Best (end-game) melee race is Vampire. You can't beat 1/6th of all damage done returned as health. One of the best spells is Sanctify. It says it heals everyone in the area, but it only heals you. Drop a few of those under you, and you have a MUCH better chance of surviving than depending on Shield. Get resists up before you go deep. Main resists needed are Ice and Fire. As you go deeper, the beholder things will throw electricity around, so get that up when you can. Put points into stamina and willpower! They're (in the beginning) more important than str/int!
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