The risk for playing Ironman can be a party wipe, or, at best, half your team killed, with experience reduced for dead party members. Who could play like that, without using exploits? That could result in a heart attack.
I'm going stable. Fight a battle, win, save, rest, rinse and repeat. That's the only way to be epic.
Edit: I believe that the reason that physical attacks are better at low levels is because magic is generally easier. You never miss with magic, and magic has AOE to hit a lot of enemies at once.
With physical melee attacks, you actually have to be close to the enemy to hit them (sometimes you have to waste turns running up to the enemy, while they can hit you while you're moving).
With physical ranged attacks, you have to use up ammo (which can get heavy, causing encumbrance, which my party is trying to avoid by having everybody work on Strength, Bishops secondary).

Yes.

Formulaic combat does get stale fast. Auto-battle can help with that, if the resource logistics are engaging enough.

I've been experimenting with smaller parties, and my lord, samurai, and ninja party was able to beat Gregor at level four. But higher is obviously better there. I even once got a crit on him, and, separately, once beat him with a six-man at level two. Two deaths, though. Can't remember what party that was, think it was one of the magic heavy parties.

Heh, the solo guide on Steam states the canned elemental as a solution to Gregor.

Faerie sticks also have a high sleep chance which can help with Gregor, if lucky. And dual-throwing with a ninja is consistent damage, as long as the ninja doesn't get paralyzed.

I've had some parties that struggled with the rabid rats, ones with little to no magic damage.

Yes, physical misses so much. But a fighter only has to be lucky once to one-shot many foes early on. And, it grows really fast in small parties, even on lower difficulties. While magic pools are too small for the faster growth to result in higher skills in smaller parties.

I think I want to duo, but I'm not sure which two classes. I mean, I love the ninja, but stealth in a duo is jut dumb. Even dumber is the ninja monk duo. So, do I want a lord and samurai? That might be fun. Maybe a ranger instead of one of those? A bishop would be more fun as a solo, but maybe with a bard? Hmm, but a gadgeteer gets asphyxiation. But two portals would be very convenient with the strict carry capacity. And races? Could always do something and a dog... Too bad the combat is still boring.

Perhaps, I stand corrected. I thought that there was a +/- 3 level swing for enemies spawning, relative to your party. It appears that the +/- 50% rule is true, with lower level enemies being more common, thankfully, and equal level enemies being the most common.
I have a level 9 party, and had to fight level 5 trash earlier (great for skill grinding). Hopefully, I won't get any level 12 Greater Seekers. The most common encounters are level 8 Metallic Slimes, and level 10 Emerald Slimes.
Thankfully, there are no casters in the Monastery, if you don't count Undead Heads (like the set one in the coffin room, last coffin on the right). Since I have two Bishops, the Turn Undead ability can be used against them (and this is a very rare spawn).
There are so many spells to pick as a Bishop, that I will definitely have one of them pick Magic Screen at level up (this protects against the side effects of enemies' physical attacks, reducing the need to cure in the first place).
Once X-Ray becomes available, I will be able to plan better. For now, it's fighting a single battle, saving, then running to a safe place to rest (with the occasional visit to Burz, to sell off junk, and buy more ammo).

Can't you just buy the spell book? (Lord Braffit, who you should have met by your level, sells it.)

Whenever I see undead, I like to cast Holy Water, so that that spell gets some practice. It's sometimes hard to practice Water magic, and it also helps with Divinity.

Regarding level of random spawns.
The lvl shown on R-click for individual random spawns you meet is not taken into account for lvl scaling!
The spawns are drawn form different encountertables which have their own lvl assigned for each entry.
The game mostly has identical lvls for monsters and encountertable entries,
but there may be some which are 1 or 2 lvls off, perhaps even more.

I am in the Lower Monastery, as a level 9 party, levelling together. I have no hope, at this point, of hacking through the Arnika Road, until I reach a higher level. I already have Light, Missile Shield, Enchanted Blade, and Armorplate as buffs, and I will take Magic Screen and X-Ray when I can.
Not many people know this (except the real grinders), but the enemies in the Monastery stop at level 14. Worth noting are level 7 Enveloping Slimes, level 8 Metallic Slimes, level 9 Spewing Slimes, level 9 Pestilent Rats, level 10 Emerald Slimes, level 10 Vampire Bats, and the grand finale, level 12 Greater Seekers, and level 14 Flesheater Slimes.
It's like, most people either somehow get through Gregor, and all the Upper Monastery rats, at a low level, or they do the "normal" thing, which is to go through Arnika Road at level 5-6, and have to struggle (I believe that I tried to do that with my first MDP at level 6, only to be greeted with level 8 or 9 Crusher Crabs, with extended range, which wasn't fun).
Holy Water is such a situational spell that I would rather not pick it (you can get it for free from a certain Savant Orb in Arnika).
Speaking of spellbook order, I have noticed that the Divinity/Wizardry Bishop has a severe imbalance of skill ups. It's because I am increasing Intelligence at level up (the only controlling attribute for Wizardry), while keeping Piety at base 55 (the only controlling attribute for Divinity). Hence, Wizardry will rise much faster than Divinity.
Similarly, the Alchemy/Psionics Bishop is seeing Alchemy rise much faster, due to mixing potions for the party. Whichever spellbook is lagging behind deserves points at level up.

Level 10:
Valkyrie: Guardian Angel
Ranger: Sleep
Divinity/Wizardry Bishop: Magic Screen
Alchemy/Psionics Bishop: Fire Bomb

There are 9 Buffs in this game: Shadow Hound, Detect Secrets, Chameleon, Light, X-Ray, Missile Shield, Armorplate, Enchanted Blade, Magic Screen.
Shadow Hound is almost useless, as I don't camp out in the open. Detect Secrets is useless for this particular party, as I have a Ranger, putting 3 points into Scouting at every level. Chameleon is situational, as I know that I can't avoid most battles, not worth putting a point into. Light was a free spellbook, so why not grab it?
X-Ray will be picked next level up. I have Missile Shield, Armorplate, Enchanted Blade, and Magic Screen primed and ready to go (the big 4).
I am ready for all of the Monastery's enemies, except for level 12 Greater Seekers, and level 14 Flesheater Slimes.
Edit: The Fighter, Rogue, Valkyrie, and Ranger all have 2 attacks per round now, similar to some of the enemies.

Level 11:
Valkyrie: Cure Lesser Conditions
Ranger: *Saved spell pick*
Divinity/Wizardry Bishop: X-Ray
Alchemy/Psionics Bishop: Whipping Rocks

With this, the doubling of experience requirements is over, as now the factor is 1.2. I can now actually see which enemies I will fight, and now it's not a guessing game of where to grind.
I did manage to get a few lucky drops from the slimes, including a Hammer for the Fighter (can practice Close Combat, Dual Weapons, Sword, and Mace and Flail skills all at once), and a Halbred for the Valkyrie (she passed her Spear onto the Ranger, so he can train his Close Combat and Polearm skills).

Cleared the Upper Monastery (with the benefit of X-Ray). Fought all the set battles, found all the hidden and obvious items, opened all treasure chests.
Got at least Chamois Gloves for all party members (why are gloves so hard to come by in this game, when Burz doesn't even sell them)? Psionics and Mages can't wear any gloves at all, it's a mystery to me.
Sold the massive amount of junk to Burz, and mixed enough potions to get my Alchemy skill to 70.
Edit: The Bless spellbook was given to the Bishop without it, and the Divine Traps spellbook was given to the other Bishop, to even things out.

Level 12:
Valkyrie: Holy Water
Ranger: *Saved spell pick*
Divinity/Wizardry Bishop: Whipping Rocks
Alchemy/Psionics Bishop: Instant Death

The Fighter has maxed Strength (unlocked Powerstrike), and the Rogue has maxed Dexterity (unlocked Reflextion). The Bishops both have Intelligence at 95, which will be raised no higher until the Trynton Fountain.

The party is ready to handle everything in the Monastery, including level 12 Greater Seekers (I easily won against a group of 3 of these). The only thing that I can't handle, is level 14 Flesheater Slimes (Disease, Draining). I will wait until I'm stronger to fight these.

Being an all-Human party, I will get expert skills later than more specialized characters. However, my stat total will be the best, meaning I will be the most balanced. I will still get 4 expert skills unlocked by level 30.

The key with Bishops is to always have an attack spell in each realm. For example, I picked Whipping Rocks for one Bishop, because she only had a buff (Armorplate), in that realm. Similarly, I picked Instant Death, because the other Bishop only had Heal Wounds and Bless in that realm.

Level 13:
Valkyrie: *Saved spell pick*
Ranger: *Saved spell pick*
Divinity/Wizardry Bishop: Soul Shield
Alchemy/Psionics Bishop: Element Shield

The Fighter and Ranger maxed Dexterity, unlocking Reflextion. The Fighter now has Strength and Dexterity maxed, and is now working on Speed and Senses. The Rogue has "perfect" stats: 45 to everything as a Human, Intelligence, Piety, and Vitality ignored, Dexterity maxed, and Strength near max, with Speed and Senses being worked on.

The hybrids (Valkyrie and Ranger) are ignoring magic for now, hence the amount of saved spell picks. Their magic sucks right now, because I am prioritizing melee and ranged physical combat for them. I don't worry about non-Bishops maxing out their spellbooks, because it's easy to do, with 36 or 37 spells to learn.

The Bishops are another can of worms. They were weak initially (compared to specialist casters). They learned spells later than they should have, and suffered from fizzles and backfires (thankfully, nothing too serious from level 1 spells).

Fast forward to now: Both Bishops have their two primary spellbook skills above 75, and all six realm skills are above 70, due to the severe amount of time that Bishops require to level. This means that, once I max both Bishops' two primary spellbooks, the other two ignored spellbook skills will be easy to train, with all six realm skills maxed, and spellbooks readily available to buy from vendors.
Edit: The focus on Soul Shield and Element Shield is because I am focusing on primarily a defensive party, able to handle anything, including level 12 Greater Seekers and level 14 Flesheater Slimes in the Monastery, as well as enemy casters on the Arnika Road and Arnika-Trynton Road.

Level 14:
Valkyrie: Cure Paralysis, Rest All
Ranger: Cure Paralysis, Cure Poison, Chameleon, Whipping Rocks
Divinity/Wizardry Bishop: Mind Stab
Alchemy/Psionics Bishop: Set Portal/Return to Portal (2 for 1 deal)

The Valkyrie and Ranger unloaded their spell picks, since they can now learn level 3 spells. The Divinity/Wizardry Bishop has almost maxed her first two spellbooks, so why not pick Mind Stab (has to be picked) to work on Psionics? The Alchemy/Psionics Bishop will set a portal near the Wheel Key/Cierdan's Tomb room, where/when the party can portal in and out after reaching Arnika.
The Bishops can learn level 6 spells, however, I feel that it's best to shore up their level 1-5 spells, as level 6 spells can only be cast reliably at power level 1.
The Fighter, Valkyrie, and Ranger can all attack twice per round, due to being Tier 1 characters. The Rogue, being Tier 2, only has 1 attack per round for now, which will increase later on.

Level 15:
Valkyrie: Cure Poison
Ranger: Noxious Fumes
Divinity/Wizardry Bishop: Set Portal/Return to Portal (2 for 1 deal)
Alchemy/Psionics Bishop: Psionic Blast

All 4 primary physical characters (Fighter, Rogue, Valkyrie, and Ranger), have maxed Strength and Dexterity, unlocking Power Strike and Reflextion expert skills. They also attack twice per round, though the number of swings per attack is still only 1, probably due to Speed not being prioritized.
I managed to kill a few level 14 Flesheater Slimes, the toughest enemy in the Monastery. These were dealt with using Element and Soul Shields, Bless, Insanity, and Fire magic.
I'm still shoring up the level 5 spells, because Ferro is a long way away to buy his spellbooks, and level 6 spells still can't be cast at a reasonable level safely. By my calculations, at level 30 or so, I will still have around 10 spell picks for the best level 6 and 7 spells, and a few extra picks for lower level spells.

Level 16:
Valkyrie: Light
Ranger: Light
Divinity/Wizardry Bishop: Lightning
Alchemy/Psionics Bishop: Body of Stone

The Bishops' realm skills are all at 99 or 100. The first Bishop has maxed her Wizardry skill. The four primary physical damage characters are working on their melee skills.

Level 17:
Valkyrie: Whirlwind
Ranger: Fire Bomb
Divinity/Wizardry Bishop: Heal All
Alchemy/Psionics Bishop: Boiling Blood

Both Bishops have maxed Speed to unlock their Snakespeed expert skill. They also maxed all 6 realm skills. One Bishop maxed her Wizardry skill, and the other maxed her Alchemy skill.

The Valkyrie and Ranger are also working on their magic. The first got her first 3 realms decent (Water, Earth, Divine). The second got his first 3 realms decent as well (Water, Air, Earth).