I'm still in chapter one exploring the town. So far I have cleared out the docks and part of the peninsula. My PC is a fighter with one level ranger and one level mage (for the free dual wields/ambi and ability to use wands respectively). There have been a couple of tough fights that I had to reload but usually the second time around I come out ok. My biggest problem has been traps. The two worst being the one in the Androd estate and the one on the second floor of the Traders. Is there a way for a fighter to get in those chests without getting killed? Even at full health (42HP) they kill me every time.

Before you answer, "Hire the rogue", I am also interested in how other players use the henchmen. I'm trying to get through as much as I can without having to hire them until absolutely necessary. Is this a pipe dream? How do you solo fighters, mages, or clerics get through the traps? The ones in the sewers weren't bad as they do damage but don't kill, but the two above have proven to be impossible for me so far.

Take a pixie as a familiar. They have rogue abilities. Or use spells/wands to destroy the containers.
Clerics can cast Find Traps, which also disarm traps, which shouldn't be that way, in my oh so humble opinion... Not ALL of them, at least... but it's a modder's nightmare, to have a resetting, impenetrable trap disarmed by a low-level spell.

* Use spells or ranged weapons to destroy chests.
* Save before opening any chests you're unsure about and if you die, reload and try again. There are not that many that's dangerous enough to kill you, especially not if you play a Fighter with his high HP.
* Equip anything that raises your reflex saves to avoid the traps.

When you level up, what class are you going to take? I suggest mage, because again, I cannot extol enough the pixie familiar. What she lacks in firepower she makes up by disarming traps, opening locks, stealth... and most of the time, you don't have to possess her to do it. Sometimes it's best to, but trust me on this one, she's a solo mage's best friend.
But what level are you intending to take?

As a dwarven fighter I bumped up my int (to help with lore) and used the extra skill points to get my trap disarm up (as well as trap search) as far as finding traps on objects goes, blow the container up with fire arrors (or any projectile with elemental damage)

I was planning to take the rest of my levels in fighter. I took one level ranger with the idea of a dual-wield fighter that would use some of the better light armor as the game progresses. As right now I am lev 2 fighter with 1 in ranger and mage, I'm still using heavy armor and not taking advantage of the dual-wield yet. I'll have to buy some elemental arrows I guess, as the only magic ones I've found so far have been poison. I did choose the pixie as fam but haven't sum'd him yet. The mage was primarily just to use wands, which has proved invaluable with that wand of sleep that you get early on. Also got the Mage Tower quest and the Zoo quest from the ranger. Also of note, I spent a little extra on Dex at the expense of Con, knowing that I would be using light armor but my reflex saves are only 3!
Thanks for the help. I'll have to try those ideas.

How much Dex do you have? None of the classes you have have reflex saves as high saves so at those low levels you shouldn't have much.

What race are you? You're spreading yourself awfully thin so early in the game, that might be a mistake later on... So early, it's imperative that you gain power quickly. Especially without a henchman. I actually suggest you hire Daelan to help you out until you come into your own.

i have a solo fighter, just going on weaponmaster. i don't use a henchie this run thru or summons of any kind.
i keep a sling with the best bullets available at any given time during the game to bash them all open from a distance. it's cheap, easy and keeps me unharmed. after all, i need all my health to fight the droves of nasties that my class seems to draw to her. ;)

easy, cheap solution, too. ;)

V***V

Here are my stats:

Human Fighter 3/ Ranger 1/ Mage 1
HP 52
str 17
dex 15
con 14
int 12
wis 10
cha 8

ST F 8
R 4
W 4

WeapFoc long sword
WeapFoc short sword
WeapFoc mace
Power Attack
Luck of Heroes
Maxed Discipline, Lore, and Persuade

I believe all stats are original except str, which I think is raised by one from something or other.

I ended up buying a wand of missiles to handle the traps. Once I got that solved, I'm not having problems with much else. As I said, I occasionaly must reload for tougher battles, like the pirates in the aquaducts. I have a short bow+1 but I haven't found much use for it yet. I only used it once in the aquaducts for the first pirate (the one that isn't initially hostile) with poison arrows. It worked but I usually get swarmed before I can get off a second shot.