Dual Classing....???

Hey, I have always Played the BG games with "tradintional" pure-classes, but now I am gettin interested in Dualing, except i dont know enough bout it. Anyone willing to answer a few questions? If so you have my gratitude...

(1)When you dual class, are you restricted to the weapons/armour of your new class?
(2)Say of i want to dual to a cleric with my ranger, do i have to have only blunt proficiencies? Does this apply to other classes? (sorry bout this question)
(3)Is there any other important or basic info I am missing out on?

Thanks in advance I hope you can help me.

About the first question, YES you have the same restrictions of a multiclass character, so take a look at them (multiclass mages cant cast spells while wearing armor, thief multis cant use their skill while wearing more than studded leather, cleric multis are restricted to their weapons...)
About the second, I think the profs you have before dualing dont forbid you to do it, but if youre planning to dual, better think the profs before making the character.
About the third, Ill recommend you to check the xp cap and the xp limits to reach levels so that you can reach a high level in the class you want. For example, in IWD i made a fighter and in the proper point i dualed to mage so my character was as good as a single mage but with more HP, better weapons, shield and a helm . I think this is the most powerful class in the game, if properly prepared.

I am pretty sure that if you dual to a cleric then you can only use blunt weapons, as the rules say that the same restrictions apply to dual-class as multi-class. When dualing it is often worth checking at what levels you gain new skills/abilities eg at level 8 rangers gain priest spells. Also many increases occur at regular increments eg every 3 levels. Thus for a kensai/mage, level 9 is best for switching because of the kit benefits and you can then reach the highest level mage as well. For a ranger switch between 8-11, depending on your preference for fighting or spell-casting.

[Tobbin]

Don't forget that you are limited more in dualing a human than you are in running a multi-class character. For example, if you have a fighter/thief as a multi-class character, they can use just about any kind of armor. If you start off as a fighter and then dual class to a thief, you are going to be limited to just using thief armor (even after you surpass the fighter level.) If you go in reverse though. Thief to fighter, you will be able to use any kind of armor, but will not be able to use thief abilities unless you remove inappropriate armor. Cleric/fighter combos are the same as well. You would want to do the cleric, then the fighter if you want to max out capabilities. If you don't care about weapons, you could go fighter then cleric to max out spells. You just have to decide what you want to do. Basically, what is affected here are weapons and armor. Try to go the least restrictive route last if you want more options. (IE. choose the fighter class as the dual class.) It all comes down to roleplaying though, you may prefer to go the opposite for whatever reason. Just remember that which way you go will affect certain options is all.