Ok, Val, you got a spot. I'd like to have three or four characters, not more.
I'd like to set the first chapter in a smallish old realm occupied by a greater power. Players would be agents of that power, say, a councilor wizard, the duke's son, knight-captain, special operative, one of the higher-ranking priests in this backwater, etc.
As for characters, I will post available races soon; the starting level will be 6th. We will use 'gestalt characters' found in Unearthed Arcana (or PHB 2? check both). Basically, these level parallel as two classes, picking the best features of both (best base attack, all class features, best save, best hit die - so, a fighter-wizard gets good Fort and Will saves, a good base attack, a d10 hit die and a full wizardly spell progression, along with both wizard and fighter bonus feats, but he still suffers arcane spell failure in armor; a Sorcerer-Wizard has a crappy base attack, a d4 hit die and only high Will, as both the classes share those features - but his combined arsenal of spells is not to be trifled with!).