new character

[mrxian]

i'm starting a new character, a cleric that will dual-class to a mage.
now, i need advice on what stats to take. what stats are important apart from int and wis?

[Cerek the Barbaric]

You've already covered the obvious ones. Wisdom is the prime attribute for clerics and Intelligence for mages. The next stat you need to worry about is Constitution. A score of 16 will give you 2 extra hp per level. But - unlike fighters - this Con bonus does not increase with a 17 or 18 Con...so 16 is plenty.

Next, your Dexterity. You recieve -1 to your AC for every point over 14. Since you will be dualing to a mage (and unable to wear armor any more), you need at least a 16-18 here (if possible). Of course, there ARE items in the game that will improve your Dexterity while worn (such as Gauntlets of Dexterity)...so that isn't as important as Con..because there are very few (if any) items that will improve your Constitution score.

That just leaves Strength and Charisma.

You can gain attack bonuses for high Strength, but you probably aren't going to be a front line fighter...and there are PLENTY of items and potions to increase your Strength as needed.

Charisma is only important for paladins. There is no real adverse affect for having it as low as a 3 (although it may affect some interactions with vendors - not sure about that). But there is also the Ring of Human Influence. This is found very early in the game and boosts your Charisma to 18. So you could be one of the ugliest, rudest, scar-faced clerics in all of Athkala - but people will still think you're a really great guy anyway.