[Axterix]

Originally posted by Albromor: Well I went ahead and purchased the game a week ahead of time and now it is installed and patched. Now I am pondering the make-up of my party and have just a few questions. 1. My main tank will be a dwarven fighter. I have read several posts that like to use dwarf fighters with a battle axe. Should I concentrate on this weapon or something else?

Personally, I like Axes. Tons of one handed axes that rock (and they are much better than the two handed ones). Gotta agree with Leafy on blunt weapons, definately learn how to use at least one of those, great for smashing undead. I recommend flails or maces. Maces gets you maces and morningstars. Flails gets you, well, flails. But my favorite weapon in the game is the Flail of Mae.

Originally posted by Albromor: 2. Anybody play an elven fighter/mage? If so, how did it work out? He will by no means be front line but I figured an extra bow would come in handy rather than a sling.

The sling has a few advantages over the bow... it gets strength bonuses and you can use it with a shield. Of course, the bow has a higher rate of fire (a plus and a minus, you kill faster, but also run out of ammo faster). As for not being front-line... just imagine tenser's transformation (doubles hp), stoneskin, and mirror images, all on a guy with fighter AC. Once he gets up there, from time to time, he'll definately be able to cause some carnage. You might want to make this guy use axes instead of the dwarf and hook the dwarf up with bastard swords (if you have HoW) or long swords (if you don't).

Originally posted by Albromor: 3. My other close fight tank will be a half-elf ranger. Can one get through the game with only two hand to hand tanks?

Yup. People solo the game, so it should be possible However, if you want a bit more tanking support, I notice you don't have a thief listed... a dwarven fighter/thief is an excellent combo and you'll most likely want a thief for disarming traps.