Tools eh? alright here's a list of tools that people should have for any workshop.
IETME
Near Infinity
Infinity Explorer
Photoshop (or something comparable)
Full Install of BG2
IETME: Will be used to compile and edit areas. Alot can be done with this wonderful tool, but it has its' limitations.
Near Infinity: The best tool around. This can be used to tweak areas where IETME reaches its limits
Infinity Explorer: I bet you thought this was only for looking at dialogs and browsing files:D This tool is the only one that will extract an entire area bitmap decompressed and full size. Tweaks can then be done to existing areas when you have the entire render.
Photoshop: This will be used to make graphical changes to an area, make search and lighting maps, and make door bitmaps. If you do not have Photoshop, then you should have some graphics program that can deal with layers and transparencies.
Full install of BG2 or BG1: We want the most out of our file browsing... who knows what we might need to find with regards to areas. Especially in BG1, its nice to have every area graphic close at hand. But this is optional, some people cannot hold a full install of both on their machines because of size limits.