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I actually got Icewind Dale II for Christmas, started up a party, and played for a while, but once I decided I didn't really like it very much (which didn't take long), I was essentially paralyzed with indecision. Yesterday, I actually went ahead and built another party, and I played it to the end of the Prologue. I like the new party better, but there are still some things I want to work out. Note that since I haven't gotten anywhere past the Prologue, I'd prefer not to have the rest of the game spoiled, so if there's something like a really good battleaxe I'm going to pick up later, just say that battleaxe is worth investing in because I'll pick up a good one in <insert chapter here>, not that "In Chapter Seventeen and a Half you find a Keen Vorpal Battleaxe of Death to Thine Enemies +50 once you beat seventeen orange dragons at the same time" or.. whatever. I'd like general ideas and basic tips, not specific spoilers.

My first character is going to be an aasimar Paladin/Fighter mix of some kind. He'll either take four levels of Fighter for the additional feats and the ability to get three points in Large Swords, or he'll take three levels of Paladin for the nifty abilities before switching to pure combat focus. The Paladin3/FighterXX appears to be popular and looks as though he'd be quite a combat machine, but, on the other hand, focusing on the Paladin levels would give me a really powerful Lay on Hands (Charisma modifier times Paladin level? That's 75 hit points at Level 15 if you have 20 Charisma, which could certainly come in handy) and a few minor divine spells, which might be marginally useful. And Smite Evil, I guess, not sure how good that is. The description in-game says that it adds his Charisma modifier and his level to the attack.. but only the Paladin levels count, right? This question also applies to Lay on Hands, I suppose.. my original build was 14/10/14/10/12/20, Weapon Focus Large Sword.. so I'll also take suggestions on stat modifications, and I could definitely use advice as to which feats to invest in, as long as you don't have me dropping Intelligence to 3 to power up everything else. I'm not that kind of player. ^_^

My second character is a basic human Fighter, 18/14/16/10/10/8. My original bulid Power Attack (I've found this one to be really useful), Cleave (came in handy on occasion), Focus Great Sword (because, really, I didn't know what else to focus in). There are so darn many feats available to Fighters that I really don't know which ones to go with. Thoughts?

Third character.. a female human Morninglord of Lathander.. 12/10/14/12/18/10. I added the points to Intelligence so I could specialize in Spellcraft as well as in Concentration, not sure if that's a good idea. I don't think I have very many problems with this character, but feat/ability score advice is always helpful. She started with Combat Casting and Weapon Focus Mace, and I gave her Sub-Vocal Casting the next opportunity I had. *shrug*

Fourth character.. I really didn't know who to put here, so I added a female human Bard, 10/14/10/14/10/18. I like having her around, but I'm not sure I'm really using her properly. Actually, I really don't know what to do with her. She has Sorrow's Tear (a dagger that I got enchanted from one of Veira's tears) and a Light Crossbow, Sleep, Charm Person, and recently Chromatic Orb. Mainly I have her singing or shooting bolts.. her Sleep spell was quite useful during the attack. I did make sure to get her Lingering Song, and I just got her two points in Spell Focus Enchantment. So.. yeah. Interesting character, not sure how to us her.

Fifth character.. lightfoot halfling Rogue, I gave him a Ranger level at Level 3. I wasn't sure when to add in the Ranger level, so I just picked then. 10 Str, 20 Dex, 16 Int for all the necessary skills.. I like this character pretty well so far. I grabbed Weapon Finesse when I hit Rog2/Rgr1.. it says I can use my dex modifier of +5 instead of my str modifier of.. well.. 0.. I'm really not sure how it works. Does it automatically kick in with daggers and short swords? He doesn't have the special ability star thing active, so I guess I don't activate it the same way I do Power Attack.. *shrug* Anyway, I may make him a strongheart for the extra feat.. not sure if having one more feat is better than a +1 bonus to saving throws. And I don't know what sort of feats to give this character. I just picked Weapon Focus Bow for his first level feat.

Sixth character.. moon elf Wizard, 10/16/12/18/10/10. He'll be using Fire and Lightning magic primarily, I think, with Greater Spell Focus in Evocation and Necromancy, perhaps Enchantment.. but with the Bard, is that even necessary? Of course, that assumes I decide to go with the Bard. I may yet not. I don't know. Spell selection tips for this guy?

And, of course, if anyone has any suggestions for names (this isn't necessarily my strong point), portraits, or soundsets, that'd be appreciated, too.

Party suggestion ... melee heavy, I'd say.

Plain and simple: 3 melee fighters, one sorc/wiz, one cleric, one rogue (probably dualclassed). Don't overrate dex for fighter types, because heavy armour eats it up. Specialize in different damage types. There are weapons that are better than others but no such thing like Crom in BG2. Concerning your wizard, fire and ice sounds good, but acid works in almost any situation, like force does - consider a sorc for greater flexibility.

Although you seem to like her, you could drop the bard and replace her with nobody. It would make your other chars get more xp.
About the paladin: you seem to be well-informed about the game, but did you realize that paladins (and monks) almost always refuse rewards?

I think coot underestimates a usefulness of a bard in your party. Although the extra xp would certainly help, having only 6 chars will also make some fights a bit more difficult. On the other hand you can keep a bard, and use all of his powers to complements your group. For one a bard can have healing spells and since you only have 1 cleric, those spells can safe your butt a few times, + he has some extra spells that can complement your wizard. And bard songs in this game, are much more helpful then in the previous games, especially the last one you gain, which gives all you party +2 to AC, as well as some regen, which can come in handy in some tough fights. Also like Coot said if you want rewards from your quests paladin is not the guys you want to have talking, but since the only other char with high charisma is your bard I suggest you keep him in the party.

I used a Jester in one of my Bggames and she was one of the chars I enjoyed most (right after Stalker and Wild Mage).
Bards can indeed contribute a lot, even more so in IWD2. And if you like the char that much, maybe you SHOULD keep her.

looks like a solid group.

ftr paladin, i prefer the ftr 4 paladin x approach, as you start getting more and more spells, this char will get a lot better.

ftr - nice build, don't overlook using axes...

cleric - also very nice, yes concentration & spell craft are the way to go, int could be 10, but it's fine either way. i usually try to keep my clerics out of melee, so i'd not of choosen mace, but it's ok...
you will want spirit of flame, and maybe a focus in evocation magic.

bard - nice choice, can compliment your wizard and is not reliant on scrolls, can also compliment your cleric on healing. if dex is fairly good, can deal out impressive damage w/ a crossbow, or singing when appropriate. this char caols also be a good leader/ talker.

ranger / rogue ever popular multi - wpn finesse is automatic w/ shortswords and daggers.

wizard, i prefer sorc, i would leave enchants to the bard, but hard to go wrong w/ this. works well w/ the morning lord for blasting goodness. spell selection - scribe everything you can get your hands on, and see what works best for you...

Paladin: I would go for Pal3/Fighxx, you'll get spells late and lay on hands for me don't pay as all the feats you get as figh.; also if you choose Pal3/fighxx you can reduce Wis. in favour of Dex/Str, also Int. can be dropped to 8, so my suggestion is 16/12/14/8/10/20.

Fighter: 18/12/18/8/12/8, for more powergaming drop Cha a bit and raise Wis. (consider also a Half orc Figh4/Barb.xx with 20/12/18/8/12/6), as for weapon choose great swords and axes (use the two handed), because two handed weapons are more effective with high strenght charachters.

Cleric: 10/12/16/10/18/10, being human you get 2 skill points anyway (even with low Int.), she is not a melee fighter, at the most can tank a little. For more powergaming drop Cha and Int to 8 and add to Con and eventually Str.

Bard: can be a good choice, be it a spellcaster/sniper/singer/diplomatic, so drop Str. to 8 and raise Dex.

Rogue: you need mainly 5 skills (hide, move silently, search, disable device, open locks) so 12 or 14 Int. is enough; make it 10/20/14/14/10/8; consider also to give him a lev. of Barbarian for the rage, the higer movement speed and some extra hit points.

Wizard: 8/14/18/18/10/8; consitution is very important, as for Dex. he will cast spells more than shoot missile and his Ac will come from protective spells.

Finally, the best tanks are your summons, specially the Undead (very powerfull and long, long lasting) which are lev. 3 cleric spells (and lev. 5 wiz. spells). Once you get these you will see the need of your tankers dropping drastically.