With the Cartographer, Navigator, and Merchant skills squared away and close to 100K gold in the kitty, it's time for some shopping. The top-notch gear is at Atlantium's blacksmith shop. I haven't figured out if the "Today's Specials" menu is fully randomized or what so some of these might not be 100% available:

Knight: Plate Armor +1, Helm +4, Great Shield +1, Broad Sword +2 (base dmg 10), Great Bow +2

Paladin: same as Knight

Archer: Chain Mail +2, no helm or shield, Flamberge +2 (base dmg 16), Great Bow +2

Cleric: Splint Mail +1, Helm +4, Great Shield +1, Flail +n, no missile weapons

Robber: Chain Mail +2, no helm, Great Shield +1, Broad Sword +2, Crossbow +n, Thief's Pick +5

Sorcerers: Padded Armor +3, no helm or shield, Staff +n, Blowpipe +n

Sometimes in dungeons, the game will expose only the slot 1 character to melee attacks. Also, the Juggler monster can rearrange the party, putting tanks out of melee - so it's handy for even the front-rank tanks to have missile weapons packed.

Atlantium's blacksmith also has Defense Ring +2 in the miscellaneous items menu. Your Sorcerer, Robber and Archer can benefit from these, I wouldn't load the whole party with them though. The missing pieces (blowpipe and staff for your Sorcerer and crossbow for your Robber) can be supplied back at Middlegate and +1 versions on the blacksmith's "special specials" day.

By the time you complete Nordon and Nordonna's quests (retrieve the golden goblet from kobolds, and rescue hirelings Hyron and Drog) in the caverns under Middlegate, you should be L4-5ish. With top-notch gear and optimal level-up stat advancements from training in Atlantium, you should be ready to take on the monsters you'll meet mapping outdoors. If you want to farm for gear upgrades, the Orcs and Mutant Swine in nearby mountains have good loot, and are very susceptible to your sorcerer's Sleep spells.