The first time I met Geringoth I roleplayed her to death. the second time I assumed the skulls were important somehow so I killed one and saw that it removed her armour so I just kept doing that. I had no idea that the amount of gold you have has any effect, not until I read it here. I also never figured out Grym's hammer thing, I just ganged up and kept hitting him once I lured him into the lava.
I think what rodeolifant is describing is what makes some folks bounce off the game. The game wants you to screw around and do stuff, and some players don't like to just screw around. But for those that do, the game has a lot to offer. But it has far less to offer to those of us who don't enjoy that.
