Thank you Ravager.
I agree about always wanting more skill points!
Studious Tinkerer gives 4 points to any magic you spend 1 skill point in (at Level 2 only). So it is good for that. And Ascetic gives you 10 extra skill points at Level 2 as well. Which is why I always choose it.
Educated Perk gives 2 extra skill points in addition to starting skill points, which partly compensates for the loss of 4 if you take Gifted. And Swift Learner gives extra XP, which is good.
You use Divine:Fortitude a lot as a Tag skill, do you? I have mostly gone for Divine:Smite. It is incredibly useful against undead. And Tribal:Protection=Absorb Spirit, is good for vacuuming up health from dead bodies; though I never use Tribal for anything else.
I mostly use merchats to buy Health potions. Very rarely I will buy an item that is good, if I have enough gold, but usually I rely on finding stuff.
Your suggestion about the crystal is a good one, and one I have not tried. I will do so!
I did get transported once, in one game. It never occurred to me to keep clicking on the crystal until I got a 'random'. I can be really dense, sometimes.
Which Faction is the best, in your opinion? I have tried Templars and Wielders, but not Inquisition. I go for high Intelligence rather than muscle power, so I favour Wielders...