I'm starting out on Baldur's Gate EE and am kinda overwhelmed by the choice of characters. Sure I've looked up the "best" characters, but I want to have fun while playing (not to say that playing the best character is boring). I just want to know what you find to be a "fun" character, be it a mage, thief or fighter.
There is so much choice in this game that I'm sure I will do multiple playthroughs just to try everything out. As I said I'm just starting out and have gotten to about Beregost so I am assuming that there is a ton more content waiting for me in the future, I just don't want to be stuck playing a boring character through the entire game. So what do you find to be fun in Baldur's Gate?
I'm not really biased towards any archtype so fire away.

To me it depends on what sort of "fun" I'm looking for. If I want a "random lulz" sort of character then I'd definitely go with a Wild Mage, although that's not something I'd pick for a first or even for a second playthrough.

If I want a character with diverse abilities then I'd go either with a Fighter/Thief (no kits, or swashbuckler kit for thief if I'm in a cheesy mood and want really high AC) or some sort of Bard. A Berserker dualclassed to either cleric or druid is something that I haven't tried but it seems fun to me as well as far as diversity is concerned, without being too overpowered.

If I want an overpowered character then I'd pick a gnome Fighter/Illusionist. (A lot of people also like Kensai/Mage for this purpose.)

Play a sorcerer, spontaneous casting is fun.

I've heard a bunch about how awesome sorcerers are, so I'll try making one :D

A wild mage is fun, but I do not recommend it if it is your first playthrough. Magic is hard to use, and the wild mage is too chaotic, so if you do not know the game very good, I recommend you wait a little, until you get familiar with the game.
For me, the funniest character class are thieves, for the simple reason that this games allows you to pickpocket virtually everyone in the game. If you do not mind leveling slower, the best option is an elf fighter thief, because it allows you to use composite long bows, which with 19 DEX, are quite powerful if you ask me.

If there is one character class that is not ideal for a beginner, it is the sorcerer. You have to know the spells to make good choices. He is very powerful, if you know what spells you want to use.

I would also not choose a class with so few hit points. That can be frustrating to begin with. On the other hand a pure fighter might be boring, because he does not have special skills. A fightr/thief might be a very good choice. It is a powerful char and the thieving skills are useful and fun.

I think everyone's forgetting that new players are probably gonna be using a full 6 person party, so there should be plenty of chances to try out the different class types. 1 NPC is dropped on you the moment you start chapter 1, 2 more NPCs are on that same map, and the game does everything it can to point you to another location with 2 more. Between those 5 NPCs, every basic role is covered.

That does not address the two points I was making.The sorcerer is not a good choice if you still have to learn how the game works. The spell choices are final and will influence the gameplay until the end of the trilogy. Also a character with few hit points will lead to many game over sequences in the beginning. No matter how many NPCs you have around. A sorcerer/mage can easily be killed with one hit. That is just frustrating.

I like the sorcerer. It is one of my favorite clases besides the fighter/thief and the ranger (archer). But it is a poor choice for someone who does not yet know the game. You have to know what will come in order to make an effective build..

I agree with you, so I might try a fighter/thief. It seems like an odd combo to me but, heck, everthing seems strange in this game at the moment. About the hit points, I made a druid which had 6 hit points, which got him killed on a regular basis so a good amount of hit points would be nice. Thanks for the input!

For the fighter/thief the best races are elves or halflings. Try putting the maximum ammount of attribute points into STR, DEX and CON. INT can be of some relevance for the thief in Throne of Bhaal. So do not set it to too low. 10 or 12 should be sufficient. As for the thieving skills I would focus on lock picking and disable traps in the beginning. Good weapon choices are long bows and either long or short sword and dual wielding.

Hit points are determined by a combination of your class, constitution score, and random chance.

If you have constitution below 8, you start taking HP penalties. If you have a constitution above 15, you start accruing HP bonuses.

1st level characters are pretty fragile, and this is just a fact of life in Baldur's Gate. Tread carefully at the start, and once you've leveled up a bit you should be fine.

You may find my starting tips helpful:

http://www.gog.com/forum/baldurs_gate_series/bg1_starting_tips_for_newbies

And of course don't be afraid to ask for help with specific issues.

I’d suggest a human Fighter for a virgin run because that gives the best mix of advantages.
1st High hit points,
2nd Solid combat/ stats... the only bad thing about a Fighter is that they are so solid as to become boring and experienced players persistently move away from the Fighter looking for extra challenge. With the human ability to dual a new player can go;
Druid, Thief, Mage or Cleric once they get a handle on their Fighter and have a better idea of what their future needs will be.

The problem is, that you should plan dual classing your character at the creation. If your Fighter->Druid/Cleric/Mage has poor WIS or INT they will be pretty bad druids/clerics/mages.
That is not that big a deal with the fighter->thief, because a fighter should also have high DEX. But a multiclass fighter/thief is just so much better than a dual class.