ChuckBeaver: Divine Divinity will keep you busy for 100 hours for usually .97usd
Hard to get any cheaper than free at that point. It goes on sale a lot. So wait for it.
Carradice: What starting character and base tactics would you recommend for that one? I tried a she-warrior with the spinning movement, for some reason ended up using a bow a lot. Not too happy about that decision, it was hard to fight the vampire, orcs...
(Fully back the recommendation if you want to see an ARPG done right. But the games mentioned by the OP don't seem to go at all in this direction.)
I played a mage (as always), and doubt I did much with bows. Relied on them in Divinity 2, but in DD, really don't think so, magic gets good enough fast enough, if you're quick on your feet. But it is an example of early pain for later gain, because just about any spell can be learned from books, which can be found (if I recall correctly, there are four Restoration books in the game - and there's a small chance of a skill book in bookcases) or bought in stores. They're expensive, so you'll be struggling with very basics at first, but once you get enough money, save before checking a store that may have books after the inventory resets and keep trying until you find something useful (or get bored, sometimes it'll just take too many tries, of course). That will free up the skill points for other skills.