[Aerich]

Hi there, Darkstar. I haven't seen you around the boards until now, so welcome [img]graemlins/happywave.gif[/img]

I wouldn't give up on your party just because of the endless discussions about what the "best" party is. The truth is, any reasonably balanced party can finish the game. It isn't necessary to have dual-classed characters coming out of the woodwork. I've finished the game five times (twice with the expansions), and none of my parties have been "perfect". It's just a matter of playing to the strengths of your party and using good strategy.

If I was going to change your party, I'd just start over from scratch. Kresselack's Tomb isn't really very far into the game at all. OTOH, if you just wanted to replace a couple of characters at the stage you're at, that is a decent option as well. By the time you get into the middle stages of the game, you won't even notice the 20 000 XP difference between characters.

Your party above is certainly capable of finishing with relative ease. It's a little low on clerical/druidic spells for my taste, but you can manage. Many people finish the game with only one priest. If you're going to have only one, I would go with the cleric (or Cleric/Ranger) over a druid, because clerics are better at preventing damage than druids. Druids have great attacking and summoning magic, but clerics have superior protective spells; they can also cast Raise Dead and Resurrection. I play a druid sort of how I'd play a fighter/mage - an offensive spell machine that can summon and fight. A clerical caster is better suited to your party.

Bards are good if you have the expansion Heart of Winter, but they are by no means a "must-have" character (for some people). They are an excellent and versatile support class that can perform some of the duties of thief, fighter, mage, and eventually, cleric.

I would continue on the way you are going. You have three good fighter-types and one "secondary" fighter (the C/R), two mages, a sneak, and a healer. No problem. You will find it easier going once your mage/thief levels up a bit. In the meantime, buy the Girdle of Gond from Orrick in Kuldahar, and cast Cat's Grace and Luck if you're having trouble with your thieving skills.

I like your party that you posted above. Just be aware of its strengths and weaknesses.

The strengths:

1) three good fighters - can use lots of different weapons and have good hitpoints. Make sure they have high Str, Dex, and Con. Make sure that one of the fighters specializes in Axe, and that all of them have at least two proficiency points in a ranged weapon, with at least one with crossbow and one with bow. The other is up to you.
Slight spoiler
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The Axe specialist may not even need a separate ranged weapon after he/she finds a special axe.

2) two wizardly spellcasters - plenty of range for experimentation and versatility. Make sure that both of them have Mirror Image; it's a lifesaving spell for mages.

3) multiclass thief - it's a waste to have a pureclass thief. Your mage/thief will be able to do all sorts of nasty things once you get access to more spells. Mirror Image will protect you while you cast killing spells like Fireball, Sunfire, and Malevon's Rage into the middle of packs of enemies, and you can sneak into range before casting spells.

The weaknesses:

1) One priestly spellcaster, multiclassed - I prefer more priestly casters; however, the relative lack can be mitigated by resting more frequently and using most of the spell slots on protective and healing spells.

2) Lack of access to evocation spells - conjurors cannot cast them, and your mage/thief isn't really the ideal character to "spell-bomb" the enemy. Some creativity and patience will make up for this - the conjuror can cast different spells (Melf's Acid Arrow and Skull Trap instead of Magic Missile and Fireball), and you can set up the mage/thief to be a stealthy offensive specialist later in the game.

Anyway, I've dissected this enough for one night. Hope this helps. Cheers. [img]smile.gif[/img]