.... and maybe it does and I've not seen it/found it despite numerous replayings of Wizardry 8....

And that's the tavern/inn to make new characters.

In Wizardry 1 there was an Inn you could make your way back to to make a new character if you wanted (if one died and couldn't be resurrected)...

I wish Wizardry 8 had that (like in Arnika) - because I started a group and making my way through the dungeon (right next to the beach at the start) and was thinking I'd love to replace some of these characters (even if they were lower level, or level 1 and the rest of my party is 7... at the moment).

Would also be cool because you could keep coming back to Arnika and picking up characters and swapping them out and have fun with it.

There actually is a way to replace a character, though the previous character will go away forever.

To do this, you need to:
1. Go to that character's inventory
2. Click on the character's name (IIRC, but if not, it's something in that area of the screen)
3. There should be a "replace character" option somewhere on the screen, provided you're not in the middle of combat. (Apparently, in 1.0, this could be done mid-combat, but would likely result in a game crash.)

Note that you will permanently lose the old character. Also note that you will have to choose between paying for the new character's starting equipment or doing without it. (Getting the starting equipment is useful in some cases, particularly if the new character is a faerie or ninja, who tend to have more limited equipment options, or if you want your new bard to have a Poet's Lute. It's also necessary if you want your new Gadgeteer to have an Omnigun.)

Incidentally, I do wish that the Wizardry series hadn't done away with the feature in the first place; it's one thing they did with Wizardry 6 that I disagree with.

Ah, yes, good call on the Replace Character. I know I'd done that before way back when. But was bored and started a new game yesterday - and was thinking of how I'd swap some people out. I mean, bummer they go away forever - but that should be fine. Thanks for the reminder!

No way! Stay the course! I have never replaced a character before, nor have I ever class changed, nor did I ever run from combat with my current MDP. To each their own, however.

I actually did replace a character on my current run. I had a Dracon Fighter in my party, a choice that's quite powerful early on, and *really* powerful in melee later, but doesn't have other things to offer (and is *too* powerful for my tastes later on), but then I replaced her with a Gadgeteer (who takes a while to get interesting gadgets, but once you do is a fun class to have in the party). Since Gadgeteers level up quickly and don't need a lot of skills, this actually worked rather well.

Properly built, a Lizardman Fighter can max Strength, Vitality, Dexterity, and Speed by level 21. However, he/she would be terrible in all other attributes (and Vitality is too much on a Fighter anyways).

Blame Bradley. To be fair, Wizardry was largely stagnant before Bradley. And Bane contemporized it with the switch to team manager to being the party. Funny that people use the laptop guy excuse to dismiss Jagged Alliance 2. But yeah, you're supposed to be attached to your characters in latter Wizardry in a different manner. There's a reason why some play Proving Grounds with such fully-fleshed out characters like FIGHTER1 and THIEF2—the mook that replaced poor THIEF1 after the temple failed to raise from ash. I just use the names of fighting-women from pulp, mostly Howard, myself.

The recently released Demon Lord Reincarnation is an interesting example of a game that's not about being attached to a specific party. Specifically, you choose to accept or reject recruits, and when one dies, the character is gone for good. You can then go back to the start and get a replacement character, whose stats apparently are scaled according to how strong your party has become. (I would say "according to your level, but that game lacks traditional leveling.)

Also, Wizardry 4, which I believe was pre-Bradley, did shake up the formula; it's so different from the rest of the series that, so often, it needs to be excluded when discussing strategy in early Wizardry. It is definitely one of my favorite games in the series. (And I hear Demon Lord Reincarnation, once you beat the demon lord at the end of the dungeon, turns into something resembling Wizardry 4 for the second half of the game.)

I would have – except I built a very non traditional group (just to be different) – but realized not having a Mage in the party for the AOE, fireball type spells, was proving difficult since Wizardry tends to have no qualms of throwing 18 rats at your party – so for the sake of getting through battles faster, a Mage provides an excellent means of doing that. I also had no rogue (knowing I’d eventually get Myles), but was missing out on stuff in the first area (next to the beach – the Monastery, if you will) that had locked chests. I only replaced out one character in favor of the mage, and decided to proceed without a rogue (though I just picked up Myles after the endless slaughter of vines and bandits who insisted on grouping in groups of twelve would try to stop me). The Mage starting at level 1 while the others were 7 wasn’t too big of a deal – I just shoved her to the back of the orientation and tried to always keep my back against a wall so nothing could hit her early on (unless it was something thrown). I had a Gadgeteer (which is who I swapped out for the mage). I do want to make an off beat adventure party that’s like a Lord, Valkyrie, Psionic, Gadgeteer, Samurai, and Ninja – and see how it goes. The original Wizardry, which is what made me fall in love with the series, was incredible for its time – but so damn brutal. But the sounds of it – being called Demon Lord Resurrection, I am assuming you take the role of the demon lord, similar to how you take on the role of Werdna?

There's ways to deal with locks without a Rogue. The game gives you Posseur's Cap and some Knock Picks early for a reason, and should be enough to handle even 8 tumbler locks (though it helps if you can at least learn the Knock Knock spell).

As for traps, there's only like 3 problem traps that are costly to trigger, and if you save before you check it the first time, the trap will (probably) be different after you reload. Most of the traps are survivable and easily recoverable from.

Also, Bard, Gadgeteer, and Ninja all get the Locks & Traps skill, and it's unusual, outside of challenge runs, for a party to lack any of those classes. I believe that is what happens...but you need to defeat the demon lord with a party of heroes first.

Edit: Also, a correction: The game is actually called Demon Lord *Reincarnation*. (without the asterisks)

My Gadgeteer has 125 skill to Locks and Traps. If you assume 78 base skill, plus 5 skill from the Tinker's Carryall Bracers, then you have 83 skill. Combine that with a power level 7 Divine Trap spell, and the Gadgeteer has 125 skill to Locks and Traps.

I don't count that as 125, for a couple reasons:
* You only have that value for traps, not locks.
* I believe the Divine Trap boost is separate from the 125 cap. In particular, one more point will give you 126 effective skill.

(Also, does Power Cast affect Divine Trap?)

Traps are by far the greater threat. With Locks, it's just the tedium of playing with tumblers (There is also Knock Knock for that).
I thought 125 was the absolute maximum value, both for attributes, and for skills. I have never seen a number greater than 125. Maybe Divine Trap is special though.
Nobody knows if Powercast affects Divine Trap. I wouldn't be surprised if it did. You know what it doesn't affect though? Magic Screen! I believe that spell gives a straight +5 Resist All per Power Level (+35 Resist All at Power Level 7). Maybe the developers thought that spell would be too powerful if boosted by PC. This forces non-casters to use Element and/or Soul Shield.

Actually, Power Cast does affect Magic Screen; it increases the duration. Just check the duration of the spell. PL7 Magic Screen normally lasts 210 rounds, which means it won't survive a full 8 hour (240 round) rest. However, with enough Power Cast, the spell will last longer, and will survive the full 8 hours with some duration left over.

(It is true that the magnitude isn't affected, however.)

The other long duration spells are similar; Power Cast affects the duration, not the magnitude. (Incidentally, Light's power level doesn't affect the duration, but Power Cast does.)

You are right about something. While I was toying around with chests in the Upper Mount Gigas Caves, my Gadgeteer got a skill increase. Now she has 126 skill in Locks and Traps. You learn something new every day.
I already noticed that all the buff spells, such as Light, Armorplate, Magic Screen, Missile Shield, Enchanted Blade, etc. get a duration boost from Powercast. I'm just disappointed that Magic Screen doesn't get a magnitude boost as well. This would mean that the Bard and Gadgeteer, if they unlocked and maxed Iron Will, and had a PL7 Magic Screen, would have 100 resist all (making Element and Soul Shield pointless).