But the main thing I want is what I treasure the most of the original games, specifically BG1. When you start out with your non-pregenerated custom character, you are a nobody with no power or skills or abilities whatsoever and can barely stand up to a wolf. That is what it means to be level 1. You are more capable than the average peasant, and certainly more knowledgeable, but that is it. And this same thing should be true for your level 1 companions.
Funny thing about this "level one peasant" narrative is that game had a hidden cheat build in that protected level 1 characters from one-hit kills, and yet most players wouldn't notice. And it is not a cheat that, to my extent of knowledge, you could even turn off.
I've had a lot of fun figuring out how to commit mass murder in Candlekeep prologue and get away with it. I've also had fun with roleplaying playthrough, placing certain limitations on my characters. I guess the difference is in the audience, because BG1 could be easily beaten as a level 1 character just by spamming all the wands the developers placed everywhere, and yet this wasn't much of an issue.
