SCS: how is a shapeshifter in a party?

Mirrorcoat

Planning to make a more challenging scs run instead of an all-arcane party like 5 years ago.

My party would consist of:
Aerie (I finally wanna romance her and see her TOB ending)
Minsc
Yoshimo>Imoen
Keldorn>Sarevok (maybe?)
Haer for the romantic conflict (my switching slot for companion quests and such, until I keep Mazzy for tob)

I want to give singleclass lycan druid a try, but I wonder how fucked I am with such a party only having 1.5 arcane casters on a SCS run?

jmerry

Well, I did an absurd all-werewolf run once. The trick to that one is that the "improved shapeshifting" tokens are usable by more than just the druid that created them; they work for all druids, they work for monks for some reason, and rogues can put them on once they get UAI. Exact details vary by SCS version; I think that in the current version, the only way to get multiple tokens out of a single shapeshifter is to have them leave and re-enter the party a few times. So, not the protagonist - you have Cernd handle that.

One full mage and one half-mage? That's a perfectly normal level of arcane power. It shouldn't be a problem. SCS is winnable with a lot less - I did a no-spellcasting challenge run, and it worked just fine.

As for how a shapeshifter plays ...
In greater werewolf form, they're fantastic tanks. Great AC, tons of elemental and magic resistance, and regeneration. But they don't hit very hard; werewolf paws don't get enchantment bonuses to attack or damage, so even with high strength and bonus APR your actual damage is mediocre. My werewolf run had some very odd fights in the late game, where I could just ignore high-level mages as non-threats and not even try to dispel/breach their defenses.
In humanoid form, they're back-line casters. Druids get some good stuff for that role; an Insect Plague or True Seeing is always a great way to open a fight.
The trick is knowing when to switch between roles. Which is trivialized if you install that "improved shapeshifting" component, as you can just put on the token at a moment's notice.

Gel87

I gave the shapechange back to human shape a instant +3 casting speed with improved alacricity for 3 seconds after using that.
This way i can insantly cast a spell after shaping back to human. Ofc I can cheeze this by over and over again shapechange to wolf shapes and then stack up 7-10 of this shapechange human albility though xD But the higher spells takes like 5 seconds anyway, and ur ready to cast a spell as soon as ur done with one anyway. And all the lower ones like Command etc dont work on legacy of bhaal mode anyway :P

I also have the +4 claws, and i have a kit which goes beyond with Mutant Werewolf and Demonic werewolf. But that kit is a little OP, so i only used that once. I dont play SCS so i dont have claw token.