I've played BG a few times through, sticking with the more humanoid races and regular warrior classes. I decided I'd put together an IWD party that could take me through the whole game and get me acquainted with as many races/classes as possible, and was wondering if anyone could make suggestions.

So far, I've sketched out the following:

Half-Elf Cleric/Ranger
Halfling Fighter/Thief (for backstabbing/trapfinding)
Dwarf Fighter (tank)
Gnome Illusionist/Thief (IIRC that's a valid combination)
Human Bard OR Paladin

My dilemma here is that I don't know where an Elf would fit in, and I'm missing out on a Druid and either a Paladin or Bard. I had a druid during my last playthrough of IWD (which I didn't finish) and for a couple of levels he seemed like a god (around 7 or so IIRC), but became obsolete very quickly. I'd like to try again.

Any suggestions on changes to make to this party, or classes that aren't really important in IWD?

[edit] Just re-read the OP's post and realised he was talking about IWD1 and not 2...guess I need more sleep. Sorry about that. Anyway, IWD1...

I prefer D&D rules in IWD2 to the ones in IWD so I'm not that great with party suggestions for the first IWD, but I'd say that if you already have a Fighter/Thief halfling, you'd be better off with a gnome Fighter/Illusionist. He might start out weak, but will become the ultimate tank later on with Mirror Image/Blur/Stone Skin and the Helm of the Trusted Defender. Also, Druids are best in a Fighter/Druid dual class combo; dual from Fighter at level 3 or 6. (I'm usually too impatient to wait until level 6, although it might be worth it for the extra proficiency slot.) As for elves, I think a half-elf is better than an elf, as the latter can only be brought back from the dead by a Resurrection spell.

Bards are nice but not necessary, although one of their songs is really overpowered, since it regenerates your party's hit points very quickly. Paladins are able to to use one of the most powerful weapons in the game, but IWD can be quite easily finished even without that, so I wouldn't say that you miss out on much if you don't use a Paladin. With your party composition, a Bard might be preferable, as he'd be an extra arcane magic user.

My personal favourites are the gnome Fighter/Illusionist and the human Fighter/Druid, as they are both good front liners while also having a wide variety of spells, and thus can quickly adapt to different situations which makes them fun to play.

That's pretty close to the party I used for my last playthrough, I had a dwarf fighter, half-elf ranger, gnome thief/illu, human fighter 2/ dual classed to cleric, human necromancer, and an elf bard. This party absolutely destroyed nearly every encounter in the game and never felt weak. I chose the necromancer to make up for the spells the thief/illu couldn't learn and the dual classed fighter2/cleric for a backup melee. You end up with 3 solid physical combatants and amazing utility and spell selection.

Your party is quite close to my prefered party, but my Gnome was a single class Illusionist. And Elf would fit in very well as a Druid, which is what I also had in my prefered party. IWD is just about the only CRPG I've played that has made the Druid a fun and powerful class, and I highly recommend picking a Druid. If you want an easy game, pick a Bard; one of their songs make the whole party regenerate hit points at a rapid pace, making healing spells obsolete and healing potions only needed for emergencies.
I'd rather have a Paladin, especially since one of the most powerful weapons in the game is for Paladins only.

Nothing wrong with your party for IWD1. I'd probably just make the gnome a pure illusionist (you've already got a thief), but there's nothing wrong with it in the 2nd edition ruleset. Both Bard and Paladin would work well, since you already have a good balance of melee, sneaky characters, and mage characters. I'd agree the druid would also be a good addition. It's all what you want to play; that looks like a perfectly serviceable party.

I'd prefer the bard over the paladin, the game is far more comfortable if you can heal HP without casting spells (and your priests can try out other spells than healing). Elf druid fits well into your party.

Please be mindful that an Elf would cost more to resurrect when he or she 'bites the dust' than all of the other races.
So, if you have an Elf in your party, make sure you have enough gold pieces in your inventory for life insurance.

:)

I haven't played through much of IWD, so I can't really give spoilers...but my current party seems fairly balanced so far, and good for a first time through so far....it is as follows:

* Human Paladin (Fighting/some Priest spells)
* Dwarf Fighter (tank)
* Human Cleric (Priest spells/some fighting)
* Halfling Fighter/Thief (I really wanted a halfling in the group since I rarely play that race...but it might make more sense with a different race)
* Human Necromancer
* Half-Elf Invoker

My primary motivation for the Necromancer/Invoker combo was to choose characters that do not share any opposition schools (note that with Heart of Winter, the opposition schools changed). I feel like having 2 specialist mages largely counteracts the drawback of specialty mages, if you are careful about the selection...at least for a first playthrough (where you don't know for sure what spells are most useful).

I really like having some spell-casting ability for most characters, particularly for 2nd edition D&D. I also feel like I have every major specialty covered 2x, except thief which I only have partially covered (although I have heard that it is sufficient to have just one multi- or dual-classed thief), and I have no bard. You could possibly take a regular mage and a bard instead, which would increase balance more...but I wanted extra dedicated magical firepower instead.

Note that in Icewind Dale, my limited experience so far has made me conclude area effect spells are more valuable than in, say, Baldur's Gate...at least, for low-level spells. This is probably due to the increased emphasis on combat and the smarter AI for the enemies. You'd be surprised how much more useful Sleep is, for example, at the beginning of the game...even though I believe it is implemented exactly the same as in BG.