It is my first time with Baldurs Gate, but I am gamer since 90s and finished other fantasy crpg DnD games like Temple Of Elemental Evil (DnD3.5), Planescape Torment (DnD2), Newerwinter Nights 2 (DnD 3.5? do not remember), Dungeons and Dragons Online (more tpp action like, but still DnD 3.5 rules), and a lot of other fantasy and crpg games.
Somehow I was skipping Baldurs Gate for a long time, and now it has beging with original saga (not enhanced, because I wanted to play first original release).
I very like this game, I am in Act 2 now, and I have some questions to gamers who are more familiar with this game than me.
Sorry for my english.

Inventory problem.
Why the hell when you go to inventory during combat with pause, the game unpauses?
You are not able to do anything in your inventory because unpaused combat wants you to care about party, and if you decide to stay in inventory then of course you do not even see whole unpaused combat, so what is the purpose of this "combat will unpause when you are in inventory"?
Lets say, I am in combat and I am doing a pause, and I want to bring my memory back about scrolls in my inventory to read what each one was doing because maybe some will be useful in my current combat situation, or maybe I want to read again about my some special items?
Lets say, I am in combat and I am doing a pause, and I want to switch my weapons to different ones for more than 1 party member, because quick weapon feature is not useful in every combination?

Quick weapon problem.
Cool, I can put few weapons to switch them quickly during combat, yay!
Ok, I prefer to invest in more defensive style, so my first and main quick set is one handed long sword with large shield.
Now, would be good to have a bow as second quick set, that would help on some tactical occasion (lets do some hits to more dangerous targets from the distance before they reach me).
Well, the problem is that I can not put a bow to my second quick slot, because I have a shield.
What the hell?
So yes, I will not be able to put two handed sword in second slot too.
I understand that two handed weapons can not be used with a shield, but in such case shield should be ignored and thats all.
In other words, you can only use one handed quick weapons only or two handed quick weapons only.
Ok, so if you want to switch between one handed weapon with shield and a bow during combat, then you must go to inventory, put off shield, and then put a bow, while combat unpauses because you are in inventory.
It is even better if you want to do it with more than 1 party member, so it takes you more time while combat unpauses because you are in inventory, and even do not see what is happening on the screen.
Somebody tell me, what should I do if I want to switch between one handed weapon with shield and a bow during combat?
Maybe there is something that I am missing?
The shield should be just ignored when switch to two handed weapon.
Why is it not working that way and why inventory unpauses combat?

Item durability.
I found that weapons can be broken.
What type of items can be broken?
Only used weapons, or armors, shields, helmets, and other wearing too?
What makes used item broken?
Is it just random and there is always 1 percent chance that when I use my sword to hit something, then it will break?
Or it depends on time of using?
Or maybe it depends on many times it was used, and if yes, then how can I know current state of it?
Currently I started to have second copy of main weapon per each member, and also one copy of heavy armor, medium armor, light armor, shield and helmet for the whole party.

Dual class.
Ok, I have a member that is fighter and druid of level 1.
I leveled up, and got 1 level for both classes?
The game shows now level 2 for both, fighter and druid class.
I do not understand how it works, because as far as I remember (but I might be wrong) from 3.5 rules (yes, here we have 2nd rules), when you level up with dual class, then you choose which class is leveling now.
So what, this memeber gets benefits from both classes per level?
I guess not, because this way it is more profitable to do anyone dual class than single class.
The game did not gave me any choice, if I want to level up as fighter or druid.
I just leveled both at the same time.

Ranger?
I like rangers and now I can have one since act 2, yay!
The ranger who is proficient with 3 types of weapon, and no, there is no place for bow?
There is no dual wielding too?
The main weapon is large sword?
Second weapon can be axe?
What the hell?
This is really a ranger, or more a fighter?
I was hoping to have someone who will focus on best bows, and alternatively use dual wielding, where both are typical for rangers, but I got more fighter like member.

If you want to hate, troll, or show yourself as RPG god, please, do not reply.
Thank you.

You'd better play the BG1 EE, for example:
- open the inventory doesn't stop the pause.
- weapon switching is improved including to support the case you mention.
- for Ranger concerns, again play the EE.

I don't know who advised you play the original version but that was a very bad advice. Now with a lot of hassle you could install multiple mods to get many features but not all of the EE.

Weapon break is linked to the main story, closely related to iron crisis and iron stuff that break. There's no durability it's story stuff and weapons with some magic will never break.

D&D rules used didn't offered much choices, it's how it was designed.

Dual class isn't what you wrote, it seems your character is a multi class. The xp get is shared between the multiple classes. Perhaps you can check this:
http://baldursgate.wikia.com/wiki/Classes

Closer to bottom there's sections about multi class and dual class.

Iron weapons (and weapons only) will break. There's an iron crisis if you didn't notice. Armor will never break. Magical weapons will never break. In the Enhanced Editions weapons will stop breaking once the iron crisis is resolved.

There is no convinient way of switching between two handed weapons and sword and shield style weapons, nor is there any dual wielding in Baldur's Gate 1. The Enhanced Edition fixes all of this.

Multi classes share experience. A fighter/mage that gets 1000 experience will get 500 experience towards fighter progression and 500 towards mage progression. Dual classing permamently gives up progression in one class. So you can have someone with 1 level of fighter and 9 levels of mage. While multiclass you're forced to 5 levels of fighter and 5 levels of mage.

Rangers should be able to use bows though NPCs might not start with proficiency in it. You'll need to wait for a level up or two.

The game will unpause during inventory. You can supposedly bypass that by starting a multiplayer game by yourself, but that's a bit late now. This is also fixed in the Enhanced Edition.

If you're really set on playing the original, use Tutu;

http://usoutpost31.com/easytutu/

You'll need a copy of the original BG2 though, possibly with ToB installed as well. If you've not already got a copy of the sequel, just buy the enhanced editions instead.

If you want to enjoy this game, you should take into consideration that it was made in 1998, before any of the games you mentioned.

Why the hell when you go to inventory during combat with pause, the game unpauses? You are not able to do anything in your inventory because unpaused combat wants you to care about party, and if you decide to stay in inventory then of course you do not even see whole unpaused combat, so what is the purpose of this "combat will unpause when you are in inventory"? - It's not only during combat, there's no pause inside inventory in general. Have you played Fallout 1 and 2? In these games checking your inventory costs you action points during combat. It's made to limit the powergaming and add a bit of realism. Time doesn't stop when you're putting stuff inside your backpack *especially* during combat. It makes changing your gear during combat a risk that you have to consider.

Lets say, I am in combat and I am doing a pause, and I want to bring my memory back about scrolls in my inventory to read what each one was doing because maybe some will be useful in my current combat situation, or maybe I want to read again about my some special items? - it's not very wise to do so during combat. Like in real life, you don't read while someone swings a sword at you, do you? There are many quiet moments in the game, why not read then? e.g. while sitting in a tavern? You can read spell descriptions in your spellbook and priest scroll when paused, though.

Lets say, I am in combat and I am doing a pause, and I want to switch my weapons to different ones for more than 1 party member, because quick weapon feature is not useful in every combination? - That's the risk I mentioned earlier, you have to be quick about it. It makes you more engaged in a combat, isn't it?

Well, the problem is that I can not put a bow to my second quick slot, because I have a shield. What the hell? - Bows and ranged weapons in general are really powerful in this game, so that's a bit of a disadvantage. Yes, weapon sets are more comfortable, you simply should get used to not having them. Have your archers use two-handed weapons for example and defensive guys/girls use slings or other one-handed ranged weapons and so on. You can still do one-handed weapon + bow, but again there's a risk when you're switching inside your inventory.

What type of items can be broken? - non-magiacal iron melee weapons only, so all except clubs and staves (for some reason morning star has never broken in my playthroughs so far as well).

Only used weapons, or armors, shields, helmets, and other wearing too? - Only melee weapons. Though, there are unused icons for broken shields, armors and misc objects in game files.

What makes used item broken? - The contaminated iron that you've been hearing rumors about. You'll find more about it while you progress through the game.

Is it just random and there is always 1 percent chance that when I use my sword to hit something, then it will break? - As far as I know it's purely random. Tha game makes a roll each time you swing your weapon.

Or it depends on time of using? - I didn't have a situation where a newly bought/found weapon broke, but maybe it's just luck.

Or maybe it depends on many times it was used, and if yes, then how can I know current state of it? - Not possible unfortunately. Weapons breaking isn't very often in my experience, it adds something unique in my opinion. (e.g. my party is in a middle of a forest and my fighter breaks his sword. I have to quickly give him some sort of a alternative until I can buy/find something he's good at.)

Currently I started to have second copy of main weapon per each member, and also one copy of heavy armor, medium armor, light armor, shield and helmet for the whole party. - Magical weapons don't break at all, so you don't need to worry even for +1 weapons.

Dual class. - If you know AD&D 2nd ed. you know the difference between dual class and multi class. Dual class can be only a human. Simple version of how it works: You stop progressing your first class and choose to develop in a second one from level 1 (cannot have more than 2 classes). Multi class can be all races but human. Simple version: you advance in 2 or 3 classes at once, dividing gained experience by the number of classes.

Ok, I have a member that is fighter and druid of level 1. - I'm guessing it's Jaheira, she's a multi class Fighter/Druid.

I leveled up, and got 1 level for both classes? The game shows now level 2 for both, fighter and druid class. I do not understand how it works, because as far as I remember (but I might be wrong) from 3.5 rules (yes, here we have 2nd rules), when you level up with dual class, then you choose which class is leveling now. - Yes, you can advance in both classes at once, check her experience points. She gets her exp. divided by 2 and given to each class. It's a bit confusing at first, you simply need to separate dual class from multi class - these are two different types.

So what, this memeber gets benefits from both classes per level? - Yes, she benefits from both classes e.g. gaining hit points as a fighter and druid (but divided by 2). With each level she gets better both as a fighter and druid.

I guess not, because this way it is more profitable to do anyone dual class than single class. - It's not without downsides, though. Your experience is divided (you level up slower than single class), fighter/x mutli class options can't get more than 2 proficiency points in a weapon type. You are limited to certain weapons (cleric/druid multiclass options) and can't cast arcane spells while wearing an armor (mage/x multi class options) and so on.

The game did not gave me any choice, if I want to level up as fighter or druid. - No, because multi class characters make the choice at the start. Certain human NPCs can be dual classed though (but don't do it, if you don't have experience in it - you lose first class abilities until the second class has one more level e.g. Imoen can be dual classed into a mage. If she's level 4 thief, she won't gain her thief abilities back until she's level 5 mage).

I just leveled both at the same time. - In case of Jahiera and other multi classed characters, yes.

The ranger who is proficient with 3 types of weapon, and no, there is no place for bow? - The archer archetype of a ranger was introduced in 3rd ed. D&D, the previous editions rangers were more of the Aragorn archetype.

There is no dual wielding too? - No dual wielding in Baldur's Gate, Planescape: Torment and Icewind Dale. Baldur's Gate II introduced dual wielding to infinity engine games. Though there's a NPC that you can meet that uses dual wielding (at least it looks like that and no, he won't join you).

The main weapon is large sword? Second weapon can be axe? What the hell? This is really a ranger, or more a fighter? - You probably have Minsc in mind. He differs a lot from a typical archer ranger. As I mentioned earlier, think more of Aragorn type, rather than Robin Hood.

I was hoping to have someone who will focus on best bows, and alternatively use dual wielding, where both are typical for rangers, but I got more fighter like member. - There's a ranger that will probably fit much more to your description. You'll find him west from Beregost (High Hedge location), he doesn't use dual wielding, though (as anyone in this game).

Several points can be addressed with mods, but I strongly advise against it in your first playthrough. Experience the game as it was made and then play around with mods, EEs, or whatever you enjoy. Nothing wrong with playing the original nowadays as well. I'll gladly answer more questions about the game, if something is confusing. Hope you'll enjoy your playthrough and good luck.

I really like authentic playthroughs. Just Baldur's Gate 1, widescreen mod and widescreen ui fix and nothing else.

But if he's already complaining about that feeling antiquated before he's even gotten to how the quick spell slots work (so annoying)... He should probably go straight for the Enhanced Edition.

Was about to add some information I hadn't seen anyone else mentioned, but that might come off as me trying to pose as an RPG god. So nevermind.

Thank you all for your useful replies.
Now everything what I asked is clear to me.

I play original version, because I wanted to see original, as it was very popular as one of the best crpg (some will say the best) in computer game history before enhanced edition somewhere in 2010+.
Yes, game is from 1998, the first infinity engine game as far as I know, so the game idea was fresh, base for further games and required first practical verification, and I do not blame it for this (just wondered).
Like I said, I play games since 90s, so very old outdated game is not a big problem for me, I still enjoy it like it would be in 90s.
I really do not care about low resolutions and big pixels.
Personally I more prefer classic 2D hand drawn isometric graphics than modern 3D style in fantasy games.
The reason is that 2D hand drawn works better with my imagination, where 3D graphics (we are talking about isometric or tpp, not fpp) brings me more just computer game feeling.
Also graphic style in 2D isometric (Temple Of Elemental Evil, Planescape Torment, Baldurs Gate) are still looking less repetitive, more detailed (not meaning high resolution here - take a look at ground, it is not conspicuous texture loop, and no filters) and foto realistic (again, I do not mean resolution here, but style) than plastic (including doll like whole heads) or coloful (latest productions from ubisoft or blizzard - toxic green grass, blue metal armors, and similar things) 3D games.
Ok, that was too much off topic.

As about inventory and quick weapons.
You are right, but I am still about it that reading information should not cost you action.
Doing changes like changing weapon and moving item to other slot should cost you action.
I am more familiar with 3.5 rules, items and spells, than version 2, so it is more hard for me to remember all of this for the first time.
It is even more hard, because spells are described with a lot of sentences instead of essential table like information that can be found in items.
I do not say it is bad.
It is just harder to remember or find out by fast look without reading it all.
Quick weapon slots are still better than nothing.

Changes in enhanced edition sounds cool, and solve things that I mentioned.
I am still interested in seeing content made by original creators first.

I am not sure now, because I had about a year or 2 pause from DnD games, but Armor Class in 2nd rules are working different?
I think that the higher armor class in 3.5, the better it was, where in 2nd the better is the lower.
Also there were feats and a lot of skills in 3.5, where in 2nd I found only percents for rogue type skills.
Anyway, for the first look, it looks like 3.5 offers more level up choices and advanced rules, but I am just new with 2nd rules, so I might be wrong.
I only played and finished Planescape Torment with 2nd rules before, and the only things that I could set were percents for rogue and sometimes 1 statistic point.
Most of level ups ended with just clicking accept button, and no choices at all.

In Temple Of Elemental Evil (yes, it is from 2003), I very liked 100 percent pure turn based combat (instead of less controlled tactical pause, even if you set to pause anything in settings), detailed leveling with access to many feats and skills from 3.5 rules, and possibility to create whole own party at the beginning - I am just saying what was cool there, not saying it was a better game (even if I personally like it very much - but do not tell it to baldurs gate maniacs, they would kill me for liking such a bad game).
Baldurs Gate seems to have noticable characters that show their personalties.

My definition of ranger was always close to robin hood or forest guardian or just hunter.
I also found rangers to be best class with dual wielding in 3.5 rules.
Thats why I was surprised by figher like ranger, when compared it to other games.
I wonder what is the important difference that they did not made this NPC just fighter?

Yes, I noticed that bows and missile weapons are good enough when compared to close combat weapons.
In many games they offer great chance to hit, but also very low damage.
In Baldurs Gate, simple short bow with basic arrows gives 1d6 damage and speed factor 5-6 (I do not remember now).
If you want them better, then you can mix better bow and better arrows, where both are adding bonus to damage.
In comparison, basic long sword has 1d8 with similar speed factor, and two handed sword has 1d10 with probably twice higher speed factor (slower).
In practical combat, ranged weapons seems to be not much weaker with their damage, and close combat can still miss the target and be ready for being hurt.

I also noticed that prices for items in Baldurs Gate are not comparable to what we get.
For example, what makes scimitar as high priced when compared to other sword with similar statistics (I do not remember which one now, probably short sword or dagger)?
For example, why Sling +1 costs 150, when short bow +1 costs few times more?
I do not know how prices were calculated, but one item price is completely not fair other item prices.

Maybe I was not clear in what I mean, but I saw many RPG forums where RPG gamers were attacking each other in even simple topics.
Each one claiming huge knowledge, experience, time playing or intelligence.
Each one saying directly that you or others are stupid, just because your preferences or opinion is different, or just because you are new.
This is a type of person that I call RPG god, and there are a lot such users on forums, so I wanted to prevent such activities.

All replies that I currently received are not this type, are very useful, and are exactly what I was hoping to read.
Tuthrick has different point of view than me about some things in Baldurs Gate, and he still was able telling about it without any offense, and this is cool.

It should be clear what I meant with these RPG gods now.
If you have some more information than what was mentioned, then share it.

One more thing.
Even if I complain about some things in the game, these are small things when compared to whole great game, and I very like this title even in classic version.

Actually, 2e does have a skill system: It's called "non-weapon proficiencies", however no cRPG actually implemented this mechanic. (The original 2e Psionics system, which is based off the non-weapon proficiency system, is implemented (minus critical success-failure) in the Dark Sun games.) You might find it worth looking at the gold box SSI games (I believe sold here as Forgotten Realms Collection 2). The games are tactical turn based and you create your party of up to 6 characters at the beginning.

Of course, these games are not without their flaws; Leveling is even simpler than in the Infinity Engine games (no weapon proficiencies, though at least magic-users get to choose a new spell on level up instead of relying solely on scrolls), demihumans are basically useless later in the series, and there's that sexist cap on female strength (there's a reason that rule was dropped when 2e came out).

Also, I would recommend looking into Wizardry 8.

In a general sense, I've found the game specific sub forums on GOG to be pretty friendly until someone makes an ass of themself. I don't think I've ever seen a preemptive call for "Take the trolling elsewhere" function successfully, and depending on how it is phrased, it may convince otherwise helpful people to either shun the topic or start trolling. There are many fewer character building choices in 2nd ed, compared to 3rd ed. In part, 2nd has different numbers that do better when going up (damage), while others should go down (AC, THAC0). In 3rd ed, higher = better.

In 2nd ed:
-There are no feats like in 3rd ed, everything is already included in the character class. All rogues have access to all the rogue skills (though they may differ in how they spend their points in strengthening those skills), fighters differ by what weapons they spend their proficiency points on, mages may differ by school specialization and spells they actually find, etc.

-A ranger is basically a slightly refocused fighter. Ranger gives up some weapon proficiency and alignment variability for a few thief elements (stealth) and druid elements (low level spells). So yeah, a ranger is pretty close to a fighter. It does have some different abilities, and the flavor of the class differs from fighter flavor. Minsc could probably have easily been a simple fighter, but a ranger is a fighter with a nature/wild lands bent, and Minsc has that as part of his character. Also, in case you missed it, Minsc likes swords and butt kicking for goodness; he's very much a hands-on kind of guy when talking about evil. If you want a ranger that specializes in a bow, then spend his weapon proficiency points on using Bows. A fighter, not having to train in stealth or nature spells, can become a better bow user by spending more proficiency points on it than a Ranger is allowed to spend.

-I think a number of aspects of 2nd ed (which these cRPGs were based on) were designed to try and make them reflect real life, not with the idea of trying to make different choices balanced. A scimitar is harder to make, so it is more expensive. A shortbow has better damage than a sling, and it is definitely harder to make a functional shortbow than a functional sling. -I imagine the 'unpause in inventory' is to help simulate that time passes while you look through your pack. You can change weapons or even armor in mid combat, but enemies won't stand and watch while you do so. You can grab a different potion out of your pack, but the quick weapon and quick item slots are there to show your preparations. You might have been keeping healing potions, antidotes, and maybe a strength potion ready for usage, not expecting to need your fire protection potion while you are in a spider lair. Fighters, being more experienced with weapons, can have more weapons ready to pull out at a moment's notice. If you want to switch your bow for a sword + shield, be quick; otherwise just use a 2handed weapon for melee.

I wish they'd have used weapon configurations too, but it may be as much a technical limitation as anything else. "One per slot" is much easier to implement and debug, compared to "Multiple things in one slot, make sure only the right things can be placed together, and fix that bug where a human is using 12 weapons at the same time he isn't a marilith for heaven's sake".

-Someone already mentioned that non-magical weapons can break for story reasons. And only metal weapons will break, not clubs or quarterstaves.

-Someone already mentioned Dual Class versus Multiclass. Only Humans can dual class: they stop advancing in one class and start advancing in a new class (assuming they have the stat requirements to select the new class; check the manual or internet for details on dual class stat restrictions). They keep their max HP, but they are now restricted to only using the abilities of the new class (thief dualed to mage can't wear leather armor or thief skills, but keeps the same max HP). They will regain full use of their old classes abilities AFTER the new class is at least one level higher than the old class. Restrictions on both classes abilities will still apply, however.

Ex: If you start as a thief, get to level 6, and then dual class to mage, you'll be able to cast mage spells but not use thief abilities. Once you become a level 7 mage (one higher than the level 6 thief), you'll again be able to use your thief skills, wear thief armors, backstab, etc in addition to having all your mage abilities (spell casting). While you'll be able to wear thief armors, you won't be able to cast mage spells while wearing the non-mage armor (a mage class restriction). If you went Fighter instead of Mage, then you'd be able to wear heavy armor, but you couldn't stealth while wearing full plate even after you get your thief abilities back (a thief class restriction).

Only non-humans can multi-class. They pick 2 (or 3) different classes (different races have different available combos), and work on advancing all of those classes at the same time. Any experience the character earns is split evenly among all of his/her classes. Here's the thing I didn't see mentioned earlier, and that you might not realize. Each class of the multi-class character levels up separately. A Thief/Mage multiclass that gets 1000xp will have 500xp go to the Thief side, and 500 go to the Mage side. The thief "half" of the character will level up according to the Thief experience table, while the Mage half will level up according to the Mage experience table. The two classes do not automatically level up at the same time. When the Thief/Mage has earned a total of 5000 exp, the 2500 Thief half will turn level 3 while the 2500 Mage half finally hits level 2.

In comparison, the single class Thief with 5000 xp just hit level 4, the single class Mage just hit level 3, and the single class Fighter has been level 3 for awhile.

The multiclass character will have all abilities of each of his classes, except he only gains part of the hp per class level up (ex. he doesn't gain the full thief hp per thief level AND the full mage hp per mage level). He'll get roughly half of the normal per level allotment if he has two classes, and 1/3 of the normal if he has 3 classes. However, he'll be getting hp from the level ups of both classes, so it roughly evens out in the end. A fighter/mage will generally have less hp than a fighter (because of his mage levels) and more hp than a mage (because of his fighter levels).

Then why does he start Baldur's Gate 2 with specialization in maces?

(Of note, one good strategy early in BG2 (which is broken by the EE 2.0 patch because of the change to the Enchanted Weapon spell) is to cast Enchanted Weapon to create 2 Maces +3, then have Minsc dual wield them; very effective before you start finding the good weapons.)

Because he's a ranger, so he is only allowed to specialize in 2 handed swords. Guess which one he specialized in first.

His line is "Now Minsc leads. Swords for everyone!" not "Now Minsc leads. Maces for everyone!"

But, if that is the case, why didn't he then put points into 2 handed combat style? As he is set up at the start of BG2, with 2 stars in each of Maces and 2 weapon style, he is better at dual wielding maces than he is at using a sword with 2 hands, not to mention that Enchanted Weapon ensures that you can easily get him 2 magical maces. (You only need one copy of the spell memorized; the duration is long enough for you to rest twice without the spell wearing off.)

The 2 stars in 2 weapon combat is a Ranger class feature; Minsc did not select them specifically. The 2 stars in mace instead of 2 handed weapons is likely because Minsc is Int 8, Wis 6. To use a phrase I've heard elsewhere: "Strong like ox. Smart like tractor."

The Enchanted Weapon spell didn't exist before EE, and so is completely irrelevant for why his starting proficiencies were originally selected.

Edit: Did a little searching, and I stand corrected. Looks like it does exist, but I say it still doesn't matter. Spending two level 4 spells per day to equip a character doesn't seem like a good use of resources to me, especially when it (likely) means you can't change world map areas without having to recast. Additionally, it requires a mage that can cast Enchantment spells to be along for the ride.