First off, love the game. I'm a diehard cRPG, been playing them since about 1989. Love the SSI games (EOB, Ravenloft, but especially Dark Sun), and this game is very very impressive.
Also, I am so far not finding crafting too overpowered - I've crafted some weapons for my dual wielder dex fighter since that's obviously key for damage output, but I've barely relied on craft wondrous items or scribing scrolls thus far. But, I do agree that crafting lessens the thrill of loot, which is a huge portion of the fun of these games (especially a linear game with, accordingly, limited replay value - though I guess there's always Ironman mode).
Anyhow, teeny bug: In the cave in the SW, if you talk to the Thri-Keen by the river before the you talk to their chief, you can ask the Thri-Keen about their problems with the Dwarves, even though you of course would not know about this problem until talking to the King.
Dark Sun II had a bunch of these dialogue problems - in fact, you could talk to the head of the Mines about the mindflayer infestation immediately, which really spoiled what would have been a wonderful reveal.