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3) The unconventional Sorcerer
Wild Elf Sorcerer(27)/Monk(1)/Rogue(1)/Dreadmaster of Bane(1)
Start statistics: STR3 DEX20 CON11 INT13 WIS13 CHA16
Stats with buffs: STR11 DEX30 CON14 INT13 WIS26 CHA19
AC: 10 (base)
+7 (Shield spell)
+5 (Ghost armor)
+10 (DEX bonus)
+8 (WIS bonus)
+11 (Equipment)
+6 (Feats)
+9 (Haste, Barkskin)
     ===
66, 71-74 with Tenser's Transformation active
Frankly, sorcerers don't make very good protector characters, just because the stat point shortage becomes unmanageable when CHA needs to be upped together with DEX & WIS. But yes, it's possible to get a party with nothing but sorcerers in it protected by at least one bodyguard. =)

4) The HOF-certified melee warrior
Deep Gnome Rogue(4)/Fighter(4)/Paladin(3)/Ranger(4)/Monk(3)/Illusionist(12)
Start statistics: STR16 DEX20 CON16 INT16 WIS5 CHA1
Stats with buffs: STR26/34 DEX32/40 CON16 INT16 WIS12 CHA1
AC: 10 (base)
+8 (Chain of Drakka's Fury)
+5 (Ghost Armor)
+11 (DEX bonus without Tenser's)
+4 (Shield bonus)
+11 (Equipment)
+10 (Feats & race)
+9 (Haste, Barkskin)
     ===
68, 73-76 with Tenser's Transformation active
The idea here is to utilize the ultimate combat buff Tenser's Transformation on a unit that is already designed for melee instead of spell casting. As one of the items needs Rogue levels, it's easier to add multiple warrior classes to make the amount of levels that needs to be "wasted" as Rogue as little as possible. Starting as Illusionist (just one level), getting all Paladin and
Fighter levels next, adding the remaining 11 Illusionist levels and finally adding the remaining classes via level-squatting 3 or 4 level-ups at once makes the advancement as trouble-free as possible. Note also that this character doesn't quite compare to a full-blown all-offensive berserker, but
IMHO the ability to stay in combat without the need of constant healing and fear of death is more than worth the sacrifice. Even if there's some breathing room in the AC stat, upping STR instead of DEX is risky business - a melee unit needs all the protection there is.

5) All-in-one multi-use protector character (just add party)
Deep Gnome Rogue(4)/Druid(4)/Bard(5)/Dreadmaster of Bane(5)/Illusionist(12)
Start statistics: STR10 DEX20 CON18 INT18 WIS7 CHA1 (NOTE: No Bard spells.)
Stats with buffs: STR18 DEX28 CON18 INT22 WIS16 CHA4
AC: 10 (base)
+8 (Chain of Drakka's Fury)
+5 (Ghost Armor)
+9 (DEX bonus)
+4 (Shield bonus)
+11 (Equipment)
+10 (Feats & race)
+7 (Haste, Barkskin at 4th level)
     ===
64, 69-72 with Tenser's Transformation active
On the outset, this character seems quite worthless. However, this is a self-sufficient package that reaches the required AC levels, has plenty of hit points & evasion & spell resistance & excellent saving throws, provides pretty much all the skills that are needed during the game and finally, acts as an extra source of buffing with Chant spell and Tymora's Melody. This is especially handy since both of those buffs would otherwise just tie up an otherwise valuable character. Having this character cast Prayer would also free the party's other cleric (if present) to cast Recitation when preparing for a major battle.

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5.3 - Add Druid
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One unfortunate aspect of high AC builds is that one is pretty much forced to bring a Druid along, preferably with at least 12 levels to reap the maximal effect via the Barkskin spell. Even if the Druid has some pretty formidable spells to choose from, it lacks some very good abilities that mages and clerics have. A Druid can't do anything to bring dead comrades to life, even if they can make dying a whole lot more unlikely by using the
Mass Heal spell in tight spots. (Of course it's possible to drag the party to a local NPC healer, but this is a gross violation of the rule of "minimize the amount of micromanagement needed".) They don't have any really useful combat buffs (except for Barkskin, of course) whereas every Cleric and their cousin have plenty. Neither can they Haste anyone nor do they have area damage spells in league with hallmark performers like Fireball, Skulltrap,
DBFB, Horrid Wilting or Wail of the Banshee. And finally, most of the stuff that's borrowed from Cleric or Mage classes doesn't become available until one whole casting level higher, making Druid drag 2 levels behind in power.

However, it can be noted that the 9th level Cleric spells are plain crap compared to Arcane counterparts, so reaching 9th level Clerical spells is not really a top priority for anyone. (Except for some domain spells, maybe.)
This makes a half-and-a-half split Cleric(15)/Druid(15) fulfill the "at least
12 Druid levels" requirement without taking away from the most important aspects of being a Cleric. Also, it's a matter of taste whether 8th or even 7th level Clerical spells are something that absolutely MUST be obtained, as Resurrection is basically just Raise Dead + Heal combined and Holy Aura isn't really that great unless the whole party has natural spell resistance.
However, reaching a high enough level as both a Cleric and a Druid takes
a LOT of time - delaying the full potential to at least half-way into the
HOF mode. Lots of level-squatting & muling is recommended to bring those level-ups into play as soon as possible.

It's also possible to have the high-AC character carry the Druid levels.
However, as Druid isn't favored class to any of the potential protector races (humans & half-elves miss out on the very important spell resistance and saving throw bonuses), the problems with EXP penalties becomes just worse.
OK, technically one could trade the level(s) in Rogue for levels as Druid for a net +2 AC increase while keeping the EXP penalties unchanged, but this is hardly worth it. A Deep Gnome with 12+ druid levels, one Monk level and
11+ Illusionist levels would technically reach 72-75 AC with the Tenser's
Transformation active without party support, but I personally try to stay away from the TT because it makes self-healing and self-buffing impossible under its duration. Most notably, one can't recast Mirror Images in case situation gets hairy. Such a character would also be quite weak physically, as can be seen in the Melee party's Decoy character. But to each their own.

One interesting combo with Druid is to make the character a thief/diplomat that also carries one of the "troublesome" classes, the Bard, in one package.
The shortage on stat points can be circumvented via utilizing the Druid's shape shift ability that REPLACES the character's own stats in STR, DEX and
CON. Thus, a Tiefling Rogue(7)/Druid(12)/Bard(11) with maxed INT, WIS and CHA but low STR, DEX and CON works as a diplomat in human form, but after a shape change into, say, a winter wolf, the high DEX makes thieving skills much better. Animal form is also a great way of increasing hit points during combat, and one can choose between raking opponents with paws, claws or whatever the animal form uses for attacking and singing. Yes, a shape changed
Druid/Bard can still sing! Shape changing takes away the ability to cast spells, but there's plenty of various buff spells that can be memorized and used via a quick appearance in human form. Also, adding level-up points into the INT stat will make sure there's always plenty of skill points available for diplomacy & thieving skills.

It might be nice to make the party's Druid have a very respectable AC by making it a Human, and introducing both Monk and Dreadmaster levels as mix-in classes. (Choosing other races would bring EXP penalties, and half-elves are inferior to humans due to their missing skill/feat point extras.) Adding also Fighter, Rogue and even Ranger and Wizard into the mix-in list would greatly broaden the abilities of this character pretty much in the same way as the Arcane party's Decoy character. Having starting statistics of
STR7 DEX18 CON16 INT14 WIS18 CHA3 would allow for an AC of 66, but since the protector character already uses the better versions of the headband and the amulet, only 62 could be reached realistically. Adding the required levels to cast Tenser's Transformation and bringing in a Bard could still, in theory, be enough to bring the AC up to 73 (assuming Shield spell can be used now instead of Spirit Armor), but I think it's better to have one
REALLY well protected character for tanking than two "almost good" as the trouble of keeping up all the buffs is also doubled.

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5.4 - Check available buffs
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Depending on the protector and Druid characters, there might be a need for various buffing spells that are not covered by those two. For example, a melee unit profits very much from the Executioner's Eyes spell, but it's hardly a good idea to have the melee unit self have 17+ wizard (or 18+ sorc) levels just to get this spell. It's much easier to add one primary arcane caster that can cast the spell for the melee character instead.

As most parties built around the idea of powergaming tend to have at least one pure or at least almost pure arcane caster and one Cleric, living up to the requirements of having all the necessary buff spells may actually be easier than it sounds. One note, though - if using specialist wizard in your party, make sure (s)he can cast Conjuration spells to access both Ghost
Armor and Spirit Armor.

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5.5 - Fill the remaining character positions
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Once you've outlined the protector character, the Druid and the buff-up characters, the remaining slots can be filled with just about anything you think works best with your strategy. Keep in mind, though, that melee in HOF is very risky business unless the character has those high ACs or other means of protecting themselves. Alas, as the whole high AC idea is based on several key equipment, of which there's no duplicates in most cases, it's not possible to have more than two high-AC characters in a party legitimately.

Therefore, the role of the remaining characters should in most cases become either archer or nuker of some sort. Frankly, archers don't seem too impressive when compared to someone that can toss fireballs and stuff like that. The only exception to this rule would have to be a dedicated character built around the Flying Death two-handed throwing axe. Huge STR score turns into good damage bonuses and even more so with two-handed bonus - the only real drawbacks are the reliance on the DEX stat for hitting stuff and rather poor enchantment levels on the weapon itself. HOF version provides a +3 enchantment, but it isn't available until quite late into the game. The piercing damage type that the axe provides happens also to be the most resisted damage type by the monsters.

Before filling the roster to full six persons, keep in mind that there's quite a bit of road to travel before those six persons have acquired the necessary EXP to really start shining in their roles. Parties with more than five characters can't mule either. Refer to chapter 2.6 for more details.

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5.6 - Assign party roles
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Once the party members have been selected, it's time to think about the stuff the party as a whole is supposed to be doing. Lots of buffing, lots of blasting, lots of skills - but who's going to do what? It helps to group the various skills into logical niches. One person should be the diplomat (if the party has one, that is), one person should do the rogue-like stuff, and one can take care of the other miscellaneous skills. Mixing these three groups together is bound to give more confusion than advantages - besides, some skills just plain work better with the corresponding maxed stats.

As a general guideline, the protector character is probably the best candidate for the various dexterity-intensive skills, provided he has the INT for them. (Melee party's tank doesn't.) If the party includes a wizard, that person is a number one candidate to fill in the various misc skills. Finally, any sorc (or bard) makes a natural diplomat, since that character class isn't nearly as strapped for stat points as many others, making raising INT quite easy.

Sometimes it may seem a bit counter-productive to let the party's wizard take alchemy, especially if the party has a deep gnome that gets bonuses to that skill. However, I for one hate to memorize what my characters can and can't do, so I try to go with the stereotypes as long as possible to avoid too much hassle.

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5.7 - Stick to the plan
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Bravo! Now you have a brand new party to take into actual play. However, don't just lay back and play such party "against design", that will say forgetting to keep the AC buffs up on the protector character, attacking in melee with characters that are designed for spell casting and stuff like that. Doing stuff that you're not supposed to is about the easiest way to get that masterpiece design of yours to suck royally.

If you REALLY think that keeping the design decisions you made during the party creation process in mind is just too much to bear, I would suggest you take a look at the original UPP instead. There's hardly any multiclasses, not much of tailor-made or counter-intuitive design decisions and the party plays pretty well together even when the guiding force behind it (that would be
YOU, the player) suffers from severe case of insomnia. There's no need to know several dozens of buffs just to keep playing. It's a very good party that has very little trouble in getting through the game.

Except for one thing. There's not a single character in there that can make it to the very important AC of 72. (Close, but no cigar.) And, alas, this means that the party misses the opportunity to relax and take it easy behind one pretty much invulnerable meat shield. One has to live with the fact that death lurks behind every corner, especially in HOF mode. One has to