I play solo, so your point doesn't apply. And saying that levels are not vital is irrelevant really. What's a fact is that is a ridiculously easy game as I never felt threatened at all during the whole game in the max difficulty available from the start.
About KOTC I complain that the game NEEDS a cleric because it works in a way that cant be predicted. That's just a pure knowledge test and its dumb. You should tell the players that there are no potions or way to replace the cleric. once you know that, you just build your team with a cleric (or 2 or 3) PROBLEM solved. DO you call that a skill test?