OK, I've never before finished ToEE with this and that coming in between... but I do intend this once and: I play with 5 PCs NO Npcs, liv's mod. I'd like the game to stay challenging but I like levelling up... so should I turn the 10th level cap on or will the lack of NPCs in my party balance things out?
If you play without NPCs you actually gain expierence faster, because the CR is hgher then and quest expierence splits just for your PCs. Try avoiding random encounters, craft a lot and don't reload after party deaths unless your whole party is wiped out and you should end the game between level 10 & 11. And such playstyle is more exciting. Levelling above 10th level makes the game too easy and combat becomes boring.
I got an evil group tp level 12 once, great fun, had a sexy female necromancer thanks to royo's portraits, tonnes of fun with undead - you don't need to give them XP!
And don't reload much - it will spoil the fun knowing what is around corner. I actually envy you that it's your first time through. You might want to create your PCs with Point-Buy so it's a little more challenging and makes sense to use some magic items later on like Gloves of Dexterity +6 and the like.
I always use point buy, I hate gambling. And having stats like 18/18/4/4/18 PS. It's not my first time it's just going to be the first time till the very end.
