This is the party creation spoiler for the Elemental Mod v4.0.  Usually I
wouldn't advise reading the information you're supposed to learn as you play
in advance, but some of the choices you make as you create the party
(specifically, races and classes) are permanent, and if you want to play an
optimal party without having to restart the game, you'll want to read this.
I'll keep spoilers to a necessary minimum, though.  Note: if you want the
tables below to look aligned, you'll want to read this with a fixed-width font!

First, let's look at the default Knight-Thief-Cleric-Sorcerer party that's
left unchanged from vanilla.  It's actually perfectly viable still, as each
character fulfills an important role: Knight absorbs damage, Thief disarms
chest traps, Cleric heals and prevents status conditions, and Sorcerer
transports party around through flight, teleportation and other travel spells.
Note that I don't say anything about dealing damage -- every class is capable
of that!  But if you want a comfortable game, you'll probably want to also
have characters who have the above four abilities.  You have options here:
unlike in vanilla, hybrid classes are perfectly viable substitutes to the four
default picks.  Below I'll discuss late game class abilities (past second
promotion); early game is different, but the cost of restarting is much lower.
Remember that you can mix and match light and dark promotions in your party.

Knight fulfills the role of the tank.  It's actually much more relevant than
in vanilla, as you can actually incite monsters to attack a specific character
through Aura of Conflict and similar effects.  Knights have tons of HP, are
well-armored, and can get up to 75% physical damage reduction with proper
skills, which makes them better at receiving damage than anyone else.
Of course, besides this and their obscene melee damage, they're not
particularly good at anything, so if you want variety, your tank can also be,
in order of preference, Paladin, Monk, or even Thief.  Paladins have about
average HP, but otherwise no worse than Knights defensively, and can even cast
Aura of Conflict on themselves if necessary.  Monks don't get damage reduction
from armor, but their HP and AC are excellent, and in the late game they can
dodge any hit, which statistically is equivalent to reducing any (not just
physical) incoming damage.  Thieves also have good HP and AC, but no special
perks so they're not as good as the other three options.  Finally, if you
intend to just avoid tough fights (and the hard difficulty), you don't
actually need a tank as level-appropriate enemies die rather quickly anyway.

Thief disarms chest traps.  That's it, it's a very specialized role, but the
game becomes rather frustrating without it, so it's still important.  Thieves
are the only class that can raise Disarm to GM, but you don't always need it
this high.  The toughest traps require an effective skill level of 40 (that's
Expert 20 or Master 14), and you can boost your skill with items, so with some
luck Master is enough, and even an Expert can open many (but not all) chests
safely.  Ninjas (Dark Path Monks) and Bounty Hunters (DP Rangers) can both
attain Master, and other Monks and Rangers, as well as Black Knights (DP)
and Archers can reach Expert.  Of course, experienced players may avoid the
need for a disarmer by using Telekinesis, Fly, or even just absorbing the
damage, but it's generally inconvenient, so I wouldn't advise it for everyone.

Cleric heals the party and cures conditions -- or prevents them outright
through GM Immutability (was Protection from Magic in vanilla).  You only
really need GM Body magic for either, other Self schools work OK at Master.
Unlike in vanilla, both Arch Druids (Light Path) and Ranger Lords (also LP)
can learn GM Body, so you don't have to stick to Cleric for this.  Their Dark
variants, as well as Paladins and Masters (LP Monks) are limited to Master
Body, which is passable, but not as great.  Still, Heroes (LP Paladins) in
particular make decent Cleric substitutes as they now get both GM Spirit and
Master Light, which are both useful, especially in tandem with Ranger Lords
who have Body, but cannot learn the other two schools at all.  You also can
secure GM Immutability from either temple blessings or sold scrolls (both of
which can be cast as GM now), but this is much less convenient. In any case,
unless you're looking for a challenge, secure Master Body at the very least.

Sorcerer casts travel spells.  Yes, most of elemental magic is actually about
killing your enemies, but again, anyone can kill their enemies, while Fly and
Town Portal are irreplaceable.  So you'll want GM Air and Water at the least.
Again, in this mod you have options.  Specifically, both Master Archers (LP)
and Arch Druids (also LP) can attain both of these GM ranks, and even DP
Archers still get Air, while DP Rangers have GM Water.  Scraping the bottom of
the barrel, Spies (LP Thieves) have Master Air, while DP Archers and LP Rangers
will eventually get Master Water, but really, if you want a comfortable game,
get yourself a Sorcerer or properly promote your Archer, Ranger and/or a Druid.

So there are your four roles.  If you pick hybrids, the same character can
fulfill two roles at once, albeit sometimes not as good.  Here's a handy
table with the classes I proposed (VV is a good pick, ?? is a compromise):

          Defend  Disarm  Healer  Travel
          LP  DP  LP  DP  LP  DP  LP  DP
Knight    VV  VV  --  ??  --  --  --  --
Thief     ??  ??  VV  VV  --  --  ??  --
Monk      VV  VV  ??  VV  ??  --  --  --
Paladin   VV  VV  --  --  ??  ??  --  --
Archer    --  --  ??  ??  --  --  VV  ??
Ranger    --  --  ??  VV  VV  ??  ??  ??
Cleric    --  --  --  --  VV  VV  --  --
Druid     --  --  --  --  VV  ??  VV  ??
Sorcerer  --  --  --  --  --  --  VV  VV

Now let's talk about races.  They're actually important now, so choose
carefully.  Like in vanilla, race affects the character's primary stats and
resistances -- except now it matters throughout the entire game, as race bonus
or penalty will be applied to permanent increases such as barrels or black
potions, and racial resistances grow with level.  Still, even with this, racial
stat modifiers are typically only worth a couple points of the stat rating
(the derivative value that determines stat effect magnitude, shown on a right
click), so it's still not terribly important.  More importantly, race affects
level up bonuses (HP, SP, and even skill points), and each race has an
associated skill that can be raised one rank higher than permitted by class.

Additionally, there are racial artifacts, formerly awarded for the Arcomage
quest (and now they're found elsewhere).  Dwarven and human ones now give nifty
elemental immunities, elven chainmail improves bow skill, and goblins get
another one in addition to their old sword: a dagger that restores SP on kill.
Whether their existence should affect your race choices is arguable.  I'll also
note the existence of an artifact sword that gives a stackable bonus to Light
magic -- it's not restricted by race per se, but read about Goblins below.
Anyway, I'll now describe the four races in detail, with some commentary.

Goblins get +40% to base Might and Speed and -30% to Intellect and Personality.
Additionally they get +1 HP per level but -1 SP per two levels (rounded up).
They get +5 to Fire and Shock resistance and +1 more every two levels.
Finally, their racial skill is Sword, so goblin Clerics, Druids and Sorcerers
gain the ability to use swords at the Expert level, and the other classes can
advance one rank higher.  This is, in fact, the strongest advantage of this
race, as advancing to Master Sword allows dual-wielding them which is the
strongest choice for the offhand, and Archers, Rangers, and Monks in particular
cannot get there without being Goblins.  The fully-magical classes won't get
an offhand sword even if Goblins, but they still can equip a strong two-handed
sword which is arguably better than a mace or dual daggers.  The bonus HP is
also very helpful to them, while the SP penalty is barely felt.  On the other
hand, melee classes benefit a bit less from this race than in vanilla, as
Knights already have GM Sword (but the HP and stat bonuses are good), while
Monks and Thieves have so little base SP that the penalty is very severe, not
to mention the stat penalties which will decrease it further.  Whether a
dual-sword Monk is worth halving the PC's SP pool is up for you to decide.

Dwarves get +40% to Might and Endurance but -30% to Accuracy and Speed.  They
also get +1 HP per level, but without the SP penalty.  Resistance bonuses are
+5 to Poison and Cold and +1 more every even level.  The racial skill is, of
course, Axe, which is unlocked up to Expert for the classes who don't have it
normally, and can be advanced one rank higher otherwise.  The unlocked skill
makes Dwarves a good choice for the magical classes, just like Goblins.  That
said, axes (one- or two-handed) are probably worse than swords, especially when
limited to Expert, but this is compensated by the lack of Goblins' SP penalties
(both direct and indirect).  The classes who already can use axes benefit less
from this race, as they typically have better right hand weapon choices,
although Dwarven Knights are in fact a good combination, as they have even
higher HP than Goblins, and can dual-wield axes and swords at full power.  The
axe's slow speed, as well as dwarven stat penalties, will be compensated by
Armsmaster, and lower damage (compared to spears) is offset by the halved armor
debuff which benefits the entire party.  Anyway, while not necessarily the best
choice, Dwarves do get the highest HP of any race, which is useful to anyone.

Elves get +40% to Intellect and Accuracy, but -30% to Might and Endurance, and
also 10 Mind resistance at start and +1 more at each level up.  Unlike other
races, they get -1 HP penalty each level, but a +1 SP bonus.  Their racial
skill is predictably Bow.  All if this makes them a very good choice for anyone
you want to make into a spellcaster -- not just the magical classes!  A fully
promoted elven Priest will get 6 instead of 5 SP on level up (20% more), but
an elven Rogue's SP pool will be doubled!  Even more than doubled, considering
the Intellect bonus.  And a Rogue can weather the HP penalty better than
a Priest or a Wizard.  Nevertheless, the unlocked Bow skill is still especially
useful for Clerics, Sorcerers and Druids who ordinarily cannot use bows in this
mod (although the latter two do get throwing knives, and there are always wands
and blasters).  Just be aware that making those three classes Elves will turn
them into glass cannons, which can be frustrating early on.  Overall, Elves can
be any class expect maybe Knights (unless you want to make them into archers).

Finally, Humans are oddballs in that they lack penalties and get less bonuses:
they have +20% to base Luck, no HP or SP adjustment, and 5 Magic resistance +1
per two levels.  They also get the same bonus to Holy resistance, but it's
rarely noticeable as Holy damage only affects undead.  Still, there are only
a few ways to raise a Lich's Holy resistance, and being a Human is one of them.
Anyway, Humans' biggest advantage is that instead of HP or SP, they get 12.5%
more skill points each level, rounded up.  Even in the early game, it's like
a free horseshoe every two level-ups, and this bonus only grows later!
This is useful for any class, of course, but spellcasters will especially
appreciate the extra skill points.  Furthermore, their racial skill is
Learning, which any class can get already, but few can master.  In the long
term, the extra rank in Learning will result in more levels and even more skill
points.  Add in the lack of any penalties, and this race is suited to anyone.

Summing it up, the point I tried to make is that almost any class-race
combination is viable, depending on how you want to play the character, so
don't be afraid to experiment!  Although just making four Humans is also okay.

Now let's look at the classes.  The available skill ranks have changed compared
to vanilla -- most notably, Master rank is now locked beyond the first
promotion, and each Light promotion differs from its Dark counterpart in at
least a few skills.  Some classes also gained unique abilities.

First, here's the new skill advancement table.  (01LD are promotions.)

           Kngt  Thif  Monk  Pala  Arch  Rang  Cler  Drid  Sorc
           01LD  01LD  01LD  01LD  01LD  01LD  01LD  01LD  01LD

Staff      EEEE  ----  EMGG  NNNN  NNNN  NNNN  EEEE  NNNN  EMMG
Sword      EMGG  EMMM  EEEE  EMMM  EEEE  EEEE  ----  ----  ----
\_goblins  EGGG  EMGG  EMMM  EMGG  EMMM  EMMM  NEEE  NEEE  NEEE
Dagger     EEEE  EMGG  NNNN  EEEE  EMMM  EEEE  ----  EMMM  EEME
Axe        EMMM  ----  ----  EEEE  EEEE  EMGG  ----  ----  ----
\_dwarves  EMGG  NEEE  NEEE  EMMM  EMMM  EGGG  NEEE  NEEE  NEEE
Spear      EMGG  ----  EEEE  EEEE  EMGG  EMMM  ----  ----  ----
Bow        EEME  EEEE  NNNN  EEEM  EMGG  EMMM  ----  ----  ----
\_elves    EMGM  EMMM  EEEE  EMMG  EGGG  EMGG  NEEE  NEEE  NEEE
Mace       EMMM  EEEE  ----  EMGG  ----  ----  EMGM  EEEE  ----
Blaster    NNNN  EMGG  NNNN  EEEE  EMGG  EMMM  EEEE  EMMM  EMGG
Shield     EMGG  NNNN  ----  EMGG  ----  EEEE  EMMM  EEEE  ----
Leather    EEEE  EMGG  EMGG  EEEE  EMMM  EMMM  EEEE  EMMM  EEME
Chain      EMMM  EEEE  ----  EEEE  EMGG  EMGM  EEEE  ----  ----
Plate      EMGG  ----  ----  EMMM  ----  ----  NEEE  ----  ----

Fire       ----  -EEM  ----  ----  NEMG  -NEE  ----  EEMG  EMGG
Air        ----  -EME  ----  ----  EMGG  ----  ----  EMMM  EMGG
Water      ----  ----  ----  ----  NEGM  -EMG  ----  EMGM  EMGG
Earth      ----  ----  ----  ----  NEMM  -MGG  ----  EMGG  EMMM
Spirit     ----  ----  -EME  EMGG  ----  ----  EMGG  NEME  ----
Mind       ----  ----  ----  NEMM  ----  -NEE  EMGG  EMMG  ----
Body       ----  ----  -EME  NEMM  ----  -EGM  EMGG  EMGM  ----
Light      ----  ----  ----  --M-  --E-  ----  --G-  ----  --G-
Dark       ----  ----  ----  ---E  ---E  ----  ---G  ---M  ---G

ID Item    ----  EMGG  ----  ----  NNNE  NNNN  ----  EEEM  EMGM
Merchant   EEEE  EMMM  ----  EMGM  EEEE  NNNN  EMGG  EEEE  NNNN
Repair     EMGG  NNNN  ----  EMGG  EEME  NNNN  EMMM  ----  EEEE
Bodybuild. EMGG  EEEE  EMGG  EMMM  EEEE  EEME  NNEN  ----  ----
Meditation ----  ----  ----  EEEE  EEEE  -NNN  EMMG  EMGG  EMMG
Perception EEEE  EMGM  EMMM  NNNN  EMGG  EMGG  EEEE  EEEE  EEEE
Disarm     NNNE  EMGG  NEEM  ----  NEEE  EEEM  ----  ----  ----
Dodging    EEEE  EMMM  EMGG  ----  EEEE  EEEE  ----  NEEE  NNNN
Unarmed    EEEE  EEEE  EMGG  NNNN  NNNN  NNNN  ----  ----  ---N
ID Monster ----  ----  EEEE  ----  ----  EMGG  EEEE  EMGM  EMMM
Armsmaster EMGG  EMMM  EMMM  EEEE  EEEE  EEMM  ----  NNNN  ----
Thievery   ---N  EMGG  NNNE  ---E  ----  EEEM  ----  ----  ----
Alchemy    ----  EMGG  ----  ----  ----  NNNN  EEEE  EMGG  EMMM
Learning   NNNN  EEEE  EMGG  NNNN  EMMM  EEEE  EMMM  EMMM  EMGM
\_humans   EEEE  EMMM  EGGG  EEEE  EMGG  EMMM  EMGG  EMGG  EMGG

Next I'll examine each class in detail, including Light and Dark differences.

Knights haven't changed much, they still rule melee combat with their doubled
Armsmaster bonuses.  However, their GM Shield, which was inferior to an offhand
sword in vanilla, is more competitive now, as together with Master Plate it now
reduces incoming physical damage by 75%, which is a godsend against tough melee
enemies (such as minotaurs or behemoths).  As noted above, stacking aggro on
them makes them excellent tanks, and the sword can be swapped on for the easier
dungeons.  Another notable change is the ability to buy a steed after the first
promotion: each of the seven stables offers an animal for sale (mostly horses)
that will give some kind of bonus (mostly travel-related) to the party.  Second
promotions will also give unique abilities: Champions (LP) grant +2 to weapon
and armor skills for the entire party (and this is cumulative if you have
several of them), while Black Knights (DP) treat every melee weapon as Cursed
(which means equipping an actually Cursed weapon is redundant) and have +10%
to melee crit chance.  Skill-wise, Champions get Master Bow, and Black Knights
have Thievery and Expert Disarm.  This can fill another niche in your party,
but it's all mostly cosmetic.  Overall, Knights are still straightforward.

Thieves are more of an utility class now, as they can get GM ID Item and either
Perception (LP) or Alchemy (DP).  Their magic skills are more focused, as they
only get Fire and Air, but one (Air for LP and Fire for DP) can be advanced to
Master and another to Expert.  Whether they'll have enough SP to cast several
Master-level spells is another question, although Assassins now trade one
HP/level for one SP/2 levels to better utilize Fire's expensive attack spells.
Also, their Dodging is actually relevant now that dodging in armor is a Leather
perk (which they have together with Monks), and GM Dagger makes Thieves the
best at using throwing knives, even if they choose to wield swords in melee.
Also, Thievery can now double melee damage through backstabs, and at GM you
don't even need to stay behind the monster, turning this into a pure melee
damage multiplier.  The only downside is, backstabs do not stack with crits.

Monks are still late bloomers, but potentially very strong in the late game,
as GM Unarmed now gives a chance to instantly kill any enemy.  There's actually
an optional quest to obtain one or two GMs before a second promotion for this
class, which is nice if you don't want to wait for path choice.  Also, staff at
GM level now not only gets both Armsmaster and Unarmed bonuses, but also
Hammerhands damage, which makes endgame Monks hit very hard!  There's even an
artifact staff with good on-hit abilities made specifically for this class.
Their magic is more lenient: although they can't learn Mind, the other two
schools can be advanced to Expert, and Masters (LP) can further get to Master
(no pun intended, probably).  They also trade HP for SP, like Assassins, to
support their high-rank spells.  Ninjas (DP) are still better at thief skills.

Paladins can get the same 75% physical reduction as Knights, which makes them
second best tanks (they only lack HP).  They can also advance Spirit to GM,
which gives them the useful combat revival spell, among other things. Heroes
(LP) can advance Light to Master and Merchant to GM, which makes them decent
Cleric substitutes.  Villians (DP) can get Master Bow and Expert Dark,
both of which increase their combat potential (even Expert Shrapmetal is
deadly!)  They also can learn Expert Thievery for unreliable backstabs.

Archers now get Master Dagger to enhance the spear/dagger dual they're forced
into (unless they're Goblins).  Both second promotions gain two magic GMs:
Air (shared), Water (LP), and/or Fire (DP).  This means Master Archers (LP)
have all the utility spells the Sorcerer was required for in vanilla.  Light
or Dark (depending on path) can be advanced to Expert, which means Snipers (DP)
now have the deadly Shrapmetal.  Add in GM Fire and they're rather strong mages
now.  Also, Snipers can never miss with a bow as a unique class ability.

Rangers suck much less now.  For one, they can attain Master Armsmaster.  Two,
their magical skills are generally better: while Rangers cannot learn Air and
Spirit at all, they can get GM Earth, and, depending on promotion, either (LP)
GM Body and Master Water, or (DP) GM Water and Master Body.  That GM Body
actually makes Ranger Lords very good healers, possibly even removing the need
for a Cleric, and they also get GM Chain for defense.  Bounty Hunters (DP)
lack either, but they do get Master Disarm and Thievery, and with enough skill
bonuses can disarm any chest and have 100% backstab chance.  Also, turning in
a town hall bounty can give them extra skill points as per the class ability.

Clerics haven't changed much, but they notably can now (barely) learn the Plate
skill.  They will never be able to wear plate without recovery penalty, but as
it doesn't affect spellcasting speed, it's manageable.  Priests of Light can
also advance Bodybuilding to Expert and Mace to GM, turning them into miniature
Paladins. Priests of Dark instead get GM Meditation, for SP regeneration.  BTW,
Clerics now cannot use bows at all.  Neither can Druids or Sorcerers, but at
least they got throwing knives, while Clerics can only equip wands or blasters.

Druids can now advance some magic schools to GM.  Arch Druids (LP) get Air,
Water, and Body, which means they alone can replace both Clerics and Sorcerers,
at least with regard to their most useful spells.  Warlocks (DP) are much more
offensive, as they get GM Earth and Mind and even Master Dark -- this is
inspired by the Ruler's Ring relic which is supposedly made for warlocks.
Keeping in mind the familiar bonus, Warlocks are probably second only to fully
promoted Sorcerers in raw spell might.  Both Druid promotions still get GM
Meditation, which now allows them to regenerate SP, and can advance to Expert
in Dodging, should they decide to wear robes instead of leather armor.

Sorcerers are a bit weaker in this mod, as they cannot get GM Earth anymore;
also, their other skills are shifted.  Archmages (LP) can advance Dagger to
Master for a sizeable crit chance boost, and can also get Master Leather for
spell absorption.  Finally, they get GM Learning.  Liches (DP) no longer
regenerate SP naturally, but must learn GM Meditation for that.  Instead,
they can drain life (like a Vampiric weapon) on an unarmed attack.  They're
not good at Unarmed combat, though (limited to Normal), but can get GM Staff
to combine their vampiric touch (plus Hammerhands bonus) with a staff attack.
Although melee attacks aren't the defining characteristic of either promotion,
of course.  Liches also can no longer get to GM in ID Item, and neither
promotion can get GM in ID Monster now.  Liches do still get their immunities.

And that's it.  Remember that you cannot have both Light and Dark versions of
the same class in the same party, but you still can make duplicate classes
unique by choosing different races for them.  Another important tidbit: if you
have both a Cleric and a Sorcerer, you still won't be able to get both Light
and Dark GMs, as the requirement for training is loyalty (formal path choice).
