Immerhinque: Number of attacks is based on SPD and DEX, not SEN.
The latest "dependency" overview is:
HitPoints depend on VIT
Stamina depends on STR, PIE, VIT
AttackRating, toHit depends on DEX
Magic depends on INT, PIE
Initiative depends on SPD, SEN
#ofAttacks depends on SPD, DEX
Max.Swings depends on SPD
ArmorClass depends on SPD
Scouting depends on SEN
All player characters (PC) need VIT, DEX and SPD/SEN. The fighter characters need STR, the caster characters need INT/PIE. Hitpoints and VIT are easy: All PC (player characters) have VIT=50. This never changes. The attributes SPD and SEN support both initiative. But SPD supports ArmorClass and SEN supports scouting.
Immerhinque: Shadow Hound protects you from being attacked while sleeping. I wasn't aware it had an effect during daytime. Please confirm, if you are sure. There are always new things to learn on this great game.
Maybe there is a mis-understanding. I use a high value of SEN in one PC to avoid Shadow Hound spell at all. The high SEN character will find hidden objects and will wake up the party at night. One scouting PC is enough for the party. Therefore the strongest PC has high SEN, the other characters have high SPD. The manual says "movement uses the initiative of the slowest party member". If all PCs have the same SPD and SEN sum, they are all equally fast.
But now something total different - as Monty Python loves to say: The four members party.
Some have played Wizardry 8 with only one character. This is too stressful for me. My benchmark is the fight against the five crabs outside the monastery in front of the pavillon. If I do not need healing in this fight, I assume my party is well prepared for Wiz8. And I have now a 4 PC party that has no problems with this fight. But first some more Wiz8 games mechanics.
There are fast, normal and slow speed level-up characters because of the different experience points needed for level-up. Fast are fighter and rogue, normal are the casters priest, mage, alchemist and psionic and slow are the rest, the mixed-characters or hybrids. Wiz8 has auto-levelling monsters. And I think that the highest level character in your party defines the level the monsters try to match. The implication? Only do party level-up. Wait until the slowest learner (Ninja, do you hear me?) can level-up and then level-up all PCs.
I like to start with a fast/normal level-up speed party. After I include the hybrids Vi (valkyrie) and RFS (monk) I have a slow level-up party.
There is a benefit of slow level-up party. Every won fights brings some random points for attributes and other stats. A slow learner party gets more of these random points for the same level compared to a normal learner party.
There is some nasty quirk in Wiz8. You need level 5 to crack Gregor, the first mini-boss. But if you enter the road from monastery to Arnika with a level higher then 5, you meet strong monsters. The game balance is not right for these levels. Therefore, raise to level 5 before Gregor. Maintain level 5 in the monastery and on the road. In Arnika I could immediatly level-up to level 7 (8 for fighter/rogue). A good strategy is to walk back to a corner and fight there. The monsters are not too fast for this and walking does not cost stamina.
But finally my 4 PC party. They are all humans. The professions are fighter, rogue, priest and mage. A slow learner party could be lord, gadgeteer and two bishops. Every PC raises one attribute fast to expert skill. Fighter raises STR for power strike, rogue raises DEX for reflextion, priest raises PIE for iron will and mage raises INT for power cast. Fighter and rogue can have a maximum starting value of 69. Therefore I used this value for all party members.
The core of the party are fighter and priest. Because some amuletts are female use only, these two are female. Rogue and mage are male, to have a variety of voices.
Fighter: STR=69 for expert skill. SEN=59 for scouting. SPD=50 for a SPD+SEN sum of 109. This allows DEX=57. The attributes INT=45, PIE=45 and VIT=50 are unchanged. At level-up STR+3, SEN+1 and DEX+2. I train only the weapon skills sword, dagger and bow. Closed combat and dual weapons raise automatically.
Rogue: DEX=69 for expert skill. VIT=50 for easy game play. SPD=59 for a constant SPD+SEN sum. This allows INT=57. The attributes STR=45 and PIE=45 are unchanged. At level-up DEX+3, SPD+1 and STR+2. I train dagger, bow and locks&traps.
Priest: PIE=70 for expert skill. SPD=57 and SEN=52 for a constant SPD+SEN sum. This allows DEX=51. The attributes STR=45, INT=45 and VIT=55 are unchanged. At level-up PIE+3, SPD+1 and INT+2. I train divinity and the magic skills.
Mage: INT=70 for expert skill. VIT=50 for easy game play. SPD=57 and SEN=52 for a constant SPD+SEN sum. This allows PIE=46. The attributes STR=45 and DEX=55 are unchanged. At level-up INT+3, SPD+1 and PIE+2. I train wizardry and the magic skills.
Valkyrie: First I level-up STR and SPD until Vi has the same SPD+SEN sum as the other PC. Then I level-up STR+3, SPD+1 and DEX+2. I train only the weapon skill polearm, divinity and the magic skills.
The party gets expert skill after 10 or 11 level-ups. Because VIT, DEX, SPD and SEN are 50 or more, easy game play is sure. I think this party is a very good compromise.
Some advice: Don't buy the poison dagger from Antone Rapax in Arnika. It is cursed. The sword Bloodlust is cursed, too. And the oliveskin trousers in the Monastery, wheel key room, is also cursed.