The issue of balance comes up: Gothic games are notorious for a difficult early game and a pushover end game - as with all freeform RPGs. Oblivion's solution to this problem has been controversial, and regretably, Gothic 3 plans to adopt similar method of balance. The placement of the creatures are static, but their attributes scale to your individual character slates. As for the all-important "how" or how they plan to scale to the player character remains to be seen.

Gothic has a reputation as games for hardcore roleplaying fans. The choices are prone to unknown consequences, they're final, and elicit visible reactions from the gameworld minutes or hours down the line. NPCs are not keen on easily forgiving player transgressions - they remember forever! Also, quest givers are powerful, but still very much flesh and blood; killing one would result in being hunted down or shunned by other NPCs, but the dead stays dead.