Do tell... :)
What are your favorite Divine Divinity skills ?

Sword Expertise + Stun

good to know, ive only reached lvl 10 but have saved 5 points. gone for lockpick , meteor attack , leave trap and the one that gives you backstab i forget the name..
the trap worked nicely in the sewers under the outdoor market.. would never have so go far in without those scorpions. they seem really powerful at the moment. tempted to get charm next.

Oh, you mean useful skills. I maxed Lockpick (you can get 2 levels in Verdistis), but that was more functional than favourite. Restoration is handy to help conserve potions early in the game (you can get 3 levels from quests), but you'll eventually be able to just rely on restoration potions.

Assassin's Kiss is ok if you want to stick to a specific character type, but even with it maxed you are not going to do as much damage as with a sword. The game is also fairly biased towards swords, with more potentially good swords consistently in the game than other weapon types (IIRC there is on 1 dagger always in the game).

Magic Barrier is good to learn once you have some spare skill points you don't know what to do with, though eventually you will get most of your resistances from equipment bonuses, etc. Augment Damage and Augment Defence should be maxed for a mostly melee character (a level of one of them can be gotten in the Dark Forest).

Meteorstrike is good, since can be cast quite fast and has a bit of a stun effect. Hell Spikes is quite effective once you get it to level 4 or 5 (one of the toughest bosses in the game uses Blind + Hell Spikes). Deathly Disks is good against moderately close range opponents.

The survivor's Curse spell can be cast repeatedly on a target to dramatically lower its resistances (it can not be resisted, so is much better than the mage's Withering Curse spell), and can then be followed by poison or elemental damage, or a skill like Polymorph.

Telekinesis is handy; I maxed it with purchased skill books (Free skills, and spell books you can buy).

I think I was around level 20, or so, before I entered the Ars Magicana sewers.

ah cool.. thanks for the info..
ive held back on adding more points to assassins kiss... im really enjoying this game so far. with the spell books do i just need to read them?

Yes, just click on a spell book in your inventory to learn the associated spell. Some spell books can teach one of a couple different spells (determined when the item is generated, not when you read it) and some do not use the same name as the spell they teach.

i see, there are so many books lying about, i assume the ones that cannot be picked up are not spells? trying not to get too bogged down with the details in this game (aways a danger with rpgs) and just roam about seeing what happens :) its not a skill but throwing vases and chairs through skeletons made me laugh..

In terms of weapon skills, Mace ends up with the best damage (for one-handers, at least) even if you're just using a Spiked Mace. However, there aren't any two-handed variants for that particular expertise, which makes it somewhat less versatile than Sword or Axe, and there's a general shortage of really good (fixed) maces in the game. I had a LOT of fun with a mace&shield warrior once, but I always had to be on the lookout for upgrades.

In terms of magic, definitely Hellspikes, Blind, and Curse. Those spells got me through lots and lots of rough spots, and I never leave home without them even on warriors. In terms of class skills, the warrior spin move is without a doubt the best, especially when coupled with a weapon that has life drain, mana drain, or freeze. I rarely (if ever) use the class skills for survivors or wizards.

Another interesting thing I noticed is that *minor* Shadow potions are in fact the best ones. That's because there isn't any actual difference between the invisibility effect, but the minor potions use mana at a much much slower rate than any of the others. I'm not sure why they get worse as they "improve," but you should hold on to your minor shadows and sell the big ones.

Spellbooks look a little different than regular books. There are stacks of books, papers on desks, etc, that are just there for atmosphere, and can not be separated and picked up. I think hitting Alt should indicate what books can be picked up (it does for scrolls and IIRC letters).

You do not actually read a spell book, just click on it in your inventory. There is a set of books in the game where reading all 3 will teach you a skill, but the text in that case makes it clear there is something special about these book.

yeah i picked survivor on a whim..not planning on being a melee fighter. trying to go for a sneaky and devious magic user.. feel like it may not have been the best choice with the special move (to be truthful i didnt realise the special move when i chose the char.. will the special move come in at all handy? i have the cat statuette now and that seems to be good for sneaking past people.. thanks for all the advice :)

Sneak can be useful, but there is a Fade From Sight spell which is similar (consumes mana rather than stamina), as well as shadow potions.

differences between classes (minor spoilers)

Early Starter Tips (NON-Spoiler Version) (contains much of the information in the above topic)

Be on the lookout for a frog statuette; it can let you travel fairly fast, even when encumbered. I didn't find much use for the cat statuette.

Two levels of Elven Sight is a must. Without them I consistently get ripped to shreds in the first dungeon as a wiz or survivor (after clearing the starting surface area up to the bend and bridge), and even the warrior has a hard time.

I learned 1 level of Elven Sight, and playing at 1152x864, I eventually started rejecting equipment with higher sight bonuses, so my sight range wouldn't get much larger than the size of the screen (I found the fog of war handy to help keep track of where I had explored).

yeah the fog is great for that. works perfectly for me

i feel good about the sneak now! i got the cat stattuette on a whim after aquiring a ton of money...the frog is next.. Right now im really tempted to go to Mitox and trigger the encounter that i discovered (didnt follow it through. restored earlier save). i ask about equipment and he tells me to go to the tents to the west...then some fools appear and taint the minds of the soldiers.. they attack me.. the temptation to go down there and set of 10 scorpion traps then run around while carnage ensues is overwhelming...i love those metallic scorpions. at this stage they are devastating. they helped me a lot in the underground sewers at the market and when i cleared up the orc supply line.also the got me roughly 3 or 4 xp levels. all your responses are timely and appreciated. I GOT SO MANY POINTS TO SPEND NOW :) + this game is great, bugs and all.. its well worth playing