ToEE party ideas

[Aleolus]

Hey all. At some point in the near future, I plan on uploading a Lets Play of Troika's Temple of Elemental Evil with the Circle of Eight fan patch. For this, I would like some input regarding what I should do for my party. For those of you not familiar with the game, it uses D&D 3.5 rules, with character creation limited to PHB only. Max number of player made characters is 5, and I plan to use thd full compliment.

Two preferences on my part:
1; A wizard who will take most, if not all of the Item Creation feats
2; A high Str dwarf to serve as a packmule when needed

[Thurbane]

I've played this game...a lot.

I find the "optimal" party is:
- Cleric (with Elemental Domains - I like Earth and Fire)
- Wizard (I usually go Dwarf for the Con bonus)
- Barbarian/Fighter. Take the feats to get Great Cleave and Whirlwind attack, and get Combat Reflexes. Unlike in 3.5, they stack, and you tend to get surrounded by weaker enemies a lot.
- Rogue Archer. I like Elf for Longbow proficiency. A TWF Rogue works OK too.
- Bard (if you're going for a 5th man): Bardic Music and buffs. You'll probably want him to be an archer of sorts too, for when the spells run low.

Have the casters load up on item creation feats, it's really worth it.

[Aleolus]

Do you feel NPC tagalongs are worth bringing? I ask because, despite her apparently not having a very good stat array for a Druid, I really like Menolly (especially the +1 Holy sword you get for wooing her). Not to mention Furnok and him starting with a +1 dagger and a Ring of Invisibility

[Thurbane]

Otis is very handy early in the game. He's a tough fighter and can really help with early fights.

If you come across the wandering Bard, and don't already have a bard in the party, he's not bad.

Menolly is definitely worth having if you don't already have a druid.

Furnok is a bit "meh" as a Rogue, although as you point out he does have a Ring of Invisibility. You come across another NPC with another ring later on, and can also get one as loot off an enemy.

If you're an evil party, you may want to invite him along, arrange an "accident", and grab the ring as loot.