Starting a new game, would appreciate suggestions Options

[Mongerman]

Here I am, back for another round of punishment and self abuse. Anyway, my planned party (all created) is

Vagrant (flails as main weapon, axe or belm in offhand)
Sorcerer
Wizard (what would be a good specialist class for this character?)
Berserker (main tank, using shield with longsword/1 handed crushing weapon. All AC boosting items go to him)
Ranger/cleric
Cleric

Question, is the pureclass cleric really necessary? I choose her in anticipation of all the healing I'm going to need, but it would be great if I could throw in some melee capabilities as well.

2nd, I've been browsing the threads, and I notice the once popular f/m multi class does not have a place in many parties. What happened? Are they nerfed or something?

TIA for feedback!

[Mongerman]

Thanks for all the help and feedback guys. I think I'll go with this party

Vagrant.

Start with flails for FOA, and FOD&W endgame. Prob belm or kundane in offhand, to be replaced with either axe or longsword endgame

Sorcerer

Nuff said. Though it would be good if someone could provide a link to a good spell selection in IA

Ranger/Cleric Multi Class
I choose ranger instead of fighter for ironskins, and cleric instead of mage, since melee rules in IA =). Start with club for blackblood, will end up using hammer.

Ranger/cleric Dual at 7
Tank 1. Will be focused on defense (> -24AC)rather then offense. Will use whatever weapon happens to be at hand. With buffs should be able to hold the enemy's attention. My worry is that the enemy will attack whomever is dealing the most dmg instead of him/her. Can someone verify this? I was also wondering, would a berserker be better for rage and weapon mastery? Trade-off is of cos ironskins.

Blade
Tank 2. With def spin and spells, should be able to tank for awhile. Main role is still supportor.

Half-orc kensai with maxed str and con
I always went with a berserker in previous games, as the -2 ac and immunities were crucial for my main tank. However, now that I have 2 tanks, a pure dmg dealer is an attractive idea. He would use staffs/halberds to attack from behind my tank. Sounds good in theory, but please correct me if I'm wrong.

[Sikret]

Nuff said. Though it would be good if someone could provide a link to a good spell selection in IA

Just don't forget tp pick the following low level spells. You can't go wrong the rest:

First level: Larloch's Minor Drain
Third Level: Vampiric Touch
Fourth level: Emotion, Stoneskin, Ray of Fragmentation (in that order)

Blade
Tank 2. With def spin and spells, should be able to tank for awhile. Main role is still supportor.

I (for one) would prefer a second sorcerer or even a swashbuckler dualled to mage for sure (do you want to take the damage of all traps and ingore the xp you can gain by disarming them and opening locks?). But since blades have lots of fans here, I won't discourage you anymore. You can replace your blade with Imoen in spellhold, of course. She is a sorceress now.

Half-orc kensai with maxed str and con
I always went with a berserker in previous games, as the -2 ac and immunities were crucial for my main tank. However, now that I have 2 tanks, a pure dmg dealer is an attractive idea. He would use staffs/halberds to attack from behind my tank. Sounds good in theory, but please correct me if I'm wrong.

I would still prefer Berserker for his enrage and also the ability to wear heavy armor. Your Kensai will probably require lots of baby-sitting and micro-management specially at the early stages of the game. But yes, the additional offensive power is undeniable.