> Is there any special race that casts spells and another race that's good for attacking / speed etc? If so could someone give me a tip on what's the best party to have? Thanks.

Everything that's special about the races is stated on the character creation page. All races can cast spells, though since some races (particularly Rock Elves, Wind Elves, and Gwuils) have higher IQ and Wisdom than others, they'll be better at spellcasting initially, until other races have gained the IQ and Wisdom to catch up. (If you don't know why, check Effects of Attributes in Help.)

Similarly, the races with higher Strength and Dexterity (and possibly Vision) are better at attacking and speed initially.

What's important in determining whether you *can* cast spells is your character's class; only Wizards and Sorcerers and Druids (and characters who've formerly been Wizards or Sorcerers or Druids) can cast spells. And Knights and Assassins (and sometimes Rogues) are better at attacking than the other classes.

The best party ideally contains all four of the basic classes, repeating the most useful ones. Eventually, as you advance enough to change classes, the best party also has Assassins plus some retrained characters who were originally spellcasters. Race is pretty much only important in the beginning and after a class change (when stats get reverted to their original values), so although it helps a little to try to pick the best race for the job, you don't have to do so if it gives you a headache.

Lucky "For what it's worth, all 17 of my characters (I'm playing a one-character game right now) were created with a view toward selecting the best race for the job." Wizard