drealmer7: I really think that if that is what you are going for, there is no better starting setup than 18 INT 18 WIS 12CHarisma. Then get to Ravel as fast as you can to become a mage as soon as possible.
Slavicist: Well how is as fast as I can? I've played already once and it was actually quite late after a long time that I even saw that I could switch into a mage. She's in some other part of the Hive, right?
As for 18 for WIS and INT, isn't that a bit too much? If they can be further enhanced in the game, wouldn't maxing them at start seem a tad wasteful?
Well, 18 isn't the maximum, just the maximum for character creation (ie the maximum that a normal person could possibly achieve). The cap is actually 21. If you started with 18 Wis, you would end up wasting some stat points, but only right at the end of the game. Moreover, a higher wisdom means you get more xp, which means you level up more and gain more stat points in the long run.
On the other hand, if you want to have all the dialogue options, I'd recommend reducing the wis, and int in particular, by a point or so, and putting the freed points into cha. As far as I know, there's no need for a massive wisdom/intelligence in the early game, while improving your charisma a bit will open more dialogue options. There are also a few dialogues involving dexterity, so you might want to improve that a bit too. Unfortunately I don't know how much dex you actually need, since in my playthrough I left it at minimum and failed the checks!
I'd suggest this lineup:
9 Str
12 Dex
9 Con
15 Int
16 Wis
14 Cha
And then I'd put points into Int, Wis and Dex for your first few levels.
You don't need to reach Ravel to become a mage. The person who teaches you is indeed somewhere in the Hive, and if you leave the Hive before you find him/her then you should probably go back and talk to people a bit more. It's OK to wait a little before becoming a mage; because the xp tables are exponential the xp you'll lose out on isn't that important (and you'll end up with more hp in the long run, too!). The early fights shouldn't be too difficult, since the designers realise that players may have low physical stats at that point anyway. From a metagame standpoint I'd advise becoming a mage before you hit level 7, since you get a bonus according to which class hits level 7 first. For a mage it's a stat bonus to your mental stats; for a fighter it's help with your weapon skills. Guess which is more useful to a mage.
SPOILER:
Well, technically you do need to meet Ravel to become a mage, but only because Mebbeth is Ravel in disguise, something you don't find out until much later.