My party... Please give some advice :)

[Jerry_Seinfeld]

OK, I've taken the advice that Aerich, NobleNick, and marty4 have givin me to make a party that I plan to take through HOW TOTLM and HOF. ( A quick side question, can you go through TOTLM in HOF mode?) I havent made this party yet and I plan on doing so when I get HOW within the next 5 days.

Paladin (Long sword ** Longbow **)
Str 18
Dex 18
Con 18
Wis 10
Int 8
Cha 18

Ranger(13)/Cleric X (Hammer **, Sling **)

Str 18
Dex 18
Con 18
Wis 18
Int 8
Cha 10

Fighter (12)/Cleric X (Flail *****, sling**

Str 18
Dex 18
Con 18
Wis 18
Int 8
Cha 10

Fighter (?) Druid x I have no idea what PP to give this guy
Str ?
Dex ?
Con ?
Wis ?
Int ?
Cha ?

I have never played a druid before but I want to give it a try but I have no idea what stats I should give him. Any advice would be appreciated.

Theif 9/ Mage X (long swords *, Bow *)
Str 18
Dex 18
Con 18
Wis 10
Int 18
Cha 6

Bard Once again, no idea what pp to give him.
Str 10
Dex 18
Con 14
Wis 10
Int 18
Cha 18

Well that is my party so far. I would like to know if these proficencies are acceptable though, I have never gone through HOW or TOTLM and I dont know what new weapons there are. I also am not sure about a lot of these stats like that of the fighter/druids. So give me the lowdown on how these guys are gonna do, or what I should change and stuff like that. Thanks a lot for taking time to help me!

[Marty4]

I don't see why not, but of course I'm getting HoW in 5 days, too

1. Your paladin's min wisdom may be higher than that, but minimum is fine.

2/3 good stuff on these guys, a regular tag team of priests.

4. Same with the no druid bit. From reading back posts, a fighter->druid requires 15 STR, 17WIS, and 17 CHA. For decent fighting stats as well, you will need to roll a while. Go with scimitars.

5. Good

6. bard pp doesn't matter, go with bows and swords.

[Aerich]

Looks alright, just so long as you are aware of the weaknesses of the party.

1) No melee character using axes - many axes have great specials (defender, returning throwing, Joril's).

2) Looong wait until you get priestly healing and buffing spells.

Not much you can do about the axes; even if you give the axe proficiency to the bard, it won't be able to use them to full effect in melee.

My second criticism can be easily remedied by making the Ranger[13]/Cleric a multiclass instead. You'll find that it makes an even better tank because of the buffs you'll be able to cast over the entire game (DUHM, etc). I prefer the R/C multiclass to the R/C dual class, because the whole point about the D/C warrior/cleric is to give it better combat abilities. A d/c R/C cannot get more than 2 PP in any weapon, same as the multiclass R/C. I see no reason to deny yourself all the beneficial priestly abilities through the first 1/3 of the game just for the very minor fighting edge a d/c R/C gives (which will even out and eventually be surpassed with the m/c if you go to HoF).

Aside from that, get ready to roll with the Fighter/Druid. A dual class F/D requires at least 90 points if you are powergaming (which it looks like you are - no shame in it).

Stats on a maxed-out F/D should go something like this:
Str - 15+
Dex - 18
Con - 16 or better, if you can
Int - 3
Wis - 18
Cha - 17

this is 87 points, and a REALLY buff F/D (rolled by a very patient person) would have either the Str or the Con maxed out. Depending on how you want to play it, a F/D does not have to be maxed out. I'm playing a F/D with Con 9 right now, and she hasn't died yet (up to the Frost Giant Caverns on Insane mode). I tend to play the F/D as a secondary tank with awesome spellcasting abilities, so I tend not to bother waiting to dual over until lvl 12-13. I'd say lvl 9 unless you will go to HoF. If you sacrifice any stats, it should be Str (although the minimum is 15); there are plenty of artifacts, potions, and spells that increase Str.

For weapon proficiencies, remember that d/c priests, including druids, have to abide by the weapon restrictions of their priestly class. So there's no point putting PPs into bow, Xbow, greatsword, etc. Missile weapons (sling, darts) is your default ranged attack, and melee weapon can be scimitar or spear. Since your F/D probably will be a secondary tank, I'd be inclined to go with spear, for the extra range. You may still want to take a proficiency in scimitar because of the spells Flame Blade and Moonblade. Dagger isn't bad either, as there's one in the expansion that's worth the wait.

Happy fighting. With a few minor tweaks (or even without 'em), this party can be very powerful indeed.

[Jerry_Seinfeld]

I think i will go with the R/C multiclass the only reason I didnt was becouse of fear that a six person party would level to slow... Its been a long time since ive used a six person party in any IWD or BG game. Another question I have is does the bard need charisma or intellegence? becouse i can drop one down and max con. Also, can I give the fighter/druid axes? And one more thing, bards DO get more songs in HOW right?

[Aerich]

If you want to up the XP you earn, just increase the difficulty level and/or rest endlessly on lvl 3 of Dragon's Eye (the one with Cold Wights).

The bard needs intelligence for the mage spells. Unlike IWD 2, a bard's ability to cast spells and the strength of the spells are not dependent on Cha. However, there's minimums on Int and Cha for bards, so you can't drop them down very much. Cha can be 15, with the rest put into Con. Don't forget, the maximum Con bonus to HP is +2, at Con 16. More is wasted except for warriors. You might also want the bard's Str to be 12 so you can use longbows (Str 15 is required for composite longbows).

You could give the F/D axes, but you wouldn't be able to use them after you dualed to druid. Not worth it; put the PP into spear or scimitar, maybe both.

And yes, bards do get more songs in HoW; they get songs every odd level (1st, 3rd, 5th, etc) up until 11th lvl, which gives an awesome combat song (damage resistance and regeneration).