POE does a lot of things really well, like the passive tree and the skills. However last I played, progression is very dependent on gear, which is very dependent on RNG (getting a high enough level base piece, with up to six random effects with random ranges that may or may not be useful to your character, random 1-6 sockets, with random links between those sockets). Partying and/or trading are almost required after 1/2 to 2/3 of the way through.

Whether that's a problem for you depends on your mindset I guess, just be aware.

In Might and Magic 1-5 - maybe also in 6-9, I'm not sure - you has to pay for training to increase a character level after you have gained enough xp.
Certainly this game mechanic isn't a must have and there are many good oldschool RPGs without it but that was something I liked in the Might and Magic games.

Yes but only as a fighter type and never got far into the game.

In the world of pen-and-paper roleplaying, dnd has a similar problem. If you can get a group together and enjoy pnp, you might like to take a look at Ars Magica. It...does exactly what you describes: says 'who cares if mages are overpowered? It's not like there's such a thing as "game balance" within the setting! Everyone can play a mage!' and, provided your skills in that area of magic are strong enough, you can then cast literally any spell you can think of. You don't have to invent and learn it beforehand, either, although it's easier that way.

I'd like to play a game where magic involves numerous rare botanical ingredients and weeks of preparation to cast a curse that sours the milk of your enemy's cow.

...but I admit that I might be a minority demographic, there.

The thing about vanilla Morrowind is that you could have started out as a fighter, but there was nothing stopping you from eventually converting into a pure mage character if you so desired as the game progressed. Granted it would take much longer than if you started out as a magic-using-oriented character, but it is doable.

As for the actual spellcrafting system, yes it was very possible to game and break the system and create for yourself extremely over-powered (and in some-cases, over-the-top-ridiculous spells - I am looking at you Jump-20,000-ft-into-the-air-to-travel-large-distances-quicly). There are how-tos on accomplishing this all around the 'net, in both video and text form.

Worst case scenario, you could use the construction set, make a set of items or spells that are very overpowering, and put them in the game near your starting area and just go to town.

I love weight limits. "You can only carry 200 pounds!" which translates to 5 assault rifles, a nuke launcher, a couple pistols, some full sets of armor, and enough ammo to start a war. I just love imagining all that crap sticking out of my character's comically oversized backpack.

The most annoying thing is when the game has the option of solving a quest in multiple ways, but yet when you don't do something or don't talk to someone in a certain order, you can't complete it.... and you only discover this a long time after that. Moreover, if that is somehow related to the main plot, it is tenfold frustrating.

This mostly applies to classic RPGs, (but then again I haven't played many new RPGs).

I'd play it. :D

"Just going to rest up until I'm healed... Okay, done. Let's get that dragon!"

"Don't worry, Bard the Black already got him."

"Wh... what? Who?"

"Oh, he's the new saviour of the world. He's awesome. Also, he needs this room, so if you're done, y'know, GTFO."

Not many RPGs are like Morrowind.
Why? Weeks of preparation, so your enemies go without milk and cheese for some time?

The fact that you cant climb over a small fence or a bush and have to find some other way around. Usually in Japanese RPGs.

I didn't like that Skyrim allowed you to "do" quests before you even knew about them - "Oh, look, here's some miscellaneous crap; I'm going to pick it up." Then you go into town, somebody tells you about a quest, and hey, it just so happens they need what you happen to have. So finishing that quest simply takes a few button mashes to get through the dialogue.

I don't like it when games don't have quick keys for certain things. Eschalon Book I: you can't equip a torch whilst carrying a shield. Makes sense. But as far as I know, there's no button or quick key for shield (I admit I haven't really looked yet), so every time I want to switch from shield to torch, I have to open inventory and manually remove my shield.

If you're an impoverished peasant living in ancient times with no social safety net, and your family's survival is dependent on the output of your dairy cows, then sick animals are a big deal. Even if you can survive it, you might still end up having to sell a few of your children into indentured slavery.

But what I meant more generally is that I wouldn't mind seeing a few games that reflect the kind of low-power hedge-wizardry that you actually see in folklore, rather than the flashy "I glow blue and summon a meteor from space" magic that's prevalent today. Not that there's anything wrong with summoning meteors, I'd just like some variety is all. :)

Disproportionate quest rewards: "Get me a carrot and I'll give you a powerful artifact". Or "I went to the Dungeon of Death and Doom, and all I got was this rusty iron dagger with a minor shock enchantment".

Then there's the fact that new students/recruits rise to the position of faction/guild leader in a matter of a few weeks. You'd think they'd select someone with proper know-how and leadership skills, not someone who will be adventuring and absent for 99% of the time, and meanwhile the paperwork is accumulating and decisions for day-to-day running of the place never get made!

Or when you're supposed to be an ordinary guy or someone wishing to remain incognito, yet when you visit a town for the first time everyone runs up to you begging you for help. Various citizens place immense trust in you, hoping a complete stranger will resolve their most intimate matters.