Hi, I've been playing Spidweb games for at least a decade and recently got back into them. I'm trying to play through all 6 Avernum games in order hoping that I finish 2 around the release of Avernum: The Ruined World. With that pretense, I've hit a ginormous brick wall in difficulty in A: EftP. I'm still at the beginning of the game having cleared Silvar, Cotra, Duvno, and Formello I started cleaning dungeons having no trouble in the Bandit Fort, Bat Cave, or the Goblin Tunnels. I was even able to pretty easily clear the back of the Bat Cave but I think that's been made MUCH easier than it was in Avernum. Feeling extremely confident I go to the Underground Nepharim Fort and with a little bit of trouble clear most of the area. The two side rooms that contain shamans and the Chief have been essentially unbeatable though. After dozens attempts I was able to clear one of the side rooms with lucky Dazes and surgical executions of the shaman. Without dozens of attempts to get the luck to line up I can't finish this place though, and it's driving me crazy. The goblin tunnels were a laughing walk through the park previous to this so I don't understand what I'm doing wrong. Iirc this is the next dungeon I ought to do and the Nephilim Fortress a little to the north is second.
For building my characters I have a melee, an archer (which I know aren't optimal but I wanted one), a priest, and a mage. All were made with custom template. Half their points are going to their main attack skill and half to Cave, Arcane, Tool, First Aid. Their attributes are all being poured into their main stat. I think my front-line warrior has a sprinkle of endurance too. My guess is I'm focusing too hard on the auxiliary skills and that's gimping me but that still seems super unlikely. I'm playing on Normal and it shouldn't be this hard. The original Avernum definitely wasn't at this point even as a small kid and not building in a remotely logical way.
So I'm looking for advice about what I'm doing wrong and how I can progress into the game. This remake is pretty fantastic and I'm enjoying how much more fleshed out the world is without making me feel robbed of the original's world.