Thoughts on these parties?

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I'm going to play through the entire game with one of these two parties (twice, on insane and then heart of fury). I powergame some but RP is important to me, too (in terms of class selection, not necessarily stats). I have set up these two parties, tell me what you guys think of them (in terms of balance, multiclassing and ability point distribution). Which group looks stronger?:

Evil (mostly) party:
1) Dreadmaster of Bane (30)
Lawful Evil
18 Str
16 Dex
18 Con
3 Int
18 Wis
3 Cha *shouldn't need cha, right?

2) Fighter (4), Barbarian (26)
Chaotic Evil
18 Str
18 Dex
18 Con
3 Int
16 Wis *didn't know where else to put these points, will saves?
3 Cha

3) Rogue (3), Fighter (4), Wizard (23)
Neutral Evil
16 Str * will be a spellsword
18 Dex
12 Con
18 Int
9 Wis
3 Cha

4) Monk (1), Druid (29)
Lawful Neutral (required for classes)
16 Str
18 Dex
18 Con
3 Int
18 Wis
3 Cha

5) Bar (11), Sorc (19)
Chaotic Evil
12 Str
18 Dex
14 Con
4 Int
10 Wis
18 Cha

6) Sorcerer (30)
Chaotic Evil
8 Str
14 Dex
12 Con
14 Int *just for skill points
10 Wis
18 Cha


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Good party:
1) Fighter (4), Paladin of Helm (26) - Aasimar
Lawful Good
17 Str
10 Dex *is this too low?
18 Con
3 Int
12 Wis
20 Cha

2) Fighter (4), Battleguard of Tempus (26)
Chaotic Good
18 Str
16 Dex
18 Con
3 Int
18 Wis
3 Cha

3) Painbearer of Ilmater (13), Monk of the Broken Ones (17)
Lawful Good
18 Str
18 Dex
16 Con
3 Int
18 Wis
3 Cha

4) Bard (11), Ranger (19)
Chaotic Good
12 Str *not sure about ability point distribution here
18 Dex
12 Con
3 Int
15 Wis
16 Cha

5) Druid (30)
Neutral Good
13 Str
18 Dex
16 Con
3 Int
18 Wis
3 Cha

6) Sorcerer (30)
Neutral Good
8 Str *same stat distribution as above
14 Dex
12 Con
14 Int
10 Wis
18 Cha

 

1. I'm not sure we reach 30 in HOF without level squatting. Might want to check on that (or just level squat).

2. Some of the characters will not be good in HOF. The parties as a whole will do fine despite the deadweight.

Fighter (4), Barbarian (26) <-- even if you buff him like crazy, he won't have enough AC. So you'll constantly be stone skinning and healing him.

Bard (11), Ranger (19) <-- just seems bad

 

Some general advice - I think levelling up any class to 30 is a bit pointless in 3rd edition rules. Most spells stop improving after level 20, and after that gain in extra spells per day is also very limited. After level 20 in your main class you are better off taking mix ins for more effectiveness and special abilities.

Very nice mix ins:
1 level monk - for evasion, wis bonus to AC
1 level of paladin - for paladin's permanent stat bonuses, holy avenger, cha bonus to will saves. 1 more level for immunity to fear.
1 level of ranger - for dual wield
4 levels of warrior - for weapon specialization

Also at 24 or 25 BAB (can't recall exactly), you get an extra attack, so for your cleric or warrior characters, you might want to compute and make sure you hit the BAB needed for the attack.

Make this one an Aasimar and start with 20 WIS. Maybe late HOF mode take a level of monk for WIS bonus to AC! Dreadmaster's of Bane get a very nice permanent stat bonus that makes that monk level very awesome!

To powergame this character, give him a level of Dreadmaster of Bane too! Also, I think this character might need the STR more than the CON. If you want to make him an awesome AC tank, make him a deep gnome!

I think this character will not have enough wisdom to cast Paladin spells, unless you buff with items? I don't know how much worth it the Paladin spells are anyway.

Two suggestions:
You can forget about wisdom and just put those points into DEX and STR. Paladins have a nice quest reward that will make you want to max your STR. Also your DEX is too low and you will get an AC penalty. Make sure you have at least 12 dex to maximize your armor with full plate mail, and 13 dex I think is needed for dodge. Otherwise you will need items that give you a DEX bonus to optimize AC.

Next is, reduce your charisma and max out wisdom instead. Take only 1-3 levels of Paladin, and the remaining levels? Take them in Cleric of Helm!!! You just lose a bit of BAB and HP, but the benefits? You get spellcasting that is actually worth it! And domain spells to boot.

Make this guy cooler by giving him a BARB and/or a RNGR level at high levels.