I haven't been deliberately holding back on leveling in order to get more XP. That seems kind of counter-productive to me if taken to an extreme -- sure, maybe deciding not to level up now means I can level up more later. But the point of leveling up is that it makes the fights easier. If I have to suffer through a long period of painfully difficult fights against enemies that outmatch me in order to become more powerful in the end, that defeats the purpose.

OTOH, I *have* waited to until an appropriate point storywise to level up -- like when I rest, or return to home base -- rather than doing so in the middle of an enemy stronghold. I just feel it's more "realistic" that way. If I happen to get a bit more XP as a result, that's just a bonus. Really? And if the coach of a sporting team switches out one of his players mid-game, is that cheating too?

No, but if he spits out his chewing gum it's goes sticky. Irrelevant nonsense.

P.S. I had never heard of Knights of the Chalice before, but I Googled it and was quite intrigued by what I found. I've downloaded the demo to try out later. Thanks for the tip!

Um, what? How is it irrelevant? A coach might switch out a player because one of the starting players gets injured, or because they're not performing up to the desired standard. Likewise, a player of a game like IWD might replace one of their starting party because the character got killed and they decided not to try getting them resurrected, or because they felt the original member wasn't as effective as they hoped and they wanted to try someone different. It's even possible to rationalize the change in-game. So I fail to see how it differs in any significant way from the sports scenario.

If you don't like the idea of changing party members in the middle of a game, that's your right. I don't plan to do it myself, because that's not how I roll. But don't insult other people by accusing them of cheating for doing something that in no way violates the "rules" of the game.

Aw, poor soul with your delicate sensibilities. You'll live.

For the record, there are no accusation here, only opinions. I am, and always have been, of the strong opinion that people should play the game (any game) exactly how they find it fun. If that means cheating, then sobeit. That does NOT mean I don't have an opinion on the matter, same as everybody else.

So if we use your sports example according to the rules of IWD2, this is what will happen. A sports player gets replaced for an injury by another player of similar skill, that's okay. But if instead of replacing the injured player with a reserve player, we send a mouthy 13 year old boy that knows more about making fart noises with his armpits than playing the sport, the other players on that team will become stronger, faster and more experienced because they have an "underleveled" player on their team. I'm sure you see the problem here. However, considering the following quote in another post you mentioned......

.......it seems you don't seem too care much about exploiting to get extra XP. I know you said you don't do it deliberately but the side effect is still there. If it's what you want to do it, go for it. Regardless, you are exploiting a mechanic in the game.