> So the question remains, for me, is whether the Druid class is useful in a character progression?
>
> Given that a Wizard or Sorceror gets all the spells at (ideally) level 17 and a Druid at 21, the quickest (level-wise) way to get all the spells would be to switch to a Druid as soon as possible, as long as you are able to do it before level 14. The disadvantage, of course, is that you have to go all that time without either class' high-level spells. Since experience is (in game terms) trivial to accumulate, it makes more sense to learn all the spells of one class before switching to either the other spellcaster or the Druid.
>
> Disadvantages of the Druid are low HP and poor equipment => low AC (and WC but not worse than Sorcerors and not much worse than Wizards,) and low HP. (We'll discount the slightly slower learning as above.) Advantages are permanent innate AC increase and, it appears, fast SP gain.
>
> The question is which is a better progression:
>
> Knight -> [Wizard/Sorceror] -> [Sorceror/Wizard] -> Assassin
>
> or
>
> Knight -> [Wizard/Sorceror] -> Druid -> Assassin?
>
> Specifically:
> Does the SP advantage create a worthwhile difference once you've gained at least 20 or so Assassin levels?
> Is the HP disadvantage significant enough to cause hardship on the way to becoming an Assassin?
> Does the AC gain create a noticeable difference once you've gained at least 20 or so Assassin levels?
> Is there an advantage in accumulating SP and/or AC in earning more Druid levels after you know all the spells?
>
> Just thinking aloud.
>
> sS

It depends on the way you're playing the game. I'll approach it as a game played straight through from scratch with one character, which I think is the fastest way to finish the game once you are familiar with it. From experience, the fastest way to progress through the game with a single character, for me, involved switching back and forth between Knight, Sorcerer, Wizard, and Assassin several times. Specifically, in the last game I played it went something like this:

Knight (for just a few quick levels, to get a satisfactory base level of HP) ->
Sorcerer (up to a bit higher level, to get some mediocre attack spells) ->
Wizard (up to a high enough level to get a mediocre healing spell) ->
Knight (a bit higher than before -- the rise is faster than the first time as Knight because I'm still fighting on level 1 and using a group-attack Sorcerer spell a lot of the time).

At that point, I've played about 20 to 30 minutes (I'm going from memory; it's been quite a while) and can get the necessary item to get to level 2, then open up the way to the room with tons of enemies.

Then it's back to Sorcerer for a short time, until I get some better attack spells that can take out level 2 enemy groups with ease. Okay, it's getting hard to remember what I did at this point, but I think I then switched back to Wizard long enough to get up to RESTORE, then switched to Assassin and got just high enough to blaze through level 4.

After that (maybe 3 to 5 hours of playing) the way's open to fighting tough and rewarding battles several levels down. I think I stayed as an Assassin for just a few levels more to get some permanent bonuses, then did one more track through Sorcerer and Wizard (in some order), this time going all the way up with each one to get all the spells. This step takes fully as much time as the game has up until then, because experience requirements start getting significant. Yes, you've got to gain a bunch more levels getting up to approximately level 17 as two different classes, but by this time with the monsters you can take out, the first 8 or 10 levels go by in nothing flat, and meanwhile you're getting a small perk of ~1.5 SP/level permanently regardless of how many times you've changed classes. So I think it works out to be comparable in time getting all the spells whether you do the classes separately or as a Druid.

After getting all the spells, I go back to Assassin for good, and then it's smooth sailing. By that time, I can storm through to get the required "pass" items, reach the end of level 9, and set up base there for finishing the game or rapid level 10 training, whichever I wanted to do.

So in conclusion: no, I don't really like Druids very much.