Skip to content

Amarande the Shadow Druid "Arch Druid"

120 xp for killing an Arch Druid? Seriously? The guy casts Insect Plague! :)

Comments

  • DJKajuruDJKajuru Member Posts: 3,300
    Well, without SCS he is basically dead weight...
    ThacoBellChronicler
  • Grond0Grond0 Member Posts: 7,305
    edited May 2019
    I agree he's pretty formidable with SCS and the XP reward for that version of him seems a bit derisory. The treasure gained was also pretty pathetic in vanilla, but Beamdog have added the Root of the Problem club to that - among other things that is able to hit Belhifet in SoD.
    JuliusBorisovAerakar
  • JuliusBorisovJuliusBorisov Member, Administrator, Moderator, Developer Posts: 22,714
    edited May 2019
    A slight correction - the Root of the Problem club is not available in BG:EE without mods. That said, the club +2 is quite a nice reward for those who wield clubs. It's called Mighty Oak +2.

    So @Grond0 most likely meant this item.
    StummvonBordwehrThacoBellAerakar
  • OlvynChuruOlvynChuru Member Posts: 3,075
    120 xp for killing an Arch Druid? Seriously? The guy casts Insect Plague! :)

    He was even more pathetic in earlier versions of the game (a couple of patches ago) when he only had a couple of low-level spells (including Hold Person, which druids shouldn't be able to cast).

    In all honesty, I think Amarande should be level 14 (after all, he IS an Archdruid), but his high-level spells should be things a low-level party traveling the Cloakwood could potentially deal with (e.g. Dolorous Decay).
    leeux
  • Grond0Grond0 Member Posts: 7,305
    A slight correction - the Root of the Problem club is not available in BG:EE without mods. That said, the club +2 is quite a nice reward for those who wield clubs. It's called Mighty Oak +2.

    So @Grond0 most likely meant this item.

    I guess I'm just too used to killing him while playing with SCS - he drops the Root of the Problem then.
  • DJKajuruDJKajuru Member Posts: 3,300
    OlvynChuru wrote: »
    120 xp for killing an Arch Druid? Seriously? The guy casts Insect Plague! :)

    He was even more pathetic in earlier versions of the game (a couple of patches ago) when he only had a couple of low-level spells (including Hold Person, which druids shouldn't be able to cast).

    In all honesty, I think Amarande should be level 14 (after all, he IS an Archdruid), but his high-level spells should be things a low-level party traveling the Cloakwood could potentially deal with (e.g. Dolorous Decay).

    On the other hand his encounter is totally optional and allows your party all kinds of preparation before attacking him.
    Mantis37
  • Gatekeep3rGatekeep3r Member Posts: 123
    edited May 2019
    A slight correction - the Root of the Problem club is not available in BG:EE without mods. That said, the club +2 is quite a nice reward for those who wield clubs. It's called Mighty Oak +2.

    So @Grond0 most likely meant this item.

    Not completely relevant, but I've always thought that clubs should be useable by mages as well. After all it's just a piece of wood. All other classes have access to more formidable weapons. I don't think I ever had a character or companion proficient in clubs.

    Item description:
    [...] Anyone can find a good stout piece of wood and swing it; hence the club's widespread use.
    Grond0
  • parrkerparrker Member Posts: 22
    Gatekeep3r wrote: »
    Not completely relevant, but I've always thought that clubs should be useable by mages as well. After all it's just a piece of wood. All other classes have access to more formidable weapons. I don't think I ever had a character or companion proficient in clubs.

    Isn't a club the best thing you can give to Jaheira? She comes with 2 pips in clubs, they deal nice crushing damage, Club + 2 is a nice weapon, and she can hold a shield at the same time.
    StummvonBordwehrJuliusBorisov
  • jmerryjmerry Member Posts: 3,822
    Gatekeep3r wrote: »
    I don't think I ever had a character or companion proficient in clubs.
    So, ah - you've never played with Jaheira in the party? It's the only weapon she starts specialized with, in both games. Her best combat use when recruited is to pick up a club and shield, and start whacking enemies. It then takes a while to find a magical club, but they're certainly a competitive weapon in the long run.
    StummvonBordwehrThacoBell
  • Gatekeep3rGatekeep3r Member Posts: 123
    edited May 2019
    jmerry wrote: »
    Gatekeep3r wrote: »
    I don't think I ever had a character or companion proficient in clubs.
    So, ah - you've never played with Jaheira in the party? It's the only weapon she starts specialized with, in both games. Her best combat use when recruited is to pick up a club and shield, and start whacking enemies. It then takes a while to find a magical club, but they're certainly a competitive weapon in the long run.

    I think I've played with Jaheira in the party 20 years ago before I figured out you can just dump her in a house and keep Khalid.
    I've done maybe 1 or 2 BG2 runs with Jaheira out of dozens. I don't like her personality, I hate the voice acting (not that the actress does a bad job, she just has an annoying voice -imo). I used clerics as divine casters in BG1 and druids aren't a necessity in BG2 either. Her dex and str weren't great in BG1 either.

    I realize they have a few spells that are really good (and maybe better than they should be), but I've never felt druids to be superior to clerics. Med to high level fighter/clerics are war machines and incredibly fun to play with. It could be I never used druids or f/d the 'correct' way. I also do not remember any magical clubs in vanilla BG1.

    I'm not making a cleric vs druid case here, just saying I have a big preference for clerics. And that I dislike Jaheira.
  • AasimAasim Member Posts: 591
    Grond0 wrote: »
    I agree he's pretty formidable with SCS and the XP reward for that version of him seems a bit derisory. The treasure gained was also pretty pathetic in vanilla, but Beamdog have added the Root of the Problem club to that - among other things that is able to hit Belhifet in SoD.

    In one verison of SCS (v22 -v24, can't remember) he summoned basilisks. While it was labeled as a bug (and fixed) later on, it made for a rather epic encounter.
    Grond0StummvonBordwehr
  • DavidWDavidW Member Posts: 823
    Grond0 wrote: »
    A slight correction - the Root of the Problem club is not available in BG:EE without mods. That said, the club +2 is quite a nice reward for those who wield clubs. It's called Mighty Oak +2.

    So @Grond0 most likely meant this item.

    I guess I'm just too used to killing him while playing with SCS - he drops the Root of the Problem then.

    Nothing to do with SCS. With very, very rare exceptions, I don't add extra treasure.
    Aasim wrote: »
    Grond0 wrote: »
    I agree he's pretty formidable with SCS and the XP reward for that version of him seems a bit derisory. The treasure gained was also pretty pathetic in vanilla, but Beamdog have added the Root of the Problem club to that - among other things that is able to hit Belhifet in SoD.

    In one verison of SCS (v22 -v24, can't remember) he summoned basilisks. While it was labeled as a bug (and fixed) later on, it made for a rather epic encounter.

    Also nothing to do with SCS - that sounds like SR.
    StummvonBordwehr
  • elminsterelminster Member, Developer Posts: 16,315
    edited May 2019
    OlvynChuru wrote: »
    120 xp for killing an Arch Druid? Seriously? The guy casts Insect Plague! :)

    He was even more pathetic in earlier versions of the game (a couple of patches ago) when he only had a couple of low-level spells (including Hold Person, which druids shouldn't be able to cast).

    I filed the report to get this fixed. Glad to see druids acting like druids now. :)
    HaHaCharadeJuliusBorisov
  • Grond0Grond0 Member Posts: 7,305
    DavidW wrote: »
    Grond0 wrote: »
    A slight correction - the Root of the Problem club is not available in BG:EE without mods. That said, the club +2 is quite a nice reward for those who wield clubs. It's called Mighty Oak +2.

    So @Grond0 most likely meant this item.

    I guess I'm just too used to killing him while playing with SCS - he drops the Root of the Problem then.

    Nothing to do with SCS. With very, very rare exceptions, I don't add extra treasure.

    I'm confused. It's in my game, but the only mod I have is SCS. Doing a quick Forum search shows that others have also found this club in the game without running other mods. Any ideas @JuliusBorisov - though it seems unlikely to me, is it possible that the Root is only coded to appear in a LoB game?
  • JuliusBorisovJuliusBorisov Member, Administrator, Moderator, Developer Posts: 22,714
    Tagging @CamDawg here.
  • HarpagornisHarpagornis Member Posts: 1,658
    In my installation with SCS only (plus Save Fix) Amarande only drops the "Mighty Oak +2 Club" even in LoB Mode @Grond0. You get the Root of the Problem - like others already stated - from Jamven in SoD. However: For a Beastmaster its a really nice weapon as it can hit Belhifet. :)
    Grond0AerakarJuliusBorisovDJKajuru
  • ClubbothClubboth Member Posts: 60
    Hi, @Grond0!

    BG1NPC's brings The Root of the Problem to BGEE (Larswood).
    Grond0JuliusBorisovleeux
  • ilduderinoilduderino Member Posts: 773
    Amarande sounds like most bosses, fancy title but no substance
  • RigelRigel Member Posts: 251
    This is interesting because it was my first encounter with the Insect plague spell. Pretty annoying this spell ...
Sign In or Register to comment.