Rate my first group

Unsanity

Return player from long ago, before enhanced version. This is my first group to attempt the Oregen Trail.

My leader is a Paladin: Undead Hunter.
On his right, Half-Elf Cleric/Ranger (vs. Giants).
On his left, Half-Orc Fighter/Cleric.
Range support, Elf Ranger: Archer (long bow of course)(vs. Umber Hulks).
Spell/Heal support, Half-Elf Cleric/Mage.
Utility/Range Support, Halfling Fighter/Thief.

I tried to cover as many bases as I could. I remember Giants and Umber Hulks being a pain, later in the game, when I first played, so I stuck with them as favored enemies. Honestly, I think I am lacking some spell power here, just don't know where to put it. I guess I have too many Clerics?

I am trying the kit classes this go around, and the half-orc, not sure about them atm. Any pointers for a stronger or a more capable group? Fording rivers can be very hazardous.

Aerakar

Looks good to me! But agree you are heavy on divine and light on arcane which is probably fine regardless. Perhaps think about another arcane caster to replace the fighter/cleric? Or a Scald for more flavor?

On Umber Hulks, I have never found them worth a racial enemy. I always go undead or demons in BG and assume those are also options in IWD (have not played in ages!).

Katzerchen

Your group looks good to me.

I am not an expert, players also are a bit different. What's easy for one, may be hard for another. If you ask several people what the best party setup would be, you'll get different answers.
(I once even knew a guy who played the game with 6 fighters... won't recommend that, though. Unless you want to break the record for the longest in-game time.)

The nice thing about having three clerics is that the effect of Turn Undead seems to stack. It also can't hurt to have at least a second character with access to divine spells so that in case something bad happens to your cleric you still have someone who can remove bad effects (might at least save you some potions).

As Aerakar mentioned a Skald, there are some small extras for Bards in the game (mini-quests, items, dialog lines). Matter of taste and playstyle, though as bards are mostly support.

For some spells, there only is one scroll in the whole game, including add-ons. So if you really want a second mage, it might be not a bad idea to make one of your arcane casters a specialist or sorcerer. OR use a gnome cleric/illusionist instead of the cleric/mage.
Bards can't cast 9th grade spells anyway, I think the highest spell level they can get is 7, but I might be wrong. So if one of your casters is a bard, it won't be that bad either, but you still won't get all the spells you want for both casters.

(If you have a character with charisma 18 who can cast the "Friends" spell, this will get you better store prices. Just as a side note. But I wouldn't change a working party setup just because of this.)

As for enemies, I found Trolls and Salamanders particularly annoying personally, but picking one type of Undead would make sense, because they are so common. But if you found Giants and Umber Hulks particularly annoying, I don't see any problem with choosing them.
Demons, Dragons and such are available and usually extremely strong enemies. Now the question is how many of these creatures will you encounter and if it is worth to make them Favored Enemies just because you MAY meet one or two. This is not BG2.

I hope you took into account that some weapon types are more common than others and also that you never know what you'll find (unless you played the game a couple times, then you'll know about a couple items that will be available for sure, but there still are a lot of random drops). Like, it's far more likely to get a good longsword than a good katana as an example.
It still is a good idea to have some variety in your group and not spezialize everyone on the same weapon.

jmerry

Turn Undead doesn't really stack, but whether it works has a random component; every additional character with turning is another shot at things.

The weak point with regard to TU, though, is that you don't have any full clerics. At higher levels (once you get to the linear part of the XP curve), the Undead Hunter gains turn levels at 3/4 the speed of a full cleric, and the multiclass clerics do at half speed. The UH also starts two levels behind; they only catch up to the multiclass cleric at 1.8 million XP. And level is far more important than the random part in turning; the difference between a 0% chance of success and a 100% chance of success is only four levels.

Unsanity

Aerakar: Yeah, would be nice to have another class that can use slashing weapons and a bow if need be, as well as some arcane spells. Plus, doesn't a Bard get that lore trick to ID items w/out a spell or scroll?

I started with the group above, just entered the last crypt in the Vale of Shadows. So far only one death, my Cleric/Mage. Yeah, later on if my one and only mage goes splat, would be nice to have a backup. I remember the Giants and Umber Hulks being a pain, but maybe I am still remembering my very first group and that play through ended miserably. I wish I could remember the party structure, I can't. I am sure it was heavy on the melee and not enough heals.

Katzerchen: Thanks. I agree. Ask 5 people the same question and get 5 different answers. It's so true. I had a group that was very strong, but I never finished the game with it. I was on try number 4 or 5 and I was just burned out on the game. If I remember correctly, I had 3 Paladins, 2 Cleric/Mages, and a Fighter/Thief. Maybe I'll give that a shot if this current one fails.

Turn Undead would be nice if I just had a full-on Cleric, but I don't. I have multi-classes and my only solo class is a kit class and not a Cleric, doh. I never did get into Bards, but I'll have to try one out in this game. I was thinking 2 mages to split up the spells. One could be summoning and Identify, the other for damage and dispels. It's been a long time since I played, so I am just testing the waters atm.

I do. My Paladin has Char 18. I remember that helping with the price of items, last time I played, especially at the beginning. I never did cast friends though, I will have to try that out.

Trolls, I remember them. Need to zap them with fire or acid after you beat them down or they rise up again. I was thinking about keeping those arrows just for them. I thought about Undead, but I chose Undead Hunter for my Paladin, so I wanted to choose something different. Yeah, I thought about that as well. When will I encounter them and how many will I encounter. I remember there is at least 3 types of giants in the game. I pick my Archer to hate Umber Hulks to kill them from afar since they do that charm or blind, something like that.

Yeah. My Paladin uses a basterd sword. My Cleric/Ranger mainly uses flails, but can use morning stars too. My Fighter/Cleric uses morning stars, but can uses maces as well. My Cleric/Mage uses staves and slings. My Archer uses longbows, but can use long swords too. He is an Elf. My Fighter/Thief uses short swords and daggers. I try to put at least 1 point in a range weapon for each character so I can set up ambushes and whittle mobs down a but before the close in for melee. I also try to get a point in a blunt weapon for each character so they can fight undead better. I try to vary the weapon array a bit to cover as many bases as I can. I will keep back up magic items too vs. monsters that can only be hit with them

jmerry: Yeah, a solid Cleric would be nice. I could drop the Fighter/Cleric for one. He wouldn't be able to melee as well, but he would be a better weapon vs undead and I would get my priestly spells faster too.

Unsanity

Paladin (Leader) Go kitless for Lay on Hand and Cure Disease? Or Cavalier since I would rarely use range weapons anyway?
Fighter (RH) Go kitless for full fighter benefits, dual-wield specialize? Can always use a shield, if needed. Bow or Crossbow 1 point?
Cleric (LH) Interesting kits, Lathander or Helm? Sling the only range though Full-on Turn Undead FTW!!!
Fighter/Mage (Range/Spell) Long Bow and Crossbow? Use best one found? Go with summon spells, then range dps w/armor on?
Cleric/Mage (Heal/Spell) Will suck on armor, but the healing could help. Damage spells up the wazoo?
Fighter/Thief (Utility/Range) Be nice to have another arrow or bolt user. Can't go w/out find/remove traps.

Good B-Team if the A-Team can't get the job done? No Rangers, Bards, or a Druid tho. Not really sold on the Shaman yet.

Update: I did do a second group play through. So B-Team if you will. No Paladin. No Druid. I did do Bard and single class Cleric.
Dwarven Defender 12, Cleric/Ranger 10/9, Fighter/Cleric 10/10, Fighter/Thief 10/12, Priest of Tempus 12, Skald 14.

That was fun. I forgot to use my Dwarven Defender's and Priest of Tempus' ability a lot of the time, using them mainly on boss fights. It was interesting to play some of the kits. I know a fully kitted party would be difficult to pull off, but I am curious what the best combo of kit class would be. 1. Fighter: Barbarian or Berserker? 2. Paladin: Cavalier or Inquisitor? 3. Cleric: Priest of Talos? 4. Ranger: Archer. 5. Mage: Invoker or Conjurer? 6. Thief: Bounty Hunter or Shadow Dancer?

Unsanity

My first group's end game numbers. Of course it doesn't count the end game bosses. I wish it did. I wanted to know who got that killing blow on them. Also I heard the level up chime after I killed the end boss, but no one leveled.

Paladin - L11- 18% kills 19% exp - Total Kills: 353 for 437,533 exp - Best Monster Killed: Lich
Fighter/Cleric - L10/10- 20% kills 20% exp - Total Kills: 366 for 505,422 exp - Best Monster Killed: Kraken Society Mage
Cleric/Ranger - L10/9- 20% kills 14% exp - Total Kills: 272 for 499,668 exp - Best Monster Killed: Malavon
Archer - L11 - 27% kill 29% exp - Total Kills: 548 for 672,985 exp - Best Monster Killed: Kelly
Cleric/Mage - L10/11 - 4% kills 7% exp - Total Kills 129 for 105,997 exp - Best Monster Killed: Greater Mummy
Fighter/Thief - L10/12 - 8% kills 8% exp - Total Kills: 161 for 197,860exp - Best Monster Killed: Fire Giant