Druids

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I was just curious why druid's xp seems so much harder than cleric's? With all their limitations compared to a cleric..armor, weapons, etc., what is it that makes them good?

 

There's some crazy rules in 2nd edition ADnD about when a druid hits level 15, I can't recall them off the top of my head but Bioware decided they didn't want druids to hit 15 in SoA, then didn't even implement the abilities/bonuses they were supposed to get at 15 in ToB

 

On the other hand, a level 15 druid has far more spells per day than a level 15 cleric. A fighter/druid is substantially more powerful than a fighter/cleric towards the end of ToB for exactly this reason.

 

i always thought it was easier for a druid to level up compared to a cleric because whenever i have jaheira and aerie in my party, jaheira seems to hit higher level spells sooner. There is a mod out there that will allow you to use the cleric level progression for a druid if you really want to.

 

According to P&P, the druid shoul beat another higher ranked druid in battle to 'level up' and increase in druidly status, plus they needed tons of XP too.

 

I seem to recall they're supposed to be in control of a grove for a year at level 14 or something like that, and after that they get a bunch of special abilities, like being able to walk different planes and stuff.

 

I'm feeling deja vu all over again.

At level 15 for a druid, the druid can challenge the current Archdruid. If s/he wins, s/he becomes The Archdruid or high grand-poobah of all druids. There's nothing after that. S/he is the best druid evah! Like the Highlander movie, there can be only one.

 

The Druid leveling chart is very strange. It's one of the few that doesn't just double the requirements for the next level until you hit level 10 when it levels off at some set number, that will be required for every level up for the rest of the game.

At extremely low levels, a cleric will level up slightly faster than the druid. For example, a druid requires 2000 XP to reach 2nd level, 4000 XP to reach 3rd level, and 7500 XP to reach 4th level. Comparatively, a cleric needs 1500 XP to reach 2nd level, 3000 XP to reach 3rd level, and 6000 XP to reach 4th level. So early on, the cleric levels faster.

Starting around level 5 through around level 12 or so, the trend reverses, and druids level much more quickly than clerics. In BG1 this was clearly seen where a druid at the XP cap had access to 5th level spells (level 9 druid) whereas a cleric only had access to level 4 spells (level 8 cleric). This trend also continues in early SoA.

However, starting at level 13, a druid has huge leveling requirements (the reason for this is the PnP requirements keumper has already detailed). So in the process of getting to level 15, the cleric passes the druid off again, and this time it's for good. In ToB, the druid again starts leveling more quickly than the cleric (only requiring 150,000 XP per level) but does not gain enough levels to ever pass off the cleric again. I do not remember what level a single classed druid can get to in a game (I never get anywhere near the 8 million XP cap), but I am certain it's less than the level 40 a single classed cleric can attain.

 

That lasts 6 levels, up to 21. Then it's 250K for the next two levels (up to 23) and 300K for the two levels after that (up to 25). From level 25 on, it's 500K per level. 8M XP will get you to level 31.

In PnP, though, it's just plain 500K per level after level 15. (And thank you, BTW, for alerting me to this. Something else to fix, in addition to druid spell progression if necessary.)

 

IIrc that is level 34.

There are also the Hierophant druids. The next (and final) stage after Grand Druid. They are ones who do the plane travelling, stand outside the druidic hierachy, only care for the big picture, are near immortal etc.

Edit - What is especially irksome about druid levels is Dispel Magic. And it sucks both ways. The druid's protections are more easily dispelled by opponents - and conversely his own dispelling is less likely to take effect. :/

[ June 20, 2006, 14:23: Message edited by: Dendri ]

 

I once used a druid for a tank, and druids make a great back up for just about anything, in my opinon anyway. They can fight with their shapeshifting, they can heal, and they can summon and insecet plague is great for disrupting enemy casters. Oh any lightning strike is also quite useful early one, and can also be useful later on depending on where your fighting...

 

I am really disappointed by all my attempts to play a Druid. They just plain BORE me!

If they could dual or multi more then they would be more viable. I would love to multi with an Enchanter or Conjurer for example.

A kit for Shadow Druids or similar would be a start!

 

This one is the fault of the engine. Human druids can dual freely to/from anything except Paladin and Ranger (due to alignment differences) in PnP. And even Ranger might be possible if you were a priest of a good nature deity. (Not precisely a druid, but if it wears armor like a druid, uses weapons like a druid, and casts spells like a druid, who really cares?)