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Anyone any ideas on a good starter build to try out? I was told Sampire was really good, but read a guide saying it's really difficult as a new player.
If you like fighting monsters (there is lots more to do in this game) either a paladin or a mage are good starting choices. A paladin uses warrior magic, Chivalry, to heal/cure/rez as well as increase damage and accuracy.
Paladin: <weapon>, Tactics, Chivalry, Focus
This base leaves room for 2 or 3 more skills, such as Bushido and Parry, Music and Discord, etc.
If you go the Bushido/Parry route, you will also be a Samurai, able to parry blows without a using a shield. You also gain a number of melee abilities which will give you quite a few options in battle. A Samurai can forego Chivalry and Focus, choosing the non-mana, non-interruptable Healing and Anatomy instead. The Healing skill offers healing/poison cure/resurrection. In addition to improving Healing, Anatomy also raises your weapon damage. The only mana you will need is the relatively small amounts used by Bushido moves and eventually the special moves every weapon gains at 70 and 90 skill level. Also, <weapon> + Parry + Bushido skill levels add together in a manner which reduces the mana cost of special moves. When the total is greater or equal to 200, they are 5 mana cheaper. >= 300, they are 10 mana cheaper. In summary, but reducing mana needs to a minimum, your character can have low intelligence and higher dexterity (speed) and strength (damage and hit points).
Mage: Magery, Evaluate Intelligence, Meditation, inscription, Resist Magic
This base leaves room for 1 or 2 more skills. Also, neither Inscription nor Resist Magic are vital, but both are useful on the battlefield. Inscription because it further buffs spell damage over what Eval Int is doing, and Resist to lessen the effects of curses and being poisoned. Inscription is also a craft skill which lets you make scrolls and, eventually, high-end spellbooks.
An additional skill to buff your defense against non-magical attacks is Anatomy. The combo of Eval+Anatomy work together to provide the defense offered by Wrestling. And 120 Eval + 100 Anatomy provides the same protection as 120 Wrestling. You could forego Inscription and add another magic type, Mysticism and its buff skill Focus. Spellweaving is also nice, but not the best choice for new players.
Note that skills tend to come in sets, the main skill and a buff skill. There are exceptions, but most major skills have an important side skill. Players can build up to 100 in any skill. Later on, power scrolls might become available, allowing many skills to go up to 120. So you might see the generalized abbreviations "7x" (7 times grandmaster (100)) or "6x" (6 times legendary (120)). Some skills are quite useful below 100 level, so there is a huge variety of useful and fun templates.