I'm going to give it a try, and I'm brainstorming party ideas now. here's what I've got so far:

Gnome Fighter (GM in Axes for a great AC and using the boomerang axe)

Half-Elf Cleric/Ranger

Half-Elf Fighter/Druid

Elf Fighter/Mage/Thief (basically, I'm using him as an archer who can open locks and disarm traps. Since he'll always be in the back-row, I figured he doesn't really need armor so why not throw some spellcasting ability in there as well?)

Gnome Fighter/Illusionist

Half-Elf Bard

I'm not too sure on where to allocate weapon proficiencies (other than maxing out ranged weapons for all characters ASAP).

I also know that Paladins are usually pointed at as being great for HoF mode, but I think that's because of being able to cast "Prot. from Evil" on themselves so often. I figure a single classed Gnome fighter can wear that gnome/halfling helmet for a better AC bonus, and can also be a more offensive character since he can get GM in a few weapons.

This is still in it's planning stage, so I'd really welcome comments/ideas/criticisms. TIA

I think the key to HoF is mainly effective ranged attacks. If you can pull that off while still having 3 decent melee party members then you should do okay.

Are you saying my party has a shot?

3 melee: Gnome Fighter, HE F/D, HE C/R.

Everybody in the party is a decent ranged attacker too. I'll be powergaming all the stats and proficiencies.

Definately, I played HoF for a while until I got the burial isle...then the number and strength of the enemy just bored me so I stopped.

But I think Dual and multi-class are good for those area effect spells, always come in handy.

Cool, thanks.

I've decided to make one change so far. Instead of the Gnome Fighter, I'm plugging in a Gnome Fighter/Thief. I'll still use him as a tank(fully armored), but I think the slightly lower HP and lack of GM in any weapon is far outeweighed by the evasion ability he'll gain. I've come to realize that in HoF, you'll (need to) do a lot more damage with spells than weapons, so losing GM isn't that big of a deal. Besides, since this will allow him to gain specialization in more weapons, it opens up his versatility. I'll be using the Long Sword of Action +4 when I get it instead of an inferior Axe.

I'm not convinced with my Gnome Fighter/Thief either. The evasion is a sweet ability, but I think some spellcasting would really help in my tank/decoy's role.

I've decided that I want a spellcasting tank, and I've narrowed it down to a few different character types. Please tell me what you all think would work best:

1)Human Paladin. She'll have the best saves of this group, most HP, and a darn good AC (their Protection from Evil ability stacks with both the divine and arcane versions of the spell... this means you can get a +6 to AC if she invokes the paladin ability, and a Cleric and Mage both cast the spell on her). The ability to Lay on Hands on herself is also quite beneficial, because it's the fastest way I can think of to regain HP in HoF mode (very useful on a tank!). DuHM is also a great spell here.

2)Half-Elf F/M/C. This character would rely heavily on spells to protect herself. She could also heavily increase her melee damage & resistances to damage.

3)Half-Elf F/M/T. This one would gain the great evasion abilities described above, but would be lower in HP than either of the above.

EDIT EDIT EDIT:

I made up my mind just by laying the info out above. The Human Paladin is my best option. Another advantage I failed to mention is the fact that she's single-classed, which means that only the Bard in the group will advance in levels faster (she'll have the most HP by far, as well as a better THAC0). Since a Pally should be in the front anyway, it makes purchasing items easier (since she'll have an 18 CHA), and in the few surprise encounters there are in this game, I'll already have my best speaker there.

BTW, how long does a Prot. from Evil from a Paladin last? I know it's a really long time, but I'm just not sure how long.

There is an invaluable resource at Gamebanshee for IWD.

But you'll have to remember a few things, like the spell casting level, as DSimpson says:

From levels 1 to 9, three turns, from 9 to 17 +3 turns per level, culminating to 27 turns at 17th level.

Thanks guys. Even if a Pally's casting level caps out at 9 (and for some reason, I don't think that's right... I seem to remember casting it and getting 25's in all stats with a Pally), +3 to STR, DEX and CON is a sweet buff.

And da-yum, Prot. from Evil lasts a long time for them. It's practically a permanent +2 to Saves and AC. Do they get additional castings at higher levels?

BTW, I've just gotten to Khuldahar in my game, and boy was it a struggle. I didn't venture north of the tower yet in the Khuldahar pass (I'll buy lots of plate mail for my tanks before going there), but I can only imagine that part being difficult. The game got a lot easier after my Cleric got Animate Dead, and my Druid got Call Lightning.

I've used the spells Charm Person, Grease, and Entangle more that I've ever done in at least 5 or 6 years of playing cRPGs. Oddly, the 2nd level Druid spell, Charm Person or Mammal doesn't seem to work for me (weird that the arcane 1st level spell works just fine).

Just for clarification purposes (since it's changed a few times already), this is my party:

Human Paladin
Half-Elf Cleric/Ranger
Half-Elf Fighter/Druid
Gnome Fighter/Illusionist
Elf Fighter/Mage/Thief
Half-Elf Bard

I cheesed out a few XP tricks in the beginning I'd like to share as well: I started the game with only the 4 multiclassed characters. I did the bugs in the tavern basement, the drunk man quest and handed the fishmonder's son a fish bone (gnomes get one if you get offended when talking to a townsperson) before adding the paladin. With the Pally's 18 CHA, I bought some equipment and killed the Wolf in the Shop. Then, I finally added the Bard to talk to the dreaming dude and the sirine before taking on all those goblins.

I know it doesn't make too much of a difference, but I feel I needed all the help I could get in getting the multiclassers off to a head start in XP