I also agree with everything that Deadalready said. Particularly, am I to believe that every single mage working with thugs trying to rob people has a license to use magic? And how would cowled wizards be able to detect every single spell that is being cast in the city? Strange also how clerical spells that summoned elemental monsters or demons didn't attract their attention, only mage spells.
Better AI regarding who turns hostile against you and for what reasons would be nice. I encountered a citizen who was bad mouthing anyone in my party who was an elf or half-elf, and he turned hostile. My main character unequipped his weapon and punched him out. Didn't kill him, just knocked him unconscious. Did the guard come over and ask what was going on? Nope... he immediately starts trying to stab us with his spear. So if we defend ourselves vs. that lethal and unwarranted attack, we lose reputation? Additionally, normal citizens who were behind a building somehow knew that I had punched that guy out, and turned hostile. They saw it through the walls I guess? Better AI could be nice for sure.
The reputation thing: I doubt that merchants, who are notorious for raking in as much cash as possible, are going to give you a good deal unless you have done some service which affects them directly, as in the case of Hendak when he becomes the owner of the Copper Coronet after you free him from the slavers. And yes, I am sure that since most merchants are deathly frightened of such weak monsters as orcs, ogres, kobolds, and piddling low-level bandits, they're not likely to try to rip off a party that has slain dragons and scores of beholders by charging 100% extra. I'd think that if anything, if your reputation makes you sound dangerous, they would give you the better deal, thinking it unwise to cross you. (I say this, even though I play as a good party. In reality, it's not always easiest to follow the path of good)
No permanent stats draining: I didn't like how that one dream sequence, and that one test in the plane of Bhaal permanently drained my stats. The increases I got by using the tears of Bhaal, however, I didn't mind, as I felt that I rightfully deserved them. Being the child of a god had, until then, been nothing but a bane, at least I should have some reward for my efforts at some point. (Too bad I didn't get to use my extra power, since there was only the fight with Irenicus left, and he was dreadfully easy to beat, being a fighter, the extra charisma and wisdom didn't help at all.)
Additionally, some decent professionalism with the voice acting could be nice as well. The quality of voice acting in SoA ranged from awesome to absolutely terrible. Whoever did the voice of Minsc deserves an academy award at least. I would have kept him in my party for his personality, even if he wasn't such a good fighter. Was nice to have some stout-hearted voices as opposed to the nagging and whining.
How about a focused party? In SoA I had NPCs join my party, supposedly for the sake of helping me achieve my goals, and yet all the time they were going on about their own interests. Jaheira rambling on about nature nonstop, and whining about "balance" when my reputation got to heroic level. SHUT UP! Nalia complaining that we weren't helping "the needy" while we were in a dungeon (even though we were in there trying to stop some evil that was threatening the lives of an entire village at the time). What was it we were supposed to be doing again, Jaheira? Oh yes, I remember, getting my soul back and avenging the death of your husband. Well, I'm very sorry if we are doing poor job of maintaining world-balance and being all-powerful Gods in the meantime.
Less generic dialogue: Every guard acts haughty and tough, no matter what sort of a reputation you have. The one guard in the Adventurer's Mart irritated me greatly. Every time we went in he would say "Don't even think about stealing anything!" What an insult! 1) Why does he think we were going to consider stealing something? 2) After the dragons and evil spirit kings we've slain, what does this lone little man think he's going to do to us? Does every guard think that they can take down a well-equipped adventuring party of 6?
I agree with the point already made about being able to choose the size and build of your character. A good idea I think. Even the AD&D games for the Commodore 64 had this. All through BG1 people were referring to me as "whelp", and then in BG2 I was referred to as "scrawny" on a couple of occasions. This isn't the only series of games where I have encountered this. Is it assumed that every gamer is scrawny and small? And even if they are, this is fantasy, shouldn't we have more control over what our character is like in the game? It's funny to be almost 6'4" in real life, and 243lbs, and you're being called "scrawny" in so many of the games you play. Doesn't effect the gameplay, but I didn't particularly like the presumption that I am small. It's the main reason I chose a human for my character as opposed to an elf, which gets nice bonuses with bows and longswords, as well as resistance to charm and sleep magic, and the ability to see in the dark. I just don't see myself as being some skinny little elf, so I didn't play as one.
BG1 had something funny also. The way Sarevok appears on screen, he looks to be around 7 feet tall, and of a huge build. Never played ToB, so didn't get to see what race he was, but he looks like a half-ogre or something. And you meet him in the library in Candlekeep, he's hiding under his alias "Koveras". The monks were talking about how smart this "Koveras" is, that he memorized all of Alaundo's prophecies, and yet not one person mentioned his giant size. No one said "This giant named Koveras was looking for you." And strange that your own character didn't notice this either. Would think that after he saw this giant guy kill his foster father, and here is this other giant guy standing before him, gee, maybe they could be the same person? How many 7-foot tall people are there on the Sword Coast anyways?
Weapon skills based upon what weapon you actually use: This struck me as being rather silly. I run around using a bastard sword for a few weeks, and at one point i level up, and can take a proficiency slot with an axe. How exactly, did using a bastard sword make me gain skill with an axe? Wouldn't it make more sense that you improve your skills with the weapons that you actually use? And club and mace should, in my opinion, be the same skill. How does smashing things with a thick piece of wood differ from smashing things with a piece of wood with a thick piece of metal on the top? General idea is the same, you hit with the thickest part as hard as you can! I also don't see how using a bastard sword is so much different to using a longsword... they are very close in size and shape. And why can a druid use a scimitar, but not a different sword?
Dual wielding: I'm not sure how that has changed in the new ruleset, but in my opinion, having a weapon in each hand does not necessarily give you 2x the number of attacks. Since your attacks require you to put your body into the effort and not just your arms, I don't think that you could use 2 weapons at the same time with 100% efficiency. I really don't think so, no matter how good you are.
2 handed hammers: Some of those war hammers really looked too big to wield with 1 hand, even for a strong character. Silly that a longbow needs 15 strength to use, but a warhammer with a 15lb head on the end of a 4 foot handle only requires 12 strength? Come on! You would need exceptional strength to weild such a hammer with 1 hand, I would think. Also, the handles are long, and one could use it with 2 hands easily I would think, so how about allowing them to be used with 2 hands for greater damage? Some hammers that can only be used with 2 hands would be interesting also. Not absolutely necessary, but I think it would be quite comical to see a character, particularly a dwarf, weilding a massive mallet with 2 hands and smashing everything.
Perhaps this could be a special summoning spell?
Well I have some more ideas about creatures to summon, but perhaps not everyone would like them. I'll save that for another post, since this one must be approaching the size limit by now.