Anyone use Faldorn in their parties?

SharGuidesMyHand

Generally, I've never made much use of Faldorn, who I've always considered THE weakest NPC in BG. However, as I prepare for BG:EE in my mind, I've been mulling over the possibility of giving Faldorn an earnest try. From an RP perspective, I've always liked the fact that she shares a common goal with your party (investigating the Iron Throne). Also, as a neutral (and somewhat militant) character, she can fit in with my planned "evil" party.

For anyone here who has made serious use of Faldorn, does anyone have any recommendations or advice on using her?

Quartz

As a pure Druid tied for the highest Wisdom with three other NPCs (16), she is the most capable Divine spellcaster NPC.

So basically, have her spam heal spells and/or summoning. At Level 10 she will have 3 Level 4 Spells, 2 Level 5 Spells. That potentially means 3 Animal Summoning I, 2 Animal Summoning II, and her innate ability Summon Dread Wolf.

Make sure to equip her with Ankheg Armor, and she is a good target for the Claw of Kazgaroth. Also, Kiel's Buckler. The Ring of Holiness is of course awesome on her as well.

Brude

Tip: Do not have Jaheira and Faldorn in the same party. They belong to different druid factions and will NOT get along.

Quartz

Honestly, think of Faldorn as the Divine equivalent of Edwin. Just ... no boss extra spells, besides her Innate Ability.

Bam

I was just thinking of replacing Jaheira with Faldorn. I tend to use my druid as a debuffer/summoner, and Jaheira is really more of an off-tank caster. So I think I'll give her a go this first game. And it gives me a reason to never have Coward in my party at all.

elminster

Firstly I have not made use of her in some time, and only ever in BG vanilla so some of what I have to say is influenced by the new spells etc that are available now in BGEE.

Healer/summoner is your best bet I guess. I mean as the only single-class druid in the game she gets access to 2 level 5 spells eventually, which you could use for a number of different things (insect plague, critical wounds, animal summoning, etc). I wouldn't say iron skins, just because frankly her stats don't support her being someone who could benefit much from it. I guess she could cast it and then shapechange, but I'm not sure if that would work. She also gets call lightning of course which in Baldurs Gate is handy (not so much in BG2), and insect summon (which I happen to like as an earlier spell than insect plague that you can still use on spell casters). Her wisdom is good for NPC's (16) and on top of her higher druid level obtainability it makes her a more spell worthy druid than Jaheira (the wisdom benefit is 2 more 2nd level spells than what Jaheira would get). If you need to use her in fighting conventionally (non spell fighting) she isn't much good at it. She is an example of someone who does benefits stats wise from the shapeshifting forms she gets at level 7 (especially the bears since they would actually give her more health and a solid strength), but I can't say shapeshifting is something I would do without having any other options for her.

Finally, though its been awhile I'm sure her dread wolf ability would be a strong summon. I mean they generally are strong in game.

sandmanCCL

Faldorn's biggest weakness is the same biggest weakness of some otherwise decent NPCs: Coran, Eldoth and especially Yeslick. She's in an awkward spot of the game when your party is probably finalized already.

That said, she's got the greatest divine spells capabilities of any NPCs as my disciple @Quartz pointed out. Plus, a pure druid hits 5th level divine spells. With the addition of BG2 spells, that's a huge advantage for druids. That's a cast of Animal Summon II, Cause/Cure Critical Wounds, Chaotic Commands, Insect Plague, Iron Skins, or Mass Cure over any Cleric.

Don't forget while her physical stats are lacking, they are inconsequential. They could all be 9 and it wouldn't matter. Shapeshifting simply sets it to the value of the animal form you take, so if you want to go tank as a bear, you can do that just fine.

SharGuidesMyHand

Brude said:

Tip: Do not have Jaheira and Faldorn in the same party. They belong to different druid factions and will NOT get along.

I've come across that in my limited experience in using Faldorn in my party. IMO, that's one of the few times both of them are actually interesting. ;-)

SharGuidesMyHand

double post

Aasimar069

What's the prolem whith Yeslick ?
As soon as you find him, you can dump Jaheira for the rest of the game.

He's got some good priest stats, and with the WIS books, he can do his job very well (access to level 4 healing spells).

Jaxsbudgie

Plus Faldorn has a rather charming voice set. One of my favourites.

SharGuidesMyHand

sandmanCCL said:

Faldorn's biggest weakness is the same biggest weakness of some otherwise decent NPCs: Coran, Eldoth and especially Yeslick. She's in an awkward spot of the game when your party is probably finalized already.

I think prior to the arrival at Baldur's Gate, the potential is still there to improve your party. Coran and Yeslick are staples of my good-aligned parties, for example - there's typically still one or two less powerful NPCs that I can readily dump in favor of them, i.e: Safana (for Coran) or Jaheira, Branwen, or even Ajantis (for Yeslick). IMO, it's not until you actually arrive in the city that the NPCs are no longer adequate to replace your current party members (i.e: Alora, Skie).

Lemernis

She's a strong character, as others have said. I used her only once, though. She's a forest druid who becomes available after I've done most of my wilderness exploring. Soon after I enter BG City and do a lot of exploring there, and she feels out of place in an urban environment. As others have said, by that point in the game I already have a healer that I'm happy with. And at the point I can add Faldorn, Yeslick is right around the corner and I like him better personality-wise.