Grimrock

1. Came here wondering if there's a simple way to make the cursor look a bit less computer-ish-y.

2. Also wondering if there's an authoritative wiki out there. Seems there's dueling wiki's as with most games these days?

3. I'm guessing my Mage needs to find a scroll before being able to cast anything? Even with max points in Spellcraft?

Spells are learned by element category. Only a couple spells are learned from spellcraft.
If you personally know the rune to cast a spell, you can cast the spell. (So long as you have enough skill to cast it)

4. Is it seriously possible to just get stuck behind a door that you can't open? I walked over some pressure plates, turned a corner and now I'm not able to move or do anything? WTF? Is this supposed to be a game where you have to save and reload every few minutes?

Oathbreaker wrote:1. Came here wondering if there's a simple way to make the cursor look a bit less computer-ish-y.

LoG itself does not offer to change the cursor/mouse pointer. But maybe the mod-community may come up with something.

Oathbreaker wrote:2. Also wondering if there's an authoritative wiki out there. Seems there's dueling wiki's as with most games these days?

With most if not all wiki's being fan-made pretty much none is authoritative. Are you looking for anything specific?

Oathbreaker wrote:3. I'm guessing my Mage needs to find a scroll before being able to cast anything? Even with max points in Spellcraft?

A mage only needs to be high enough in the right school of magie to cast a certain spell, i.e. 2 points into fire magic are needed to successfully cast fireburst. You need to know the required runes for a spell. The spell scrolls found within the dungeon tell you those combinations so you can use them with a mage. Of course you can try to find a working rune combination yourself.

Oathbreaker wrote:4. Is it seriously possible to just get stuck behind a door that you can't open? I walked over some pressure plates, turned a corner and now I'm not able to move or do anything? WTF? Is this supposed to be a game where you have to save and reload every few minutes?

The Grimrock dungeon is pretty much fail-safe. If you entered a room with pressure plates and the door slamed shut it's either a puzzle to solve or a trap to escape from. Perhaps you can tell a bit more precisely where you are at exactly?

Ok, so maybe playing on Hard was a mistake, seeing as how I apparently need to figure out a way to kill 4 skeletons on Level 2, after which I still can't find the key to the last door, and have to do it all again anyway and make sure all my party somehow survive as there's no way to revive.

Slightly frustrating game here

Oathbreaker wrote:Ok, so maybe playing on Hard was a mistake, seeing as how I apparently need to figure out a way to kill 4 skeletons on Level 2, after which I still can't find the key to the last door, and have to do it all again anyway and make sure all my party somehow survive as there's no way to revive.

"Hard" ain't a mistake, yet it requires to be more alert.

4 skeletons on level 2 .. hmm there are multiple areas that could match. Which last door are you refering to? Stairs down? Healing crystal? You know you can return to the crystal on level 1 anytime if you can't reach the crystal on level 2 yet.

Oathbreaker wrote:4. Is it seriously possible to just get stuck behind a door that you can't open? I walked over some pressure plates, turned a corner and now I'm not able to move or do anything? WTF? Is this supposed to be a game where you have to save and reload every few minutes?

Yes. I got stuck on the "loose rock" one on level 1and I had to start over (although it really wasn't long). But I don't think it can happen on many places; you are pretty safe.

Ok. Got to Level 3 and that's about it for me. I'd rather kill monsters and use skills than do fancy footwork around portals and solve counter-intuitive puzzles.

Gonna go look for a mod that's a bit more dungeon-monstery and less puzzles. Good game, but not for me.

You can try the evolving "Random Dungeon" mod that is more fight-focused rather than puzzles (since intelligent puzzles are basically impossible to randomly generate)