[Gimli]

"I must admit, I was tempted to go with the Aasimar Druid and Aasimar Paladin combo, but I think I'm leaving the Paladin as Human. I seem to remember another thread concerning Aasimar vs Human Paladins and (before it degenerated into a p!##!~@ contest over a Paly/monk combo - which I agree is weird for us non-power-gamers) the Human Paly stood up to some close inspection."

Hehe, well as one of the p!553r5 from the thread you are talking about, I would agree Human pallys are fine - nothing wrong with Aasimars either though for a pure Pally, I would take your RP choice there. Just don't take a Pally(1)/Monk(X) with a 10 in Str and 20 in Cha =0) LOL!

"I note the Cleric point. My intuition is screaming that a Cleric is going to be a lot more useful than a Bard!"

Reasonable minds can disagree on this one; I personally don't like Bards too much, and I really like Clerics - they are amlost over powered in IWD II, and no one can heal like they do, period.

"Planning on using as a true jack-of-all-trades leader type. Will do all talking, some pick-pocketing when I fancy it, missile support (second to Rogue) and magic support."

Hmm, a pure rogue with a good INT can do all that by himself. They are actually the only class with all 3 talking skills as class skills; they get the most skill points of any class; and can even use some magic (scrolls/wands) if you build their "use magic device" skill.

"How do they fare later on the game? As a Drow, could give him some Wizard levels to beef up magic later on without incurring XP penalty - Is it worth it?"

Not really, you want to get access to higher level bard spells and songs if you go the bard route. I probably would not do a bard/wizard multi.

"I think I'm going with the Tiefling Wizard and Human Rogue. I dont plan on multi classing the wizard, so with the high Dex and Int etc, can focus on being Nuker-mage."

Tiefling Wizard is a great choice, the 20 Int to start is perfect; human rogue is nice too, the extra skill point per level comes in handy.

"For the Rogue, he's going to be the sneaker-sniper type. Gone with Human because I dont know how his multi classing will end up later. This way I dont have to worry about any potential XP penalties. Anyway 18 DEX is pretty good!Like the idea of two-weapon combo, but not a priority. If thats the case, should he just pick up some Fighter levels to improve martial prowess or is there another benefit to taking Ranger levels? Is it better to spend extra feat toward ambidexterity OR 2-w-combo rather than dedicating a level to Ranger just to get this? Do Rogues really become diluted once they hit 10th level? I hope not, they are typically my favourite class (I'm a rapier not a broadsword type)."

Well you'd need 2 fighter levels, or just one ranger level for the dualing - so there's less dilution with the ranger route. Plus the ranger has a bunch of the same skills as class skills that the rogue does. Basically you want 10 rogue levels when you hit 12th as some cool rogue feats are only available once you have achieved level 10 as a rogue. If you're going to use him to backstab, and as a leader, the skill points and sneak attack damage will be good for all levels. Some rogue skills don't really need to be maxed which is why alot of people would say pure rogues are overkill for thieving purposes, but they are still fun and effective.

"Finally, how does the racial experience cap limits work in IWDII? Does it still go on race and class? Anywhere I can get a list?"

No racial or class limits on levels or exp; the only thing you have to worry about is exppenalties if you multiclass.