Yeah, I suppose if you absolutely can't stand the d20 system, KOTOR and such games may not be right for you.
Personally, KOTOR I & II are some of my favorite games, if not favorite. I like how the pacing of the first one kind of feels like you're in an episodic series, which I think is partially accomplished by the fact that there's no encumbrance or item limit, so you don't have to backtrack to do inventory management; you just keep moving from one place to another, progressing the story. And the second, while feeling a bit more rushed (it feels like you level up faster in II), lets you respond to questions in such a way that you can really reflect on the motivations and inner thoughts of your character (I don't think a lot of them really change the outcome of what happens so much, but I prefer a game that asks how my character feels and why I did something rather than one where I make arbitrary decisions that will eventually have a large impact on my playthrough *throws shade at Mass Effect*).
Then, on a more I suppose technical level, I like how the games let you control multiple characters in real time, but in a close 3rd person perspective so you feel more connected to them, as opposed to something like Baldur's Gate, where you're so zoomed out that the characters almost feel more like units in an RTS game. Also, II does some cool things like let you get gain some new abilities outside of normal advancement, from things you do in the game (which I've seen done in other games, but this was my first time encountering it in an RPG), and splitting up your group so that you end up sometimes playing with a team of characters that doesn't include the main character (something I really haven't seen or heard of in other RPGs).
Bottom line, I think the KOTOR series are good games, and if you can recommend better games, especially ones that do what they do, I'd like to hear about them, because I've already finished playing through them and would like to know about more good games. But if you haven't played them, they're cheap, and fun, and maybe don't have the best graphics, but you're on the Dwarf Fortress forum here, so I don't know why you'd be complaining about graphics.
Slightly ninja'd Pre-edit:
Maybe it's Baldur's Gate 2 then that gets me, cause most of the fights have been complicated affairs as soon as spell casters join the fray.
I think the thing about Baldur's Gate is, since it's based on AD&D, the characters have very few hit points, and unlike in KOTOR, they won't pop back up after the fight is over if they go down; you have to resurrect or reload. Also, healing outside of combat in Baldur's Gate can be resource intensive or at least risky if you make camp to heal. And the fact that spells are only regained on a per day basis and you only have so many of each prepared means you have to make sure whatever you use goes off properly.