I played the first and the second. I played the second first (retail version), then when I came to GOG, the first game I bought was Gothic 1. For me, Gothic 2 was harder in the beginning than Gothic 1, but once I got the hang of the combat system (takes practice), I didn't have too many difficulties. You will have to stay away from some enemies in the beginning. For the purpose of the story, I suggest starting with Gothic 1.

Gothic 2 is widely considered PB's best game. However, 3 is a little bit more accessible, so you'll have to choose between the two. I vote for G2 for you, it's a really great game and 3 was a big departure, so it doesn't feel the same as G1/2.

Edit: Oh, and don't get Arcania (G4), on sale or otherwise. It's not the abortion that some people make it out to be, but it's extremely boring and linear. It's just not a Gothic game.

I would vote for G2, interface it's not that "pain" as in G1 and it's the best one from series imho.
But if you mean Arcania as Gothic 4... well, it's very easy and user friendly, and the only thing it have in common with other Gothics is name and some NPC... it's just totaly different.

4 is the most beginners friendly, but should not really be considered a Gothic game.

1 tough to get into, but it is not impossible. 2 is harder to get into, due to the ramped up difficulty (that is if you play with the expansion at least. I've not played without it, but from what I've heard, it makes an already challenging game a lot harder. It does add a good amount of content though). 3 is relatively easy to get into.

I would still recommend starting with 1, for story reasons. And it is a good game.

Start with the first, not only for the storyline,but because it's easier as well.

All together now:

Start at the very beginning
It's a very good place to start
When you read you begin with A,B,C
When you sing you begin with Doh, Reh, Me!

I dropped Gothic 1 after first 30 minutes of the game. How the devs managed to fuck up interface that much, is beyond my reason to this day.

Picking objects from chests - the biggest challenge Gothic 1 presents.

It's not that bad if you set it up right. Use the alternate control scheme, and use LMB in place of the ctrl key. You'll be holding down LMB a lot, but you develop a muscle memory for it.

the first one has an "In Extremo" concert in the main city... so start with it :)

I remember that the controls in the first game were rather weird. Other than that, 1 and 2 are both not that easy at first (as mentioned, the expansion for the second game ramps up difficulty, which is nice for experienced players, but possibly frustrating for beginners). If you are able to adapt to the non-standard gameplay, start with Gothic 1 or 2 if the controls in the first game are unbearable. Otherwise, get the community patch and try Gothic 3.

Isn't it a bit early in the day (in the US) to go all "Sound of Music" on our asses? :-)

It's almost 2:30 pm here.
Is it my fault if you lot have your clocks wrong?
;-}

Oh... I just "love" German immersion breaking "humour" ...

And what's with rock band placement in RPG German Games? Sacred 2 also had this "joke" ...

Gothic 3 now has the latest (and probably final) community patch included with it, so no need to get that separately anymore.