The game lists it as "TrynFoun" or something, so it is indeed a fountain, but other people call it a well (USSNorway).
To put things simply, you underlevel, I overlevel. It's interesting to see two polar opposite tactics in motion. Neither of us would benefit from skipping the permanent +5 bonus to Intelligence that the Trynton Fountain offers.
I will give you non-Human believers a tidbit. Take my Human Rogue. He starts with 45 to everything. He has 45 to Intelligence, Piety, and Vitality (none of which have profession requirements). His profession requirements are in Dexterity, Speed, and Senses, something which any good Rogue should be working on maxing anyways. So you have a Human Rogue with maxed Strength, Dexterity, Speed, and Senses, by level 28, and the other dump stats are still 45 or better.

So, you want a Priest, and *really* want Power Cast as quickly as possible (without losing Priest caster levels)? Well, here's what the build looks like:

* Race: Elf
* Class: Bishop
* Stats distribution at character creation: 5 PIE (to 60), 10 VIT (to 45), 10 INT (to 65), 5 X (if SPD, yields 50)
* Level up stats: 3 INT, 3 VIT through level 4
* At level 5, change to Priest. Stat points 3 INT, 2 X (remaining point automatically goes to VIT)
* Level up stats from 6-11: 3 INT, 3 X

So, what you get out of this is the following:
* Power Cast at level 11 (normally, a single class Priest can't do better than 12)
* Reaches that level faster than a Bishop
* Can likely pick 3rd level spells on level 6 (not 5, because the class skill bonus doesn't kick in until *after* you choose your spells)
* Possibly some lower level non-Priest spells (Armorplate and Enchanted Blade for parties without Mage/Samuirai/Bishop, Magic Missiles for MDP); due to a quirk of all the game works, you get your full caster level for these
* Some spells can be cast while silenced (but no spellbook skill increases after c;ass change)
* Drawback: Expert skills (other than Power Cast) come late. Power Strike won't appear until level 26. Snake Speed, if you go for that instead, is learned at level 24, still too late. (So, this build isn't good if you want a fast healer or a battle priest.)

Alternatives:
* Level 9 class change (after learning X-Ray): This allows the character to learn X-Ray (and possibly Element Shield); very useful if you have no Mage, Samurai, or Gadgeteer
* Human as race: Power Cast pushed back to 12, same as a Gnome single class Priest. However, you can change class at level 2, and Power Strike or Snake Speed would come at level 20. Also, stat sum is a bit higher this way. Not that much better than the Gnome single-class Priest alternative, however, unless you're going for speed.

A Human Priest would get the highest possible stat sum (I know, it isn't all about that).

He/She would start out with with 45 to all stats, and 60 points to distribute, subtracting 15 points to meet the 60 Piety requirement, and 10 points to meet the 55 Vitality requirement.

They would be left with 35 points to distribute. This is a maximum of 12 points for 2 attributes, then 11 points for 3rd and 4th attributes.

This means that Intelligence and Speed would be at 57 at character creation, and you could get Strength and Senses at 50 or 51 (pick your favorite).

The character would get Powercast at level 14 (assuming you hit the Trynton Fountain early enough), and Snakespeed at level 16.

Not too bad, considering that your Human Priest will have the best overall stats in the game. Really, the teens is not too late to learn two expert skills. Take it with a grain of salt.

Some specialist to Bishop ideas:
* Fairy Mage to Bishop at level 2. Gets Power Cast at level 7 (if you reach the Trynton fountain that early) and Snake Speed at 13, I think. Possible to get Snake Speed earlier if you delay Power Cast (might actually be a good idea here). After getting key spells, change back to Mage. (Ego Whip is a good idea.)
* Fairy Psionic to Bishop at level 3 (can't do 2 here). Not as good as the previous one, but can eventually give you a Psionic with a few key spells from other classes. For offensive magic, I'd look for Whipping Rocks, Iceball, and maybe Crush before changing back.

For these builds, the idea is to go Mage/Priest/Psionic spellbooks, with perhaps your final one not needing as much attention. Alchemy is actually not great, unless you are planning on delaying the class change to after level 18, or you have nobody else to make Renewal potions.

Note that Mage and Psionic are nice choices for this build because:
* The Bishop levels give you more (not less) HP than you would have otherwise.
* Fairy equipment restrictions don't hurt Mage/Psionic as much as Alchemist/Priest (you couldn't use Snakeskin Boots or shields otherwise), though the loss of the Robe of Rejuvenation does hurt late game. (With that said, if you mod the game to make Bela sell Rings of Power like I did, that might not be as much of an issue, but then that's no longer vanilla.)

Correction: Fairy Mage->Bishop can't get Snake Speed until level 14. (Only 6 spare points, so 66 Speed at level 2.)

Alternatively, you could get Snake Speed at 9, and Power Cast at 12. (76 Speed at 1, 67 Int at 2.) Or anything in-between that adds up to 21.

Gnome is an alternative if you aren't concerned about Speed.

Sort-of thinking of doing an MDP with Fairy {Mage, Psionic}->Bishop->starting class, and maybe Gnome Alchemist->Bishop->Alchemist. Now I just need to figure out Priest. (Possibly Dwarven Battle Bishop->Priest maybe?).

Along with Elf Bishop (single class) and maybe some Valkyrie build.

All this class-changing is confusing me. Is it true that all casters (including hybrids) get the full caster level? For example, a character who was a Mage for 4 levels, and a Bishop for 22 levels, gets treated as a level 26 caster for all spells cast?

I would guess that, at least for spell learning, that the Bishop would be able to pick level 7 Wizardry spells as soon as possible, at level 18, but the other 3 spellbooks would have to wait an additional 4 levels to learn their level 7 spells (at level 22, just like a hybrid).

A base hybrid, such as a Ranger, starts out with no magic. For the first 4 levels, he/she knows no magic. At level 5, they begin to learn magic, and can pick a level 1 spell, only being able to cast at power level 1 safely, if they have decent skills. From what I understand, said character will always have a -4 level caster penalty.

However, if you always stuck with pure casters (Bishop, Priest, Alchemist, Psionic, Mage), then your effective caster level won't suffer?

Apparently, from what I've read it works something like this:

Classes other than the current on count count as you'd expect (in particular, only for the relevant type of magic).

On the other hand, the current class counts differently:
* If a full caster, the level is counted for all spells (even those of other spellbooks).
* If a hybrid, the level is counted for all spells, but there's a -4 level penalty (so Priest 5->Valkyrie 1 casts as a 2nd level Priest, not a 5th level one as you'd expect, though higher-level spells don't disappear).
* If a non-caster, I think what happens is that the level isn't counted, and -1 is subtracted (so Priest 5->Fighter 1, I believe, would have a caster level of 4).

(Note that SP always uses the character's character level.)

As for your example, the answer would be "yes", provided the character is currently a Mage. If the character is currently a Bishop, then the Mage levels only count for Mage spells.

I believe that would be true in your specific example.
Only true if you don't have any non-Bishop former classes.

I ask because I'm currently running a 2 Bishop party, with bodyguards. Note that the Fighter and Rogue are completely without magic, and I will make them melee and ranged combat powerhouses, up front, dual-wielding, for maximum punishment to the enemies. The Valkyrie and Ranger are on the flanks, with extended-range Polearms, able to hit enemies in front of the party, or on their own flanks.

The Bishops did the right thing, I assume, by staying the course, and levelling to 18, gaining caster levels, and skill ups, in all 4 spellbook skills (Wizardry, Divinity, Alchemy, and Psionics). It doesn't matter when you level spellbook skills, or realm skills (Bishops have to prioritize skills to max them).

At the end of the day, my level 18 Bishops have max caster level in all 4 spellbooks (when they max said skills enough to learn all the good level 6 and 7 spells).

So, Fairy Psionic/Bishop mix, SPD/INT (Psionic start):
* Start with 68 INT, 49 PIE, 73 SPD
* At level 2/3, do PIE/SPD, changing class at level 3.
* Snake Speed at level 10, Power Cast at level 12
* As a Bishop, do Wizardry/Psionics for realms (we want Whipping Rocks and Iceball, in particular)

I'm starting to like this idea, although not being able to go Bishop until level 3 is a bit disappointing.

Perhaps I need to analyze the Bishop start version of this build. I know it gives you .5 more HP, but Snake Speed is delayed to level 12, and I'm not sure about Power Cast. (Power Cast might still be level 12, as taking SEN as 3rd priority will cover the Psionic SEN requirement.)

One note: The change to Psionic should be done before Bayjin; you *really* want that mental immunity there.

For Alchemist/Bishop, one unusual thing comes up: As a Bishop, you may be best off focusing on Wizardry/Psionics, to get Iceball and Ego Whip, which fill niches not filled by Alchemy. (Especially Ego Whip: There's no comparable Alchemist spell in that realm; in fact, there's no Alchemist spell in that realm *period*.) On the other hand, Alchemist first is what gives you more HP, and the Fairy downsides hurt this class more.

Priest/Bishop (Priest start) seems to work best for human. Although, if going STR/INT, you won't get Power Strike until level 18 (though DEX and SPD will be better than for a Dwarf Priest, so at least you have that). Priest first gives you 1 more HP here.

I answer your questions, and you answer mine. This is the unspoken rule of the forum.

I am staying the course; This means a lot of sacrifices early on. Hanging out in the Monastery, dealing with the unbearable level up penalty of the Bishops, gets a lot of skill increases, and random items dropped by slimes (some are Arnika level items). However, this means growth in all four spellbooks, so all this pain and suffering is not in vain.

The Bishops have managed to max all six realm skills, and Bishop one has managed to max Wizardry and Divinity skills, while Bishop two has managed to max Alchemy and Psionics skills. Both are branching out into their third spellbook skills, Bishop one with casting Mind Stab for Psionics skill ups, Bishop two with casting Bless for Divinity skill ups.

The Valkyrie and Ranger, having the two best defensive spellbooks available, have no need for PowerCast (and have a -4 level caster penalty). It would be best to work on their combat prowess (Strength and Dexterity, then Speed and Senses).

You really want to have a high level party before Bayjin; There are many nasty Rynjin enemies there. If you're high enough level, you can just, you know, kill them quickly before they are a threat. In my last MDP, all four specialist casters had good Fire magic (Priest Lightning, Alchemist Fire Bomb, Psionic Psionic Fire, and Mage Fireball). They died quickly to layered magic.

The synergy is great with Psionics/Alchemy Bishops, as the Psionic spellbook is heavy in the Mental realm, and makes up for the Alchemy spellbook's complete lack of a Mental realm. Meanwhile, the Alchemy spellbook's focus on elemental damage makes up for the Psionic spellbook's lack of good non-Mental attack spells.

If going Human Priest, as I have done with my two Human Bishops, it's best to go Intelligence and Speed first, then Strength and Senses. You get Powercast and Snakespeed early, and Powerstrike and Eagle Eye later.

Given that there's the early difficulty spike that starts in Arnika Road, these days I often prefer, at least on some party members, to avoid making the early sacrifice, even if there's some sacrifice later in the game. (Bishop spell picks are a good example; these days I'd rather pick some spells early and have one useful from near the start than to save every spell pick and have a character who's mostly dead weight for a while, but eventually learns every spell.)

I haven't found the Ranger's spellbook to be good defensively. There's only two defensive spells I can think of in the Alchemist spellbook: Element Shield (useful, but this isn't the only spellbook that gets it), and Body of Stone (not that useful; it's only single target, and it appears (as a learnable spell) at a point in the game when physical attacks aren't a major concern). The Alchemy spellbook is good for low level healing and high level damage, but it doesn't have much to offer in terms of defense.

Whereas, Wizardry also has Element Shield, but it also has Missile Shield (significant protection against missiles, and unlike Body of Stone one cast affects the whole party and can be cast well before combat).

I'd argue that Bayjin is designed for a mid-upper teen level party. (Enemy level scaling means that you still need to watch out on higher levels, especially on harder difficulties.)

Don't forget that fire magic does not work underwater.

Whether Bayjin or Rabax areadas are done first depends on the player, and perhaps on the party. I tend to prefer Rapax areas first (at least up to Ferro), as that gives access to Ferro (plenty of neat stuff to buy), and also provides Bards/Gadgeteers with nuking capabilities once they reach level 18. (Just, if you have a Gadgeteer, make sure you get the gadget parts found in the Mine Tunnels and the Southern Wilderness (no need to reach the Sorceress Queen first, though that way does have a couple other good gadget parts).) Doing Bayjin/Sea Caves first is, perhaps, less useful, though you do get the Renaissance Lute there.

So, get up to 4th or 5th level spells, get one class's offensive spells, then switch to the other.

Worth noting that, if you exclude higher level spells and healing, the Mage spellbook is better than the Alchemist spellbook. (For a Bishop->Psionic class change, you don't get high level non-Psionic spells, and the Psionic spellbook can handle healing (though it lacks status cures other than Sane Mind).)

You're assuming that the priority is fast spellcasting.

If you're looking for fast spellcasting, you're better off choosing a different full caster. Even a Bishop is a better choice, getting Power Cast faster for many races, while being comparable for Snake Speed (Elf Bishop gets Power Cast at level 11, sooner than any race Priest; Felpurr Bishop gets Power Cast and Snake Speed at level 16).

If you're looking for melee damage, on the other hand, you can't afford to put points into INT and SPD, as they take away too much focus. By going STR/DEX, you get the same number of attacks you get with INT/SPD, but you get significantly better accuracy and damage. (Speed can come later, but keep in mind that Haste exists.)

Of course, you could do something like this:
* Level 1: Alchemist
* Level 2: Bishop
* On reaching 29 Alchemy, change back to Alchemist, putting 3 points into Alchemy
* Your modified Alchemy is now 40, allowing you to make potions
* Make potions until base Alchemy is 47
* Change back into Bishop, putting 3 points into Alchemy (raising it to 50)
* Finally, change back to Alchemist when you have all the non-Alchemy spells you care about

Some similar tricks could be done with the other specialist/bishop mixes, where you change class to learn certain key spells sooner, then change back. (I believe there's that 1 level delay; you only get the primary skill bonus you had before the level up when it comes to level up spell pick choices.)

It's amusing: I've gotten to the point where I kinda do, but really don't want to play some Wiz8. But, I'm currently playing Dungeon Encounters when I should be playing Quester, so...

Class changing is another one of those things that got a worse rap than it deserves due to not working the way people expected. Honestly, Wiz8 is brilliant in many clever ways. What a shame. It seems Steam forum regulars are starting to refer to the caster-level quirk as a probable bug. I could see the logic, but far stranger things have been intentional. I recently learned that clerics—well, all divine casters—losing partial access to scrolls after opening the use magic device skill in Neverwinter Nights was a design decision. But Wiz8's quirk is how the game works, and allows for some really nice toons.

My bishop is going to hard focus on long-term buffs early. Gathering spell books should mean the character will still be great in the long term. And forgoing power-cast means this actually is a case where restoration is most definitely the most pertinent level seven spell. (Thinning spells are useful for a melee party, even when weak.) But I'm also thinking: push divinity and psionics to only thirty with points. The dumb part is raising alchemy to fifty. But I want max money making sooner, but don't want to split-stack potion grind. The forty-five for wizardry is for x-ray, and, well, that is the point of the character. The lack of pushing for soul shield might be an issue, but avoiding unicorns might be enough.

Alchemy is great debuffer early on, and then damage dealer later on. Itching skin is like a reverse bless, and blinding flash is one of the more useful crowd control against Gregor on expert. Getting heal, stamina, purify air, and resurrect is nice though. As well as some other cures, elemental shield, and body of stone. What else are you going to take after purify air and maybe teleport? Summon? Or is toxic cloud really that great? Sure, by the time you can get the spell, you usually won't need it, but hey, more earth points. Which is also a reason to get some razor cloak at some point. Some take it early to build earth further than itching skin allows to get a stronger whipping rocks quicker. An even stronger strategy for rangers and ninjas.

The point of doing Bayjin before Rapax is often challenge. That's what I typically see, at least.

A speed caster needs both senses and speed. I've seen some push both while going for powercast. Slower time for snake speed, but faster initiative growth earlier. It all depends on the end-goal. And that is further influenced by party goal. A speedy priest can make sense, a powercast priest can make sense. Both often doesn't, but it can. And sometimes you just want a dex/str bishop.

Even if it is a bug, it can still be fun to play around with.

I've started to use what is clearly a bug to skip one part of the game I dislike. By quicksaving after taking the idol but before the screen blacks out, then quitting out of the game entirely (to remove the black viewport effect), I can skip having to deal with a party member being kidnapped entirely.

There's also the route where you go to the Umpani Base Camp, then glitch through the walls (from the bar, left side as you go in) to the secret teleporter that warps you to Lower Marten's Bluff.

Looking at another game, the Dark Sun CRPGs allow a Ranger->Cleric dual class to have major access to 2 elemental spheres, even if the character dual classed before getting Ranger spells. Given how the setting rules screws Clerics out of all healing spells except the weakest one, I see this as a way to make Clerics actually have a use in that series.

It gets a lot faster once you reach 40.

(Hence, the idea of changing to Alchemist once you reach 32 (getting the 25% boost to raise it to 40, then taking advantage of the boost to increase the skill faster. This does have significant drawbacks, so I only recommend it if you're planning on having the character spend their last days as an Alchemist rather than a Bishop.)
I really like Toxic Cloud. It causes enemies to randomly be hit with status ailments, making them miss turns or be less effective, and it keeps trying to inflict them until it wears off. If nothing else, preventing enemies from acting will speed up combat, which is an important consideration when battles get long.

(Also, it's Air, not Earth.)

I take Senses as a third stat, putting extra points into it at character creation, and increasing it once I've maxed out Intelligence. (This is for an Int/Spd Bishop, of course.)

Getting Snake Speed, and later the Snakeskin Boots, tends to be enough for the fast Bishop to usually act before the enemies; a Thieves Buckler provides an additional boost, and if needed, there's the Ankh of Speed.