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Is Cernd still useless?

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  • DarkDoggDarkDogg Member Posts: 598
    edited November 2013
    @SapphireIce101 don't comment me. Write cernd's advantages. Defending the weak is a noble position, but still...
    If I say "Cernd can't wear armor" and you are saying "he has buffs and spells" - we're not going anywhere. I know he got spells, but the fact is - HE CAN'T WEAR ARMOR!
    And about his stats. Gloves of Dex and Belts of Str are not Cernds items, this items can wear EVERYONE. It doesn't work that way. You are saying "give him the belt of Str". "NO way! My charname needs it more or Viconia".
    But there's an exception - Anomen, he gets a quest stat boost without any items. And it's an advantage.
    About romances. No matter what you say, it's more interesting to play with a romancable options (everyone on this forum is yelling about new romances with new NPCs) + some special item as a bonus. Harper's pin for example. No big deal, I know, but still a pleasing bonus. Cernd has nothing. And yes, it's a disadvantage.

    But it's only my opinion about that useless NPC.
    I haven't seen a single post "10 advantages of Cernd".
    Godmar
  • elminsterelminster Member, Developer Posts: 16,315
    edited November 2013

    @elminster - Thank you! Editing my post to include that in there right now. XD

    Just remembered he also gets Strength of One (level 3). Due to the fact that strength boosting items are widely available for your group its not good on party fighters (so you have to keep them away from it) but for summons like Fire Elementals (the ones you summon most likely only have either 14 or 18 strength depending on which file is summoned) it can be good if you just want them boosted a little (even if it is only for a turn).
  • SapphireIce101SapphireIce101 Member Posts: 866
    @Darkdogg - I'm starting to think that no matter what I say, or how I explain how to make Cernd better. You're just going to keep saying "Nope! Cernd still sucks!" So, I'm going to give this one last try.

    Cernd is like a mage, except uses divine spells. Single class mages can't wear armor either, so what do they to do get that armor? Cast their defensive spells. Armor, Shield, Stoneskin, etc. Cernd doesn't have any armor, so what does he have to do? Cast his defensive spells. Armor of Faith, Barkskin, and/or Iron Skins.

    As for Anomen, his stats before the quest say that he can't dual-class into Cleric. After the quest, his stats still say he can't dual-class into a cleric. However, that's what makes Anomen interesting. He is illegally dual-classed into something he cannot be. Its Anomen's personality, however, makes it not worth doing his personal quest in the first place.

    Romances, its irrelevant. Some people like them, and some people don't. Jaheira's Harper Pin, its a nifty item, and I really don't have anything to say against it.

    Cernd has nothing? He starts out with a staff, like a quarterstaff +2, that gives him regeneration, and a cloak that is basically the equivalent to a cloak of protection, except he can still wear a ring of protection and an amulet of protection to go with it.

    Alright, so you want 10 advantages of Cernd, do you?

    Advantages:
    1. Being a druid, he levels up to 13th level really fast. (Quite a benefit for SoA.)
    2. He gets more spell slots because of his 18 wisdom.
    3. He is easy to get at the start of the game.
    4. Defensive spells make up for his lack of armor. (Pretty much like a single class mage.)
    5. He starts out with two decent items. (Quarterstaff +2 with regeneration, and a cloak that acts like a cloak of protection, except you can still wear a ring of protection or amulet with it.)
    6. Being a druid he has good offensive spells. (Except for Call Lightning, that one is bad if you aren't outdoors.)
    7. He gets HLAs before Jaheira does. (Hell, every divine spellcaster gets HLAs before Jaheira does.)
    8. He is able to use certain spells way before Jaheira can. Heck, he gets certain spells that Aerie, Anomen, and Viconia can't even use because they're all clerics.
    9. Personality wise, Cernd is way better than Anomen.
    10. He can fit into any party, and doesn't pretend to be true neutral because he is true neutral.

    Number 10 on my list is actually a disadvantage for Jaheira. Despite it saying that Jaheira is true neutral on her character sheet it isn't really true. She isn't properly aligned. She is truly neutral good. Her actions scream it. How she acts screams it. Heck, theres two mods in the world that actually fix her alignment problem.

    @elminster - I just remembered that too. I also just remembered that slings do damage based on your strength now. Since Cernd has 13 strength I would think that his use of slings would be a wee bit improved now.
  • PalanthisPalanthis Member Posts: 283
    @SapphireIce101 get a point here.

    Really we can't say Cernd is useless because his stats suck or because he can't wear armor, because, he's built like a mage, only he got the divine side, and druids spells.

    I mean just compare Edwin and Cernd, and you'll see what's Cernd point in this game.
    They both have horrible stats, but the only one they need get a 18. They can cast more spells per day than any other NPC (just count the total spells Cernd get at level 15) and even than Charname.

    Cernd just has a bad kit, and that's all. If your Charname gets this same kit, he'll get the same useless werewolf form. But this kit is the only real thing that is useless on Cernd. Also he's a druid.

    Then of course, you can like or not the druid class / or this kit.

    But this is a whole another discussion.
  • PalanthisPalanthis Member Posts: 283
    edited November 2013
    This is what the numbers of spells Cernd gets from divine level 1 to divine level 7, when he gets 3 million XP and is level 15.

    6 6 6 6 6 6 6
  • InfiltratorInfiltrator Member Posts: 121
    Palanthis said:

    @SapphireIce101 get a point here.

    Really we can't say Cernd is useless because his stats suck or because he can't wear armor, because, he's built like a mage, only he got the divine side, and druids spells.

    I mean just compare Edwin and Cernd, and you'll see what's Cernd point in this game.
    They both have horrible stats, but the only one they need get a 18. They can cast more spells per day than any other NPC (just count the total spells Cernd get at level 15) and even than Charname.

    Cernd just has a bad kit, and that's all. If your Charname gets this same kit, he'll get the same useless werewolf form. But this kit is the only real thing that is useless on Cernd. Also he's a druid.

    Then of course, you can like or not the druid class / or this kit.

    But this is a whole another discussion.

    Ummm.. edvin is tenfold more powerful and useful than cernd. The point is cernd is SUPPOSED to rely on his WW form as he is *drumrolls* a SHAPESHIFTER, that's the whole point of him giving up on armor and weapons.

    But what does he get in return? An *insert sexual remark*.
    Mungribooinyoureyes
  • KithrixxKithrixx Member Posts: 215

    You lost me at "nice-ish" spellcasting. Right. Insect Plague? He gets it before Jaheira, and more of them, too.

    Getting something earlier than someone else is not really that big of a deal when they both get it. This isn't a case of thieves where some are straight out better than others because some don't progress at all because BGII has plenty of easy sidequests to feed you experience. On that note, "more spells per day" is also kind of a non-issue because if you have a healer (which the game is overflowing with them so you should) you can just quicksave, eat 8 hours, and be full of spells again. If you get interrupted by monsters, quickload and try again (or feel free to destroy them for free experience). Liberal use of Resting makes "has more spells to cast" less interesting or useful.

    Also, Jaheria doesn't have to choose between "being able to punch things" and "being able to cast spells". She can do both at the same time whereas Cernd must choose. Other than personal preference, there is literally no reason to take him when there are so many other (and outright better) options.
    booinyoureyes
  • jhneohjhneoh Member Posts: 42
    I actually quite like druids. My pros for Cernd:

    Pros:

    1.) Insect Plague still screws over many many mages in BG2.

    2.) Call Woodland Beings is still good. Mass Cure at lvl 4 and free Barkskin for Rasaad (if you use him)

    3.) At 3 million xp, a Cleric only has 2 casts of level 7 spells. A druid has 6. As this is also the level you get Quest spells, this means that Druids will immediately have access to 6 castings of Summon Deva!

    4.) Ankheg Armor is available quite early in the game, which combined with his Cloak and a Ring of Protection, gives him quite decent AC.



  • velehalvelehal Member Posts: 299
    Kithrixx said:

    Also, Jaheria doesn't have to choose between "being able to punch things" and "being able to cast spells". She can do both at the same time whereas Cernd must choose. Other than personal preference, there is literally no reason to take him when there are so many other (and outright better) options.

    It doesn´t make any good to compare Cernd with Jaheira. The reasons are:
    1) Multi class are in BG2 and ToB always better than single classes. With experience limit being 8 millions it is just better to have two classes than one.
    2) Especially Jaheira is the best NPC who doesn´t have access to arcane magic. Because of Iron skin she is better tank than Korgan, Minsc, Valygar... Yes that it takes some time to reach 6 millions of experience but when she does it, she becomes unstoppable.

    I would compare Cernd with Viconia. They are both single classes. Someone prefer cleric´s spells, someome (like me) druid´s. Viconia can wear armor but she isn´t particularly good at melee fight (not withou some equipment, but the same can be said of Cernd). I tend to evaluate the raw power of NPC according to their utilization in extreme situations. By that I mean final parts of ToB with SSC and Ascension being installed. And there Viconia is more vulnerable than Cernd. Albeit she can have easily AC -15 it won´t save her against Fire Giants and other abominations. Cernd´s Iron skin is more useful. Both of them are too weak to be used as front fighters in ToB without extensive micromanagment. And I´ve found the most of cleric´s spells in this phase of game underperforming. They have some use in these latter parts of the game but they are not so strong as in SoA. And Cernd has one of the best HLA, Greater Elemental Summoning. Very utilizable till the utmost end (Melissan and her friends).

    Personally I like Viconia more than Cernd but from powerplaying point of view they are +− on the same level. Cernd is probably more stronger in final parts of heavily modded game but I know that not all use this mods.
    elminster
  • nanonano Member Posts: 1,632
    Gotta disagree with your reasoning here, it makes little sense to compare two NPCs at one point (even if it's the end of the game) and use it as the basis for your entire evaluation. You're playing the whole game, not just the final battle... so why pretend the rest of the game doesn't exist?
    booinyoureyesMarekk
  • velehalvelehal Member Posts: 299
    edited November 2013
    nano said:

    Gotta disagree with your reasoning here, it makes little sense to compare two NPCs at one point (even if it's the end of the game) and use it as the basis for your entire evaluation. You're playing the whole game, not just the final battle... so why pretend the rest of the game doesn't exist?

    The reason is that I find SoA relatively easy (with few exception like SCS demi-lich). It just doesn´t matter which party member I use. The final Ascension battle is the only really difficult encounter. Yes it is doable with any party composition/solo (some player have already proved this) but if I had to evaluate NPC from powerplaying perspective, I image how they will fare in the final battle.
    Post edited by velehal on
    sunset00booinyoureyes
  • KithrixxKithrixx Member Posts: 215
    velehal said:

    It doesn´t make any good to compare Cernd with Jaheira.

    ... Yeah, it does. I'm comparing Cernd to all other NPCs, there's no sense in excluding Jaheria. As a matter of fact, Jaheria is the most relevant example because she too is a druid, making the druid spells non-exclusive to Cernd and therefore making all of his other "unique features" mediocre at best.

    I'm honestly baffled by the NPC Affirmative Action that's going on in this thread. I mean, different playstyles for different people is fine and all, but you cannot justify taking Cernd in a party in terms of raw gameplay because literally every other NPC is a better choice. He's just not very good. Unless Shapeshifters get a significant upgrade, Cernd will remain "not very good".
  • elminsterelminster Member, Developer Posts: 16,315
    edited November 2013
    Kithrixx said:

    velehal said:

    It doesn´t make any good to compare Cernd with Jaheira.

    ... Yeah, it does. I'm comparing Cernd to all other NPCs, there's no sense in excluding Jaheria. As a matter of fact, Jaheria is the most relevant example because she too is a druid, making the druid spells non-exclusive to Cernd and therefore making all of his other "unique features" mediocre at best.

    I'm honestly baffled by the NPC Affirmative Action that's going on in this thread. I mean, different playstyles for different people is fine and all, but you cannot justify taking Cernd in a party in terms of raw gameplay because literally every other NPC is a better choice. He's just not very good. Unless Shapeshifters get a significant upgrade, Cernd will remain "not very good".
    Jaheira gets good later on but once Cernd hits level 13 he can become a better "tank" (and I grudgingly use that in the mmo sense) than she will be. At least until ToB when AC doesn't matter nearly as much. Like I wrote elsewhere his Greater Werewolf form will have -11 AC (less if you include the Cloak of the High Forest, a ring of protection, Defensive Harmony, and a Ring of Earth Control) and he will have 40% magic resistance and 50% resistance to Fire/Cold/Lightning. With Armor of Faith he will have 65% for those three (at level 13). You can further raise it at that level at your discretion with items like the Helm of Defence (aka the Gift of Peace). The only thing you can't do is raise the magic resistance (but for SoA 40% a great level of resistance). For a few optional ideas at making him a more effective tank you can equip him with the Girdle of Fortitude and activate it before or during battle (to improve his health) and if he is level 14 you can have him cast "Regeneration" on himself so that for the next 7 rounds he heals 18 health/round. Mind you when you factor in the round it will take for him to transform and the time it will take to move into battle you'll probably only get 5 rounds out of the spell at that level but on top of his low AC and the damage reduction he can get from Armor of Faith its still pretty useful.

    You can actually hit level 13 with Cernd without having to fight most of the more difficult optional battles too. Its really that initial level 10-13 phase where he is at his absolute weakest (the length of which all depends on when you pick him up). Cernd's also actually really unusual because if you pick him up at level 13 he will have more health than his level 10 version can possibly get (he will have 80 health when his level 10 version only starts with 62). His level 13 version doesn't have an illegal amount of health its just that its maxed out which makes it somewhat unusual.

    Now that Iron Skins doesn't cast instantly both she and Cernd pretty well have to prep it before battle regardless. Besides which before druid level 14 (3 million combined xp for her) she can only have two level 5 spell castings (unless she is using the Staff of Arundel), So if you have her with two weapons or with a weapon and shield (if you are going for a more tankish approach) you'll get 1 cast of Iron Skins and 1 cast of Insect plague with her (or two castings of Iron Skins).
    Nonnahswriter
  • MungriMungri Member Posts: 1,645
    jhneoh said:

    I actually quite like druids. My pros for Cernd:

    Pros:

    1.) Insect Plague still screws over many many mages in BG2.

    2.) Call Woodland Beings is still good. Mass Cure at lvl 4 and free Barkskin for Rasaad (if you use him)

    3.) At 3 million xp, a Cleric only has 2 casts of level 7 spells. A druid has 6. As this is also the level you get Quest spells, this means that Druids will immediately have access to 6 castings of Summon Deva!

    4.) Ankheg Armor is available quite early in the game, which combined with his Cloak and a Ring of Protection, gives him quite decent AC.

    1, 2, and 3 are not exclusive to Cernd, any Druid can do that.

    4 does not apply to Cernd, Shapeshifters cannot wear armour.

    You give up being able to wear armour to gain the werewolf form. The problem here is that the werewolf form is not worth the party slot.

    And there are far many faster ways to deal with mages than Insect Plague, which is a strong spell, but only one of two decent Druid spells including Ironskin, or 3 if you include call woodland beings.

    But now the reality, anything that a pure druid can do, a mage can do better. And anything that Cernd can do, an unkitted, or different kit of Druid can do better.

  • KithrixxKithrixx Member Posts: 215
    @elminster

    I'm not arguing that Cernd can't BE a tank. He certainly can, if you kit him right. Anyone can be a proper tank if you kit them right.

    That said, Jaheria can be a tank (or at least reasonably defensible) without having to sacrifice her spellcasting. Cernd has to choose between the two. While he's a reasonable spellcaster as far as Druids go, it's simply not worth taking him in the long run because Jaheria gets access to Druid spells as well. Granted, it's at a slower progression, but that... just doesn't matter. It's not slow enough to be a hindrance , and she enjoys Fighter Thac0 in the meantime. She gets less spells, but the entire reason that you'd want a Druid (Insect Plague) she gets anyways. The defense spells are nice and all, but it's not anything you can't replace with potions.

    The bottom line is that everything Cernd does, everyone else does better. You gain no interesting items from having him in your party, he offers no interesting stats or effects that cannot be found elsewhere, and about the only reason that I can think of wanting to take him is to have a party member that doesn't start fights with other people. He doesn't even offer an interesting quest - CHARNAME has to be a Druid to take over the Grove. If Cernd could take over the Grove, then the entire picture would change because you'd get a new stronghold for having him in your party which would lead to new and interesting things. However, he can't, so it doesn't.
  • elminsterelminster Member, Developer Posts: 16,315
    edited November 2013
    But whats Jaheira going to cast though? Before she hits level 14 she won't have a level 7 spell. She'll eventually get a handful of level 6 spells but they are hardly going to be something worth casting compared to having her fight. You can precast any summons either way and frankly pre-casting summons and then buffing them will just make them more useful (like Fire Elementals and Strength of One). I just don't see the loss of spellcasting in the case of Cernd pre-level 15 to be that big of a loss.
  • KithrixxKithrixx Member Posts: 215
    elminster said:

    But whats Jaheira going to cast though? Before she hits level 14 she won't have a level 7 spell. She'll eventually get a handful of level 6 spells but they are hardly going to be something worth casting compared to having her fight. You can precast any summons either way and frankly pre-casting summons and then buffing them will just make them more useful (like Fire Elementals and Strength of One). I just don't see the loss of spellcasting in the case of Cernd pre-level 15 to be that big of a loss.

    Insect Plague, Mass Cure, and Call Woodland Beings. Level 7 spells are nice, but they're not strictly necessary. Like, at all.
  • elminsterelminster Member, Developer Posts: 16,315
    edited November 2013
    Insect Plague you cast at the beginning of battle either way. Before level 14 are only going to get two level 5 spells so if you get Mass Cure and Insect Plague you can't get Iron Skins. Besides which if all/many of your characters are that low health you are better off chugging a health potion than wait for its casting time.

    Call Woodland Beings becomes significantly less effective of a spell as the game progresses because of enemy saving throws. Also they die easily and (unless there has been a change I'm unaware of) their AI still sucks and can't be turned off by turning off Party AI. So for awhile they will follow their pre-determined script. Also casting one of them in battle when you could be doing potentially 3-4 attacks with Jaheira isn't probably a good use of time.

    A few alternatives over regeneration for Level 7 spells are Earthquake and Fire Storm. Fire Storm is great against enemies with no fire resistance because the AI tends to be really stupid and just stand around while they get hit (they improved this thankfully in the new encounters) and more importantly it ignores magic resistance and provides no save. So if you scout around ahead of time it can be good. Alternatively Earthquake is great because its first hit gives a -6 to save against it and if an enemy doesn't they fall unconscious for 4 rounds. The afterquakes aren't that damaging (3d6 and 2d6 damage or save vs half) so you can basically just move in for the kill after the first quake hits. Both of course can be accessed by clerics but druids also get the more commonly mentioned spells like Creeping Doom and Nature's beauty. You only get to pick one of these as a druid but i'd say they all worth it in their own ways.
  • VarwulfVarwulf Member Posts: 564
    I too am one of the people who barely/never used Cernd before. In a recent Single Player game, I avoided using him for his own quest and instead relied on Jaheira. It went very smoothly with the end fight.

    In a recent Multiplayer game, Jaheria got super ticked off at my friend and I and she left us for a spell, so we chose to take Cernd along. The guy struggled greatly with the final fight of his first quest, I was rather excited to try him out but underwhelmed by his performance.

    I thought: Wow, a Shapeshifter Druid fighting in a [Spoiler]no items type brawl[/Spoiler] should absolutely destroy his competition!

    He did eventually win but it was a much more difficult fight than I anticipated. Ended up dropping him off at Trademeet and picking up Mazzy :P

    I might give him a more serious gander in the future, though, I definitely want to like him and several of you have made your case that he isn't a terrible character to have along.
    elminsterEudaemoniumbooinyoureyes
  • cervanntescervanntes Member Posts: 64
    Cernd is one of my least favorite characters overall, despite the fact I like druids, but he's far from useless. The lack of armor just isn't that big a deal, given that he's not a front-liner and will probably have ironskin (and other buffs) relatively early in the game. I see a lot of people arguing about who is better or worse at this or that, but the title of this discussion is "Is Cernd still useless?", and my answer would be, "No, and he never was." He's far from useless. He can heal, he can deal out damage, he's incredibly good at messing up the plans of enemy casters, he can indirectly tank via summons or directly tank via buffs or shapeshifting, either one. That others can do some or all of these things as well (but perhaps not as well or not as early or not as often) doesn't mean Cernd is useless.

    The only reason I don't use him more is that his personality is somewhat boring and annoying, and his personal quest just isn't as fun or interesting to me as most of the other NPC personal quests. Otherwise I probably would use him a lot more in groups.
  • booinyoureyesbooinyoureyes Member Posts: 6,164
    Elendar said:

    I'm actually considering dropping Rasaad now that I've finished his quest line and picking up Cernd as a replacement and so that I have a second healer in my group. Since I already have a cleric and Jaheira died awhile back, Cernd is the only druid available.

    This comment proves how useless Cernd is. When you get him back cuz Jaheira died, he is not even capable of resurrecting her!

    Also, a deadbeat dad with 18 wisdom? puh-leeze
  • elminsterelminster Member, Developer Posts: 16,315

    Elendar said:

    I'm actually considering dropping Rasaad now that I've finished his quest line and picking up Cernd as a replacement and so that I have a second healer in my group. Since I already have a cleric and Jaheira died awhile back, Cernd is the only druid available.

    This comment proves how useless Cernd is. When you get him back cuz Jaheira died, he is not even capable of resurrecting her!
    Of course he can its called the Rod of Resurrection.
  • booinyoureyesbooinyoureyes Member Posts: 6,164
    elminster said:

    Elendar said:

    I'm actually considering dropping Rasaad now that I've finished his quest line and picking up Cernd as a replacement and so that I have a second healer in my group. Since I already have a cleric and Jaheira died awhile back, Cernd is the only druid available.

    This comment proves how useless Cernd is. When you get him back cuz Jaheira died, he is not even capable of resurrecting her!
    Of course he can its called the Rod of Resurrection.
    I was being facetious :p
    elminsterlolien
  • vangoatvangoat Member Posts: 212
    edited January 2014
    Cernd is pretty cool. He just hit level 13, with the AC 3 bracers and a ring +1 he has -10 AC and regenerates 6 hp per round, without even including ironskins in the mix. Beastly (excuse pun) tank in chapter 2 at the moment. The belt of 18 con gives him decent HP, and with just a bit of micro (if health starts getting low just run away for a bit with your permanent haste until you regen) he can handle a lot of stuff.

    His Thac0 isn't great (8 at the moment), but 3 APR means he can hit most stuff enough at this stage. Those gauntlets in the Sahaugin city that improve unarmed combat, do they work with Cernd?
  • TwaniTwani Member Posts: 640
    Meh.

    The real issue with Cernd is not his stats, or his kit. It's his personality. People want NPC's that that entertain them, that resonate with their own issues, that speak to them in some way, that mostly work for them and amuse them. Cernd? You'll never find him on anyone's favorite NPC list. However, you'll probably never find him on someone's least favorite NPC list, either: because THEY WON'T REMEMBER HE EXISTS IN TIME TO LIST HIM (and, because no one is passionate enough about him to call them their least favorite). His personality is understated and unremarkable: it says something that there are Keldorn and Sarevok romance mods out there, but no Cernd (admittedly, no Jan, either- but look, Cernd is a relatively attractive male human of eligible age, yet no fangal has decided to make a romance mod for him).

    He's perfectly fine as a druid, and the best druid in the game. His shapeshifting can be used defensively, and gives him decent enough survivability that makes up for his lack of armor moderately well (and honestly, if he's getting hit at all, something's probably gone wrong- generally, I have my casters well enough buffed and far away enough from the enemy that they're not taking damage). His offense in melee or ranged sucks, but his spells are what you want.

    But Cernd makes the great sin of being boring, and that's something people can't abide. People will use average characters if they amuse them: many of us have run the Garrick/Eldoth/Skie triangle, or had Quayle and Tiax duke it out. But Cernd? He's a druid. Who likes proverbs that half the time make no sense. And who ran out on his wife and left his child to the care of druids rather then raise him himself. Hurray, Cernd. Is there any other aspect to his personality and background? Not really.

    Wow, this thread was necroed.
    Delvarian
  • vangoatvangoat Member Posts: 212
    edited January 2014
    You can't tell me his personality is more annoying than Minsc? He actually has some funny banters as well. He's also less of a douche than Annoyingman or Haery D. I'm officially putting him on my fav NPC list. He doesn't actually walk out on his child, he doesn't even know he has one. He just is never there, exactly the same as Keldorn, put people don't bitch about him.

    Other things Cernd is ridiculously good at:
    - Killing Rukh Transmuter (Can be quite tough at lowish levels with SCS)
    - Laughing at every Efreeti (King Strohm, lol)
    - Tanking anything that does elemental damage

    Resist fire/cold, death ward, chaotic commands, ironskins, negative plane protection > send in wolfy cernd and just throw spells everywhere on top of him

    Long live Cernd!

    Just thinking.. Pale green Ioun stone to improve thac0 and ac, ring of Gaxx + ring of regen, cloak of protection +2; should mean -14AC and 9 hp regen per round, without buffs. And people say this guy is weak! I wonder if the regeneration spell/potion stacks on top of this!
  • NonnahswriterNonnahswriter Member Posts: 2,520
    It's funny, someone earlier mentioned that they were thinking of dropping Rasaad in favor of Cernd, and in my Kensai/Druid playthrough, I was thinking of dropping Cernd for Rasaad!

    I want to give the guy a chance, I really do. Maybe my Charname will kick him after she finds out he ditched his wife and child to run to the woods, but for now, he stays. She, Cernd, and Jaheira can all be druid buddies! :D He's also voiced by Jason Marsden--otherwise known as Max from A Goofy Movie--which earns a little grin from me.

    Any information about the Shapeshifter Rebalance mod? o.o I am intrigued to know if it works for EE.
  • TwaniTwani Member Posts: 640
    Cernd's personality isn't annoying at all, in my opinion. If he was annoying, he'd have a much bigger fanbase and hatebase. His personality is just bland, which is the problem. Sure, occasionally he says something amusing, but most often he says something rather forgettable. I have most banters in this game memorized by heart from playing it too long- the only Cernd one I could quote you without looking it up is the one with Edwina.

    (Then again, I also wouldn't call Haer-Dalis a douche. Anomen, sure (though he grows out of it), but Haer-Dalis's greatest sin seems to be expect his relationship with Aerie to eventually end, not be butterflies and roses forever and ever: seeking something different out of a relationship with another adult is not a douche move.)

    As for his issues with his kids versus Keldorn- people call Keldorn out on his treatment of his family all the time. Upon realizing how he's been neglecting them, he wishes to reconcile and takes a day out with them, and can potentially be left with them. Cernd, upon realizing he has a child, dumps the child with the druids and leaves the child to grow a life long grudge against his father that ends in the slaughter of many other druids. There's Keldorn's variety of bad parenting that leads to resentment and clipped "Hullo, father"'s, and Cernd's style of bad parenting that leads to future evil overlords.
  • CrevsDaakCrevsDaak Member Posts: 7,155
    edited January 2014
    About Cernd.....
    Cons:
    -He's a Druid, I don't know how to play Druids, I can't find them a useful role, even with Jaheira, I mean, if you had a Cleric, why to bother with a druid? I like druids, but only in a not-playtrough way, I mean, I avoid to have/use druids, but, I mean, they are cool and everything, but they can't do much a cleric can't do, I think they are much better in P&P.
    -He does not has the pffensive power Anomnomnomnomnomen, Jaheira and Viccy can reach.
    -He should be CN, he isn't TN enough for me.
    -He is very contradictorious.
    -His personal quest is a joke, I don't get how an evil PC could make it (RP talking).
    Pros:
    -He is a total jerk and should be Chaotic Neutral, I mean, leaving his wife PREGNANT and taking her child from her and leaving the child to some psycho druids! He is a total asshole, then making jokes to Edwina (and he did not knew that he left her wife pregnant and jokes about a related topic, he IS a total asshole) about the red moon's cycle and, well, I think that he is one of the biggest asshole NPCs, I find funny that he is so jerk-ish and a druid at the same time, I almost admire him.
    -He is able to shapeshift, very nice at low levels, not so good at mid anf high levels.
    -He gains a million spells at level 15.
    -He has a good WIS, I think that he is the Divine spellcasters with most spellslots slots in the game, not sure.
  • vangoatvangoat Member Posts: 212
    It could be I'm just willing to overlook his flaws because right now, he is "OP". He just took out the entire King Strohm area solo, including the director and the party at the end.

    I guess I don't mind his blandness, because blandness IMO is better than being outright annoying, which Minsc, Haery and the enhanced edition NPCs are to me.

    CrevsDaak
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