So, summary of some Valkyrie race choices:
* Dracon: My personal favorite. You get a breath attack (otherwise no non-item area attacks until level 12). 25 bonus points, so can start with 64 STR (Power Strike at level 13). DEX and INT are both reasonable second choices (INT gives Power Cast at level 18, late but still acceptable if you're planning on a level 24+ finish). Should raise SEN to 31 to avoid penalties. Drawback: If INT and SEN left at starting values, skills like Close Combat and Artifacts will rise slowly, so not good for Amulet of Life usage.
* Dwarf: Similar to Dracon, this time with damage resistance (which is really unnecessary on high HP characters) instead of breath. INT for Power Cast isn't recommended here (learned at level 20), so likely STR/DEX here.
* Human: Not as good as the others, but doesn't have that INT/SEN shortage, so skills like Artifacts and Close Combat increase faster. A bishop mix is possible for this race.
* Mook: -10 bonus points. This, I believe, means you'll have 52 STR at level 3, and hence won't get Power Strike until level 19. But, doesn't have the issue of slow Close Combat and Artifacts growth. Can use the Giant's Sword (but keep in mind that that wastes the primary skill bonus).

Next topic may be the behavior of the apprentice mechanic (I created a Lizardman Bishop, used a hex editor to give her >16 million XP, and leveled her up to level 8).

Bishops like mine (with maxed Speed, and Snakespeed unlocked), have no need for a Shield that gives a bonus to Speed.

I understand now why whips only get half the Strength damage bonus: They attack from extended range, and only use one hand. The other extended-range weapons (Polearms, Mook's Giant's Sword, Staff of Doom, etc), use both hands. It's a balance issue.

All the more reason to have a Human, if what you say about Intelligence is true, that it somehow helps out in physical combat. This is probably a non-issue. However, the Human Fighter will have decent Intelligence, making his/her Close and Ranged Combat skills increase decently.

With your Valkyrie, you could have a very powerful Human, as I'm doing. Doing the early sacrifice in the Monastery, she has Strength and Dexterity maxed, but is slow (she has an ankh of Speed). This will change, as I'm pumping her Speed and Senses.

(Post window closed unintentionally)

Human isn't the best choice unless you care about INT and SEN.

(Had a lot typed up for the Lizardman Bishop test, but lost it.)

We (the six-member party, and I, the Cosmic Lord), care about the Valkyrie's Senses. This is what I love about W8, that there is so much customization. The same profession/class can have such a different end-game result.

My Human Valkyrie (first time using this class), has maxed Strength and Dexterity, gaining PowerStrike and Reflextion. She is an absolute tank, hitting very hard, but she is slow. I gave her an Ankh of Speed, and she will max Speed and Senses at level 31, gaining SnakeSpeed and Eagle Eye.

By level 35 or so, she will be a beast, able to do melee and ranged combat to the best of her abilities, and having decent magic (she doesn't need Powercast, as the Divinity spellbook is fine without it).

So, the Lizardman Bishop test results:
* Class skills start at 1 in this case. (Other apprentices might start with less than 5, but this particular build is particularly bad in that regard.)
* At level up, any class skill less than 5 is increased to 5. This mechanic is probably intended for class changed characters, but it also affects apprentices. In the case of a Lizardman Bishop, it might not be a good idea to invest starting skill points into spellbook skills, knowing that at level 2 they'll all be increased to 5 anyway.
* At level up, the game tries to balance stat deficits (that is, the amount each stat is below the class's requirements). For ties, it seems that stats lower on the list are favored, so at level 2 a Lizardman Bishop has 46 INT and PIE, but 47 DEX and SEN.
* On leveling up to level 8 (when this character is no longer an apprentice), the character's title is displayed as "Novice", but on checking said character immediately after level up, the character now has the appropriate title for a level 8 Bishop ("Cantor").
* Class changing is possible on reaching level 8, with Fighter, Rogue, Bard (IIRC), Valkyrie, and Lord all as possible options. (List might not be exhaustive.)

Alternative build: Strength and Speed. This will give you a Valkyrie who *isn't* slow, and who will eventually learn Snake Speed. Equip some Snakeskin Boots (note that this means you may give up Mantis Boots, sacrificing some AC), and you now have even better initiative.

At level 31, my (required female) Human Valkyrie will have maxed Strength, Dexterity, Speed, and Senses, having unlocked PowerStrike, Reflextion, SnakeSpeed, and Eagle Eye. That's enough for me.

Incidentally, I decided to investigate a mostly Valkyrie who aims for Power Cast at level 12. Some notes:
* Start as a Human Bishop.
* Can't change to Valkyrie until level 4 without slowing INT growth.
* Starts with 7 Wizardry, allowing it to reach 15 on level 2 without practice. So, level 2 Mage spells can be learned at Bishop level 3, which you have to reach anyway with this build. Handy if your party doesn't have anyone else to cast Mage spells (though, if you want X-Ray, you'll need to at least have a Gadgeteer).
* Doesn't get Power Strike until level 20. (As always, there's drawbacks to doing this sort of thing, and this is one of them.)

For a non-Fairy int/sen Psionic/Bishop mix (Psionic start), the best race stst-wise seems to be Gnome.

For a non-Fairy pure Psionic, on the other hand, Mook seems to be the choice. Fairly standard setup, but might be interesting as a way to get a good Artifacts user who can use Styx (and still use the Mindblast Rod)..

Going to investigate int/dex Alchemist, to use with the Psionic to give the Bishop MDP party some symmetry. (Front line, so Reflextion will make up for the lack of a shield, and then str after maxing another stat, I think.)

(Party would be 3x Bishop, Psionic, Alchemist, and Valkyrie.)

The Valkyrie is a tank, about on par with the Fighter. My Female Human Valkyrie will have Strength, Dexterity, Speed, and Senses maxed by level 31 perfectly, with no points left over (Intelligence will be at 50 from the Trynton Fountain, and Piety and Vitality will be at 55, due to profession requirements). It doesn't get any more tanky than that.

Better tank:
* Race: Dwarf, for the damage resistance.
* Class: Lord, for the HP regen. HP regen is more powerful when you're taking less damage.
* Stats: Max Vit and Dex. Vitality gives you more HP, more damage resistance (since you're a Dwarf), Iron Skin for even more damage resistance, while Dexterity provides Reflection, making fewer attacks hit the character in the first place.
* You can use a shield in the offhand for more AC.
* At really high levels, of course, you could try to get Speed to 90 for +2 AC in addition to everything else (but you probably don't need to).
* IF this isn't enough physical defense, cast Body of Stone on them. Doing so can raise damage resistance to 100%, and now you're *really* immune to physical attacks until it wears off. Can't get any more tanky than complete invulnerability. (Disclaimer: Not immune to magic or other damage sources.)

This is where I'm going. The level 21 Savant Slashers that inevitably spawn from the Savant Tower in Arnika, want to melee the party. Thus, my party will grind to level 21 in the Monastery, training melee combat on the rats. However, this is relatively low experience, but decent skill gains.

Even if I gain 100K experience a night, it's still 10 nights of grinding to gain 1M experience points. My Bishops are looking at 2M exp to gain a level.

Iron Skin has a heavy opportunity cost, maxing Vitality. This means your melee/ranged characters are not as fast/don't hit as hard/don't get the max swings and attacks, etc.

You have Body of Stone PL7, to give your frontline character 70% DR, and they will have much higher AC, while it's in effect.

It would take less time to explore the world and find a place where higher level enemies spawn, then farm XP there.

The thing is, the Monastery has a lot of good hiding places, no friendly NPCs to make battles last longer, a trader (Burz), that I can sell junk to, and buy ammo from, and slimes drop sometimes decent equipment.

For the low-level, "trash mob" battles: You can train your skills, killing them slowly.

For the high-level, threatening battles: Kill them quickly, gaining good experience (level 10 Vampire Bats, level 10 Emerald Slimes, level 12 Greater Seekers, level 14 Flesheater Slimes).

The Monastery has a mix of these two, so you should gain both experience and skill ups.

By the time that you gain level 21, you are ready for both the Arnika Road and Arnika proper.

I'd make that level 6, and even then I'd recommend going to Arnika Road at level 5, then waiting until just before you enter Arnika to go to level 6.

Arnkia is manageable at that level, and this avoids having to do what many people call "grinding". (Will the RPG I make require that? Time will tell, and I'd probably aim to not require it, but getting the balance right isn't going to be easy.)

Another concept that I've been thinking of:
* Start with a build that I've seen called the "blitz bish"; Bishop where the stat focus is on spd/sen
* Then, at some point (not before level 8), change to a hybrid.

Thing is, the blitz bishop can work early on, though reportedly even that build will be beaten, in initiative, by outlaw-types and other fast enemies for a while. But, without Power Cast, its magic is going to be lacking later on.

So, the idea is to change focus later on, and make the character able to fight better.

As for class options, we could choose:
* Lord: Allows the character to keep using maces, and perhaps learn to dual wield. Also gives Priest spells, including Heal Alll, Resurrect and Restoration, so the change need not be made before they show up.
* Valkyrie: Polearm skill isn't hard to develop, and with the Dread Spear giving +20, it shouldn't take too long to become decent. (Remember, you already have 100 Speed, which helps get that second attack/swing.)
* Ranger: Unfortunately, Alchemy doesn't get Restoration or Heal All. However, if you notice, this build gets Eagle Eye, and it might be a good idea to put it to use rather than waste it.
* Monk: No Restoration, Resurrection, or Heal All. But the stat requirements aren't as bad, and you can keep using staves and equip that Zatoichi Bo. (Probably easier to use that weapon than to try to switch to Martial Arts this late.) On the other hand, works for Fairy, who can equip that particular weapon, and will get Snake Speed sooner.

Now, the difficulties with this build:
* Stat requirements: The Felpurr Bishop, for example, needs, I believe, 25 stat points to become a Valkyrie, Assuming you spend a starting point on Strength or Vitality, that's still 8 half levels worth of points just to meat the requirements, meaning you couldn't change until level 18 (at which point, why not one more level to get Restoration before the 4 caster level penalty?)
* Weapon continuity: For some of these, the optimal weapon post class change isn't one you've had the chance to practice the rest of the game. (Note that, while the eventual Monk (if not Fairy) could use the Mindblast Rod, they wouldn't have a chance to get decent at it until after class change.)

So, maybe a good build might be:
* Race: Fairy
* Class: Bishop
* Stat focus: Spd/Sen, with remaining point at character creation spent on Str
* Skills: Will need good Divinity (for Soul Shield, Heal All, and many other spells, like Superman and Rest All) and Alchemy (if you want Body of Stone, otherwise you can substitute Wizardry, which has better spells earlier on; either way, you likely want Element Shield)
* Level 8: Make sure to learn Element Shield, either now or some time before class change
* Level 11: Make sure to learn Heal All and Body of Stone (if you want those spells)
* Level 12: Get Snake Speed. Switch to Monk to start building physical combat ability better.
* Put points into Snake Speed. Maybe also Eagle Eye, which can be used with a sling or the Boomerang Shuriken, once it unlocks. Only use magic when you need it, as you can't raise the skills anymore.
* Level 16: Can raise Psionics and realm skills once again.