...Gladiator, Assassin, Priest & Lich. A good solid party from the word go, and the presence of Priest and Lich means that you can get the XP from all the promo quests.I also like Druid, Mage, Priest & Lich. Not easy to keep in one piece during the early stages, but later becomes horrendously powerful. Only enduring weakness is physical ranged combat, and that's only slight.
Don't bother with Ranger or Paladin. They are a long way the weakest characters in the game.
The best combat spell in the game is Poison Cloud.
