I keep coming up with new ideas and scrapping them. That's the thing about W8; Starting and restarting new parties is half the fun. I definitely miss the "might" part of creating a party. I love having a Fighter and Rogue up front, doing heavy damage once their attributes and stats are maxed out. Dealing with caster enemies and those annoying plants can be tough, if you don't have magic to protect you though. If I encounter a magic using group of enemies (like those undead heads, fortunately relatively rare), and have no way to protect myself (no good magic yet), I will probably reload.
Fighters should dual wield in melee (unless using polearms), and equip a good bow/crossbow on them for range. A lesser known feature is that Fighters can KO opponents in both melee and ranged combat. The question then becomes: Sword, Mace and Flail, or both? There are not many good M&F weapons at the beginning of the game, at least guaranteed. I believe all, or at least most, M&F weapons give a % to KO, however, which stack's with the Fighter's natural KO%. Perhaps sticking with swords (which you get starting points in), would be smart until Arnika, unless you get lucky with a Stun Mace or Hammer or something similar.
Rogues should also dual wield, as they backstab with all swords and daggers (this is a huge reason not to use staves and wands). It's debatable whether to increase Locks and Traps with them, as they get a natural 25% bonus to the skill, and can get it higher than anyone else (there are not that many ways to train it, unless you repeatedly inspect the same trap, or play with a huge lock for a long time, both borderline cheating). However, the Rogue has so many skills to work on to make them good at combat, that it would make you think twice about giving L&T to a Bard or Gadgeteer. Bloodlust and Thieves' Dagger seem like the way to go for them, at least early on in Arnika, however, once they get good with these weapons, they take skill ups away from others, who need to practice melee combat too. Also, both weapons are cursed, preventing them from practicing ranged combat skills.
Bards are useful early game with their ability to cast nearly unlimited Sleep on the enemy, and Bless on the party, and Shrill Sound on groups. It does get annoying sometimes because you can't control the power level these spells are cast at, resulting in fizzles, or even worse, backfires. It's very annoying to put the maximum points into Music at creation and level ups, only to have a backfire, and your whole party is asleep. Sometimes I reload out of sheer frustration, same as if I get diseased or drained, and have no way to cure it that early on. I always try to get the Bard special equipment from the Higardi Thieves: Mercucio's Blade, Prospero's Cloak, and Ariel's Slippers. Though they have modest AC, they are lightweight, and with a good shield and Reflextion (pump Dexterity early), you can do fine in melee combat.
Gadgeteers should practice Locks and Traps if the Rogue doesn't want to, as they start with 9 points in it, and have less skills to work on. You don't get the Lightning Rod until halfway through the Upper Monastery, so a few points into Engineering at creation would be ideal. I don't like the Omnigun because of the randomness of the status effects, not to mention they can make Tripleshot Crossbows, so I go with bows/crossbows for them. The Rogue, Bard, and Gadgeteer are all best with Swords in their main hand, so I will try to get Light Swords for at least two of them, and Fang for the other (the Fighter is getting the Mauler and Diamond Eyes).
All four of these classes level up the fastest in the game, so I believe that they can protect the fragile Bishops, who will probably contribute little to nothing in the early game, but later on will be powerhouses (as long as I can control the impulse to not gimp them by spending too many spell picks at level up).

I'm planning on following my rule that spell picks gained at too low a level for 6th and 7th level spells can't be used for those spells, so I am going to be using spell picks.
While still in the Monastery, Axes end up being the best weapon. On Arnika Road, before the dangerous part, you will get an Awl Pike. No decent swords this early, however.

My understanding is that backstabbing will work with any weapon that can Thrust, and it just so happens that the Faerie Stick and the Rod of Sprites have that attack mode and can therefore be used to backstab, and in fact the Rod of Sprites is the most powerful off-hand weapon with that capability (though it's only available as a random drop from certain enemies).

So, if your Rogue is a fairy, then wands are actually a good choice.

Oh, and the Winterwand can also be used to thrust.

I'm actually planning on giving those weapons to my Dwarf Bishop, though not both at the same time. Diamond Eyes has better initiative, so it's easier to get an extra swing with it, but The Mauler does more damage and boosts Mace & Flail, making it easier to get a second attack with it.

As a Fighter dual wielding, I would have both weapons, though I would be annoyed to throw away my skill with swords. It is what it is. The trick is getting both Bishops to Arnika, without using too many spell picks (pretending magic doesn't exist at all).
From a gameplay standpoint, "backstabbing" doesn't seem to work well with blunt weapons like staves and wands, but who knows? Your stealthy Rogue could hit enemies bluntly from the back and cause 2x or more damage when surprised. Sometimes you have to suspend disbelief, after all, this is a fantasy game.

Have you actually tried it with any of the weapons I mentioned? (Fairy Stick should be easy to test.)

Edit: I decided to test with the Fairy Stick, and I wasn't able to get a backstab from it, though it's worth noting that this character started with a dagger in her offhand. Haven't tested with the Rod of Sprites or the Winterwand, which are Thrust only, however.

I generally don't use Fairies, mainly for the equipment restrictions. I like to wear decent armor, and the Rogue can equip the heaviest light armor available (then again, shields and armor don't matter much for the Rogue, who learns Stealth). Also, Fairies don't seem built for melee combat, more as casters. Intelligence and Piety are largely useless for this class, and Vitality is ok for extra HPs against magic damage. My go-to for melee fighters is Strength and Dexterity first, then Speed and Senses. Usually, all 4 can be maxed by level 25-30. This is how I'm building my Fighter, Rogue, Bard, and Gadgeteer. The two Bishops will be built for magic (Intelligence and Speed, then Senses and Piety). I might go with slings for them, as they're not going to be built for melee combat, and having Senses maxed will grant me Eagle Eye.
I will start my 2 Bishop/4 Specialist party tonight on the LM beach, clearing all the areas out except for King Crab's room. I would like to be at least level 4 before attacking it (extended reach).

One possible route with some glitches (some spoilers here):
* Leave Monastery at level 3.
* Go to Arnika, level to 6 before entering.
* Spend some times getting equipment, spellbooks, and skill ups, enough so that the party isn't so weak.
* Go to the Umpani Base Camp, pick up the flag. (Optional: Ally with the Umpani, which will allow you to get more spellbooks, as well as some decent armor that isn't too heavy, provided you have the money.)
* Glitch out of bounds to use Kunar's secret teleporter, which leads to Marten's Bluff.
* Go to the Swamp, visit Crock, and buy stuff from him, including the perfume and (if a Gadgeteer is present) the large prism. (Might want to get that fake Astral Dominae while you're here.)
* Go back to Marten's Bluff, ally with the T'Rang, visit Sadok, get Stun Rods, and you can also get the Holographic Projector made.
* Do the early T'Rang quests (with the flag and perfume, you won't need to leave Marten's Bluff).
* Use fake combat to reach the T'Rang teleporter, fix it, then use it to go to Arnika.
* Get access to the Mook outpost, and now the X-Ray Scope can be made.
* Now, level the Gadgeteer (if you have one) to level 8, to allow that X-Ray Scope to be used.

This route:
* Avoids Arnika-Trynton Road in the early game, except to enter Arnika.
* Gets the Holographic Projector and the Port-o-Potty early, making the Gadgeteer more useful from the start.
* Gets the ability to buy low level spellboooks for all realms (if you ally with the Umpani as well) early.
* Drawback: The Trynton Fountain comes a bit later (but you'll at least be prepared for the enemies around Trynton, which can be tricky if you're unlucky). Also, the instrument that casts Insanity doesn't appear as early.

It's a strange thing. None of my characters have Senses that high; It's a secondary attribute that will be worked on later. This has a negative effect on searching. I wasn't able to spot those hidden mod healing potions on the barrels just before the hidden book of Stamina. I think there is another spot in the cavern after the Tanika Fish; On a ledge, there are two hidden items before the Resurrection potion in the waterfall, and only one can be spotted early. Maybe I'll come through the Monastery a second time after Anna sells me the book of Detect Secrets (I need to come back for Cierdan's Tomb anyways).

The two Bishops have contributed almost nothing to the party (except for a few heals). The other 4 easy levelers (Fighter, Rogue, Bard, Gadgeteer), are clearing the way. I have cleaned out the Lower Monastery before King Crab.
Edit: I have been unlucky with thrown/ranged weapons. I ran out of Throwing Knives, Feather Darts, and Bullet Stones, and I only got one Short Bow from a corner room (hidden). I believe King Crab's room has a hidden Light Crossbow, so I can use the Quarrels I have. Also, Burz will sell more Short Bows and Arrows.

At level 5, I will face Gregor fairly. A Bishop developed properly, will be able to cast Mind Stab (best pick as no spellbook), and Heal Wounds (healing is always good). Spellbooks learned in the LM are Light and Stamina. The others are keeping the Bishops going, as ammunition is running scarce before Burz (the only 100% safe place to rest is in one of the cells near the King Crab area).

I keep going back and forth between specialists and Bishops. It is pretty annoying how Bishops can't get spells right away. I may re-create a more specialized MDP, considering how easily they level up. I will mostly pick buff spells (Magic Screen, Armorplate, Missile Shield, Enchanted Blade, Light), as well as damaging and debuff spells. At least with the four primary casters, there is no need to save spell picks. As far as I know, the most number of spells in each spellbook is 36 or 37. I will, of course, have a better understanding of which realms to focus on for each class, having learned lessons from the previous game.