If you want to "earn your spurs" nowadays for RPGs, play Planescape: Torment. There are few RPGs that can match the actual RPG experience like Torment.
NWN2 is good but the AI is extremely stupid, stupider than NWN1. The Witcher has an odd and sometimes recalcitrant control system but both games have good plots, if somewhat linear.
Oblivion is open-ended but like Morrowind (or Daggerfall, or Arena - any Elder Scrolls game) it lacks depth, due to its open-endedness.
If you get Vampire: Bloodlines, don't play with the unofficial patch, play with the patch (available here on Gamespot) that patches up the game as the creators intended it - the unofficial patch adds a lot of content which may not be in line with the original idea. Some ideas I think worked rather well (for example, some items were vendor bought in the original and the mod allows them to be granted through quest rewards) but others are just plain arbitrary and reduce the "moral ambiguity" of certain actions, which is half the charm of Bloodlines. Sometimes you need to wonder if you did the right thing and see if there are unforseen consequences.
KOTOR and KOTOR 2 are fairly linear but strong stories, but both suffer terribly from unfixed bugs. Currently I'm stuck in Nar Shaddaa where my poor Sith Lord is locking up every 5 minutes of walking down a corridor.
The two Fallout games (Tactics doesn't count as an RPG) are interesting but also riddled with bugs but patches fix most of those, although some still creep in if you do nonstandard actions. Kudos to the game that it *allows* such nonstandard actions.
But play Planescape: Torment first and foremost. I guarantee, you will not regret it. Dated system and poor combat but the story is amazing and you have a decisive and permanent affect on how it plays out. A responsive RPG that's a wild ride that is unmatched by any other later offering.
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