CFrederick: I also recommend the patch that increases level cap to 127 (just google it). This is because if you do all the quests you will hit level 50 pretty early (I hit it when I visited the elf city) and because there are so many differnet skills that are fun to try. (I was level 60 by the end and the last few battles were still a challenge).
I rather enjoy the challenge of picking skills on a limited budget, although I might be interested in doing that with another character to become master of everything (although I'm not sure that I need to - it may be possible to use a properly-generated character with some potions, the right items, and well-timed use of the various blessings to do so in 50 levels - this character isn't crafted for it but I think I can get pretty close already).
My character hardly fights at all, as I'm sitting on a bunch of skill points and have pretty much only advanced thief skills for maximum exploring fun. I find that schematics + manuals give me all the tech I need (either better than or nearly as good as the best I could do with crafting . . . since I have allies up to level 4 [auto pick, Pyro Axes, Charged Rings, heal and fatigue restorers]), saving a LOT of points by not buying any tech skill. I just gear up my party and let them fight, although I suspect it might eventually get challenging. You're right about fast leveling though - I've started trying to advance the story and get fun toys with a minimum XP gain until I can pick up all the allies I want for my final party before I pass their level (losing max levels for them) . . . again, a fun challenge though.
Still, a question: is there a functional or stability difference between the level cap remover and the "up to 127" patches? Terra Arcanum has both but little info. Actually only the former specifically has a note saying it works with Drog's UAP . . .