In my opinion, a new player can't beat starting out with a Cleric lead character, despite limited weapons skills. Remember, your Cleric will get some VERY good offensive spells! S/he is not just a healer/protector! (Though a good healer or two is essential!) Having a Cleric is as good as having a Mage, though the spell balance is different. Be careful in character creation to make sure that the Abilities total score is 90+ so that you can allocate a lot of points to strength & constitution as well as wisdom...
F.