4 players multiplayer-party... needs your opinion and help.

[Alson]

i'm planning to finish SoA and ToB with a 4 players party (multiplayer, of course).
with the help of several other gamers, i've decided to create:

1) a Ranger/Cleric (half-elven, multiclass) - my fav class. he's capable of doing everything, from killing mages (insects spells), turning undead, to killing grunts (dual-wield meele). AND, he has both cleric and druid spells. Profs: *** in 2 weapon style, ** in flail (for the Flail of Ages) ** in maces (for mace of disruption +2) and ** in war hammer (for you-know-what
2) a Sorcerer (elven) - i've been told that he rulz, so i really want to try him. Profs: * in QS (magi) and * in slings (that +5 sling...)
3) a fighter/illusionist (gnome, multiclass). the most interesting class, never tried it before. he's good because he is a specialist mage thus getting more spells(no necromancy spells though). Having one more mage in your party then your sorceror is good because it helps your sorcerors spell selection. Being a gnome is good cause you get better saves than a human. in higher levels i think he'll be awesome because the combination of GWW + Time Stop. Profs: *** in 2 weapon style, ** in long sword, ** in axes, and eventually another ** in scimitar/bastard sword (which is better?)
4) a fighter/thief (halfling, multiclass). I choose halfling because of their excellent saves and outstanding thieving bonuses. I have 19 dex so he'll be able to be a really good thief straight from the start of SoA, able to put 110 in detect illusions, so i don't need true sight. because he can choose from fighter and thief pools, he is nearly perfect - able to cast from scrolls, able to use the legendery Carsomyr, able to backstab for godly damage. i can only imagine him with GWW + Backstabbing or Assassination + improved haste...
Profs: ** in 2 handed weapon style, ** in two handed weapon (carsomyr) ** in QS (ram, for backstabbing and ** in crossbow (firetooth)

so...
what do you think??
looks good? is it balanced enough?
any tips are appriciated...

[Nifft the Nimble]

Hi Alson, Welcome !!!

First off, great looking party! Everyone will be able to haul their own weight it looks like.

One issue: the halfling. If I were you I wouldn't worry about thieving skills. With a small party like you've got you won't lack skill points, and as you progress towards the end of your adventure you'll have way too many to care about. So my advice would be to go for a half-orc Fighter/Thief with 19 Str, 18 Dex and 19 Con. You'll be able to hold your own in early fights far better than a halfling with his puny little 17 Str. On the other hand, your halfling would make a killer ranged attacker. Consider Short Bows and Tasheron's Bow +3 in particular.

Fighter/Illusionist: kick ASS! Same with the Sorcerer and Ranger/Cleric. You are in for a very fun game

-- Nifft

[Kaleban]

Or at least a full-on munchkinized powergaming fest in which everything falls before you with absolutely no challenge, and very limited dialogue, even if you pick up 1 or 2 NPCs.

If you want challenge, solo. If you want fun, party with the NPCs. I mean, come on, the available combinations and plot hooks of all the NPCs are quite varied, and I highly doubt you've used EVERY NPC in your parties for the full game, right?

Save creating your own parties for multiplay, if you're gonna single play, I say use the NPCs as their dialogue and interaction more than makes up for what you'll lose in combat power. Plus, its more fun I think to have to combine a party that effectively blends strengths while minimizing weakness through tactics and skill/spell usage. If every single party member is a walking tank, what's the point of tactics or gameplay? You can simply walk up to things and *thunk* them, and that takes away from the challenge I think.

[Alson]

quote:

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Originally posted by Kaleban:
If you want challenge, solo. If you want fun, party with the NPCs. I mean, come on, the available combinations and plot hooks of all the NPCs are quite varied, and I highly doubt you've used EVERY NPC in your parties for the full game, right?

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This is why i DO want to play custom party... cuz i already soloed the game once and already played with most NPC's...
and i don't think i'm a powergamer, because IMHO, powergaming is not how strong your party is, powergaming is to play just to gain power.
i do try to roleplay my party, to make the choices that my CG char would've done.

now, back to the topic
what do you think about the party?