Thiev: Could you specify which game you're asking about?
RtK has normal exp system and skill points at every level, BaK doesn't use levels at all - you get better at skills by using them.

deathknight1728: [...]

deathknight1728: Thank you for the helpful post! Everything you said makes sense, however Ill have to check on the internet more for one of them. Someone said on one of the unofficial sites that evaluate actually allows you to check (during combat) which opponent is a pushover and which one has skill. Now i think they were referring to evaluate however i could be wrong and it could be analyze. I dont know.

Maybe after this game is done ill give betrayal at krondor a try as ive read that its good. Gog seems to never cease to amaze me with its awesomeness.

deathknight1728: I just beat my first enemies, it was fun. I killed two rogues in a random house. I still dont know the difference between classes, are rogues supposed to be able to backstab (cause i think they did). Oh and are there any good daggers for james the thief because i tried using them in my first fight and i got destroyed. When i changed to the rapier i mopped the floor though. I hope there is a backstab.

Thiev: Mind you, everything below is based on observation - I had no luck finding manual either:

Skills

Fire/Mind/Life/Storms/Change/Divine: Magic skills - higher value unlocks new spells, as well as reduces chance for spell to fizzle; secret books and scrolls raise the coresponding skill, using wands can drain it permanently;
Brawling/Bladed/Axe/2H/Bow: Weapon skills - increases attack value (chance to hit/possible damage dealt) and number of strikes per turn
Defense: increases Defend value (chance to dodge attacks)
Initiative: helps getting earlier turn in a fight
Analyze: needed to identify items; there is spell (Know the Hidden) and some items to help with that, so personally I'd recommend spending points elsewhere
Stealth: big mystery ;). Honestly, I think it's just broken skill or I never found use of it; during game there is only one moment where James is on it's own and Stealth may be involved, but I always managed to pass it with his starting Stealth value.
Pick Lock/Disarm Traps: I think those are supposed to matter when dealing with chests/locks; however when you use Dice Roll instead of Reflex setting, all you need to do when disarming traps is to pick the 'excellent' tool in disarm mini-game. I guess that type of tool you use applies bonus/penalty to the roll, and the skill helps offset the bad choice. Long story short, I never placed any points in either skill and never failed to disarm a trap, once I learnt which tool is the best choice;
Perception: no idea, probably unused as well;
Alchemy: used for making potions; however it matters only when you try to mix your own - when you don't have a recipe you may mix ingredients in freeform mode. There is a chance of such mixture (even if correct ingredients are picked) to blow up in your face, and the skill reduces chance for that. With recipes, skill doesn't really matter
Evaluate: affects sell/buy value; basically haggle skill
Shield: self-explanatory, but I don't know how it works exactly, as I never used it

Attributes:
(You cannot directly raise them, but the items may raise/lower their values.)

Strength: affects damage dealt
Agility: affects chance to avoid blows
Stamina: affects Health points
Reason: affects Spellcasting points
Charisma: no idea

EDIT: typos, lots of typos T_T

gtrager: [...]

deathknight1728: Got the internet back. Im starting to wonder if daggers are worth it. Does anyone know if smaller weapons give more attacks?

arusaku: I will add my two cents in terms of weapons and leveling, since I used to power-game RTK quite often in my youth. Keep in mind this is all from memory, since I am at work.

The best weapon for James can be found in Chapter 0 or any of the chapters that allows you to explore the city of Krondor.

If you really want to get the best weapons, simply keep going around the city, find a door, go into it, fight random encounter, heal up, sell any unneeded loot and identify any items you happen across. Rinse, lather and repeat. I have ended up with James being level 16 at the end of the game on multiple playthroughs by powergaming this way. It isn't necessary, but you get the best equipment and cash this way.

Here are the best weapons for James:

Wrath of the Prophet: Looks like a golden scimitar. While it does a penalty to your Attack rating of -15 to -25 (I can't remember, someday I will post a guide on the net to all the weapons and everything in this game), it does the most damage in the game by far. In the end game you end up doing 80 damage per hit and with the right rings (i.e. Ring of the Winds is probably one of the best) and items you can end up doing 400 damage in a round (5 attacks).

Bow of Kahooli: This is honestly a ridiculous bow and is useful on the areas where you could use a ranged weapon (you won't encounter any until you travel outside of Krondor). It does insane amounts of damage. It looks like a bow that has a silver string and silver covered limbs.

I will add more weapons at a later date, but I know that the Wrath of the Prophet always ends up being my favorite weapon for James with its damage potential.

Best Armor For James (From best to Worst with respect to body part covered):

Dragonskin Jerkin (Torso): This armor not only allows you to be bulletproof to many attacks but allows you to be immune to all fire damage. This is awesome, since many enemies use fire oil, fire magic and other fire based attacks due to special magic weapons. Dark leather jerkin that is huge.

Komodoskin (or something like that) Jerkin: It is strong armor and does have resistance against some attacks. Dark leather jerkin that is huge.

Enchanted Leather Jerkin: This is the bare minimum torso armor you should have with James before you leave Krondor. It and the Komodoskin are equal in many ways in terms of protection, so they can be swapped. Personally I like the way this piece of armor looks. It is a shiny red leather jerkin.

Enchanted Leather Vambraces and the Leggings (I forget what they are called): Again, don't settle for any vambraces and leggings that are just studded leather. You need this enchanted armor to be able to have James as your tank for most of the game.

I won't post anything for the other characters, since I don't want to spoil the experience for you. But those are some items that are the best in the game.

Oh I remember now. There are some great magical rapiers for James as well. But, the trade-off for those weapons is they allow you to have slightly better chances to hit, but much less damage then the wrath of the prophet.

The main thing to remember in this game is that James need to have maxed out attack and defense, with the rest of his skill points placed into thieving skills and initiative (determines if your character gets to move/attack first during a round of combat).

Again, I might need to put together an in-depth guide to this game.

But, I am here for other questions.