Posted October 23, 2011
I'll recommend a read-through of the manual, and also the Arcanum subforum here on GOG.
One thing in particular to pay attention to is the "adversarial" or juxtaposed relationship between mechanical and magical elements, since this has long term effects on your character and party of NPCs, and sometimes immediate effects during gameplay depending on what you're trying to do at the time. This isn't to say there is a right or wrong way about it, but it's helpful to understand this part of the game world early on since it'll help you avoid some of those "Why in the world isn't this working?" moments.
One thing in particular to pay attention to is the "adversarial" or juxtaposed relationship between mechanical and magical elements, since this has long term effects on your character and party of NPCs, and sometimes immediate effects during gameplay depending on what you're trying to do at the time. This isn't to say there is a right or wrong way about it, but it's helpful to understand this part of the game world early on since it'll help you avoid some of those "Why in the world isn't this working?" moments.