I picked up both Baldur's Gate games from GOG a while ago, and just now decided to attempt to understand them. I'm a sucker for a good story, and I hear that BG is one of the best. What do you recommend I do to get the most enjoyment out of these games? I already know about the Tutu mod.

Tutu mod is a must-have for playing BG1, as that game is kind of rough without the added benefits of Max HP on level up and some of the other benefits that it grants. As far as the game itself is concerned, you obviously have to know a bit about 2nd edition D&D and should probably make your character some variation of Fighter (be it a boring fighter, a Paladin/Ranger, or multiclass) because if they die it's game over and all that HP helps. In general, the roughest part of the game is right after you leave Candlekeep. In general, you'll be spending a lot of the first part of the game wandering around wilderness areas trying not to die, but it's essential that you do so since beelining the main quest at a low level is incredibly difficult.

I dunno. GameFAQs something something. Hope that helped!

I'm sure some people will disagree with me, but I'd recommend playing it without tutu your first time through. The reason is because the Baldur's Gate II engine changes some things around like weapon proficiency. Where BG1 has small and large sword, BG2 splits them all up into sub groups like longsword, bastard sword, scimitar, etc. and a lot of those don't show up much, if at all. I also hear there's some glitch where it can crash every time you try and enter a certain town. Things like that can be frustrating and detract from the immersion. I suppose you could do your research to make sure you don't run into those problems, but I'd personally rather not have to deal with them at all on my first go around.

I'd also recommend starting as a fighter-type character. If your main character dies, then it's immediately game over so the extra beefiness is welcome. Paladin is a good choice because they have a heal and naturally high charisma which can improve quest rewards. The most important stats for fighters are strength (for damage), dexterity (for armor class), constitution (for hit points) and (for paladins) charisma. You don't have to take the first stat roll you get. Just keep rerolling until you find something you're happy with and if you're on the fence you can click the store button and come back to it later if you don't find anything you like better.

I'd avoid a mage in Baldur's Gate 1. As previously mentioned, when your main character dies, it's immediately game over. A level 1 mage can die if an acorn falls on his head.

If you don't know anything about D&D already you should learn enough to know what weapons/spells/items are good and why.