I can relate, been having similar problems myself lately. We seem to be short of one player anyway, he's had RL stuff keeping him busy and if he too is experiencing the same problems connecting, that would explain his silence. Still, the game has started and I can only wait that much.
I'm allowing pretty much everything (subject to GM approval) as long as it's not getting in the way of the story. Characters must be Korvosa locals and you get to pick from a variety of background traits that help connect the party while providing a minor but useful stat bonus. There's more info in the game forums, I've sent you an invite so check it out.
Other than that, the party so far consists of a swashbuckling DEX-based fighter, a rogue and a sorcerer, so you might wanna fill in as the divine/healing/protective spellcaster. I'll try to stall the story for about 24 hours max after posting this, so hurry up and submit a character please.