I am not a power gamer, but I know when something works. And my Baldur's Gate 3 party works very, very well. So well, in fact, that I genuinely think it might be the best combination of characters you can pull off outside of a fully min-maxed co-op run. For now, my fantasy of an all-druid Wild Shape run remains unfulfilled, but for my first playthrough, I'm pretty happy with what I've crafted instead.
I've already set out my campaign for why your first Baldur's Gate 3 playthrough should be a bard. Bafflingly high natural Charisma and the incredibly versatile Jack of All Trades skill means that you can usually ability-check your way out of trouble. That would make the bard up there with the best Baldur's Gate 3 classes even if it didn't also have Bardic Inspiration's boost to ally dice rolls and Song of Rest's teamwide heal.
Naturally, to help my silver tongue shine even brighter, I chose the Dark Elf race for an extra boost to deception, so I'm lying my way straight through to Baldur's Gate. That said, I'd be nothing without my cleric, who boasts perhaps the strongest cantrip in the game. Origin character Shadowheart comes with the Guidance spell, which offers an extra points on pretty much every major dice roll.
If I'm ever about to lie straight to someone's face, a quick tap on the shoulder and my bard can be just that little more sure that their mark will buy whatever rubbish they're about to come out with. As a cleric, Shadowheart's another support class, similar to a bard, but she's also got some potent holy magic, and enough heft in her mace-swinging arm to ensure that she can handle herself in a fight.
As well as pairing nicely with my bard, Shadowheart also makes an excellent partner for Astarion, my party's rogue. Guidance offers the same boost to his lockpicking and pickpocketing skills as it does to my character's deception and persuasion, ensuring that there's not been a single door on the sword coast that can stand in my way for long. Shadowheart also helps out Astarion thanks to her Pass Without Trace skill, heightening his stealth skill to make it easier to sneak through the shadows.
