bishop or priest?

[dplax]

I am thinking about a new party because I got fed up with the old one.
I would like to have a 5 person party for faster level ups. I've already got four slots filled up but I can't decide what to use in the fifth one. The four I already have are: lizard fighter, drakon ranger, 2 female hobbits (for lockets) (gadgeteer, bard). For the last character I want an elf, but I can't decide whether to use bishop or priest. Which one would be the better?

[Variol (Farseer) Elmwood]

That's a tough one. I would probably go with the pure Caster with that type of party. You can work on the Ranger's magic skills if want when he gets it. The Bishop takes longer to develop and his skills would be spread a bit thin; but that's just me.

i will preface my response by saying that, personally, i prefer the bishop, hands down, for the majority of party types. the slower levelling is easily offset by the spell variety; you are never caught out without an attacking spell of the right type (single, area, cone, group) and college (fire, earth, etc.).

for this party, the bard/gadg will provide a nice variety of supplementary spells, including magic screen and armorplate, two of the priest-only buffs in the game. therefore, i feel that having a priest as a pure spell caster would overlap too much (although, there are benefits to this as well - as you have multiple people covering off party needs). so, from the multiple choice, i'd say the bishop would offer more to the party.

having said all that, if you are really interested in faster levelling, the bishop will lag behind a bit. since the ranger will cover off alchemy (including mixing for dollars), and the gard/badg combo will cover some priest/psionic buffs, i'd consider going elf mage for the 5th team member. not only do they have a nice range of attacking spells (imo, second in breadth only to the alchemst) but they'll add the enchanted blade and missile shield buffs to your party, which will help survivability.

[Halsey]

dplax:
Sultan gives good advice. The only reason I would chose the Priest over the Bishop would be due to the fact that he/she would be a pure spell caster. This means that you'll get the spell portal much sooner than with your Bishop. In a long game, it means a lot more flexibility. I prefer Bishops is parties of four or under...where the xp's aren't spread around so much.

[Wereboar]

Another vote for bishop.

You don't have another character with access to mage spells. And IMO missile shield is one of the most important spells in the game.

[EEWorzelle]

The Priest is a wonderful character, and very powerful in many parties. He or she only gets one school of mastery, however.

Another vote for the Bishop.

Sounds like a cool party!

[HolyWarrior]

I generally don't play with bishops, since they are hard to develop. But then, I also play with full parties. In a smaller party, a bishop is better, as he'll get more experience to learn spells.

[liz76love]

I play with a bishop. Even tough I level up slow I think its worth it to be able to pick from the wider variety of spells offered.

[Variol (Farseer) Elmwood]

...does that help you any...?

[bowman_is_god]

Ive said it before, and ill say it again. Bishops are not worth developing in anything above a 4 person party. Go with the priest.