Halscion, you have an interesting party.
I prefer a human kensai- or berserker/mage instead of gnomish fighter/illussionist, since I get more spells that way and a better fighter + the special ability.
I also prefer the cleric of talos over helm, since it has a lot cooler special ability, but I too think you should dual to a mage if you start with a cleric.
The avenger seems interesting:
Advantages:
- May shapechange into normal forms, as well as those of sword spider,
baby wyvern and fire salamander.
- 6 mage spells are added to his repertoire, all the way up to 6th level.
These are listed below:
- 1st: Chromatic Orb
- 2nd: Web
- 3rd: Lightning Bolt
- 4th: Improved Invisibility
- 5th: Chaos
- 6th: Chain Lightning
Disadvantages:
- May not wear better than leather armor.
- On character creation, he receives a -2 to strength and constitution.
It is just a druid that can shapechange into monsters that are only good in the beginning, and can cast a little mage spells. It can't even wear any decent armor, so it will have very bad ac, and as a druid, the THACO won't be that great either. A ranger/cleric will have both druid and cleric spells + it will be a pretty good fighter (more proficiency points too)
The bounty-hunter is not what I would choose for a thief. The only good with this kit is that it can lay some special traps, that really aren't that special until very late in the game. As a thief, the bounty hunter will also have a very bad THACO and can't specialize in weapons, + it gets less thief-skill-points (a halfling thief doesn't fix this in the long run). A fighter/thief combo fixes all this. I think the backstab ability is the best ability for the thief, and with a fighter/thief, the backstab will be awesome.
As for your next party I think the archer is a good choice. You really seem to like druids, but I don't. The berserker is good to dual...but not to a druid!! The druid spells aren't that good compared to the cleric's, except the fire-elemental spell. A cleric is much better than a druid. The elven conjurer is good, but you might as well take Edwin instead. I think it's better with a kensai/mage or berserker/mage, since you can fight, have more hp, and get all the spells. The gnomish illussionist/thief is a little too weak for my taste. It won't be able to participate in combat, except with ranged weapons, and it will not get many spells.
I am not saying you have a bad party, just analysing a little. In the whole, your party may be better than my party...somehow.
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