Makatak: I played through all of the Baldur's gate games recently. And I completed IWD1. Haven't bought or played IWD2 yet. And I never had a party of less than 6 in an infinity engine game.
Basically a group that covers all of the essentials and where everybody has decent fighting abilities (1 weapon proficiency slot and 1 attack per round usually means take a backseat)
If you have never played something using the D&D 3rd edition rules it is pretty confusing to start, everything in your post uses a version of 2nd edition and unlike the differences between BG1 and BG2 3rd is very different. You probably will have to read the manual but below I'll try and hit the important stuff,
You advance in one class at a time so you can't start with a Fighter/ Magic User you'd have a 1st level Fighter and when you hit second you would add a level of mage. Unlike Dual class you aren't locked into a class at any time.
Paladin and monks are sort of an exception but it is explained during character creation Any race can be any class, want a half orc paladin or dwarf druid no problem.
You have 16 points you add to your base stats so you can't get super characters through hitting the re-roll button. You can still drop stats to pick up points for other ones.
There aren't any stats that you can nuke down to 3 without actually penalties. an INT 3 CHA 3 fighter has almost no skills and no one will talk to you.
Spell casters need to have more than a 10 in the stat there spells are tied to to cast any spells. Mages use INT, Paladin/Ranger/Cleric/Druids use WIS and Bard/Sorceror use CHA. You need spell level + 10 to cast a spell. Higher stats make it hard for things to save against your spells and give you a bonus spell. You never have more than 1 bonus spell of every level. Also Paladin/Ranger start getting spells at 4th level so you need to be ready for it.
Every 4 levels you get to ad 1 to 1 of your stats.
There are no minium stats to take a class you can make really bad choices freely. As an observation for real frustration you can memorize spells you can't cast and the game won't tell you.
Your characters will have skills that deal with Personal interactions (an 18 CHA no longer gets you the best reaction throughout the game) You thief (Rogue) abilities are all now skills so anyone can do them, Rogues just get lots more points and each skill is tied to a stat so if you hae negative bonuses you can start out with a minus to a skill you spend points on.
Anyone can wear any armor and weild any weapon but if they don't have the right feat they get penalized, wizard/sorceror/bard can have their spells fail if they wear armor.
Feats are special abilities you get every 3 levels. Some classes get more than that.
None of that touches on your question of a party of 4 but for my response to make sense it should help.
You need to plan your characters carefully from creation. Decide how much you like wizards. If you want every spell to be available you are going to need an Wizard character which means someone needs a high INT although with the points you get as you level you can get away with a 14 or 16. If you want some spells but can live with a limited selection Sorceror/Bard be enough but you can only have a very limited number of spells you know, 2 bennies is they don't need to memorize and they can use scrolls, also their spells use CHA so you can have them fill th party spokesbeing role as well I would go with an 18 CHA and either a 12 or 14 INT for skills they need. Keep in mind they also get higher level spells slower than Wizards.
Clerics can go in either of 2 directions fighter or talker. WIS is need for spells and CHA for turning undead, STR/DEX/CON are for combat I have had luck with DEX 14, WIS 14 CHA 18 Diplomacy skill, ranged combat and adding my stat points to WIS everytime I get them. I usually never Multiclass them so they get spells as quickly as possible because Cleric spells are the best combat boosters. I believe you really can't skip a Cleric because they are the only ones with spells to get rid of most of the more annoying spell effects the enemies will nail you with.
Druid/Ranger/Paladin are backup choices for Cleric spells but the first one doesn't get as good a spell selection IMO and the other 2 get next to no spells. Although Multiclass does make viable characters they are lower powered compared to single class, much more so than earlier games.
I usually include a Rogue because I hate traps although a Ranger can take a Rougues place for sneaking and trap finding they just aren't going to be much good at disarming a trap they find also they will have limited locking picking skils. If you go this route I recommend a 14 or Higher INT because you will need lots of skill points.
Fighters remain the mainstay of a party. They get lots of feats and are the best at whacking the crap out of whatever needs whacking. I usually have at least one I don't multiclass until after 4th for weapon spec in one weapon. I have had luck giving them a level of cleric (WIS 12) to get the 2 CLW's and a domain spell usually I like the Battlegurd of Tempus Cleric so give them a Chaotic alignment.
Barbarians never inspired me much but that is totally non game based because I just haven't played them.
Sorry to be so long winded.
Warren
