*jumps on this post first and hides it*
I'd like hearing any suggestions on playing a F/T and ideas for small paties (maybe one or two npc's at a time) Also I want to multi or dual class for the first time.
Try a party with Haer'Dalis and Aerie, if you're looking for small party. With those two, you've got yourself a Swiss Army Knife party. As for classing, you can't dual-class with Julius the elf. Julius the human, yes. You can only multiclass as a fighter/thief, and if you dual-class Julius the human, you can only pick a kit for the fighter (first) class, not the thief (second) class. That being said, if you dual-class, I say Wizard Slayer -> Thief for maximum powergaming play, and Archer -> Thief for good roleplay potential.
As for mods, here are my suggestions:
--Pick up the Weimer and Forgotten Wars mods. These tend to be the most stable and low on bugs.
--Item Upgrade (Weimer) comes in very handy for consolidating some items. There is the possibility for cheese, and with ToB installed, the weapon upgrades aren't all that necessary. To misquote Six, ToB is a damned
candy store when it comes to weapons.
--Ease-of-Use (Weimer) includes things to smooth out gameplay. Some are realistic (unlimited stacking), some border on cheese (un-nerfed spellcasting memorization table, I think it was), and some are just Gouda ("rebalanced" shapeshifter, in case you wanted to turn Cernd into a juggernaut).
--Valen/Solaufein (Weimer) are recruitable NPCs, and their pros and cons are being juggled around some other threads at the moment. I suggest you take other NPCs before adding new ones to the game.
--Tactics (Weimer) beefs up some battles. I suggest you play through ToB at least once before installing this.
--Kelsey and Goo (FW) are two other NPCs. Again, you might want to play with NPCs that you've never partied with before bringing new ones into the game.
--Flirt Packs (FW) add new depth to male PC romances. Note I said male--Jason Compton's cranking out Anomen's flirt pack. (A little sniffle for the same guy who made Kelsey, another romancable male NPC. He's writing a flirt pack for Kelsey's competitor! A hard life a modder leads, that it is.)
--Dungeon-Be-Gone (FW) helps get your party out of Chateau Irenicus faster by adding a deus ex machina by the name of Jasper St. Baird to get you out of there faster, and with all the experience/gold/major items you would have earned. Roleplayers would frown, but the less time you spend in that place, the better, I say.
A recommended install order:
SoA
ToB
official ToB patch from Interplay
Baldurdash ToB fixpack from
http://www.baldurdash.org
Forgotten Wars mods (link in Dundee's FAQ)
WeiDU mods (link in Dundee's FAQ)
Good luck! [img]smile.gif[/img]