What resolution(s) do you prefer to play Arcanum in? I tried my monitors native resolution of 1920 by 1080 and it seems to make everything a bit too small for me...or maybe I just need to get use to it.
I have played Arcanum a lot in the past but I never got around to finishing the game. I remember when the game first came out I tried playing a firearms type char. but had a lot of trouble, then years later I tried a pure melee char. and it was MUCH easier.
Now, even more years later I want to actually finish the game this time, and I would like to use a firearms/tech based char. What starting stats, birth-sign, and level up point distribution strategy should I use to make sure I don't cripple myself this time?

I thought I wanted to play in my monitor's max of 1680 x 1050, but, like you said, everything was really small, and since the character is controlled via mouse and not gamepad or keyboard, like a JRPG type character, it makes clicking on NPCs to talk to them really difficult, especially when they move about on their own. So I decided to keep the game's original max of 800 x 600. When playing SPECIAL-based RPGs, I play solo-ish with usually just one other party member, usually the one strapped to me at the beginning of the main campaign, or whenever the story or a side-quest dictates. Mostly it's a robotic or half-mutant (Fallout, obviously) or in the case of Arcanum, a half-ogre, half-orc, or even dwarf, since they're stronger than they look, and I need a certain dwarf in my party to gain access to certain areas and quests anyway.
My combat style is usually "Fight now, heal afterwards. Unless it's a boss fight.", so armour, and the Agility (or DEX, in other games) stat is important to me for soaking up damage and dodging it entirely, respectively. Since, unlike JRPGs, finding secret areas and unique items actually requires skill, or at least a Prima Guide, I'm grateful for the abundance of stat-enhancing equipment and potions. And the Path of the Ultimate Blessing or whatnot, which basically tops off all your stats once completed, though it's difficult to complete.