep a Druid for a while, but there is an easy way around the fight for those who haven't.

Don't recruit Cernd, first off. Meet him at the north end of the Druid Grove instead. You'll see him just west of the place you fight the (0 XP) Shambling Mounds, but before you run into the pack of Bears.

Now, you need to go talk to Faldorn & find out what's up, then go back & talk to Cernd. Tell him what's happening & he'll go fight Faldorn for you. You get to watch, he gets to be nigh invulnerable (if he does happen to lose, Reload), all the while complaining about how it's not his time or something.

Still, he wins most of the time. You never recruited him, he did all the work, you're still the Heroes of Trademeet. Everyone's happy.

- Imrahil

[Sever]

Originally posted by Harkoliar: you do know your companions can help in from afar? outside the ring?

It's an evil party, but they have their limits. Even so, with Faldorn's protective mage spells and the spells i currently have, it's still going to take too long to dispel her stoneskin (which is the real issue here.) GW Cernd is sometimes dying as early as three rounds into the battle..

[Sever]

Originally posted by Imrahil: It's pretty much designed for a party which has kep a Druid for a while, but there is an easy way around the fight for those who haven't. Don't recruit Cernd, first off. Meet him at the north end of the Druid Grove instead. You'll see him just west of the place you fight the (0 XP) Shambling Mounds, but before you run into the pack of Bears. Now, you need to go talk to Faldorn & find out what's up, then go back & talk to Cernd. Tell him what's happening & he'll go fight Faldorn for you. You get to watch, he gets to be nigh invulnerable (if he does happen to lose, Reload), all the while complaining about how it's not his time or something. Still, he wins most of the time. You never recruited him, he did all the work, you're still the Heroes of Trademeet. Everyone's happy. - Imrahil

Ah, now i remember. A druid grove full of shadow druids spouting 'shadow' this and 'shadow' that, and it still needs to be said from Faldorn's mouth before Cernd can get the hint. Yep, that's Cernd all over. I should've clicked sooner. Thanks Imrahil. [img]smile.gif[/img]