I completed it too!! I started ToB a few days ago and so far so good. The story seems quite strong and one of the new characters (don't know if there are more) is particularly strong and fun to play with.

So I am up to the final battle(s) of ToB. Am a few big battles away from finishing this epic. I hope I will have a chance to do a bit tonight but I doubt it as I have to go out. Maybe Saturday morning...

So far have thoroughly enjoyed the entire BG series. I can see why so many love the series. I never played it when it was released but am very grateful I have had a chance to play it since.

Nice to see an update on this. I'd forgotten about this thread. I'm currently running through BG2 with a party of 4 of my own characters, Jaheira and Nalia (at the moment). I'll switch out Nalia for others for their quests and am considering bumping Jaheira as well and replacing her with a Skald of my own. But so far I'm just into the early stages of the game, so I'll have to see how things shake out.

I never actually really started ToB. Played it 2-3 hours but the story feels dumb.

I mean from the beginning of BG1 to the end of BG2 you're continuously reminded that you are special since you're a descendant of Bhaal. But all of a sudden there's a shitload of them and it seems to be a common small talk topic for villagers. WTF?

Don't forget the ending of BG1 where you see all the statues that represent the dozens of offspring of the Lord of Murder. At that point you should have realized that, even though you're special with regards to normal joes, you're only one of many when it comes to being the child of a god.

This is one of the most powerful combos in the game. Especially for BG2.
For most of BG1 you are going to be 1 level behind a single class character. If you have the ASF mod (you are allowed to wear armor, but incur ASF like in PnP) then wear armor until level 5 or 7 when your mage powers start to shine. Otherwise stick to a reach weapon and let someone else tank...

in BG2 you really shine, most high level buffs a mage can cast are SELF ONLY. as such a fighter/mage is:
1. The greatest tank in the game
2. The greatest melee damage dealer in the game.
3. The most effective class for wielding staff of the magi, one of the only two weapons which dispels on strike (staff of magi can only be wielded by mages and their multiclass) which dispels each enemy it strikes. The only other weapon that does that is a holy avenger called carsomyr which only a paladin can wield. Of course an epic rogue can wield both with their "wield any item" ability.
There are a few other awesome weapons, you should look them up OR save edit your character's proficiency choices as you come across them.
4. The ability to strip an enemy mage of his defenses with a spell before finishing him off. (true sight, breach, dispel, stoneskin, immunity to magic weapons, and immunity to abjuration are some of the most awesome things ever) is extremely useful. You are eligible for 1v1 mage battles which you are going to absolutely dominate (breach/dispel followed by melee them to death).

Seeing as you are now in BG2, get a robe of archmage or better yet, robe of vecna! They are the most funny and interesting of the bunch. In BG1 the companions are all completely silent anyways. In BG2 they have 1 or 2 banters unless they are one of the 3 romances, which are just plain awful...
That being said, if you like playing good expect all the evil characters to LEAVE you once your reputation hits 19 or 20 (out of 20).
So just toss them now and go get the good guys already.

Unless you pick up Vicky, in which case your reputation will never go above 18.

What? Vicky gives a one time -2 to rep, you can make it go over 18 again and she leaves at 19 or 20 IIRC. Which is mind boggigly stupid and out of character for her.

I finished playing BG 2 now (and expansion). It was my first playthrough so I don't know if my guy was super powerful, he didn't really feellike it, but I think that was more because of the way I played (I didnt really re-buff when things got dispelled), I dual classed swords and think my hp was a bit low... I never really got the hang of buffs and protective spells and dispelling and stuff. Had a hell of a time playing the game though, didn't wipe too many times (if you don't include the final battles in the expansion). I can see why the game has so much love.

I'm taking a break from the DnD games now and plan to spend some time with Fallout 1 and 2 :)

Ack. Apologies. I believe you're right. Of course, one can just boot her out and take her back and I believe the penalty would be re-applied. But good point.