The characters join up with you about 1 level above your current level. We all know that party experience is terrible, so here's how I beat the system. Start out as a fighter. Kill smaller things until you reach level 2. Save your game at the friendly arm inn. Go to the cleric. Attack her until you manage to kill her without her releasing a spell, or until you survive. Then go to the main inn keeper. Kill him. Together they're worth 2,000 exp (enough to go to level 3). Then go hunt Ankeg at the farm just below Baldur's Gate. Try doing this with the Paladin. The skulls are worth 500 a piece to your group at the town starting with a B which is below the beginning town(bad with names). Go to the armorer and drop all of them on the ground. Pick one up and sell it. Repeat until all sold. Go hunt more Ankheg(sp). They give 499 exp and 500 gold. When you've managed to gain a couple levels(I was level 4) Export your character. Then quit out, begin a new game, and import your old character w/out the bad rep for killing the innkeeper/cleric.