[Aerich]

Well, I want to avoid falling into a rut. One way to do that is to take specialist mages instead of the general mage. The point of taking a specialist with a F/M/T and a bard IS specialization. A well-planned bomber or spellsword is arguably more effective than a general mage because it gets more spells per level than a general mage, and the downside of specialization (loss of opposition schools) is offset by the other arcane spellcasters.

I doubt the party will max out at the lvl 40 cap. Maybe the sc Paladin might. I maxed out some multiclasses and a F/D dual on my last run through HoF, but I had made a mistake and so exported my characters from where I found out I made the mistake and re-started HoW. I had made the barbarian gatekeeper hostile through dialogue, stopped playing for a few weeks, stupidly forgot to reload to before the dialogue, and only re-discovered my mistake when I went back after Gloomfrost to talk to Wylfdene - therefore I had to go through Burial Isle and Gloomfrost again.