Druid: Avenger Solo Playthrough
Blobberson
Member Posts: 12
Never played BGI, but I played BGII and solo'd with a bunch of different characters.
For those who've played BGI, what would a Druid Avenger solo playthrough look like?
For those who've played BGI, what would a Druid Avenger solo playthrough look like?
1
Comments
BG1 favours fighters for the first few levels, and playing without a tank or summons early on would be painful.
Entangle + slings = dead creatures. Easy peasy. Plus you'd be able to huck chromatic orbs and webs to be that much more dangerous.
Other than that, be cautious, try to get your maximum of 10 hitpoints at each level up (based on having 16 constitution), and take your time. There are traps that can kill you in the game after all.
Rather than killing an Anheg and paying 4000g you can find a ready made Anheg Plate in the Nashkell Town map. Its located on the left hand side of the vertical fields. Its very easy to miss so look it up on the net and then use the Tab function if you can.
That means no Ankheg armor.
If BG:EE fixes it, avengers should be able to use it, as they would see it as natural armor and not plate.
In 3rd Edition this would be another matter entirely, but for AD&D purposes there tends to be a very clear-cut "can/cannot" clause when it comes to items. Druids equipping Ankheg armor seems like an oversight, especially if Avengers can do it. Avengers shouldn't be able to use gear heavier than plain leather. If they can't use even studded leather, why would they be able to use a plate armor? Just because it's made out of bug shells? They can't use dragonscale armors just because they are dragonscale.
Can Avengers wear hide armor added by ToSC? I never tried, since it's worse.
The Complete Druids Handbook also mentions, 'Most druids wear natural armor (leather)...'
The White Dragon scale, oddly enough, can be used by regular druids but not Avengers.
In summation, the rules regarding what druids can and cannot wear is arbitrary in the video games. I had always assumed they couldn't use at least the Red Dragon Scale as it is classified as Full Plate and figured they were barred from the armor type. You think I would have noticed considering the second guy I ever beat BG2 with was a Totemic Druid.
Maybe I did and it's just been so long I forgot.
While I'm testing things, I decided to see if any of these armors were usable by Archer and Stalker. They can use the White and Shadow dragon scales as both are classified as studded leather and leather armors respectively. So that is working as intented.
I'm also looking at the description of Ankheg Armor.
Also checked with a Barbarians, who cannot wear plate and full plate but can equip with regular Scale armor, as per the armor type. Barbarians can't use the Red Dragon Scale. It is full plate armor made with red dragon scales, not a scale armor as in the type of gear. (They also can't use Ankheg armor, meaning that too is also Plate, but I think we all already knew that.)
This would suggest druids should not be able to use it. Or if they can use it, they should then also be able to use the Blue Dragon Scale in Throne of Bhaal.
Confused yet? I know I am. Pretty sure the rules are arbitrary or at least the implementation of them in the BG games sure is.
Barbs & Stalkers: Limited by armor type.
Druids: Limited depending on materials.
It sounds like the Blue Scale not working for Druids is a mistake. Change that and everything's consistent, no?
Obviously a Kensai/Mage dual, or a Ranger/Cleric dual, or a strait up mage or sorcerer doesn't have to get too cheesy, but I'd imagine a weaker class might.
Thoughts?
Avengers don't really rely on "cheese." You can basically use them as a mage early game, between their chromatic orbs and webs. Level 7, you can start turning into a sword spider and attempting to shred things to bits in melee that way. They are possibly the most complete single class in the game.
They are kind of a weak link until level 3 though, and are terribly hard to have a good stat roll with.
Not sure for BG2, but I remember having an Avenger with Ankheg plate in BG1. Probably will be fixed for BGEE though, as it would make sense.
I interpret the "no armor greater than leather" as "no armor with a Base non-enchanted armor class better than leather". Ankheg Plate is +2 with a non-enchanted base of 3, right? (Plate Mail). Or is it considered a Full Plate?
You gotta play an avenger in humanoid form differently than most druids.
Also to assuage the difficulty of getting "good" rolls on them, I recommend gimping strength down to 10. Druids don't really need it, an Avenger least of all. Remember that shapeshifted, your physical stats are simply that of the creature you are turned into so it wouldn't matter if you maxed out at 16 strength. It makes carry capacity a bit of a chore, but it's almost necessary.
Though it makes going all Irenicus and turning people to stone very easy.
I sorta want that to be the one time Sarevok doesn't resist or make his save. Just once for laughs