[Epona]

I wouldn't play with real-time combat, turn it to fast turn-based and you have a bit of time to think about what you're doing!

I think it's best to go for either magic or tech - trying to balance between the two means that none of your skills or spells will be that good, and your magic/tech points being somewhere in the middle of the range will mean higher chance of failure at both spells and skills. Be aware that whichever you choose to specialise in will affect quests and which NPCs will be willing to join you.

I have to say that Arcanum is one of the best games I could recommend - it takes a little while to get used to, but it is so large and although there are plenty of quests and a bit of fetch and carry, you don't feel as if you are being led by the nose along a fixed story line towards the end of the game.

Spend some time wandering around all the locations (some of which are huge), talk to everyone you meet - all the usual RPG advice!

And enjoy [img]smile.gif[/img]

(Isn't the music superb? This game has one of my favourite soundtracks ever).