Your first choice will be whether to take the prefab party or create one from scratch. Playing with the prefab group is a good way to get used to the game - it窶冱 intelligently designed with a good mix of skills. When spending skill points, bear in mind that it窶冱 best to lump all your Alchemy skill on one person, but Mage Lore and Item Lore skill can be spread around.
When creating a party, it窶冱 a very good idea to have PCs who can cast level 3 mage and priest spells. Front-line fighters should have at least 3 strength and dexterity, and a weapon skill of (hopefully) 4 or 5, at least.
Buying Alchemy and Mage Lore can wait awhile. They will eventually be necessary, but not right away.
On the other hand, buy strength as soon as possible. Otherwise, you won't get much in the way of health when you gain a level.
Whenever you get a new spell, experiment with it. The spells are designed to be worth the spell points you put into them, and build in effect with repeated castings as well. For example, bless spells, generally underpowered in other games, are extremely powerful in this one. Cast 3 bless spells on one fighter, and watch the havoc. Similarly, if a fear spell doesn窶冲 work on a monster, the next fear spell is more likely to make it flee.
Poison is extremely useful. It will do full damage against many monsters that magic is ineffective against (such as evil mages). Try it on arrows!
Unlike many computer fantasy games, you cannot rest in dungeons. Pack lots of potions - you will need to have staying power. This is the primary use of alchemy. Also, when resting outdoors, try to find an out-of-the-way nook to do it in. It makes it harder for the wandering monsters to find you.
Early in the game, lack of gold will be your main problem. Make your purchases carefully, and take advantage of places where the food is cheap (like Silvar). Training is expensive, especially for the skills you need most. It is often a good idea to hang onto your skill points until you have the money to buy the skills you need. For example, Luck skill is cheap, but early on it窶冱 better to hang on until you get the cash for that next level of Mage Spells skill.
Finally, below are some tips for getting your party established. Don窶冲 read ahead unless you want a few small things given away...
1. Don窶冲 leave Fort Exile without going to Tor and asking him about 窶牢upplies.窶 You
won窶冲 last long otherwise.
2. Head due west to Silvar. Buy some nice stone weapons and a bit more food. If
you窶决e feeling adventurous, break into the closed store at the west end of town.
There窶冱 something useful inside. Also, look around carefully in the Hall of Records.
3. Fort Duvno is a short ways to the north. There, you can find out about the two
introductory dungeons...
4. There is a bandit fort a little north and about 20 spaces west of Fort Duvno. Be
careful - they窶冤l flank you!
5. The evil Nephilim are building a fort north of Fort Duvno. There窶冱 some nice
stuff in there.
6. Looking around carefully will reveal several other interesting things in the area.
There窶冱 rumored to be a cave full of bats...
7. Finally, when this area gets old, go to Formello (to the north). If you keep your
ears open, you may be able to find a mission there worthy of your skills. It has
something to do with a necklace.
If you get really stuck: There is a hint booklet available! It窶冱 $6.50, from Fantasoft. See Shareware Info on the title page to find out where to send the money to.
