Maybe I am just a munchkinized min-maxer (but, hell, that is the POINT of AD&D ) but taking dual wield away from rangers was utter BS, even if know it was probably just because of programming limitations. I cannot remember if this was true the first time I played BG all the way through (a year or two before my wotmania days,) but for whatever reason my double specced fighters did not get an extra half attack at 7th level (i.e. they still got 3/2 instead of 2/1.)

Personally, I did not find the replay TOO horrible once I one the first minor boss fight in Nashkel, but the first couple of fights with a first level character are basically crap shoots, and the fact the first one is against a mage makes it worse because the first thing he does is cast Mirror Image. He is only 3rd level, IIRC, but with a 20 THAC0 and d10 HP (or less if you are not a fighter) you really cannot afford to have the game ignore your first few hits. It might even be EASIER for a mage because you can throw Magic Missile at his Mirror Image and then you just have to get a couple good stabs in before he tags you for your pitiful d4 HP. Baldurs Gate itself is a actually a pretty fun part of the game, but there is a period before that in the Cloakwood that can get very frustrating. I do not want to spoil it, but it still pisses me off the way they make the thing you need the prize for finishing off the place where you need it. After that the thing seems like a white elephant to me (but at least you can get good money for it. ) Be on the lookout for hidden objects though, because there are at least two I know of (I only recently learned of one of them, but the other one is VERY nice) that can only be found by hovering the cursor over a particular pixel so you see the "pick up" icon.