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i have picked up Cernd in my second go through (I am using all new npcs to maximize the enjoyment) and his AC....well...sucks....... I have found a ring +1, and Bracers AC8 for him as well as a ring of Invis. for hard times but I would love to get his AC better without buying magic items (I am doing this because I think this cheapens D&D, the only magic I am buying is ammo, scrolls and potions along with gem bags and scroll cases). I am planning on doing all the side quests b4 going to Spellhold and would like to get his AC down as quickly as possible cuz he has already died on me twice

You can pick up Bracers of AC 6 from Xzar when you do the Harper sidequest. You can get a Ring of Protection +2 from Aran Linvail, and of course there's always the Ring of Gaxx. Also, have you considered casting Ironskins and using Cernd's Shapechange ability? There's a mod that makes the greater werewolf form more effective (by giving the Druid the same attributes as a real greater werewolf), or you could use the Cloak of the Sewers and let Cernd turn into a rat. Or maybe the best alternative is not to send Cernd into melee at all but to let him cast spells and use darts (the Cloak of the Stars is nice for that) and a sling (the Sling of Seeking and the Sling of Everard are nice but you'd have to boy them from a merchant).

I think you can get Bracers of AC 4 as a reward when you rescue the young Svirfneblin in the Underdark. Prior to that, you can get a Cloak of Protection +2 in the Sahuagin City and a Dusty Rose Ioun Stone in Spellhold. Cernd's Armor Class can never be all that great, but that's just another good reason to take advantage of his shapechange ability if you want to use him in melee.

From lots of experience with this character I've found that Cernd is best used in a similar manner to Viconia, primarily as a healer/summoner, then ranged attacker, and finally melee when only absolutely necessary (at least until he acquires the greater were-wolf form, and then priority should be given to spell casting).

If you haven't already should download Divine Remix (which will give him a few extra spells and the Shapeshifter Rebalancing compontent of g3 Tweaks formerly ease of use)

You might find the BG2 NPC Usage Guide (downloadable from Sorcerers Place) useful as it offers advice and strategies on the least frequently used NPC's.

Thanks. I had turned him into a werewolf and he got seriously mauled and killed by...kobolds in the sewers . Not very heartening when a werewolf can be punked by kobolds. He later was killed in werewolf form by a single troll which was seriously wounded. Ahh, I guess a little bit of experimenting needs to be done with this guy...

There's also the spell Barkskin that will help his AC. Also the battle against Faldorn was always really easy for me when I used Cernd. Especially if you manage to cast an Insect Plague spell on her. Then it's just to turn into the werewolf and pound on her... The un-modded werewolf might not be all that strong but it is strong compared to another unarmed druid...

Incidentally, it's kind of fun to leave Cernd in his werewolf form when you get the reward for saving Trademeet. If he's in your party, you have to let him fight Faldorn, and as Onkel Bob said, your best chance of defeating her is to let Cernd turn into a werewolf.

Onkel Bob wrote:Also the battle against Faldorn was always really easy for me when I used Cernd. Especially if you manage to cast an Insect Plague spell on her. Then it's just to turn into the werewolf and pound on her...

I do it with Jaheira - she goes in with insect plague ready - which stops Faldorn from casting and then casts summon animals - a bear or two really does a lot of harm to a person plagued with insects...

another alternative to animals is the weapon that druids can create - a flaming sword in J's hands also creates a bit of bother for F. whichever way it goes - having something attack Faldorn when she is trying to cast works well and the fight becomes a doddle.

Well, I got him the Gauntlets of DEX which are slightly better than Bracers AC6 cuz they boost his ranged combat a bit. I will be using barkskin and ironskins a lot more than I did on the precvious run...my party is made up of:
Me: Half Orc Berserker
Keldorn
Yoshimo/Immie later on
Cernd
Aerie
Nalia

I have little tanking ability here but my Half Orc more than makes up for it

I'd say that the Gauntlets of Dexterity are much better off in the hands of Keldorn - the significant AC improvement he receives will probably benefit you a lot more since he's presumably your 2nd primary melee fighter. If more melee power is needed and Cernd continues to be lacking in that regard, you're probably better off having him summon some bears. Also, elemental summoning from the staves (air and fire) are decent supplementary fighters early in the game; and Cernd can probably help as long as iron skins hold out. Another random thought for down the road: if you're concerned about AC in general, you may want to replace someone with Haer'dalis if you haven't played him before. Even Cernd can do some damage if he has a good song in his heart.

I'd say that the Gauntlets of Dexterity are much better off in the hands of Keldorn - the significant AC improvement he receives will probably benefit you a lot more since he's presumably your 2nd primary melee fighter.

The man speaks sense.