Cloakwood Forest

Quest: Cloakwood Mines Cloakwood Forest is four areas of optional quests, at a point in the game where players hurrying to pick up Coran will be regretting each point of XP that gets them closer to Coran gaining another level, with the HP being possibly rolled low. Well, worry not; the best evidence shows that Coran not only gets maximum HP for his level, but an additional three points on top of that. The fact that all of the Cloakwood is optional, though, still has a bearing on picking up the other two possible companions, both found in the third Cloakwood forest:

Faldorn, at is a Druid who can, at the maximum level of 10 in Baldur's Gate: Tales of the Sword Coast expansion, get two Cure Critical Wounds spells-all Clerics in the game are limited to level 7 in basic and 8 in expansion. Faldorn can wear the Ankheg Plate Mail.

And finally there is Eldoth, whose presence in the party is the prerequisite for recruiting Skie Silvershield.

First Cloakwood
AR 2200
 * Enemies: Tasloi, Dread Wolves, Worgs, Huge Spiders, Wolves

Also known as the Cloakwood Lodge Exit to the next Cloakwood Forest by any zone wall other than the one the party entered from


 * Coran on the bridge, 1515, 690, is Chaotic Good; even his character sheet breaks a few rules. Three points in Bow, an extra three HP, and his 20 Dexterity are all impossible stats. He joins the party to kill Wyverns; if the party does not accept this quest, he will not join. He expresses displeasure if the Wyverns are not killed in a timely fashion, but it is said the complaining is just talk, and he will even stop complaining after a while.


 * Cloak of Non-Detection from some Tasloi at 4390, 3470, part of a quest from Gurke in the Jovial Juggler in Beregost. The quest does not have to have been received for the Tasloi and their Cloak to spawn. Imoen may not have enough Lore to ID the cloak, but Eldoth probably does
 * Aldeth Sashenstar at 2650, 2100, is running from the Lodge, yelling for help, and says that his friends had been killed by Druids for hunting in the area. Three druids approach; the leader, Seniyad, asks the player not to intervene, and that Aldeth was responsible for the death of Druids, not animals. Aldeth denies this. Choosing to aid either the Druids or Aldeth gets 2000 XP once the other is dead. Side with the Druids, and they warn of the dangers of the Shadow Druid faction in Cloakwood. Side with Aldeth, and Aldeth thanks the player and invites the party to visit the Manycoins Merchant League in Baldur's Gate. This invitation can lead to another quest in that building, which is otherwise inaccessible. This and the high XP from the Druids makes siding with Aldeth an obvious choice, in terms of rewards. And since it later transpires that the Shadow Druids are opposed to the Iron Throne, it is probably the morally better one also.
 * The Moose Lodge 2450, 1710; cabin with a locked chest, containing Necklace, two Potions, Arrows, 395GP

Second Cloakwood
AR 2100

Web Traps abound. Even Spiders, which are so weak compared with other enemies of the same XP, can easily kill characters that cannot defend themselves

Exit to the north to get to the Druid forest

Enemies: Huge Spiders, Giant Spiders, Phase Spiders, Sword Spiders, Ettercaps

Spider's Bane double handed sword with permanent Free Action effect (immune to Web, Slow, etc), can be got from Tiber's quest

Tiber is at 4650, 1200. The spider cave is at 1830, 1150, in which are two Sword Spiders, some Giant Spiders, and some Ettercaps, and the Spider Queen Centeol, herself 1000 XP; bringing back Chelak gets 800 XP. Two rings (one cursed), a Wand

Third Cloakwood

 * The party can rest with a much lower chance of sleep being interrupted, here

The Shadow Druid faction is opposed to Jaheira's, and Shadow Druids will be hostile if she is in the group, even their leader, Archdruid Amarande AR 1600
 * Eldoth near (SE) side of the river, 3180, 3490

Laskal 3345, 2130, claims to have a message for the Iron Throne, and asks if the party represents the Iron Throne. Proclaim that you are the enemies of the Iron Throne, and Laskal identifies his faction as Shadow Druids and gives the party an Invulnerability Potion. Laskal and Izefia at 1985, 1535, warn of the Iron Throne and the wyvern breeder, respectively. Although the quest is to seek the Iron Throne, there is no option to say that; it is not a stretch to say that the party is hunting bandits, and this works well in both cases.

Takiyal reiterates his fellows' estimation that other Shadow Druids will support the party's actions, but advises that the party take Faldorn along with them, both as aid and a chaperone to oversee the party's actions. Faldorn will do no such thing, of course, should the party take her on; she has no more power over party actions than any other companion
 * Faldorn at the Stone Circle at 640, 2885

Enemies: Dread Wolves, Brown Bears, Wolves, Cave Bears


 * Druid Tower at 850, 2115. A giant tree hollowed out and added to, to fashion a tower fortress. The Shadow Druid's Archdruid Amarande will see you; again, tell him that you hunt bandits and he informs the party of the Bandit Mines to the East. Minor loot to burgle here. Amarande himself has nothing in his pockets.


 * Peter the North, 240 XP, at 2320, 920, cave with Baby Wyverns each 450 XP

Fourth Cloakwood
Enemies: Hamadryads, Guards, Baby Wyverns, Huge Spiders, Wyverns, Worgs, Wolves
 * Wyvern Cave 4065, 1680; the one Coran was talking about. Kill them all and Coran will be at the disposal of the party. Loot on a body 400, 590, near the larger dead Wyvern; was it killed by the smaller ones? The Temple east of Beregost will give 2000 GP for one head; Officer Vai will give 1000 GP for each and every head, and will remain in the Jovial Juggler as long as the player never talks to her without a Bandit Scalp in their inventory. Failing that, the wizard Thalantyr in High Hedge will buy them for 500 GP, dropping to 200 GP.

The fastest, in Real Life terms, way to farm the Wyverns is to attempt to Rest, whereupon the party will almost, if not always, be 'ambushed', sometimes by Wyverns