I'm in love with Arcanum. I like it better than Fallout 1 & 2, Baldur's Gate 1 & 2 and Icewind Dale 1 & 2, though I love them all. The game is up there with Planescape: Torment in my list of great RPGs. I haven't finished it yet, I'm taking my time, but I would like some advice from you guys on what game to play next. Something that will not be too much of a letdown after playing this masterpiece. Here are some options:

Divine Divinity (though I'm afraid it will degenerate in a left-click fest)
Lionheart
Betrayal and Return to Krondor
Drakensang
Eschalon
A Farewell to Dragons

I thank you in advance for your suggestions, Cheers and death to Dragon Age 2.

All the games you mentioned in your opening paragraph I love too and I can't speak for the other games you listed but I did play Drakensang and was extreamly disappointed. I found the plot to be very linear, the character progression to be unintuitive, the story was very standard fantasy, the game play mediocre and repetitive and over all very unsatisfying game. Also all the voice scripts went way too fast and didn't match up with the person talking. Someone else may think that game is great but I was very sorry I bought it off steam.

That being said (and since I haven't played any of the other games on your list but was thinking about picking up Eschalon my self) I do recommend Gothic II if you haven't already played it. I don't know how good of a computer you have but computer struggles to run newer games and it works just fine on my laptop. Its a fantasy game with a very unique and enjoyable story and is very challenging and most importantly non-linear. I've almost beaten it and was very pleasantly surprised by it.

Divine Divinity is worth playing. It might have the face of a pretty Diablo clone but it often surprises and rewards you for looking past its pretty surface.

Lionheart on the other hand starts out grand but devolves to a near Diablo clone. Its still an interesting game, at least early on. Mages have a very tough time of it.

Eschalon Book 1 is very dry. It goes out of its way to be. Maybe skip straight to Book 2 which has its feet under it and is willing to move beyond trying to be old school.

If graphics aren't so important the Spiderweb Software titles are worth a play... they have very generous demo's to sink your teeth into and see if whats beneath their rather ugly exterior is engaging enough for you.

I did not really enjoy the Drakensang titles and I did try very hard too. The combat just bored me to tears though, it never got any more interesting past level 1.

Sadly, steampunk games are thin on the ground. My biggest hope is that there's a lot of Dwemer content in Skyrim.

If you haven't already, maybe try Mask of the Betrayer (expansion for NWN2). It wasn't entirely forgettable and treads some Planescape territory.

If you don't mind JRPG combat mechanics, certainly give Anachronox a try if you can. A wonderfully strong story from start to finish.

Should someone mention Risen, yes its pretty and starts out well but it goes nowhere, runs out of content at the start of chapter 2 and has a shitty ending... it needed saying.

I actually just got done playing Alpha Protocol all the way through (finally). Its now dirt cheap and DRM free. It plays like any of the splinter cell titles, only with more story and interesting results from being a douche if you so desire to play Mike that way.

Last but not least, the Witcher titles are definitely worthy of mentioning just after (or even with the same breath) as Planescape and Arcanum. Memorable experiences.

PS: keep an eye on Age of Decadence

Thanks a lot, cromwest and Porkdish. I'm sorry to hear so many bad things about Drakensang. Somehow I hoped it was just underrated. I tried Gothic 1 some time ago, but I hated the interface. Besides, 3D games tend to get older much faster than 2D isometric beauties like Arcanum and Icewind Dale. These games will never get old, all you need to do is patch the resolution and they look better than when they came out. Sadly, the same cannot be said about Gothic and most 3D titles. An exception would be Vampire: Redemption - Bloodlines, that other masterpiece from Troika, which still looks fine. I'll give Anachronox a try, I just don't know where to buy it. Thanks again.

I played the beginning of Betrayal at Krondor back in the day, and enjoyed it quite a bit until I hit a game-breaking bug... now I've got it off GOG but I haven't actually gotten around to playing again yet. But I can say that it's quite a good game. It's an interesting mix of a linear story with sandbox gameplay. It takes place in separate chapters, but within each chapter you're free to wander around and do whatever you want. I like the leveling system which actually does not feature levels at all, just skills, and skills get better with use. You need to make camp often and when you do you can practice things like repairing your weapons and armor and even playing the lute, to build your skills. Then you can try playing the lute at inns for money. The graphics may not have aged that well but it's a great game which you might like if you like Arcanum.

I have not played the other games on your list, but I have heard that Divine Divinity is actually a full-on, huge, proper RPG even thought it has Dialbo-type real-time combat mechanics. I've always wondered why someone hadn't thought of making a game like that, and I definitely plan on trying it out.

I have also heard reasonably good things about Drakensang: The River of Time (as opposed to the first game, Drakensang: The Dark Eye). This is apparently a prequel so you could probably try it without having played the first. The review I saw said it was solid but not a classic, but it's also apparently sold at budget prices now.

Also, if you are interested in Drakensang, it's set in the same universe as the Realms of Arkania games available here on GOG. I hear good things about those too, although they are apparently quite hardcore.

I didn't like betrayal or return to Krondor too much. I just getting get going in them...but having a hardstart to arcanum for whatever reason allthoug hI really like a lot of it...its rather complex!!!

TOEE (temple of elemental evil) if you never played it is awesome. Be warned it is the buggiest game you'll ever try to play and that can kill the fun. Modpacks for baldurs and TOEE can turn them into whole new games. many of such games being really fun. Can't even remember the modpacks, but I've played a few. Total conversions. And also just quest packs.

NWN (neverwinter nights) is fun to me. And has some modding as well. There is mods out there where you can design an entire suit of platemail (or garments) and weapons etc. to very fine detail including color and shape and scheme and stuff like that. Well if you into that thing.

Anyway lots of stuff to play hehe. GOG rocks us gamers can try out all these different awesome games.

OH and I tried the Might and magic cuz I really like might and magic heroes. It wasn't too bad the first one, but I didn't liek the ones afte rthat.

Wizardry is fun too. Not sure if its on here, I got disks. Ithink Wizardry 5 or so was the best, can't remember.....

If you like D&D other great D&D/d20 based games are Warriors of the eternal sun (Sega), Eye of the Beholder, Pool of Radiance

Porkdish is absolutely right about The Witcher, at least the first one. I've been a long time fan of all the games you initially used to describe the sort of cRPGs that you enjoy. In fact, if you are looking for another game that can hold its own against the heavy weights the grenre, The Witcher and The Witcher 2 (or so I hear) should be excellent choices. They should be at or near the top of your list.

The Temple of Elemental Evil, while being far from perfect, is a solid D&D experience, as is Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor.

Deus Ex and its sequel, if you haven't played them, are some of the best action RPGs ever developed and deserve your attention.

Arx Fatalis is an underrated RPG gem that, while sorta generic in its overall concept, produces interesting gameplay mechanics and world interaction.

If you really really like Fallout, you might consider Fallout: Tactics. However, it is nowhere near as good the games you describe and tons of folks really hate it. I have a bit of a soft spot for it, though.

There are a couple of indy cRPGs that are pretty good, too ( you already mentioned Eschalon). Although their production values are sometimes lacking, they can be damn solid RPG experiences in the 90s-, early-00s-style of RPG --- Knights of the Chalice and Prelude to Darkness, for instance. Let's put it this way: these are games that even misanthropes and humbugs at RPG codex get excited about.

Basically get The Witcher and Deus Ex as well as their respective sequels if you haven't played them. The rest are optional, but you'll probably dig them, too.

I love this game as well only i hate that you cant control your npc being killed because the npc charges in a grp i want to pull 1 by 1 or 2.

I played Farewell to Dragons. I think it had a chance to be something great, but fell short. It's based off a fabulous book. I think the translation hurt the story in the game, as it's not told as good as it should have been. The combat isn't that good I think.

Divine Divinity is a great action RPG. It has memorable comedy, great addicting combat, and what I think some great graphics. Of course, it's an action RPG with a deep story. It should be played by any RPG fan. It's still at the top of my list for action RPG's.

People seem to be putting down Drakensang in this thread, but it was a game I loved. Great translation into English, great voice acting, pretty good pauseable combat. A great deep skill list, that in today's world, is rare I find. Some olde school role playing in Drakensang, so I loved it. The only downside to this game for me, is that dialogue choices are very limited, so the game ends up being pretty linear, with no good/bad side to join(at the same time, lots of olde games were linear). It does have a good story though, and great characters, so it makes up for it. I suppose it didn't sell well, because people today don't like the olde kind of role playing games.

Some older games I'd recommend:

Prince of Qin. Made by a Chinese developer. A Historical action RPG, but with a great story. Translation isn't as good in this one, but in this case, it adds to the games charm. A rather undderrated game I found, really deserved more attention.

Realms of Arkana series. Olde school role playing goodness. Lots of skills and stats. What I love about these ones, is that the characters you make come alive. While adventuring, they will do and say a variety of things. One characters curiosity may get the better of them, and they will have to ride a childs rocking horse, or one character will get afraid of the undead and run away, perhaps another character will be afraid of heights and won't want to cross the mountain side. Well, it's a thing I loved about these games. The characters I made have personatlies that come alive... not something I've seen a lot of in video games. And the skills and stats! Did I mention all the skills to learn? ;)

I suppose there are quite a few games to recommend. I find Arcanum to be the best RPG ever made. It's not my favourite RPG game, but it is the best RPG game ever in my opinion. It has so many awesome qualities about it, that if you fell in love with it as I did, finding a game to match it would be impossible.

I actually never played Baldur's Gate 1 or 2, Planescape, or Fallout 1 or 2. I want to play another game in addition to Arcanum and these all look pretty snazzy. What should I do? I'm leaning Planescape, even though--and don't get mad now--I did love Fallout 3. Yes I know, you can say it bastardizes Fallout 1 and 2 but I found it to be a fun shooter-type game with a lot of RPG elements and a cool story. But yeah, please don't everyone fly into a rage about that.

I played the Fallouts, but didn't play the others you mentioned. I can't comment on them, but I can tell you I absolutely loved the Fallouts.

Play 1 and 2 or just go with 2?

I'd say both unless you're really pressed for time. I actually liked the first one better as I thought it had better atmosphere and focus. But the second is longer and has more to do. Also, while the game's plots are mostly unconnected, it's cool to get the backstory by playing the first game before the second one.

I would also say go with 1 first. 2 is bigger & has more to do, but there's also more empty space. Each is just as great as the other, for their own reasons.

Cool, cool. And Planescape? Everyone always tells me how that is awesome.