I have created a Google Document which has the skill lists and skill planners for a party consisting of Explorer, Paladin, Thief, Mage, Bard, and Cleric. This party setup and skill planner was used by me to beat the game in Nov/Dec 2020 on normal difficulty and should be accurate and viable for a first time player. This GoogleDoc also includes all of the information provided in this guide, as that is where I compiled and used it in the first place during my playthrough. Click the following link and save a copy of the document so that you may edit your own copy as you see fit:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1AV9HkrcV0cpT8aNvs7M0s2LIDfH10IAKH22UWlDraoo/copy

Please note that I do not intend to support this guide, so please do not send me errors, changes, requests, or suggestions. Contact information can be found in the GoogleDoc, if you would like to send me a thank you, a kudos, or some other nice thing.

• The primary item to spend your money on is training for more skill points. Upon initially arriving to Velegarn and encounting the trainer, you should train your party 5 times (for 5 skill points for each party member), and plan on spending money for training twice more per level going forward from there. Training twice per level will provide a total of 6 skill points per level, 2 from training and 4 from levelling up, which will correctly pace your acquisition of skills.
  
• Stock up on Shuriken every time the shopkeeper replenishes his stock, as these are extremely powerful consumable weapons. Be a little sparing with them early on, as they initially come in a fairly limited stock, but do not hesitate to use them on difficult enemies, especially enemies that are vulnerable to the powerful bleed effect shuriken can cause.
  
• Don't waste money on minor armor or weapon upgrades. Purchase any "of the Philosopher" or "of the Prophet" (+3/5% XP) item and equip it immediately, and only spend money on substantial weapon upgrades.
  
• Don't collect herbs until you reach level 30 in Knowledge of Herbs. Herb pulls do not respawn, and your Knowledge of Herbs skills gives you more herbs every time you collect them. Once you get to level 30 in Knowledge of Herbs, make some time to go back and collect herbs throughout every area you've visited to this point so that you can turn them into stat boosts.
  
• Don't forget that you can purchase 24 hour blessings from the priestesses in the villages, at a cheap price. A Golot blessing of +5% XP for 24 hours before starting a major dungeon or clearing an area can be very lucrative.
  
• If you find a skillbook for a skill you have, don't hesitate to use it! It saves skill point spending and gets you a higher level of that skill sooner. Make sure to plan accordingly down the road on your skill plan!
  
• Just as a heads up, because it took me about 50 levels to realize it - you can, in fact, see your current skills/levels/etc. by simply opening the character sheet and looking on the right side to click on the different tabs for different types of skills.
  
• Save frequently! Lords of Xulima is intended to be a difficult game, and it provides a quick save/quick load option for a reason!
  
• Torches provide no benefit other than being able to see. Use torches when exploring a new area, if you need, but you can generally preserve them when backtracking to town, portal, etc.
  
• When you begin to encounter the Statues of Yul, you can choose to pray to them (for bonuses) or destroy them (for experience). This choice makes no difference in terms of how the game story unfolds. While that's kind of strange, you can take advantage of it however you like. I personally chose to pray to them for bonuses to HP/PP, but if you'd prefer to destroy them, you're welcome to do so. I didn't find it necessary to do so and still levelled quite easily.
  
• Use the Talisman of Golot to get gold (consumes 20% charge) for as long as the 5 gifts of gold equal at least one skill point (one training session). At least through level 59, when I stopped paying for training, the gift of gold at 5 repetitions (20% charge x 5 uses) will always pay for much more than 1 training session. To my knowledge, it will never become more efficient to use the full 100% charge for a skillpoint, rather than 5 gifts of gold.
  
• When acquiring Energy Spheres for the Talisman of Golot, make sure that you are not above 80% total charge in the Talisman. Each sphere is worth 20% charge, so this ensures that none of the provided charge from the Energy Spheres is wasted, which is ultimately a waste of gold, which is ultimately a waste of skillpoints.
  
• Speaking of saving money, kill the guards at the gates of Velegarn once you're able to safely do so, probably around level 4 or maybe 5. This will save you money in the long run from their "fees" which can be spent on shurikens to help kill more guards!
  
• Don't worry about the Arena when you first get to it - fights there are one on one, which you likely won't be strong enough to do very well, and becoming Champion of the Arena is a lengthy process, taking over 60 battles. Feel free to knock out a couple fights at a time when you're able, but we'll finish it later in the game.
  
• Be sure not to kill Prince Nengorth until after you've cleared the Nabros Roads. Killing Nengorth leads to his men abandoning their cause, depriving you of valuable experience! Clear the Castle to help get beefy enough to take on the groups of guards on the road, then clear the roads, and then go back to face the lone Prince.
  
• On the Nabros Roads, don't hesitate to rest after each combat, if necessary, or to even portal back to Velegarn and use the priestess to heal up quickly (and preserve blessings). Use Flames, Song of Stunning, and Shurikens to powerful effect to help clear these large groups. If necessary, pick up some extra blessings beforehand (+STR, +AGI, +CON) to help your party out.
  
• Try to avoid buying food when possible, but if you are buying food, limit your purchase to 2-3 days at a maximum as this is the more efficient price point of food purchasing. The only exception to this may be filling up 8 days worth before entering Geldra or Pernitia. Early on, a quick jog south of Velegarn and to the Askary Beach will give you a day or two of food. Once you get the Nabros portal opened, make a point to stop by every time you port elsewhere and grab some quick food and you should be able to stay in decent shape.
  
• Once you begin putting points into learning, make sure to spend your level up as soon as you are able (providing you've purchased the commensurate skillpoints from training) so that you can take advantage of a new rank in learning and get even more XP!
  
• When you're able to do so safely, be sure to make a trip to go hand in offerings at the altars for each deity. In exchange for giving the correct offering to a diety, you are given a permanent bonus from that deity, which can very much help in the early/mid-game when you're needing that little extra oomph.
  
• You may notice that you're becoming more encumbered as you accumulate stuff in your inventory, but you won't feel like your party is physically moving any slower. Time actually passes faster if you are more encumbered, which means you chew through your food bar faster, which can make some areas much more difficult. While this is fairly negligible in many areas, you should definitely avoid encumbrance in the deserts of Varaskel & Pernitia or the glacier of Geldra.
  
• Well of Souls #1: Note that items thrown into the Well of Souls in the Temple of Febret provide 10% of the item's gold value as XP for your party, split amongst the party members as normal. Its worth it to have a Blessing of Golot if you haven't already done the deity offering for a permanent blessing, if you intend to stop by and drop off a number of items. This is a good way to use your higher value items rather than getting ripped off at a vendor, though you can use it for low-value items too.
  
• Well of Souls #2: Items thrown into the Well of Souls also provide a 0.5% charge to the Talisman of Golot, though this may be effected by diminishing returns. Make sure to not let this cap out at 100% so that you can get gold from the Talisman, in addition to your XP from those very same items. This effect appears to be unaffected by the item's value, so pitching low-value items can have value in this way, even if it doesn't provide much XP, though it does require patience.

• Well of Souls #3: Note that items thrown in are thrown in one at a time, through a cumbersome menu system, and there is NO CONFIRMATION before you throw in an item. Always save before you start chucking items in the Well of Souls, just in case you throw something in that you didn't really want to.
  
• Well of Souls #4: Keep in mind that you can pick the locks to the mausoleums for a little experience, if you do so before you get the key. You can then find the key later, without actually needing it. From my reading, you might've previously been able to throw these into the Well of Souls for a sizeable XP bonus. You can't do that anymore, but it seems you can sell them to a vendor.
  
• Once you do start cleansing the temples (leave at least one Well of Souls corrupted for you to throw items into), kill a prince, etc. be sure to talk to the trainer, innkeep, and priestess in the town associated with the temple/prince/etc. (not all of them will have one). There's no quest or indication that you need to do so, but these folks will commonly give you additional rewards for having completed these tasks - extra HP/PP, extra skill points, etc.
  
• Upon entering the Pernitia desert, head due west until you see a corpse a few yards south of your position. Once here, Quick Save your game and head a short ways WNW to a big treasure chest. This chest is your earliest opportunity to get to Crostamium or Midrinium gear (and even occasionally, Ulnalium gear) with enchantments on it, which is some very high end and powerful gear. You can save scum opening this chest to get a weapon (or two) that will dramatically increase your party's power, items which you might not replace for the rest of the game.
  
• Before you return to Castle Karraga and defeat Prince Khornil, be sure to go kill the groups of Khornil's soldiers stationed around Xulima. Troops can be found SE of the The Red Pass in Hamaleth, the E end of Nabros Forest, the E side of Sorrentia, and the gate to Castle Karraga (approach from inside the castle), if you haven't already defeated each of them.
  
• When you get to Divonia, be ready for some serious grinding. The three areas in Divonia that need cleared are quite large and have more encounters (which are also commonly large encounters) than any other area that I recall before they would finally dry up. I ended up getting levels 37, 38, 39, and 40 just getting these areas cleared of random encounters.
  
• In the Mausoleum in Divonia, keep in mind that the statue heads that are spitting fireballs at you can be directly clicked on to turn off their troublesome fireballs. Pay attention to the count above their heads, work your way slowly around one side, and then you can start approaching some of them safely from above to get more room to work with.
  
• You may be able to clear the arena before starting in Vilak, especially if your Cleric has maxed out Ray of the Gods. Set Divine Prayer to a hotkey (I use 8) and you can just hold down that hotkey to spam Divine Prayer to refill both HP & PP, and use Ray of the Gods to kill the enemies. Make sure to save between for the occasional demons who are immune to Ray of the Gods. Finishing it will take about 60 battles. If you are having trouble, you can knock it out easily after Vilak, though you'll lose out on some XP. Worst case, do it after the titans and it will be total cake.
  
• When you get to Vilak, don't worry too much about clearing the zones if the grind is getting to you. First of all, there's (5) of those zones, and the number of encounters is very high, which makes for a bit of a lengthy grind, especially coming after having grinded through Devonia, if you completed all of the areas there. As well, some of the areas or the fights can be fairly lengthy or drain your resources pretty quickly, especially in the southern "Hell Lands". You'll get to come back soon and those fights will be considerably easier.
  
• There are 5 enemy zones in Vilak. The eastern "Hot Lands" run from the narrow pass on the ESE coast (178,144) up to the E road to Nagira (134,38). The northern "Burning Lands" continue across the northern coast, ending at the narrow pass S of the W Nagira Road (61,40). The northwestern "Cold Land" continues from there, ending at the the narrow pass on the west coast (27, 111). The western "Warm Land" continues down to the narrow pass on the SW coast (71,187). The southern "Hell Land" continues from there across the south coast, ending back where the eastern lands started (178,144).
  
• Once you buy the boat, you can use different coordinates to get to each of the Isles of Varas Talak. I believe these coordinates are different for each game, so you will have to make sure to collect all of the coordinates from the plaques in the Northern & Southern Ruins of the Ancestors in Divonia.
  
• As mentioned, as best I could gather, the codes end up being different for each playthrough so I don't think these will be useful to anyone, but my directional codes for the Isles of Varas Talak were EEWWN (Taikendil), NWENE (Lionelil), ENNSN (Kurukil), NSWSE (Velionil), EEEEN (Roriondil), NWSWS (Aikuendil), and NNNEW (Nifonte's Lair).
  
• In the Temple of Kersket, you will find a room with 6 switches. From what I can find on the internet, there is nothing to do with this and you should ignore it. I don't know why its there, but you should avoid wasting a ton of time on it.
  
• After you defeat the titans, make sure to use the colored drops with their essences! They're easy to forget about, being combat loot and you're on your way to the next temple, but they are very powerful and will do a lot to boost your stats immensely. This will make finishing off the Vilak grind much more easy, if you haven't completed it, along with the Arena and anything else left outstanding.
  
• You can stop worrying about training for skillups around level 58-60, or maybe sooner if you've planned accordingly. By this point, you should largely have finished off a lot of your primary skills and are likely nearly finished with Fast Reflexes & Immunity. Any characters who still need extra skill points beyond the 4 per level can be supplemented with herbs to give a few extra points in order to make sure you're capping off the skills you want before you reach the end of the game.
  
• Once you stop having to shell out massive cash for training each level, its a good idea to spend your money on either A) stuff to throw in the well for more XP (if you're really worried about trying to get more levels, skills, or stats) or B) equipment with +stats or +resists, along with some nice defense boost. I went with option B, as I could make up the remainder of my skill points off of herbs or fountains.
  
• On my normal playthrough, picking up Philosopher/Prophet gear whenever I could (everyone had about +20-30% in bonus XP, I finished the game having gotten to level 66 pretty easily and was able to cruise through the ending of the game without a whole lot of issue. That was also replacing a lot of my +XP gear after I stopped trained at level 59 to get equipment with +stats or +resists. There are strategies to get past level 70 (don't answer imp questions and fight them instead, buy equipment and throw it into the Well of Souls, farm the vendors diligently to get +XP gear in every slot, etc.) but they're certainly not necessary on normal.
  
• Keep in mind with the stat feeding list that the recommendations provided there are very loose and somewhat situational. Especially once I had level 30 Knowledge of Herbs, I spread the love around a little bit amongst characters that could really use the stats, fixed up some errors that had arisen with skill point expenditures (the guide I started from frequently underreported skill costs) and some other things. Manage it as you see fit!

Rat Cave (quest)
Velegarn Beach (quest)
Sporia Forest (quest)
-----> (Weave thru Sporia Meadow to reach Sorrentia)
Sorrentia & Golden Forest
Nabros Forest (to Lv6)
-----> (Avoid roads)
Tower of Melancholy
Mausoleum in Velegarn
Nabros Forest (finish)
-----> (Avoid roads, clear forested area to portal)
Nabros Castle
-----> (Do not kill Prince)
Nabros Roads
-----> (Kill Prince after clearing roads)
Temple of Febret
-----> (Avoid Guardian of the Garden)
-----> (Do not cleanse Well of Souls)
Sporia Meadow
Ogre (quest)
Valley of Rocks (quest)
Mausoleum in Sorrentia
Hadiros & Green Forest
Yoranwa's Lair (quest)
Roads of Cunavarn
-----> (Get Portal & Shop in Cunavarn Village)
Forest of Odendros (quest)
Plateau of Karraga (quest)
-----> (Ignore pair of Adult Yotum in NW corner)
Mausoleum in Cunavarn
Forest of Ulrog
Mausoleum in Karraga
-----> (Need 28 STR to open Tombs in Mausoleum)
Village of Nagira (quest)
-----> (Do NOT enter Castle Nagira area!)
Arwinzel's Lair
Tower of Resilience
Karraga Castle (semi-clear)
-----> (Kill easier mobs, do not kill Prince Khornil)
Red Pass & Ulnalum Guardian
The Old Gorge/Old Runaway
-----> (Get Portal & Shop in Varaskel Village)
Pernitia (quest)
Hall of Heroes
Tower of Time (quest)
Varaskel's Desert (quest)
Mausoleum in Varaskel
Western Hamaleth
-----> (no random encounters)
Roads of Rasmura
-----> (Get Portal & Shop in Rasmura Village)
Muddy Lake
Garden of Hamaleth
Adult Yotum in NW Karraga
Karraga Castle (full clear)
Temple of Alnaet
Emerald Lake
Geldra
-----> (Grab the Crystal Owl from behind the Yotum)
Mausoleum in Rasmura
Venomous Lake
Wendofel's Lair
Roads of Devonia
-----> (Get Portal)
Mausoleum in Devonia
Southern Ancient Ruins
Northern Ancient Ruins
-----> (Ignore demons in NW corner)
Path of the Beasts
Thief Leader's Lair
Castle of Devonia
Tower of Rage
Temple of Raznet
Northern/Eastern Vilak
Vilowia's Lair
Cliffs of Nagira
Ovengel's Castle
Southern/Western Vilak
Arraz'Gul's Lair
Arena in Sorrentia
Temple of Golot
Isles of Varas Talak
-----> (Visit all 6 Isles + Nefonte's Lair)
Temple of Nalaet
Xilionte (WNW edge of Geldra)
Temple of Taliet
Kronante (S edge of Pernitia Desert)
Temple of Kersket
Veliorante (Center of Vilak)
Temple of Febret
-----> (Clear Well & Guardian)
Temple of Valvet

Treasure: Amberian Diamond: Big statue in Sorrentia, solve the Whispering Rocks puzzle
Return to: Shrine of Kersket: Varaskel (22, 25)
Reward: Constitution +5

Treasure: Book of Life: After beating Yoranwa, come back to Caleb.
Return to: Shrine of Alnaet: Sorrentia (103, 115)
Reward: Power Points +10

Treasure: Golden Seed: Oldest Odendro tree in Rasmura (Muddy Lake)
Return to: Shrine of Febret: Velegarn (146, 53)
Reward: All Resists +15

Treasure: Horn of Xabraluz: Xabraluz Demon in Vilak
Return to: Shrine of Valvet: Vilak (122, 161)
Reward: Strength +5

Treasure: Blessed Water: Fountain puzzle in Templet of Nalaet
Return to: Shrine of Nalaet: Nabros (136, 174)
Reward: Agility +5

Treasure: Glass Owl: corpse behind Yotums at Mt. Kurong in Geldra
Return to: Shrine of Taliet: Karraga (76, 82)
Reward: Speed +5

Treasure: Egg of the Golden Wyvern: Golden Wyvern nest on Velionil
Return to: Shrine of Raznet: Rasmura (30, 118)
Reward: Defense/Evasion +5

Treasure: Builder's Scepter: beating the Arena
Return to: Shrine of Golot: Hadiros (143, 19)
Reward: Experience +5%

Who is the Lord of Light? Alnaet
Who is laughing in the mountains? Kersket
Who rules the Twilight Numbria? Yul
Who dwells between the fire and the ash? Valvet
Who built the Towers of Wizardry? Golot
Who dances among whispering winds and storms? Taliet
Who sees the trees as children to be loved and protected? Febret
Who dances on water without sinking? Nalaet
Who dominates the spirit of the beasts? Raznet

This guide would not have been possible without KholdStare88's guide at GameFAQs: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/pc/826283-lords-of-xulima/faqs/71877

This guide has some inaccuracies (maybe the game has been patched and changed since this guide?) and parts are incomplete, but this was the biggest start to me putting this together, initially for myself and then deciding to make it available as a resource for others. Big ups to KholdStare for the initial work that I was able to take further. If that guide did not exist, I wouldn't have bothered getting past Velegarn in the first place.