Welcome to the GOG boards, Azarh. Love the PS:T avatar.
Don't get too hung up on who and what you play; you can always replay as someone else later for a different gaming experience.
The specialization mentioned is an endgame opportunity at a mage's university of sorts; don't stress over it. On a related note, skills like Dodge and Persuasion have additional features you can unlock by purchasing apprenticeship, expertise and (eventually) mastery in each skill. (The gnome with the ring, for example, is actually the Master haggler.)
You can play the game with low strength, though I agree that 2 might be pushing it. As weird as it sounds, bows and thrown weapons are not strength-sensitive, providing you have the MSR (minimum strength required) to use them in the first place. But the beauty of this game is in role-playing: it might be interesting to see how a virtual cripple handles the challenges of a hostile and uncaring world.
The big downside to a -6 strength penalty is that your maximum strength will also be 20-6, or 14. This holds true for any stat, which is why half-ogres usually make for bad technologists, for instance.
To get back to your OP, Persuasion is tied to Charisma; Haggle and spell ranks are tied to WIllpower; attack speed and most skills are tied to Dexterity. A high Constitution allows you to recover from throwing spells (and being poisoned) faster, but this can be overcome with a hefty supply of fatigue slowers and restorers, and the Halt Poison spell.
As already mentioned, Intelligence increases the number of maintained spells you can have, and also unlocks some dialogue options; 12 is probably enough. Beauty is far from necessary, since it only affects initial reactions and purchase prices. Perception is critical for gunners, and pretty much a dump stat for everyone else. Last but not least, Strength affects carrying capacity and melee weapon damage; not critical either if you're a persuasive mage.
Spells I recommend early on are Minor Healing, Shield of Protection and Harm. I'd also have a backup: two points in Melee (requires 9 DX) and the MSR to wield at least a dagger (3, IIRC). The more spells you learn, the more powerful these get, especially Harm, which eventually becomes overpowered to the point of being unbalancingly unfair.
20 Charisma, plus at least Persuasion expertise, gives you the maximum number of followers; as a bonus, 20 CH ensures that even followers who hate each other (or who object to your alignment or actions) will never quit on you. There's also a free follower (meaning he doesn't eat up a follower slot): the worthless mutt being kicked to death in the town of Ashbury. The first time you enter that city, look for him in the residential area behind the docks; if you wait too long, he gets kicked to death and won't be available anymore. (Though it's possible you could still resurrect him; I forget whether this works.)
You will eventually want Teleportation, and perhaps the trap-detecting Sense Hidden (Divination college). Purity of Water and Strength of Earth provide a +4 boost to beauty and strength; each can be stacked if you have the IN to cast them more than once. Finding twenty useful spells won't be an issue, so don't feel obligated to lock yourself into an MA-boosting background. (And if you're playing a human with elven blood, consider the half-elf instead: all of the benefits, none of the downside.)
Post edited June 07, 2013 by TwoHandedSword
