What if....

In MOST roleplaying games where there have been a sequel, there has been one canonized way the game is played, and it would seem the 'good male' template seems to be default. Fallout had the Vault Dweller, for instance. In all the Jedi Knight games you ended up being 'good' in the next game. And in the ones where you could pick a gender, you were canonized as male.

We're just gonna have to ask one of the developers what really happened.

I suggest at least Virgil and Magnus as canon companions, for one.

 

I'm trying to think of some additional quests that could tie into the main quest, for example an equivalent to Virgil's little 'Find Joachim' undertone to the investigation of the ring

Thank you very much Rroyo and Xiao_Caity for the welcomes and comment on my doodle

Xiao_Caity: NND would do, but as long as it is obvious you're referring to me I don't really mind what I'm called

 

Fallout was a simple when caconising the Vault Dweller. He was a male good fellow, and he didn't have to appear anywhere, but if did, he would almost for sure be in a hardened power armor and with a turbo plasma rifle, since that equipment is the best and the most custom in the game.
In Arcanum however, when we choose a good male, we have to decide what give him, magic or tech, and none is neutrally better. Then we have to choose a magic/tech armor when there is none neutrally better (at least for magic), same goes for the weapon. The Living One just shouldn't appear.

When it goes for followers, there shouldn't have more that three followers at a time, and even that is a lot, considering how it suggests that the Living One has at least 12 points in Charisma.
Which three? I think that the three most neutral and most important would be Virgil (obviously) and the two great leaders, Loghaire Thunderstone and Raven. Their joining to the Living One during his mission is the most natural, symbolic and epic-feeling possibility.
Natural, because in real life they would join no matter follower limits.
Symbolic, since dwarfs and elves are together, magic and tech, fighting together for a better cause.
Epic-feeling, bacause it shows how pracitally whole Arcanum takes part in the journey, Loghaire representing all of the dwarfs and Raven all of the elves, the two greatest and most different nations in that world. Plus Virgil, seemingly insignificant in that band, being between magic and technology, a clumsy man with a sguilty conscience, who is capable of great acts when the sitoations needs it - a perfect representant of the human race.

 

Muro - I like the way you think.

 

Ditto.

NND, huh? That I can deal with. And yeah, your little picture is pretty cool. Wish I could draw that well.

 

I'm breathing, I'm breathing. I just got a little desperate when I read A:WIP could get abandoned for another project. I am in favor of A:WIP, but I did like this idea too. Talking about companions, I like how you think Muro, but what about Magnus? He definetely should be added, to the point Loghaire declares him the King of the Iron Clan. Than he could be dropped, in my opinion, no more active participation in the story. At least one adventure with Franklin Payne should be added as well.

 

Giving the LO any more followers makes his assumed charisma too high to be a 'netral' one. This almost suggests, that he has to be a diplomatic character.

My thoughts on Magnus and Franklin:

Magnus. The LO has no choice but to encounter him, since he stands outside a vital plot place. And when he meets him, what he sees is a grumpy captious arrogant dwarf. Plus Virgil doesn't like him. The Living One would talk with him about their jewerly and the Schuylers, but he wouldn't necessarily want the dwarf to stick with him. He wasn't too polite, plus the last thing he and Virgil need at the moment, with all of th Molochaens around, is a attention gathering troublemaker. I Think they could even finish the Schuyler tombs together, but after that, they would make peace and wander away, each one their own way.

Franklin. We hear about him the whole way through the game. I wouldn't risk his ego making the ship sink during the way to Thanatos, but it depends on the character. No to mention how hard it is to actually find him on your own, without knowing about him earlier from a walkthrough. When we would be making a canon Living One, I think he could make the Thanatos part with Franklin and then they would split their ways. Just like with Dante after returning Preator's taxes.

 

Here's something. They don't actually have to be in the LO's party at the time the Survivor encounters them. They could have simply travelled with him at some point, and may travel with the Survivor, should they ask them to/mention the LO.

 

I don't mean they always had to stick around with Magnus. I like your idea, but what about if they ocasionally bumped into each other, leading to they disconvering the Iron Clan together, along with Loghaire. The Living One could be find Franklin accidently while looking for a boat in Blackroot. Learning the Living One was going to Thanatos, he went along for another of his crazy adventures. In the way back, they split.

I agree with you that saying the Living One has more than 3 followers, implicating in he having more than 12 charisma is pretty much saying he is diplomatic in one way or another, but there could be included at least some interaction with the possible followers, because don't doing so would be a waste of important characters.

I'm very sorry for any grammatical and spelling errors, I haven't practiced my English in over a month, and I'm kinda "rusty".

 

What Yuki said, they could of come and gone, fulfilled their own agendas and left, that would get around the diplomatic problem. Personally I don't see the problem with saying flat out, this is what the Living One is, he is blah blah race and blah blah inclined. RPGs do it all the time, if you try to remain too neutral you will miss out on a potentially good story. Sacrifices have to be made.

 

Instead of taking the cheap route and refering to the LO as "they" throughout the game.

 

Well it's up to rroyo if he would ever make this project, but I believe that the more character we give the Living One, the more Arcanum players will be unsatisfied with it. Like with the canon Vault Dweller, he didn't have too much character, was shown as pretty casual, and that turned out to be the most accepted option.
Still, this game would be about the second surivor. The Living One would be a background character, there propably shouldn't be too much stress on him.

 

Yes - exactly. In order to do a variation of the original main quest there needs to be as few as possible references to the Living One and keep those just generic enough to avoid assigning too many characteristics to the LO.
Although - I can't help but think that, in addition to Virgil, Raven, and Loghair travelling with him, we might have to assign a gender - then lock it down at that! No more details. OK?

Back to the show: We've got the Survivor overhearing the bit between the "gnome" and the Living One at the crash site, then waking up in Shrouded Hills, learning for certain there was another survivor, possibly acquiring a new follower, returning to the Crash Site to look for clues as to who shot the blimp down.... (Fresh ideas would be useful), encountering the Hand there, ....

Possible scenario - The Survivor is told that all the valuables are being boxed up to be brought to Shrouded Hills. The Survivor doesn't want to wait around for a few days so he heads for the mountain to claim his stuff.
Upon arrival, The Survivor finds the workers have been killed and others are sorting through the wreckage.
The Survivor and/or new follower dispatches the assassins and finds a note mentioning finding the ring and leaving no survivors.

Think that would be enough to begin trailing the Living One?

 

I think that would be a solid beginning.

 

That would be AWESOME. Great way to get into the plot.

"Oi! That's my stuff! ...Oh fuck." ~ Xiao's Second Living One

 

Perhaps you could slap an entrance onto a part of the wreckage and you're able to go inside the wreckage?
I haven't really looked at all of the available scenery in worlded so I'm not sure if we can get an appropriate looking area for that

Maybe your new follower when you look at the ogre at the crash site brings up that you mentioned 2 and that gives you a map marker and you find the other flying machine leading you to finding a new clue

Perhaps find a note amongst other people's belongings detailing about a plot to hijack the IFS Zephyr and the plan didn't go so well due to ogre intervention, a quest (main or side) could be to track this down to a finish? Perhaps it could be one of the gnomish gentlemen involved in the half ogre quest responsible for the failed hijack, then that could be the survivor's window into the half ogre conspiracy quest. This would concentrate more on who was doing it rather than the gathering of evidence that the main game focuses on, so effectively it is the same quest but an entirely different aspect of it.

 

I'll need to think on the rest and others are more than welcome to comment or add to Naughty dog's suggestions but I can answer this:

Thanks to the Fallout games, a suitably banged-up entrance and junk-filled space is possible. A couple days work but otherwise not a problem.

 

"Sheriff! Sheriff! There was a horrible blimp crash just over the hill!"
"Yes, I know. The other fellow told me."

 

On the hijack idea possibly the gnome wanted to make a business of sell the half ogres and saw the IFS Zephyr as the perfect place with a suitable wow factor to it

The clue could be an order about taking down the IFS Zephyr much like the note found on 'William Radcliffe'

I haven't touched Worlded in few years >_>
*toddles off to amtut to dust off the rust*