Well, I'm completely stuck trying to kill the prime sentinel and pretty disappointed with the game in general. I understand the need to use the unstable sentinels to beat the prime, but I can't survive long enough with my group. While having a huge set of attributes and skills to develop for each character is great fun, its also a liability of this game.
It appears that I have mis-spent my experience points trying to build what I thought would be effective characters. However, I now have an ineffective group that can't dispel barriers, can't read books that I assume are expected to be read by the time you get to Tranquility, can't unlock doors greater than 10, can't cast lightening and other inabilities.
If the game requires specific character development/management then the developers should describe that path to successful character development. From the start the player has to know what is required later on and follow a schedule to be successful.
If the game is supposed to be a RPG where players decide how to develop their characters, then a method of training to correct for inadequacies has to be made available. A training for money system is okay, if you can continue to gather money. However, in Avernum 5 once you do all the defined quests you have no other way to get money. Even a basic economic system of trade could allow for some ways to generate cash.
So at this point I give up. I'm not interested in replaying the game to follow the required character development to move to the next chapter. I just wish I had not invested some much time or money in a wasted adventure.
JoeDaddy