As much as I loathe Jaheira, Fighter/Druid is a super multiclass
PugPug
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You ultimately get all the spell slots of a pure Druid, plus full plate, weapon specialization, the THAC0 of a pure Fighter, and HLAs from both classes.
If only there were a simple mod to remove the "Yes, oh omnipresent authority figure?"
Of course, you could do it better with CHARNAME's superior stats.
If only there were a simple mod to remove the "Yes, oh omnipresent authority figure?"
Of course, you could do it better with CHARNAME's superior stats.
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Too bad her Wisdom still sucks, and Cleric/Druid HLAs are kind of lackluster in comparison to the other classes.
@UnknownQuality I'm not overly familiar with D&D rules, but wouldn't Ankheg armor still considered legal, since it's still considered natural (probably Dragon scale too by that logic...)?
Concerning effectiveness, it must be said that Druids only really work out particularly well in BG 1. In BGII, they sort of peter out at level 12, after which it takes a whopping 450k to hit 13, 750k to hit 14, and 1.5 million to reach level 15.
This means that with the SoA cap, your Fighter/Druid is looking to end up at level 13/13 - Not even hitting level 7 spells.
In comparison - And pretend it doesn't completely invalidate the multiclass by having all the cleric and druid spells in the game - you have the Ranger/Cleric. It can still specialise, and it ends up at 13/14 at the end of SoA, meaning you actually have level 7 spells to play with. It also picks up stealth and two pips in Two Weapon Fighting absolutely free, whilst having access to the generally superior cleric spell list (off the top of my head Insect Plague, Iron Skins and Nature's Beauty are generally the only spells worth being a Druid in general, they can't even raise and miss a lot of the best stuff).
In ToB, the Fighter/Druid ends up at level 24/21, whilst the Ranger/Cleric ends up at 21/25 - Not only does the Ranger cleric get one more HLA, it gets a higher Caster Level (generally useful for dispels only), and still ends up at the same THAC0.
The Fighter/Druid in the end doesn't pick up every spell a pure druid does, at level 21 they snag: 9/9/9/9/8/6/6. This is their best feature, as they get three level 9 spell slots more than the cleric due to their big boost from 1 level 9 spell to 6 at level 15 (though their caster level is far worse than the Cleric at this point, who has 6 levels on them and twice as many level 9 spells until this point). Note that this is at 6 million, so you're most of the way through ToB before the Druid becomes anything more than a poor man's Fighter/Cleric.
In short, I'd stick with Jaheira, at least she gets a unique spell to compensate.
I do like Jaheira, partly the class combo but also the questline and character development arc she has. I'm also a sucker for insect plague.
It's something I've pondered looking into, though I've never modded BG before.
I like the sassy tough girl, and "You're interesing in a 'what in the hell is wrong with you?' way"
For me it's always about how do I get the most out of a particular class or or kit. Comparisons are inevitable. But I'm still intent on extracting the best from each of them, irrespective of what other classes may be more powerful.
For this class combo I look to Jaheira, since I'm much more likely to use her than play one myself.
With Jaheira in EE I would be looking to have her dual-wield clubs, as she joins with Clubs ++. As for spells, I intend to have her cast (in addition to healing, obviously):
Armor of Faith
Doom
Barkskin
Call Lightning (if for no better reason than it just looks so cool)
Miscast Magic
Rigid Thinking
Summon Insects
Call Woodland Beings
Cloak of Fear (love this spell)
Defensive Harmony
Poison
and I expect to have fun playing her. A lot of fun, in fact.
Does the Fighter/Cleric have a superior spell selection? Yes, imho. From among all the Fight/____ multis would I prefer a Fighter/Thief or Fighter/Mage? Yup. But does that mean I can't enjoy a Fighter/Druid as a respectable class in it's own right, for what it has to offer? No.
I do like that I can do something with Jaheira now other than have her wield a scimitar with a shield. Druids aren't supposed to use bladed weapons to begin with. But that was always the best weapon choice for her in the vanilla game. Now with EE there are some new items that make playing a Druid a little sweeter.
Anyway, I look forward to her dual-wielding clubs.
I really enjoy Jaheria but I still tend to give her ++ Staves, ++ Two-Handed Weapon Style and ++Spears over time Vs using her sword and board style. She loses the shield but with a strength boosting item she crits a lot more as an offtank and usually kills things a might faster for it.
There's a +3 Staff you can buy fairly quicky in BG1, a +4 Staff you can buy nearly at the beginning of the game in BG2, and a +4 staff with an AC bonus you can find a little later down the road...as well as a spear with +10 Piercing damage halfway through BG2.
Clubs/Scimitars and shields always felt pretty boring Vs that.
*Shrug*
Am I missing something though with shields? Anything specific you really dig?
Do you want them at 1.5mil or 3mil?
Do you want a decent number of them at 3mil or 6mil?
Those are the two main drawbacks of the Fighter/Druid. Of course, the advantages are all those lovely fighter stats (THAC0, APR, HP, etc.).
Looking at it from the other perspective, the Fighter/Druid is a slightly less effective Fighter that gets a heap of druid spells as a bonus.