heavy2777: I can imagine if you havent played D&D, that you will have a hard time in Baldur's gate?
I think almost any RPG has some learning curve where you have to learn the system it uses, I don't think "D&D" is any worse in that sense. If you e.g. play Final Fantasy 7 or 8, you have to learn how their magic, materia etc. etc. system works (and frankly even after that it didn't make much sense to me... :)). Or Fallout 1-2, you have to learn what different skills do, what perks are good and which less useful etc.
So I wouldn't worry about it, just start playing Baldur's Gate, you'll get the hang of it. You can read some FAQ from e.g. www.gamefaqs.com to speed up creating your character, ie. what skills are important for which kind of character. Also read up on AC and THACO, those were two things that were a bit unfamiliar to me at first in Baldur's Gate/D&D, but after I read what they are supposed to represent, it made more sense. Like for AC, it is important to understand that unlike with many other values, there a lower AC is better (if I recall correctly :)).
http://baldursgate.wikia.com/wiki/Armor_Class http://baldursgate.wikia.com/wiki/THAC0 So for instance for Armor Class (AC), you don't need to learn how it is calculated in combat etc. (the game does that for you of course), but just to understand what it represents (=how hard it is to hit you), that a lower AC is better, and what improves it (e.g. better armor and shields, some spells, and a better Dexterity). That's it.
Baldur's Gate 1-2 are a good place to start because there you have to create only one character, and your other party members will be people you meet on your journey and they offer to join your party. If you create a character in Baldur's Gate, you can then continue with it in BG2, so you don't have to create it again.
A game like Icewind Dale may be a bit harder to start because there you have to create each party member at the start (maybe there are pre-made characters as well, but you probably want to make your own ones to get the skills and such just right for each member). Then again that is also part of the charm in Icewind Dale, you get to create exactly the kind of party you want, it just takes some time and learning to make a good party.
For combat in Baldur's Gate (and Icewind Dale etc.), I suggest that you:
1. turn off party AI (so that it is you who controls every party member in combat, not so that they decide to cast some fireball at your back)
2. enable more autopause options, at least so that it pauses automatically if
- an enemy is detected (because then you want to make your party ready for combat, start casting spells etc.)
- a trap is detected (because then you want to tell your thief to disarm it before anyone steps on it)
- a party member dies (because then you probably want to reload a save game anyway :))
- a party member gets critically injured (because then you want someone to heal them)
- an enemy dies (because then you want a party member to target another enemy so that he is not just standing there doing nothing in combat because his target disappeared)
- your party member's weapon becomes unusable (e.g. a bow runs out of arrows, in which case you maybe want them to use a melee weapon instead, or start throwing knives or cast spells, or whatever)
I think those cover all the important points where you'd want the game/combat to pause anyway. You don't need to e.g. autopause at the end of each combat round, if nothing important is happening during that round (like some of those things above). You can keep combat running until it pauses for those important things.
For other party games, I recall Betrayal at Krondor was quite easy to understand (for magic, party controls etc.), but I didn't like its lack of quest log. You pretty much have to write to a piece of paper any quests so that you remember to solve them.
