Hi All,
the title says it pretty much...
I am trying to decide which one to play. As I read they are pretty similar in style and gameplay, so the most important for me would be which is the least challenging? I have played CRPG since Pool of Radiance on C=64, so I am not easily scared, but as I am a grown up man I have very limited time, so I am starting to get picky on what to waste time on :)
I would avoid pointless levelling up or hours spent trying to figure out which is the only possible strategy to beat a boss, or backtracking an hour to the nearest trader because I am out of torches or cure poison potions...
With this in mind, which one should I buy?

They're all old-school in certain ways, but in other ways they're pretty different.

Avernum: The oldest, although the new remakes (Avernum: Escape From the Pit and Avernum 2: Crystal Souls) are actually the newest. I've only played the originals though (1-4). They are very traditional party-based RPGs in design, but have strong worldbuilding and writing. You play a standard band of heroes, kill monsters, do quests etc. Not much in the way of moral choice, but very open in terms of where to go and what to do. Interface in the originals is pretty old, uses lots of keyboard keys although there is mouse support too. I didn't find them too hard... the second game was tough but then I realized I'd accidentally gone and tried some really hard things right at the start instead of tackling easier areas first.

Geneforge: I've played the first three of these. You play a single character, although you can shape creatures to fight for you. Maps are explored in a "node-based" manner, each node representing an area to explore. Your single character will be unable to clear all areas, based on which skills you choose (e.g. good at combat or good at disarming traps). Lots of moral decisions to make, different factions to side with, many possible endings. Can be pretty hard, depending on how you design your character.

Avadon: I haven't played this one yet, but from what I've heard, it's heavily inspired by Bioware in terms of the story design. You play one character and recruit other pre-made characters to your party. Combats are self-contained affairs, with all resources (health, mana, etc.) restored at the end of each, heavy emphasis on using special skills during combat. Difficult moral choices to make throughout.

Others with more experience want to chime in?

Thanks for sharing these details!

I'm playing Avadon right now, and you pretty much nail it except for one thing. Health is restored after battles (think of it more as fatigue, rather than damage), however, mana is not. But there are potions to restore mana, plus you can touch pylons (which act as transporters to/from Avadon) to restore mana as well.

Thanks for that clarification!

Also for the OP, I should stress that the writing is good in all the Spiderweb games, not just the Avernum series. Also, I forgot to mention that WITHIN each series, the games are, in fact, similar in style and gameplay. Avernum 2 and 3 play very much like Avernum 1, for example, with only minor improvements. But they offer entirely new stories and places to explore, and of course more great writing.

I don't think any of them will be too hard, and none really require grinding that I know of.

Just in case you're interested, bubuc, I'm currently running a giveaway right here.

ooooh, I was away for the last few days :( next time maybe :)
thanks anyway!

You should avoid Avernum. Inexperience player will build a team a lot weaker than an optimal build, and find the game unbeatable at higher difficulties.

Avadon: you can re-specify all your characters as you wish when you reach the middle of game. So if you find your party sucks, it is okay, retrain them. You can change your party members as you want because their level grows as your main character. As long as you do not sell any important equipment, you cannot screw up your party at this game.

In conclusion, Avernum is the most unforgiving, and Avadon is the most forgiving.

Thanks a lot!

I didn't have any trouble with this, but it is true that you cannot re-spec characters in Avernum. So in that sense it is less forgiving than the later games, but I don't think it's too bad.

The OP specifically states wanting to avoid "pointless leveling up or hours spent trying to figure out which is the only possible strategy to beat a boss, or backtracking an hour to the nearest trader because I am out of torches or cure poison potions." I didn't have to do either when playing Avernum or Geneforge. The original Avernum games do have a food requirement when resting, but it's pretty lenient and I was hardly ever running out of food.

The first Avernum game does require players to keep track of quests themselves, though. There's a "copy to journal" button that lets players record important conversations, but no formal quest log. Later games add a quest journal, but you will still have to find quest objectives and quest givers yourself.

I'd say Geneforge is hardest/most unforgiving. Only your character can get skills and you pretty much have to focus or you don't have the skills for late/end game and/or your creations are too weak. I do agree that Avadon trilogy is probably most accessible, streamlined and easiest of all Spiderweb's game series.

Avadon also has respec options for characters, which none of the other games in the series have. So yeah, definitely the most forgiving.

Unfortunately, it's also the least interesting setting-wise, and the story never engaged me like it did in the Avernums and especially the Geneforges. This is a matter of opinion, admittedly, but in general it can be said that Avadon is much more conventional when it comes to worldbuilding than the other two series.

Geneforge is the least conventional. It is a very fun science-fiction/fantasy mashup where the wizards of the setting went into genetic manipulation and designing new life forms as their magic of choice, and it leads to a wonderfully strange setting with living machinery, mad wizard/scientists and tons of weird creatures to command. They also have good stories with lots of player influence and factions to navigate between. Geneforge 5 deserves a special mention here, with no less than 5 (and a half) factions striving for dominance in a world that's fallen into complete anarchy. Good times.

Unfortunately, the older games in the series are pretty rough interface-wise. The later games in the series (Geneforge 4 and 5) are my favourite Spiderweb games by a long margin, next to the oddball Nethergate perhaps, (Nethergate = Roman legions fighting elves. Fun times) but you may not want to jump in halfway through the series. I mean, I did and it didn't really bother me since the games are pretty much self contained, but still. Difficulty-wise the games can be pretty tough, but it's typically only optional areas and sidequests that are -really- difficult. Completing the games' main stories is much less difficult.

Avernum is a bit in between Geneforge and Avadon when it comes to setting. You play as a bunch of exiles in a giant underground world. Think the Underdark in D&D, except without all the Drow stuff. It's more about frontier-nationbuilding in a hostile world and resisting the empire that exiled everyone in the first place. Pretty fun.

The older Avernum games again are pretty rough interface-wise, and the party-building mechanics can be a bit obtuse. However, there are remakes out there of the first two Avernum games, with a remake of the third slated to follow in a year or two. (I think.) The remakes have all the convenience features and (relatively) slick interface from Avadon, but the more interesting setting and story of the old Avernum games.

In conclusion: I'd recommend playing the remakes of Avernum 1 and 2 to get the best of both worlds, or alternately giving Geneforge 5 a try if you don't mind jumping in the deep end and want something more original and strange to play.