Have great party - want another

['Guest']

I've got a level 10 party in Trynor that is doing great, but I'm getting a strong urge to make another party.  Instead of starting over, I'd like to run 2 parties at once.

Current party: Fighter, Fighter, Mage, Psionic, Alchemist, Priest

I've been getting a bit annoyed at having to select and target 4 spells each combat round, so I'd like to try a might-based party now, but I have some questions.

I want to do 4 Fighters, a Bishop, and a ranged attacker.

Question time  ;D

1. My current Draconian Fighters use the Draconian Halitosis for about 10-20 damage per enemy inside the cone, and don't have to raise ranged or bow skills, but I have to do targeting.  Is archery any good?

2. I'd like to take some time to 'train' my Bishop so that he/she can do 4 books and 6 schools!  If any of you have played Daggerfall, you know what I mean.  If not, what I mean is sitting in a corner and casting light, bless, stamina, etc - rest - repeat to raise skills.  Is this feasible or will I die of boredom?

3. I need a ranged attacker to stay in back and protect my Bishop when I run willy-nilly into battle to engage in melee:
(a)Ranger - NEVER!  I hate Rangers, Dwarves, and Bards for rp reasons.
(b)Gadgeteer - Maybe, but I've heard they stink.
(c)Ninja - I WANT this, but I've heard they also stink.
Who???
-Can Ninja's throw crits with the sling, or just with stars?
-How do Gadgeteer and Ninja hp compare?
-How do Gadgeteer and Ninja required exp compare?

4. Do you find anything wrong with me naming my Fighters Ugorc, Gorlok, Snagmort, and Trollfang?  Me neither

Thanks for reading, and thanks for any input!

ps. This second party is going to be an evil band of Draconians and Lizardmen - even the Bishop.

[judee]

You may hate rangers and Bards, but in this game they are pretty dern powerful. Rangers can shoot both close up and long, and have long range criticals.

Ninjas can be an interesting replacement, if that is your preference. They aren't so bad, if you know how to build them properly. They can get some great ranged criticals. Though I do believe (someone correct me if I'm wrong) that it's just with thrown (darts, knives, shirukin, etc), not sling.

As for the bishop, yes it's possible to upgrade with non combat spells, it just takes determination. And time. Boring? Probably a bit. But you can vary it, go out and fight a few battles in between, etc.

But I have to tell you that no matter how strong your bishop is, in the middle of battle, when he's the only one casting protection spells, you might find yourself in a bind. While some protection spells can be cast at all times, there are several spells that can only be cast during battle.

Just something to keep in mind.

Why not try three fighters, a ranger (or ninja if you prefer), a bishop and a bard?

Bards... they are, IMHO, among the best of all. I have one party with both a bard and a bishop. My bard spends each turn playing a powerful instrument, and all my bishop ends up doing is giving stamina to the bard, and occasionally to the others. The 4 (6 with rpc's) others just fight, both long and short range.

But without the bard, I'm not sure they'd have made it this far.

Of course, if you're doing all dracos and lizards, I'm not sure how musically incllined they would be.  

Half the fun is trying new characters. Lol, I can't even tell you how many groups I've treid out now.

judee