That looks like a reasonable list of stats for a blade. I think i had a couple of points less (maybe 12?) for strength and a bit more in dexterity for my blade to reflect his greater agility and consequently lighter blows.
If you're not soloing, yes he'll survive fine because the rest of the party will cover until he gets powerful.
Soloing I found him to be quite a challenge, but it's certainly doable. I tended to play my blade as a 'sneaky' fighter in the earlier levels (eg hit and run, luring enemies away singly) but as he gets to a level where he can cast level 5 and 6 mage spells then he becomes a great fighter/mage and will go toe to toe with most other enemies no problem. Just be careful not to get too cocky - it's easy to do because the blade is such a flash fighter at high levels, but it's always worth remembering he's still a rogue character - it'll save you a few frantic retreats!
You may wish to pick up the rogue rebalancing mod as well which aims to bring the rogue classes closer to their pnp equivalents.
http://www.gamesector.co.yu/avenger/
I found the blade to be a great character to roleplay with - it should be an enjoyable game.
[ 04-23-2004, 06:21 PM: Message edited by: shamrock_uk ]