Well, I was originally playing a party of four...but by the time I crossed Fell Wood, my levels were like 14-15...so I thought I'd add a guy to get the average level of the party down. Here's some info for you guys to make up your opinions...

1) Gold Dwarf Fighter 4/BattleGuard of Tempus X
2) Tiefling Rogue 1/Diviner X
3) Human Sorcerer X
4) Human Druid X

Who should the fifth character be? Any suggestions?

Havn't got great tanks in there have you? I'd suggest a fighter/lathandar combo.

I'd add a half-orc fighter 4/barbarian x

A little more muscle is probably just what you party needs...

If your party has a good aligment, i would go for a paladin. Right equiped, they make great tanks, especially against mages. In offense they are pretty good, too, especialy against evil enemies (and most enemies are evil).

I wouldn't take a character whose level would be so much lower than the party's average. I strongly discourage that. The rogue/diviner should get one more rogue level for the purpose of free evasion. The sorcerer might use a paladin level if you're powergaming.

He does want a low level character to get some xps rather than none. Those treants can give a whopping pretty bad and it would really suck if you don't get any xp at all after defeating a bunch of them.

My sentiments exactly Jeremiah.

Chev, I'm doing this for the XP, though your suggestion for the Rogue/Diviner was pretty neat...never thought of it :D

And yes, I AM powergaming, but thats just me as this is my first time through the game... :)

Well, not exactly the first time, as I played it once earlier up till Kuldahar where my game got screwed and I had to reload...thankfull that bug went away and now I'm in the Jungle of Chult with an average party level of 17!! Help guys...how do I keep it down? I tried level squatting but I was really itching the whole while to level up, because levelling up is total absolute fun!

And the rationale behind me picking the original four was that... with the druid and the fighter (at that point) I'd have sufficient melee power to get through the earlier melee heavy chapters, and then by the time they mature, I'd be able to fry/dice/slice/freeze/incinerate/kill :p anything and everything...you know, long term thinking and all that.

Trouble is, it worked a bit "too" well...heh...I'm playing it on insane and there's hardly any challenge in the game :( and thats with 4 characters!!

Next time through the game, I'm playing it with two! And if that's still not enough, I'll maybe ditch one of the characters in-between the game and go it solo...ah well...

Suggestions guys, more suggestions!

Ah, right. So you want to lower your average XP level enough to get XP where you wouldn't normally be given any. Perhaps a good idea, but you must bear in mind that the fifth one will be weaker and lagging behind. He's going to need special care every major battle. I'd say cleric - for healing, or some monk or warrior pool character who would survive despite low level. A monk with some skyhigh dexterity and wisdom could make it - also evasion from start and some other useful feats later. Also, monk's saves are all good - +2 to everything at start, +12 to everything at level 20. Reflex and will would be higher by at least 4 with good dexterity and wisdom he needs for AC. Bracers, rings, mantles and spells still work, so his prospects for survival aren't all that bleak.

Survival isnt a problem...Improved Invisibility from the Diviner, and then he will just sit around doing nothing. I realise it will set the wizard back by a round for spellcasting, but a DBF from the Sorcerer buys me enough time anyway so that shouldnt be a problem...and I don't like monks :(

How about a bard? Since the new guy will just sit around, he might as well be useful while at it and sing the whole while? But I don't know much about the class as in 3rd ed. Also, I heard there was some problem with ability scores for their spellcasting.

Can someone shed some light on the Bard's viability in this position? I really dont need a character who is JUST a tank, and cant do anything else...all the other characters in the party earn their place...tanks are a waste of character slots...when my cleric/fighter is awesome on his own...with a few buffs of course.

As you sketch it, a bard is a good idea. Get lingering song feat and you'll be able to throw in a spell or two without interrupting the song effects.

Yeah, glad you agree Chev, by the way, does anyone know if a Bard buffs the other party members, his invisibility gets broken?

If you have the bard singing, every round, it's considered breaking the invisibilty, but that shouldn't be a problem if you are abusing improved invisibility, you wimp.

I'm not abusing Improved Invisibility...I have the 2.01 patch FYI Hojo Jojo. Its just that I named the spell off the top of my head.

Besides, its a tactic a LOT of people use with their bards when they have nothing better to do...check out the Bard topics on other boards like BG2 if you want to see for yourself.

And I ditched the whole idea... lvl 20 party in Dragon's Eye lvl 3...yeah baby!!

You should take another melee character.

half-orc fighter(4)/barbarian(x)
svfirneblin monk(x)
aasimar paladin(x)/fighter(4)

Or take an archer type.

human ranger(x)/fighter(4)
drow bard(x)
aasimar bard(x)