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People. With a bit of free time coming up, I intend to dust off my robe and wizard hat and play through Oblivion for the first time. Alas, the hateful leveling system is putting me off. I'm not exactly a min-maxing powergamer, but developing the player character is a big part of every CRPG, and in Oblivion leveling up as soon as the option comes up means seriously gimping my guy, and the alternative is engaging in some soul-crushingly wearisome and inane game within a game.

My question is, has anyone tried out one of the alternative leveling systems? Are some of them worth it? Are they buggy? Do they make the game harder or easier? I intend to use Francesco's leveled creatures and items mod, selecting the options that make the game as static as possible. Do any of the leveling mods work well that overhaul?
This question / problem has been solved by DarrkPhoeniximage
The mod I have the most experience with is Oblivion XP, which replaces the standard leveling system with a typical "spend points on stats and skills when you level up" system. I liked it for how you can build up the stats and skills you want without worrying about how often you're using them.

You might want to tweak how fast you gain experience though Oblivion XP though. If you're doing every quest you'll hit level 20 before doing a quarter of the game, where 20 is Oblivion's cap in terms of how balanced things are. Last time I played using Oblivion XP I was doing a 100% game where I completed every quest, even some mod quests. I was saving Shivering Isles for last, but by the time I finally went there I was level 60 or something and too powerful for anything to be interesting.
I've used Kobu's Character Advancement System and really liked the way it handled things. The basic method of how it works is that skills level up in the same way they used to (although the rates at which various skills level up have been adjusted for balance); however, stats increase automatically based on skill gains (each skill can contribute to multiple stats in different amounts, and when you've raised skills sufficiently the stats will then automatically increase). Levels are also gained automatically in the background. Basically it allows you to just play the game without having to worry about getting enough non-major skill increases between levels to get the x4 or x5 stat bonuses. It's also highly customizable, with lots of options regarding precisely how the stat increases are calculated. I used it in conjunction with Oscuro's Oblivion Overhaul (which creates a much more static world) and found it to be very well balanced (for me it resulted in my character being a bit weaker at the start, but then coming into his own at a very gradual and natural pace, and growing to where he could handle even the toughest challenges of the world while still not feeling overpowered). I encountered no bugs or other issues in over 100 hours of use, but it does include recovery options in case things somehow get messed up (basically it allows you to recalculate all your stats based off your current skill levels at any time).
Thanks to both of you, much appreciated. Think I'm gonna try out KCAS.