Hitman: Codename 47 is the first in the series, right? Great moment to try the series – count me in :)

Please, note, Dear Goglodytes, that some interesting titles from the list above are currently on sale in incredibly low prices. You can take Daikatana, Deus Ex, Summoner, Nox or Thief II for a dollar each. Do not miss the great opportunity :)

A lot of that are additions from the EE, races like half-orc and kits like kensai weren't in the original Icewind Dale, so I can only comment to a limited extent.
However, I think taking a kensai is risky, you're bound to take a lot of damage (unless you consistently manage to get other characters get attacked and divert attention from the kensai), not sure imo the half-orc's hp will be enough to compensate. imo Icewind Dale is a game where you should have at least two, better three dedicated tanks.
imo you also definitely need a character with thief skills (which seems to be lacking in your party so far), because there are quite a few traps in the dungeons.
Re sorcerer: With sorcerors you choose new spells every level, whereas with wizard you have to find scrolls and learn and memorize spells. Sorceror has fewer spells over all, but can cast them more often per day. Can be very powerful, but only if you pick the right spells.

hehehehe

And let me bring some music hits from 2000 – youtube.

00:01 - In Da Club " 50 Cent
03:12 - Beautiful Girls " Sean Kingston
06:54 - Without Me " Eminem
11:33 - Dilema " Nelly ft. Kelly Rowland
15:49 - Umbrella " Rihanna ft. JAY-Z
20:13 - Numb " Linkin Park
23:14 - Pump It " The Black Eyed Peas
26:47 - Smack That " Akon ft. Eminem
30:15 - Where Is The Love " The Black Eyed Peas
34:42 - Clint Eastwood " Gorillaz
40:09 - It's My Love " Bon Jovi
43:51 - Hips Don't Lie " Shakira ft. Wyclef Jean
47:27 - Yellow " Coldplay
51:50 - Poker Face " Lady Gaga
55:46 - Halo " Beyoncé
59:53 - Californication " Red Hot Chili Peppers
01:05:06 - You Belong With Me " Taylor Swift
01:08:47 - Boulevard Of Broken Dreams " Green Day
01:13:05 - Right Now " Akon
01:17:01 - Lie To Me " Andra
01:23:31 - Barcelona " Andra, Dony & Matteo

Some nice hits here, but let's be honest – the golden era of 90s seems to be over! :D

bluethief, i've decided. if you could write me up for Shogun : Total War.

** steps into the weird buzzing machine to be transported to the :

SENGOKU JIDAI period

** during the travel, the machinery offers several options for integrating this personality into several key figures of that specific time. With an every increasing feeling of urgency We decide quickly to take on, over, the Daiymo of the :

Shimazu clan


"TENNO HEIKA BANZAI!!!!"

Oh, boy... We need this game here, on GOG...

Shenmue came out that year.

How did people play IWD when it was released without knowing all those things? >.> Maybe those choices don't matter that much?
And while you're at your shopping cart, perhaps buy something for future editions of Time Travel. ;)

Yes, you are absolutely right! Maybe you could somehow play some cards with the Polish contingent that inhabits CA ? I mean i belief the studio responsible for their SAGA games is situated in Poland

The standard party setup in D&D games is pretty much always the same: two tanks, one thief (for lockpicking and disarming traps), one healer (cleric or druid), one mage. That covers all the necessary bases.
And the original version of Icewind Dale was fairly simple, enhanced edition seems to have added a lot of extra classes and class kits.

Maybe plenty knew D&D.
I didn't play the first IWD, but the second, and know that I really messed up my first party then, tried to balance stats for all, had them dual wield from the start, barely got past the initial fights, then when I went out of the starting area and it was goblins plus orcs I was toast, realized I won't be able to continue that way, restarted with a very min-maxed party. Dwarf Fighter, Half-Orc Barbarian, Half-Elf Ranger, Halfling Rogue, Aasimar Cleric, Tiefling Wizard. Charisma at minimum except for Rogue, I think Intelligence was also dropped for at least Fighter and Barbarian...
A quick check shows much simpler roster in IWD1, and some of the things you mentioned don't exist, so it was definitely easier to choose for those who played the original. Fighter, Cleric, Mage, Ranger, Thief would be obvious, and maybe add a Paladin as 6th.

Icewind Dale 2 is a lot more complex imo, uses a different edition of the ruleset (3.5?), min-maxing is harder, and you've got lots of abilities. Great, if you like character-building, but can be overwhelming when compared to the first Icewind Dale's simpler system.

IWD2 was first D&D game I played (it's possible I tried ToEE first, but whether it was right before or right after, doesn't count since I dropped it like hot coals as soon as my cleric got a non-temporary stat reduction effect in the very first fight, couldn't afford to cure at the time and didn't want a game that made me need to look for cures like that anyway). Then tried IWD1 and dropped it right away when I saw just 16 inventory slots vs. IWD2's 24, and I was struggling to make do with those in 2, so said no way I'm bothering. Then the second D&D game I actually played was NWN, so again 3.5E. So for me 3.5E is what I know, older versions (since I played PS:T and a part of BG1, until actually reaching Baldur's Gate) are sorely lacking by comparison.

2000 was another good year for PC gaming (for me that means CRPGs, FPS games and Turn Based Strategy).

I went through my 2000 play list recently, replaying old favourites and playing for the first time some of the classics.

Nox was a fun ARPG, but not nearly as replayable as Diablo 2.

Might and Magic VIII: Day of the Destroyer was a fun game, but not quite in the same league as MM6 and 7.

Heroes of Might and Magic III: The Shadow of Death was better than the campaigns in the base game, and far superior to Heroes Chronicles, but I'd still rather play good user-made maps, of which there were many in 2000.

Thief II: The Metal Age A game I love and hate. The Bank and Life of the Party was probably the two best Thief missions ever, but there's too much filler. T2 was the first game that gave me motion sickness when I originally played it. When I tried to replay it, I was turned off by too loud ambient sounds that sounded more like moody music than natural ambient sounds.

Soldier of Fortune Solid, fun, ultra violent FPS that was fun to replay until I got to the final missions, with bullshit enemies sniping from the fog which they could see thru, but I couldn't.

Daikatana I skipped it back in the days, but I gave it a try recently. Didn't get far and I wrote on my play list "Pass. Half an hour of cut scenes and then some hidden machine gun or something".

I found Shogun: Total War in a thrift shop, but it turned out one of the CDs were missing. Grrrr...

Deus Ex. An intense experience first time I played it, but somewhat marred by AI wonkiness. Replayed it with the GMDX mod and it was sublime.

Icewind Dale is easily my most replayed party based CRPG. This time I finally completed Trials of the Luremaster as well, with a Sword&Sorcery power trio of Fafhrd (Ranger), Gray Mouser (Fighter/Thief) and Cappen Varra (Bard). Great fun.

Diablo 2 My most replayed CRPG ever, since I completed it with all seven classes on Hell difficulty. No grinding or farming; only a shared stash. I was surprised by how much I still enjoyed this game. The only somewhat boring class was The Necro; too much micro-management.

Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn A great game until the Underdark when things just gets too silly, at least without mods. This time I played with the SCS and Ascension mods in addition to a mod that introduces "true AD&D demons". Very challenging, but Throne of Bhaal had its unfair share of bullshit and I actually had to give up the final fight.

Wizards & Warriors Very interesting CRPG from the creator of Wizardry 5-7, but I really hated the combat system.

Evil Islands: Curse of the Lost Soul I loved this rather obscure Russian CRPG. Very hard, a novel character advancement system, great crafting system, good exploration.

The Operative: No One Lives Forever Nearly as fun replaying it as it was the first time. I "warmed up" by watching all the old spy movies from the 1960s that inspired it. Let's say the game game is much more fun than most of the movies that inspired it.

Most of the Heroes Chronicles were released this year as well. They are so easy that it's almost offensive, and the writing is fan faction level and far too verbose. I completed seven of the eight campaigns without using tactical combat and always choosing the worst skill (like Eagle Eye instead of Logistics). Only Revolt of the Beastmasters (from 2001) proved too hard playing this way.

So to conclude 2000 was a great year.

I never played Deus Ex, nor the sequel Invisible War. I gotta do something about it :). However, I did play Human Revolution and Mankind Divided and loved both. I played them by being stealth.

As for Rune, it's also not discounted on Steam during its sale. The original dev, Human Head Studios, is no more. Now they're under Bethesda/Microsoft, so this game might be kind of forgotten/abandoned. I played Star Trek Voyager: Elite force a long time ago, and remember enjoying it. Nowadays I have no memory of how the story is, how the game feels, etc. I'm happy that it became available again and have it on my wishlist to get it someday. Hopefully I get to enjoy it again.