Quote:Truth be told, the bold purpose for gunning for the +5's isn't to build a "100 everything" uber character down the line, but to make the character survivable in the critical Level 5-15 range. If you do not pay attention to your leveling scheme early on in the game, you'll find yourself leveling up too fast. The danger in that is your attributes (especially when it concerns health, mana pool, and the dealing of damage) may not be up to snuff when some particularly fast and nasty creatures start patrolling the roads.Everything you say here is true. I will add that I am on my 4th hand to hand character (they are all different). With Hand to Hand there are no enchanted weapons and no poisons to use, yet a powerful and interesting character can still be built. And there is an outstanding mod called, temple of the full moon, which provides excellent and very challenging tournament style combat in which you are stripped of all items prior to fighting.
You'll know what I'm talking about after your very first troll or a mountain lion hands you your head.
Things will get easier when you get access to enchanted weapons and gear (via the University or better and better Sigil Stones from gates). Once you have some decent kit to go with the early training, focusing on your favorite skills will yield you results.
edit: Temple of the Full Moon can be found here.