If I start a Faerie off as an Alchemist and later swap to Ninja when get the Cane of Corpus do I have to have 5 ninja levels before I can cast? Will my alchemy skills still increase when I swap right away or only after 5 levels.

Assuming it works the same way as the Priest->Lord class change (which I have done before):

You will retain all spells and magic skills you currently have (but note that you will lose the 25% primary skill bonus to Alchemy: If you still want to have 50 skill (for making renewal potions), you will need 62 with the 25% bonus included).

You can still cast spells; class changes do not take away that ability.

*However*, you will not be able to increase your Alchemy or realm skills until you get 5 ninja levels. Also, your caster level will fall behind during those levels, causing your spells to be less effective at piercing enemy magic resistance and less reliable at higher power levels, as well as not getting new spell levels as quickly.

Once you get 5 ninja levels, your spellcasting will improve from where it left off, but will only be as good as a ninja with your level and skills.

By the way, if you get the expert skill Power Cast, you can improve that skill even during the 4 levels that your spellcasting doesn't otherwise improve.

Edit: This is assuming Wizardry 8. In Wizardry 7, you actually *can* improve your Alchemy skill before you reach a high enough Ninja level to cast spells. However, note that, due to the way Base Miss Chance works in that game, the character's attacks will be less accurate than those of someone who starts as a ninja. Why they did it this way I have no idea, but it's the main problem I have with the Wizardry 6/7 growth system, and why I prefer the way Wizardry 1-5 handle it (where accuracy solely depends on class, level, Strength, and equipment).

Thank you perfect answer to my questions! When do you think is the time fo swap.. Maybe start as ninja get the 5 ninja levels then alchemist till Cane then back to Ninja?

I don't recommend that setup: If you do that, you will suffer the main drawback for ninja levels (being 4 caster levels behind), but have fewer ninja levels, and hence fewer hit points. I would suggest, instead, that you either start as an alchemist until your spellcasting becomes good enough (for some definition of "good enough"), or you don't bother with class changing and remain a ninja for the entire game.

Remember, once you have the 4 non-casting ninja levels out of the way, ninja levels are superior to alchemist levels in every way except the primary skill bonus (which you only get for the class you last leveled up as) and XP requirements.

In my oppinion Alchemist > Ninja is the worst of all Caster-into-Hyprid/Elite class changes. First, Alchemist is the caster that really becomes great at higher levels, since most of his really powerful spells are level 6+ (except Toxic Cloud I guess, which is level 5). Second, the Ninja is not really the type of class you want to waste a lot of levels as a caster, since he has so many other skills to work on. This is of course different if you do a solo game, but then I would rather multiclass with a Bishop.

Unless you're going to be powertraining Stealth or Locks&Traps or something, I really don't see the benefit of class changing in Wizardry 8 *AT ALL.* The classes are so clearly defined and the penalties for changing are usually so severe, so it just seems like a waste of time.

IMO, you're much better off either starting as a ninja or switching from Alchemist to Ninja at level one, and just focusing on spellcasting to get skillups. You'll get new spell levels slower, but ninjas can still be powerhouse casters if you concentrate on that.