Maybe I'm going about this all wrong, trying to create a 6 person party this whole time.

What number of characters is best and why?

TIA

I like 6, at least in the beginning and until I get a handle on the game. I'm still struggling with my own party because I'm also a chronic restarter. :)

Dayum, keumper, help a brother out! What's your party/strategies?

PM me if you don't feel like starting tons of threads like me! I need somebody to talk to! LOL!

I never have 6 person parties any more.

I usually start with 1 character who levels up quickly by himself in Targos, becoming high enough to handle the Palisade battle by himself, along with the 2nd character who I introduce around that time.

These two level up nicely and deal with Shaengarne and then I introduce the third character in the Horde Fortress or thereabouts. These three then form the core of the party.

I will then introduce a fourth member some time towards the end of, or after the Ice Temple.

I never have more than four party members any more because I'm just too lazy to manage any more characters than that.

What I'm playing with is:

Drow Rogue 2/Wizard 1
Deep Gnome Monk 3
Dwarf Battleguard of Tempus 3
Halforc Barbarian 3
Halfelf Ranger 1/Druid 2
Aasimar Sorcerer 3

My strategy is stop dying! I keep getting whacked by the orcs (and those exploding barrels) at the village. I try to use the monk as a scout/bait character, but he usually outruns the orcs and they don't follow. Sorry for not being much help, except for the 'please don't do *this*' kind. :o :heh:

HB, does your party tend to gain more experience then one created along more orthodox lines?

I really liked one party where I had a halfling thief 1/monk X, and a wild elf sorcerer/bard who put buffs on the monk. The monk really took things out, especially with improved invisibility.

Personally I prefer either a 4 or 5 person party as they tend to lvl up a bit quicker at the start of the game! My favourite is to have 2 clerics, pure or mixed, and a sorcerer or wizard and buff my main fighting chars, usually a Rougue/something x 2 or 4 or Monk and Sorcerer x /Paladin 2. When I have the monk its buffed to the max and sent in by himself and the speed at which he can finish of enemies by himself is crazy! I always try to have 3 or 4 spell casters either way.

Satan - my party does level up faster than a 6 person party because the XP is shared amongst less people and every time I bring in a new 1st level character, my average character level drops back down again.

@harbourboy
I like that idea about bringing party memebers in as you go along. Can make for a very interesting Bio's. After saving Charname from the Goblin attack on the gates of Targos he asks to join you to revenge his wifes murder, and etc.......
Must try this idea!

6 is good for a first time throguh as you get to experience more of the classes/races in the game and play around a lot at the start.

I play in a manner similar to what HB outlined there. I only ever took 6 people from Targos to Seldarine the first time. The next time I added 1 at the end of every chapter. Since then I have been working only with 4 member parties.

The XP gain is phenominal, specially if you combine staggered entry with level squatting. By the Wandering Village my first charecter (who is a tank) already has 4 attacks per round.

1 is generally either a tank class or a Cleric.
2 is the high AC sheild. This most often is the Confused Gnome who carries out rogue tasks as well.
3 is the spellcaster, generally Sorcerer.
4 is which ever class I wish to toy with.

You can extend the idea further by dropping party members along the way as well if you get bored with them (or they have something else to go and do). This way, you can keep your party fresh and interesting all the way to the end of the game and helps meet some the needs of so-called Chronic Restarters who never get to finish the game because they want to keep trying new characters.

The size of the party is really not important. It really depends on what you feel most comfortable playing. I've been playing six-member parties for years and am quite comfortable playing them -- I like to mix different character types as opposed to going for the ultimate powergamer party.

My IWD2 party was:

Human Fighter (LG -- took one level of Paladin late in the game)
Human Rogue/Ranger (NG -- kept the levels about the same)
Tiefling Monk (LG -- the bonuses from race added nicely to those of the monk)
Elf Sorcerer
Human Wizard (for the additions feats and skill points)
Half-Orc Battleguard of Tempus/Barbarian (LN -- took one level of barbarian at the beginning and all the rest cleric)

This party had no problems. I liked having two arcane spellcasters; wizard for versatility, sorcerer for firepower. The half-orc dualled well as a tank and provided most of the kills in the early part of the game. Pure fighter is easily the toughest brawling character in the game (all those feats make the fighter very deadly). The monk and rogue/ranger were just fun to play and fit well in role-playing the game.

Half-Orc Battleguard of Tempus/Barbarian (LN -- took one level of barbarian at the beginning and all the rest cleric)LN? Cool party, BTW... :)