That seems reasonable, though I think it wouldn't be particularly unreasonable if Priests could dual wield.

With that said, I think a better way to make Priests stronger would be to give them the combat values that Bards and Gadgeteers have, so that they don't take as long to get extra attacks and swings. This would, for example, put them a bit more in line with the Priests from earlier Wizardry games, who actually would get accuracy as fast as Fighters (but no extra attacks from levels until Wizardry 5). There are even some Japanese Wizardry spin-offs that give Priests a second attack at 1st level much like Ninja get!

Since Priests aren't as strong in offensive magic and can't get Power Cast as easily as other casters, I've tended to think of them as hybrids much like the Lord and Valkyrie, but more focused on the magic side than the Valkyire/Lord, and while battle priests work well at first, I find that they take way too long to get a second attack or swing, hence why I think they should have had the Bard/Gadgeteer fighting values. It still wouldn't be as good as Lord/Valkyrie (which are as good as Fighter in this regard), but would still make them viable in melee.

Also, to be clear, Priests and Bishops can dual wield; they just don't get the skill, and hence suffer maximum penalties (unless they've chanced from a class that does get Dual Wield, as the skill is still functional even if it can't increase).

Thing is, you can get some really nice spears rather early, and they're stronger than other weapons available at that point in the game. For example:
* Awl Pike: 7 - 16 damage, available on Arnika Road *before* the dangerous part.
* Lance: 6 - 21 damage, Kill 4%, on a weapon you can buy as soon as Arnika. For whatever reason, Fighters can't equip this; it's Lord/Valkyrie only. (There is a -2 hit penalty, however.)
* Stun Rod: 9 - 23 damage, Paralyze 20% (note that, unlike unconsciousness, there's no enemy type (IIRC) that's immune to Paralysis; there's even one non-learnable spell (Turn Undead) that can inflict paralysis, but only works on undead). These are buyable in Lower Marten's Bluff.

These may not be the strongest weapons, but they are much easier to get than the strongest weapons of other types. In particular, it's rather hard to find a non-rare sword that isn't the Giant's Sword that can reach the damage of these weapons. (I consider anything only available in a random chest or drop location to be rare.)

Personally, I would never sell a unique item like that.

I'm thinking that, if I did decide to mod the game, I would want to replace the Omnigun's Blindness with something else that doesn't cause issues. Any suggestions? (Note that fear is out, as that has the same issue, and effects like disease, drain (status ailment), and drain SP are also out because they don't really seem to do anything to enemies, or don't have time to have much of an impact when it hits an enemy.)

Rousing Drums will only cast at PL1 if your level or Music skill is low.

On the other hand, it can backfire, in which case it casts Slow on the party. (At least that's not as painful as Slow on enemies, which makes them act painfully slowly while not having much of an impact on the battle; Fear/Blindness can at least give you a chance if you're outmatched early in the game (like Arnika Road), but Slow doesn't really help there.)

By the way, did you know that, if you somehow have points in an expert skill without 100 base in the corresponding attribute, the skill will not have any effect? For example, the Snakeskin Boots's Snake Speed boost won't help the character's initiative unless the character has 100 base speed.

I just edited my post above to cover something I missed. Anyways, that's why my Priest is on the flank, because he's the strongest of the 4 specialist casters, but he's not very good with his offense or defense, probably because casters suffer the worst with physical damage. If it comes to it, and my Priest has to fight melee, I give him Guardian Angel. I did manage to pick up a Stun Mace from a Monastery drop, which is the best thing he can equip for now.
This is kind of why I treat my Priest and Alchemist the same as the Psionic and Mage: As glass cannons. Casters never really seem to get that good at physical combat until way later in the game, so I stick with the magical side of things for all 4 in terms of attributes and skills. Only when I can't put attribute/skill points into magic, do I put them into other things.

From what I understand, Iron Will has an extra benefit in addition to the resistance bonus; it protects against status ailments, even those that are the result of physical attacks.

The best character to give Iron Will to, then, is one who gets plenty of status curing spells, ideally including Resurrection and Restoration once the character's level is high enough. I hear there's a class that gets all those spells, has rather low stat requirements, and one of those required stats is Piety; any idea which class that might be?

I also tend to ignore controlling attributes as well; they might help the skill increase early, but later on your skills will get close to the cap (and sometimes even reach it).

In an early run I did, I actually started with a Battle Priest setup, but then later changed him into a Lord. It's actually a decent option; you get healing spells early, as well as spells like Armorplate and Magic Screen. Then, once you've learned the most important spells (and ideally can reliably cast Heal All at, say, PL3 or 4), change them into a Lord and start dual wielding in order to get more attacks. The character won't be as good in the long run as a character who spends the entire game as a Lord, but you get the important Priest spells sooner.

Why Lord? Valkyrie's primary skill is in spears, which is something the Priest doesn't get. On the other hand, Lords have Dual Wield as a primary skill, which helps since the skill hasn't had a chance to grow, and it can be used with the Mace & Flail skill that has already had some time to increase.

Also, I don't remember for sure, but I *think* you might actually be able to get Power Strike earlier with this setup, at least if the character is a Dwarf (good for high base Piety (so you can put more into Strength and Dexterity/Speed) and because damage resistance compensates for the Priest's low (compared to most fighter-types) HP).

For Bishops, I tend to like using a whip and a shield. The whip is a 1-handed weapon that can be used at Extended range, and therefore can be used with a shield while still keeping the Bishop out of the range of short ranged melee attacks. (Oddly enough, it's treated as a ranged weapon for some purposes; for example, it gets reduced bonus from Strength and doesn't do 2x damage to disabled enemies.) This way, I can use the shield slot for the Lithe Buckler (boosts Stealth, so the Bishop is less likely to be targeted) or the Thieves' Buckler (boosts Speed (also Locks & Traps if I need to use Posseur's Cap, though usually that will be someone else in the party).

Also, Staff of Doom can be quite useful as a weapon for any class that uses mainly phyiscal attacks, as it really is that good. (Remember, Paralyze works even on undead.) Or, a Bishop could use it as an item to take advantage of that Artifacts primary skill boost; just remember that a Bishop can't remove the curse without the spell until something like level 16 or 17.

The Staff of Doom is also a reasonable option for a Faeire in a fighter-type class, as such characters are rather limited in the equipment they can use, and the Cane of Corpus is not easy to get (so you may want something to use in the meantime).

I don't like Modern Weapons in general for a Gadgeteer because of Fear and Blinding effects, both of which make the enemy run away, denying me experience. You could literally knock an enemy down to 1 HP, and he runs away, and you get no exp for it. I would suggest making a better Kill % on the Omnigun, or a better KO %. Also, Modern Weapons get no Strength bonus, unlike Bows and Crossbows, or even Slings.
I guess we can agree to disagree on Spears vs Swords. I was wondering if I should bother to grind for 2 Light Swords(Bard and Gadgeteer) and 3 Light Shields(Bard, Gadgeteer, and Priest.) I know that Jan-Ette has a decent chance to drop the Light Shield, if you don't mind reloading her death scene 50 times. There is one chest in Bayjin that can have the Light Sword, but that is too much work, because chest contents are set the first time you enter the map. I think that a better way would be to knock the Buccaneer Ghosts down to a few HPs, then paralyze them, run away, save, kill one, check its' drop for the Light Sword/Shield, etc. It will probably take hours, but it might be worth it to have the best Sword in the game that isn't cursed, allowing the Bard and Gadgeteer to use their Crossbows as well.
I know that you need to actually have 100 in the corresponding attribute to unlock its respective expert skill, or it won't work. For example, Crock sells the Caliban's Cuirass for the Bard only, which gives +12 to Iron Skin, but it does nothing if the Bard's Vitality isn't maxed(and it probably never will be). Also, the same with the Snakeskin Boots and giving a bonus to Snakespeed(which I probably will max everyone's Speed to take full advantage of that). Not maxing Speed, and relying on the Psionic or Bard for Haste, is a waste of a combat round IMO. The Rousing Drums might cast under PL7, so people relying on that won't get the Speed to 125 that they had hoped for. Also, Haste doesn't work underwater(Nessie). Also, no Snakespeed. Also, Haste doesn't take effect until Round 2.
There has been much debate on Iron Will. The nay-sayers claim that having a high, or even maxed resistance, is what protects against status effects from attacks, and that Iron Will doesn't take a resistance above 100, which is the max, unlike what enemies can get(it's kind of unfair if you ask me, which is why playing on Novice is a way of evening it out, caster vs. caster). This is why Powercast is important as well, if it actually does pierce enemy resistances. No hard data can be found on exactly what Powercast does, only that it somewhat helps. I just think that, especially for the Bard and Gadgeteer in my party, Piety(and Intelligence) are nearly worthless. The 4 casters can at least benefit from Piety in that they will have a little more SPs and Stamina, and their realm skills will go up faster. The Priest especially, since Piety is the ONLY controlling attribute for Divinity.
The problem with giving the Bishop a whip is that the Cat O' Nine Tails and Vampire Chain are found so late in the game, forcing you to use the Bullwhip for most of the game, which is mediocre at best. Right off the bat, I tend to give my Bishop a Quarterstaff, in preparation for the Staff of Doom, so they can stand in the middle of the party with extended range, hitting enemies in front of the party or on either flank.
This game really doesn't reward class changing, and personally, I have never done it. I like to have "pure" classes, whatever that means. For example, some advocate changing a Bard at level 18 to a Fighter, forgetting that, while a Bard can use level 18 Instruments, she will only be able to cast at low level safely(just like a caster). The Bard and Gadgeteer should be at least level 24 to have the maximum chance to cast at PL7 safely IIRC, again, just like a caster. That's also assuming that Music/Engineering are at skill level 100 as well. I could be wrong though, it might be closer to level 30. My setup doesn't allow for me to do that, for example, changing my Priest into a Lord, because he doesn't have the base attributes for that(he's built for magic only).
What does the Dwarf have, 7% damage resistance? I don't know if that is enough to make much of a difference. For example, if an enemy hits you for 100 damage, you would take 93 damage after modification, saving 7 HP. And most enemies hit you for less damage, making it even less important. Not a big difference, which is why I don't prioritize maxing Vitality for Iron Skin. A better option, if you want to go that route, would be casting Body of Stone on your tank. They will take WAY less physical damage, and have higher AC, as well.
I'm using the Staff of Doom on my Alchemist because he's the 4th strongest out of 6. The Bard and Gadgeteer are wielding Swords, which is their best option(no Axes, Spears, Maces and Flails). The Priest is the only one who can wield Maces and Flails, and there are many good weapons in that category, so that's why I gave him the Stun Mace(KO 15%). Out of the remaining 3(Alchemist, Psionic, Mage), the Alchemist is the strongest(better armor choices and HP), so I am training him for the SOD with a Quarterstaff. If he gets powerful, he might actually be able to hold a flank with the SOD. The Psionic and Mage, at the bottom of the physical fighting totem pole(terrible armor and weapon choices, terrible HPs), are relegated to using Throwing and Sling from range. Never underestimate the value of KO % from stones, even though they are heavy.

if you know you want to change class from Bard to Fighter or Priest to Lord \vulk then you allow for that when making your characters... also race comes into this as changing a Dragon is very different to Faire or Human

its also worth noting your weapon options change a lot if you imported your save from W7 instead of just doing the default start

I'm looking forward to see how this team handles the final battles because I'm considering a all Dragon run next and Alchemist or Ninja is one of my choices for that team

its your game mate... good luck!

p.s, if you want Axes then go Vulk not Lord ;)

I just got my Bard and Gadgeteer to level 19, having fought 2 level 22 Savant Minion, while my party was all level 18. I noticed a severe reduction in magic damage, while my physical attacks(Tripleshot Crossbow with Quarrels, as well as Slings with Spike Stones), were totally owning them. This game doesn't allow an all-magic approach, and I planned accordingly. I try to have my Priest smack enemies with his Stun Mace every so often, as I did in the 2nd to last battle, when a Savant Berserker got into melee with him.

I don't consider rare weapons like the Light Sword when building characters. If you exclude rare weapons, and also exclude the Giant's Sword (since that weapon requires a specific race to equip), then non-sword weapons come out ahead. Diamond Eyes and The Mauler, the latter being *buyable*, are better than the non-rare swords you find (and there's no other offhand weapon that comes even close to Diamond Eyes). Spears have extended range weapons that are readily available; the only weapons that compete in that category are the Staff of Doom (and a few weapons that are comparable) and the Giant's Sword (not easily obtained until the teens level wise).

The only rares I'd take the time to reload for are the Holy Water spellbook (the chance to get it from the Savant Orb is something like 24%, and the fight is easy) and the Cane of Corpus (significantly higher chance, though it does require killing an NPC, who fortunately isn't important other than selling a quest item that drops anyway if you do kill him (or else killing him would render the game unwinnable)).


Maxing Vitality for a Bard is actually a reasonable option, as Vitality contributes to Stamina (and hence instrument use), and Bards don't have the HP that fighter-types do.

In my experience, not even close to 50 times. I've reloaded that event on multiple playthroughs, trying to get something decent, and when it comes, said item is the *Light* *Shield*.

That reminds me of one other rule I play under: If I manage to get the *Light* *Shield*, I don't equip it, as it feels like it would make the game too easy.

Actually, I found some hard data on the steam forums. Specifically, it's something like this:
* Spell magnitude and duration increase by 26% at 100 Power Cast.
* There's a value that the game calculates that's dependent on the caster, spell, and power levels, not to mention some contribution from the base SP cost of the spell; this is then multiplied based off Power Cast (2x at 100), then triple that value is subtracted from enemy resistance.

https://steamcommunity.com/app/245450/discussions/0/2139714324759466927/

Except that:
* Using the Quarterstaff means no shield, and hence no Speed or Stealth boost from that slot.
* The Bishop is not going to be using physical attacks that much, so it doesn't really matter whether they do decent damage or not. With the Robe of Rejuvenation, a Bishop will recover 1 SP per realm every single round, as well as outside of battle, so if SP use is spread out between the realms, the robe will do a nice job of keeping them up, and if not, using an item to cast Restore Magic will put SP back in balance (as it restores the realms with the most used SP first).

Body of Stone:
* Isn't available for a while
* Requires a turn (and some SP) to cast
* Even then, affects only one character
* You can even stack it with the Dwarf's resistance, and could also stack Iron Will and the Monk's damage resistance on top of that (though combining all three requires a high level or a class change because Dwarf Monk starts with something like -10 bonus points).

The Dwarf's damage resistance, on the other hand, is passive, and is therefore not something you need to take an action to get. Also, Dwarves happen to have good stats for some classes, Priest being one of them.

By the way, I have another couple ideas regarding that party idea I had:
* Instead of a Mage (or Fighter), use a Priest as my temporary character. This would allow me to identify items in the Monastery without needing to spend a Bishop spell pick, while also giving reasonably easy access to Armorplate at level 5 (before Arnika Road) at the cost of having to pick Missile Shield and Enchanted Blade.
* Instead of a Samurai, try Alchemist (STR/INT build, haven't done research on a suitable race yet). I would lose a good potential Giant's Sword user, but would get the Staff of Doom, along with the Medicine Bag that is conveniently found in the same spot and provides health regen to cancel out the health drain of the staff, not to mention providing a way to get her some Artifacts practice (for the Staff of Doom's as item effect, which is risky at low skill). Drawbacks, other than the loss of the really good Giant's Sword user, are the worse attack rating, the loss of a second mage spell caster (not that bad, seeing as the important high level spells can be replaced with instruments, gadgets, or even other high level spells), and the lower HP on this class. Oh, one other advantage is the ability to make potions when resting. (There's one other advantage here that I don't feel like mentioning at the moment, but it's the reason for going INT for Power Cast on this character.)

Are you considering class changes for your party? I just contemplated changing my pure casters to classes with more HPs, after they all hit level 24 and can cast their level 7 spells at max. I wonder if the loss of the 25% to spellbook skills would render them unable to cast at max level though. If the spellbook skill and all realm skills are at 100, does level 24 allow PL7 on level 7 skills? Or maybe I have to wait until closer to level 30.