Seeking weapon suggestions for my party:

[Cwell the fine]

One thing I hate doing in these games is losing out on some great weapons. What makes it a tiny bit easier in IWD is that many great items are random, so I should just go with what I like. One little quirk of mine: I really hate pausing to add a shield and unequip a Bow or Crossbow. So if I'm using an archer, I'd like to use a two handed melee weapon. If not, I'd like to use a shield. Please help me with some ideas on where to place weapons:

Paladin. Well, he gets a longsword eventually, but what should I do for a missile weapon with him? I would like to use a shield, so I'm looking for a 1 handed missile weapon. This leaves me with Axes (nice!), Daggers (the returning dagger is obtained very late in the game), Darts (no boomerang darts I've ever found, but there are powerful ones out there), and Slings (STR bonus to DMG is nice).

F13>Illusionist. When all is said and done, this guy will undoubtedly be the most powerful character I have. I just don't know where I should be placing my proficiency points. I had originally fiddled with the idea of going to GM in Halberds, but I don't remember if there are any great ones out there. There are wonderful Greatswords, and I can combine either with *** in Bows. The Longsword of Action +4 is one of the best weapons in the game, but if I use that I'll be struggling for a single handed missile weapon like my Paladin, since I'll be wanting to use a shield. Of course, becoming a GM in Axes is awesome with that returning axe found in Chapter 2. If I do that, I will just place *** in a blunt weapon not covered in the party.

F9>Cleric. This one I'm set on. GM in Mace, Specialized in Sling.

F/D. Since I can only advance to **, I will start with Missile and Largesword, next will be Clubs (sometimes you find a nice one in Chapter 1), and probably Dagger next.

F/T. Largeswords for backstabbing, Missile proficiency for Slings and Darts. I will also go for either Hammers or Flails later on, for a blunt proficiency.

Bard. He just gets everything else. Since I'm always singing with him, a Bow or Crossbow is useful. I know an instrument in Kuldahar takes up a Shield slot, so I'll probably use a Sling eventually. For melee (which I hope never to enter), I'll hold onto a weapon that grants an AC (or some other) defensive bonus. The only one I can remember right now is an Axe with a +2 to AC.

[Aerich]

Paladin - go with dart/sling. They are the same proficiency, and your lead melee fighter won't be doing too much long-range work compared to the rest of your party.

F/I - I've gone both ways (Axe and Flail: Greatsword and bow), and like both. The first option has the disadvantage of no ranged weapon until Dragon's Eye, and the second option has the drawback of not having any blunt weaponry. I'd go with the first option and use this character as your main tank (thus not really needing a missile weapon) until your find the returning axe. Once you dual over and regain your fighter class, this should be a frontline character anyway.

I have no quibbles with either the F/C or the F/D - it's what I would do. Spear is nice to have with the F/D toward the end, so I might take that proficiency before dagger. I suppose it depends when you plan to hit HoW (and if you will have Slayer before then).

Fighter/Thief - I'd like to give this one a bow, seeing as you may have no other dedicated bowmen. You could just keep this one out of melee combat almost entirely and forego the shield until absolutely necessary. I'm uncomfortable about having no pure (or nearly so) archers in the party - the RoF of certain bows and crossbows combined with acid arrows etc is murder on spellcasters.

Bard - won't be heading to melee much with this party.

[Cwell the fine]

Thanks!

you must be the expert around here or something, I expected more responses!

[Aerich]

Perhaps. Or maybe nobody else had anything to add. You had a pretty good idea of what you wanted to do, and I just filled in the gaps.

So what did you decide to do, weapons-wise?

[Cwell the fine]

Pal: Longsword/Axe. Also has a hammer, and started with bow specialization
F/T: longsword/Flail/Bow (main archer)
F>Ill (switched at level 9): Greatsword GM/Bow **
F>C (switched at level 9): Mace GM/ missile **
Bard: Axe/missile (has prof in a whole lot more, but this is what he uses; axe is for when he's singing since it gives him +2 to AC)
F/D: Scimitar/Sling. Working on other prof., but will probably stick with this setup since I like shields.