gidgemuffin: the only way to increase stats is to cleanse shrines. each time you cleanse a shrine you will be given the option to get strength, dexterity, or intelligence. each shrine cleanse also give a bit of a karma boost.

gidgemuffin: i personally like to max out dexterity first because it gives you access to the next level of weapons training. by the way, there are 2 trainers in Britain that you should definitely go and see! if you chose the mage role, you should already have a bit of a head start on the intelligence. of course, the choice is entirely yours.

i would suggest you try to save up your money (you can sell gems and jewelry to Cameron in Britain for more cashola!) to spend on training especially early on. each successive level is more expensive than the one before it.

gidgemuffin: you will be fine. each circle of magic is opened up as you cleanse each shrine. it isn't dependent on how much intelligence you have. your intelligence level will increase your mana and thus give you more capacity to cast more spells and have the sustained effects last longer. by the time you open the 8th circle, you will have had plenty of opportunity to up your intelligence a little more.

there are 4 "levels" for each attribute. you start out at the bottom of each one--str/int/dex. your starting role will determine what attribute you get a starting boost in and how much you are given. during the course of the game, you will only have 3 points available for each attribute.

if my memory serves me correctly, you chose to follow the mage path and so you should have been given 2 extra points in intelligence but no extra points for strength or dexterity. each role is given a different set of attributes and starting goodies in Stonegate.

you only have 1 more point to gain in intelligence and there will be plenty of time to acquire it. once you have reached the maximum in any given trait, that choice is eliminated.

you are always free to choose whichever attribute to advance in at each shrine. i personally like to master weapon skills quickly so i like to get dexterity first.

please let me know if you need more info.

continue your quest. Brittannia needs you!! :-)
by the way--i am pretty sure you can bind a spell to your book regardless of what level you happen to be at the time. if you want to test this theory, just save your game before you try to bind a spell more advanced than you happen to be at the time. it's been a very long time since i have played from scratch.