How bad would a "Mega Multiclass" party be?

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I'm curious how bad a party would be with all the spellcasters multiclassed. I was thinking of making an all multiclass party, but then decided I'd like to have ALL the classes represented in the party. Here's what I'm thinking of:

ranger/cleric - half-elf
fighter/mage/thief - Elf
cleric/fighter/mage - half-elf
bard - half-elf
paladin - human
fighter/druid -half-elf

I think mentioning the race is superfluous given that all but the Bard and F/M/T are dictated by the [multi]class selection.

So, how badly will I be hurting for a lack of spell levels? I tend to horde my spells and consumables until I really need them, so everybody having fighting ability should help balance things out, but when I really need magic, will I not have enough available with only a pureclass bard? I'm far more liberal with spells and other renewable resources than I am with consumables like potions and scrolls.

 

Even a party consisting of 4 fighters, a fighter/thief and a fighter/mage/cleric can beat the game without too much trouble, so don't worry, your party shouldn't have problems finishing the game. Level 7 spells are not necessary.

Keep in mind that there's only one scroll for most spells, so choose wisely how to distribute them. Level depending spells like haste or shadow monsters are better learned by the bard for longer duration and better effects, while fireball (capped at level 10) or monster summoning II should be learned by the wizards for example.

 

The game scales experience to your level (and I think it's independant class level, not character level), but averages the party level to decide it. What that means is that, if you played an all F/M/T and F/M/C party, you'd probably end up with individual class levels similar to an all single-classed party. In this case, though, those single and double-classed characters are going to throw things off. They'll level up much faster (having only one class), which means they'll throw off your class average. At least, that's how I've understood the experience discussions.

 

Icewind Dale doesn't scale XP, only IWD2 does.

 

... Oh, my mistake. I've been looking at both recently.

 

The base Icewind Dale game does scale up a little in combat based on your level. A high level group will face tougher opponents -- I don't know if this is only true if HoW is added (HoW does not scale at all -- it's the same if you enter at 9th level or after you've defeated the main game).

Experience awarded does scale with increased combat difficulty -- but not much.

 

Why the F/M/C? You already have a cleric with the R/C and a druid with the F/D. Why not just a F/M. He will end up being you best spell caster. I like the Gnome Fig/Ill myself. Having 2 triple multis in the party will really slow down their advancement.