OK, I *told* you I was obsessing. I went back and started over with a very similar party:
Dwarf Lord - middle
Faerie Ninja - middle
Gnome Bard - middle
Faerie Bishop - back
Funny thing is that in terms of how I'm developing them, this party is almost identical to the other 4-person party I was running.
However, this party has kicked more a$$ in a short time than any party I've ever run. I have absolutely no idea why, but that gnome bard really does some damage in melee (I let her play her instruments early on, but she's in the middle with the lord and ninja, and gets her licks in later on). In fact, she's got almost as many kills as my lord!
And I officially give up. Concede. Throw in the towel. I'll never run anything but a faerie bishop again.
Occasionally I get an urge to try something like an elf, but man, you have to spend too much time resting with a bishop other than a faerie.
I told you I was thinking about a munchkin er..small person party. Now if I could just get the Lord to stop singing "heigh ho, heigh ho..." and never mind what the faeries have been teaching the gnome.. [img]tongue.gif[/img] Tiny people rule!