Hey guys, I'm going to reward myself on Tuesday after my exam and am going to play a new RPG.
Thus far, I've got inspiration from this thread:
http://www.gog.com/en/mix/some_of_the_best_rpgs_of_your_past

From that list, I have played Arcanum, which is a fantastic game.
I also played IWD II, but didn't really like it. Played a bit of BG, didn't like it.
Played a bit of PS:T, but it didn't really captivate me.
The problem is: I hate that engine and I hate D&D rules, both kill the game for me.
The biggest upset was PS:T, that game is so amazing but I'm incapable of playing under that engine.
I played a bit of NWN a long time ago, but the D&D also killed it for me

So the list boils down to Might & Magic and ToEE.

From what I've heard, ToEE is very combat heavy, and it's also D&D? I'm interested in minimal combat.
Might & Magic looks good. Does it play like Daggerfall? I only played the HoMM series, but not the M&M games. The user reviews suggest that it's great and #7 is the one I'm most inclined to play right now. Would it be a good pick?

Also, feel free to list anything that is not within that list. I love Fallout 1 & 2 and VtM:B. I would especially appreciate stuff has minimal focus on combat. I've also played KOTOR 1&2, which were great. I played a bit of Mass Effect, but it's not really my thing. I briefly tried the Witcher but got bored because it felt like I was simply running around the entire time (also, I played the original version, before the massive change patch, so the combat was horrible too). I've also played all the Gothics and Risen, which I loved. I also tried Wasteland, but since it was a bit before my era, I couldn't handle the graphics. Oh and I played Morrowind extensively. Hated Oblivion, and Oblivion with Guns, as well as Oblivion: New Vegas.

So yeah /rant. Please let me know if anything springs to mind.

Stay away from ToEE if you don't like D&D and prefer minimal combat. From what I've seen of it, I'd say it's basically a turn-based D&D combat simulator, exemplified through a huge dungeon crawl - and it's good at that but doesn't have much to offer beside it. If you can't even bear with BG and PS:T, I doubt you will have any fun with ToEE.

Have you given any thought to Arx Fatalis and Divine Divinity? Both are quite heavy on combat (most CRPGs are, after all) but the first has great atmosphere and a FP perspective that's closer to Gothic and Morrowind than the isometric Infinity Engine RPGs (it's comparatively short and linear though). The second has a large and open game world with lots of quests, like Arcanum (although the combat is more akin to Diablo).

Thanks for those recommendations!
I'm really looking for something that has a great story and good/decent character development. I'll look into Arx Fatalis and Divine Divinity.
What about M&M7 though?

Don't know about the others, but I think you might find story and character development to be a little too basic on Arx Fatalis.

Still, from what you said you do want, I'd still recommend giving Planescape another chance later. It's got the engine and the D&D, but the rest is spot on, so if you can get used to them just enough, you might find what you're looking for.

I can't say for sure how combat centered it is (can someone cover this up for me?), but I heard Betrayal at Krondor is also very good as far as story and characters go.

There'a a little RPG you might have heard of called Final Fantasy 7.

I know that it isn't on GOG as of yet but I would recommend you try Deus Ex. Great game, great story, great options. It does have some challenging combat areas but throughout the game you can decide on alternate ways to get to your objective. For example you might be able to stealth your way through some areas or you can have a hand at non-lethal combat. I would say give it a try, if you haven't already.

if you have a console you could try Enslaved on easy.. the story is amazing and the combat is very easy... of mass effect if you play it right you barely have to try it becomes all about the story and you can pretty much ignore combat... and there are ways to play it where you'll never have to really do combat... Red Dead Redemption has a super ultra easy mode that makes combat pointless and you can focus on the game and story another amazing RPG imo...

Two Worlds is a Oblivion style game and it has some decent story... again combat can be minimised with the right config... assasins creed, just practice the counter and you can breeze though all 3 games with a song and dance...

Sacred is like Divine Divinity but more diablo than even DD... Risen is a spectacular game my GOTY (minus ending), go full on firemage and your a walking death machine... And I've heard really good things about Gothic 4 which is my next purchase ^_^

just for the sake of it, Titans Quest, casue its long as all hell, very fun and extremely easy if your used to diablo style games..

and i know you hate D&D but Neverwinter Nights is hardcore amazing with the story... and you can play it pretty much as a single player game with Ai controlled companions... NWN2 is byfar the greatest exsperiance ive had in a long time...

Oblivion is my #1 most played RPG which to this day is till play since launch... anymore i just play it with the DLC's and Qarls texture pack and the unoffical patches... its so damn good... Morrowind has had some amazing graphical work done on it and its #2 on my rpg list...

oh what ever here is my list of rpg's that i Love:

Oblivion
Jade Empire
Diablo 2: LOD
Dark Messiah
Fallout 3
Mass Effect
Hellgate: London
Morrowind
Enslaved
Red Dead Redemption
The Witcher
Planescape: Torment
Risen
Neverwinter Nights
NWN 2
Titans Quest: Immortal Throne
Assasins Creed's
Dungeon Siege 2: Broken World
Two Worlds
Silverfall

I'll throw in another vote for Divine Divinity being a game you might want to check out. Another good one you might enjoy is Drakensang: The River of Time.

Might & Magic 6 is listed by many as one of the best games of all times, so you can't go wrong with M&M 1-6 package. It's a bit combat heavy, from what i've heard, but very athmospheric.

As Leroux already said, better stay away from ToEE, It's much closer to DnD than any of Infinity games.

The original Drakensang was pretty combat heavy, but they toned down the amount of combat significantly in The River of Time, instead offering many non-combat ways of resolving quests, as well as having a better story and writing than the original. I would definitely agree that the original Drakensang is probably not what you're looking for, but River of Time just might be something you'd like.

I'll second a vote to pick up Neverwinter Nights + Expansions. Not for the original games themselves, but for the ability to grab community-made modules. There are literally thousands to choose from and they range from pure hack and slash to pure rolepay. You should easily be able to find a number of modules that will fit your criteria.

For you, the biggest drawback is they're based on D&D rules. But the sheer volume of choices you have for content is worth putting up with it.

You can always give either the 2 Eschalons a try(Bazilisk Games) or the Geneforge series (Spiderweb Software) . Avernum from SW is OK but it caters to the dungeon crawler crowd whereas Geneforge is more about factions and story. Eschalon is a single player character RPG meaning no party just you against the world.

Another good RPG was Vampire the Masquerade:Bloodlines. Different styles of combat depending on character class and the story was half decent.

Also, have you thought about trying some adventure games. There are many indeed that have great stories and min. combat. Indigo Prophecy, Still Life, The Last Express, The Longest Journey. All great stories.

I fail to see how did you hate New Vegas if you loves original Fallouts. I'd say the story and quests are as descent a successor as anyone could have hoped for. True enough Oblivion engine sucks..

I would also recommend Vampire the Masquerade :)