~~kragorn~~
i have a lizzie priestess and i am happy with her. she's got her expert skill already and i am now going to pump her sns and spd, both of which are in the mid to high 60's.
the only drawback is the slower mana regen. i am used to having everybody topped off in about 1/3 of a regular sleep period (2 hours instead of 6). but with her, i have to go the full restime. we get surprised a lot and i don't like that. so, i have to get shadow hound as soon as i am able.
in addition, the Blonde Brigade has a lovely dwarven priestess, and she is a real keeper.

i find them both very good at their jobs PLUS they are really fun to play!
i usually keep my priestesses straight buffers, but i also see no harm in having them be able to handle a weapon or two for those awful moments when she's silenced or just plain outta SP.
so on that note, i allowed my dwarven priestess to use a staff and my lizzie goes HtH. i do not put points into it. however, i DO encourage them, from the first, to do a round or two that way in each battle. esp if its a decent foe, and they have been very softened up by the others, i let everyone else defend her, and she finishes the fight.
V***V