[Legolas]

Welcome to the Ironworks, Acronym [img]graemlins/happywave.gif[/img]

The first thing you should realise is that, especially at the start of the game, you are playing a character which will almost always be fighting creatures of equal or greater power. Unlike in games like Diablo, this time it's the monsters who are stronger. Like Diablo, there are more of them then there are of you!
And that calls for tactics if you ever wish to defeat your enemies. What you don't want is getting swarmed by enemies, because the more attacks you face the more damage you are going to get. A good way to prevent this is by taking a party, if you bring along 5 NPCs you will be six times as powerful and far less likely to have a major disadvantage. But still, six men make shorter work of one enemy than they do of six. It's important to make sure as few enemies as possible are fighting you at any one time. Part of this tactic is the use of summoned monsters, another is spells like entangle, web and hold person. A third is concentrating all your attacks on one enemy until it is dead, rather than having each character fight a seperate opponent. Finally, you can often exploit bottlenecks in the terrain, like door openings. One or two of your strongest characters can block the door, preventing more than two creatures fighting back at any one time.
Missile weapons are an important part of tactics too. You can use these to fire over the heads of the two in the door, giving them even more of an advantage. You can also use them to kill enemies before they even get close. Since most enemies can only attack from closeby, shooting them lets you damage them without allowing them to damage you in return. You can even use your speed to back away as you fire, or run circles around the monsters while shooting. That means it is almost impossible for a monster to ever attack you while standing still would mean they could fight in a matter of rounds.
Of course, regular weapons often do more damage than missile weapons, allow you to strike more often and don't cost ammunition. If you're driven into a tight corner there's no sense in continuing to use youyr missile weapons.

Aside from that, there's the element of magic. Some spells just deal damage, but there are many which have other, often equally useful effects. Learning to use them will allow you to make combat engagements so much easier. Experimentation is the only way to master them.

An important part of your tactics should be knowing the enemy. Mages, just like your own, often have access to powerful spells but if attacked are quick to die. Fighters, again like your own, can be very accurate with bows if they have them, and equally proficient with weapons. There are creatures which attack in numbers but die quickly, and others which take the combined efforts of the party to kill. If you are fighting a swarm of gibberlings, you could know that focussing fire on one would be overkill, and splitting it between three or four targets would be a far quicker way of killing them all. Ankeghs, on the other hand, are tough and dangerous; individuals should be killed as soon as possible.

The terrain you are fighting in is also important. Some areas have far more difficult monsters and encounters than others, and you should avoid these at first. Others provide good experience.

Lastly, party formations are important. As I metioned, fighters are better at receiving damage than mages, as they have more hitpoints AND are often less likely to get hurt. Try putting them in front. Likewise, clerics can be good at fighting if you don't need them to cast any spells. Thieves can sneak around, and proceed to backstab people! This does a lot of damage, especially if the thief is equipped with a decent weapon. After the first strike, you will have blown your cover, but if successful it is a great way of reducing an opponent's hitpoints.

Final bits of advice; it is usually better to heal damage with spells than with potions, as spells can be regained for free. Make sure you have at least one and preferably two clerics or druids in your party, and have them memorise healing spells. When you rest, any spells remaining will automatically be cast.
Which brings me to the other side of recovering hitpoints. Temples are expensive, it is usually best to sleep at an inn, or if there are none, to sleep outside. In some cases it's best to rest twice, especially if you are badly injured, as that allows clerics to heal the party and start the day's next adventure with a full set of spells. The time it takes to finish the game is, after all, not that important.
The only risk is that of ambush. If you're going to rest it's best to do so in the area you're at, and to do so before you are completely spent. If you have a few spells left and most of your characters are injured for about 50%, that is a good time to rest. Getting ambushed in your sleep or resting without being disturbed is a matter of chance, one time it may work and the other time it won't. If you can survive one or two attacks you should generally be able to live through the night.

So, take it easy, one fight at a time, and experiment with different tactics and different NPCs (some people prefer missile wepons, others mages, yet others close combat, and some of us like to have a mix of all of them) If you're stuck, cheating can get you out, but overall it's better to be a bit more cautious rather than trying to muscle through.
Good luck [img]smile.gif[/img]