dtgreene: For reasons I mentioned in another post (most notably, the real-time-with-pause combat), I've already concluded this game isn't for me.
With that said, I'd still like to know what the level cap is, and what level you would realistically reach by the end of the game. Does anyone know?
TomNuke: Hi dtgreene,
The cap is level 20.
As for what level you would realistically reach by the end of the game, well, that's harder to answer.
You see, there's a thing called "multi-class" in this game, and you can multi-class up to two other classes (so three (3) in total), and with each additional class it means that you will have experience spread between them all.
Obviously, that means slower level progression. If you've even just taken one additional class to "multi-class" with, then you'll find that your Companions will start to outlevel you.
So, there's multiclassing that works like AD&D 1e/2e multiclassing? Interesting, as I have actually not seen any CRPG not based on AD&D use that sort of mechanic.
(On the other hand, there's plenty of games that have something like AD&D dual-classing, except there's typically no penalty to using abilities from your previous class, and many (especially older) games don't actually keep track of the level at which you changed; I'm thinking games like Wizardry and Bard's Tale here, or Stranger of Sword City (Revisited) for a more modern example.)