Your characters?

Thank you all for your replies (especially you, Muro)! Arcanum is now on my laptop, modded up to my liking and in the process of getting played.

Thus begins the story of Victoria Ashford, steampunk demon-summoner!

Victoria is a sickly human woman (although she has the prettiest face Arcanum's preset portraits had to offer) who, despite the fact that a stiff breeze would probably kill her, somehow managed to survive a zeppelin crash. Although she is quite intelligent, there may have been some severe frontal lobe damage as the first thing she did after talking to Virgil was summon way too many orcs and pass out for a while as I re-learned the controls. She then proceeded to stab herself in the face numerous times while fighting the local fauna of the area. After almost killing herself far more times in a single day than most people manage in a lifetime, she has somehow made it to the small town of Shrouded Hills.

I believe Virgil must be either amused, horrified or some mixture of the two emotions to know that the reincarnation of the Living One is so adept at injuring herself.

 

You know the critical failure rate at the start of the game has always irked me a bit. I can't count how many times I've had my character die or nearly die just from attacking himself. I've discovered this happens a lot less if you fight barehanded at the start instead grabbing a dagger. None the less, it's kind of odd that I can escape the blimp crash with full XP but by the time I reach the shrine I've got numerous scars, a broken arm and/or leg, and I've been saved from near death by Virgil's healing more than a dozen times.

Anyway, onto my my own character. I've been having a bit of trouble lately getting started... mostly because I couldn't decide on exactly what character and what build I wanted. I think I finally have it sorted out now.

Coincidentally, he uses the "Sickly" background as well.

...

As one can guess young Ellis Wollcott spent most of his childhood indoors reading about the world rather than experiencing it. His favorite subject to read about concerned advancements in the field of electrical engineering and how it could be used to power entire cities. Determined to experience this marvelous era first hand Ellis began researching ways to overcome his body's naturally weak immune system so that he might be well enough to travel. In the process he obtained the recipe to an elixir of persuasion and with it convinced his parents at last to endorse his wishes.

Ellis had read much about Tarant and its great University where the greatest minds of the day gathered to study their chosen disciplines. After crossing the ocean to the Caladon he was but one step away from his goal. Tantalized by the IFS Zephyr, yet another marvel of the age, Elli eagerly booked passage. Of-course it was not be, the blimp was shot down and Ellis was the only survivor. He had little faith in prophecies of the Panarii but it soon became clear that even if their beliefs were fictional that the lethal forces out for the Living One's blood were not.

With such a severe threat to his person Ellis was forced to put his formal education on hold. Using electricity as a power source would do little to keep assassins at bay, but as a weapon it would make for spectacular defense. After purchasing schematics for the charged accelerator and tesla guns he began studying gun-smithing to the degree that he might craft these weapons himself...

Edit: I decided to go with a theme of "stylish" for this character. As such I figured he'll wear a chapeau of magnetic inversion, suit of resistance, and wield a tesla rod for much of his adventure. He'll also employ a charged sword and long range pistol as backup weapons. Towards the end, with therapeutics to increase his strength to the appropriate level, he will craft stylish electro armor and build a tesla gun before heading off into the Void.

 

Probably because you do not have any points in melee and try to flail the rapier around. This disappears once you start transitioning to a melee/firearms/magic character, spend points appropriately, and get better equipment.

 

No, one point in melee and I'm still a bigger danger to myself than I am to anyone else.

 

She sounds like a harlot. I jest; welcome to The House!

Now now, power-play occasionally. For many adventurers, it would be the height of folly to not sink all if not most of one's beginning Character Points into combat-related skills and attributes. What is one to do otherwise, negotiate with the kites? Employ his therapeutics on the ailing wolves to gain their trust? No! Start with some survival skills, apply your damage, reap your experience, and then spend the resulting Character Points on features more suitable to your desired build.

 

It was always too difficult to survive without adding anything into combat skills at first, though if I give myself a kickstart with certain backgrounds, I can start off the game with some combat spells or a few technological schematics. I need to hunker down and make some more custom backgrounds.

 

I just think it is awkward that after putting at least one point in a combat skill, enough to make my character capable but not gifted, that he is still a bigger danger to himself than to the enemy.

Of-course another problem is that as soon as the game starts you are suffering lighting penalties. I think the crash should have occurred a bit earlier in the day.

 

One could argue that the Crash Site is one of the two most difficult locations in the game, next to the BMC mines.

 

wha-what? If you run down along the sides of the plane, Virgil is quite capable of taking out the few ailing wolves/ kites there by himself, even with just his staff, even on Hard. If you let him talk your way out of the Molochean Hand encounter, you're just fine. The way to SH can be dangerous the first time around, but running away should be possible in most cases.

The one thing you shouldn't do right at the start is continuing down the path where youre supposed to start the world map, because the wolf pack around the corner will probably take you down. I also leave the Brehgo cave for my next visit usually.

On topic, I usually start out all my characters with combat skills/ spells only, leveling up is just too tedious otherwise. And skills simply fail too often on Hard if they're low; two ranks of anything is about as good as none. The balancing really was a little off there.

 

Speaking of those wolf packs: with my Throwing Dwarf, I was able to boomerang them to death, and I only used 1 or 2 healing salves (I always invest 1 point into herbology)!

 

Well, finishing a location and just escaping from it are two different things completely. I was talking about the former in this case.

 

Yeah, that's what bugs me. The first two ranks seem to exist only to get you to rank 3. Once you have three ranks all of a sudden your skill is useful. It's a really sharp change.

 

finishing it the moment you get there can be lethal, yes. I've had Virgil die on me often enough when he was taking on the rats in the cave by himself, when I tried to play on Hard + no reloads as fast as possible (ingame). Then I realized I was biting off a little too much.

One true bottle neck in my game usually is Tarant, after going through Schuyler's. Sure you can do some fetch quests then, but the rewards are minor. The sewers near the docks can be hard right away. Your skills aren't much to speak of, or your equipment is lacking, or both.

 

I tend to be a one man wolf pack.

 

I think you're misinterpreting powergaming there, TDC.

 

I am trying to stay as much as loyal to the role play of the char I am playing.

I am currently playing a Scientist who has self respect and high morals, with miracle operation background, and I enjoy this RP. It still has a looong way to be done with (this is my 5th play I guess, I gave a long break and came back to Arcanum after 6 years. New games are not mking up for the old ones, a bit oblivion and maybe gothic can still drag me into themselves but replayibility.. dont think so)

while studying my papers, I remembered an old good movie (which is also one of my wife's favorites) "A Bittersweet Life" which is an awesome korean drama-movie. I strongly recommend to whoever missed it. So I was listening to the soundtrack and felt like making a char in Arcanum and play as the protogonist from the movie.

Spoiler

The main character in movie is a mafia henchman who is loyal to his master for so many years, but is betrayed by his boss (as his girl has emotions for our character). He is on the run on whole movie, BUT never escaping actually, but kind of chasing/avoiding sort of. He uses whatever method needed (lying, dirty fighting, shooting without warning, acting) to achieve survival and killing off others. He is never trying to avoid danger just he is trying to stay alive after he faces it.

So my character will be named after the protogonist of the movie, Kim Sun-woo, and will be named K.M. Sunwoe. (with custom portrait of his)


He is gonna be a half-elf (thought fits asians more) and planning to have run away with circus background(both good for easing game, and still fitting a background of a stray character)

His stats will be similar to the character in the movie; he will have great(!) dexterity(max), average strength(12~) and constitution(12~) later to be increased as well. He is gonna have comparatively higher beauty (like 11) and giving the BE stat to a char of mine is a first for me so I like this. He will of course have high charisma and persuation (lying ability) so planning 12 CH and expert pers. For Int he is no muscled idiot running around smashing things, and he has knowledge on gunsmithy for sure;

Spoiler

the scene in the movie where he is sitting on a table with weapon dealer he just tricked into giving him a huge supply of weapons in the name of the boss (who is trying to kill him). weapon dealer offers him to play "who shall build back the dismantled gun first". At that moment there comes a phone call to the dealer from the boss after a few seconds of talk, expression on the face of dealer changes. They begin to put back parts of the guns in a hurry, under the observation of several henchmen of the weapon-dealer who are thinking they are still playing the game so watching like idiots. Kim build his gun shooting the dealer than the surprised henchmen around

I will give him 11 int (or maybe 13 for making him reach hushed revolver, as the weapon fits this character) and give gunsmithy / explosives and Healing (the skill one requiring bandages). I thought of giving him one point of herbology for survival, but then there are many scenes in the movie where he is bandaging himself with torn cloths, so this fits him better.
And of course for firearms, he will unfortunately need PE.

He trusts noone but himself, therefore NO followers, not even as mules. This play is gonna be my hardest gameplay ever for sure but probably one of the most enjoyable ones. And about why it is gonna be the hardest, no not because I wont have any followers. But because I will be wearing a SUIT the whole game as armor. But I am planning to have shoes/gauntlets tough ones to compansate a little bit.

he will have melee/dodge master. firearms as high as possible. and healing 2-3. Throwing 2-3 as well.
For melee he will use knives/barehand and sometimes the junk pipes around or something he just looted from a dead enemy for attacking the next one (not for using later).
For firearms he will use anything BUT those hightech weapons (tesla/flamethrower etc) just the conventional types. He will lso make his bullets.
For bombs he will use any kind of dirty tricks (flash grenades/molotoves/explosives/stun grenades). He does not play fair, he just plays to be the only surviver after the encounter.

for role-play; I wont hesitate to lie, do some dirty work, never putting any loyalty into anything I mean until I find those bastards who are after me and kill them withou a warning.

Spoiler

In the last scene of the movie; (stop reading here if you dont wanna hear the end)
he confronts his boss in his tower, before tens of his bodyguards. noone is expecting him to do something that stupid, but after asking his boss "why" and he does not speak as he wish but tells rubbish like "stop all these mass,dont cause a ruckus here" he just shoots the boss in the heart without a warning. everyone is so shocked that noone can react and shootback for a while

I wont let people let him kick around, but wont be stupidly brave to fightback fairly. maybe pretend "sorry sir... I am weak..." then get away a little and a *BANG* with explosive in the face. Wont help people for nothing, but wont be evil neither. I guess I may let him get scarred as well (in the movie after an hour he is not in a shape someone would ever want to be)
But also I am not plannign to fall too low in morals neither, if someone wicked asks me to hurt some innocent for payment. I will simply aid the innocent and still get my payment over the dead body of the bad guy tried to hire me.

There will be alot of gun fires, brawling, lying, killing. and mostly they wont be fair. pulling an exlosive in the center of the opponents even before a conversation and they are still neutral to me. then killing with whatever means.

all the gameplay with lots of killing, no armor, no followers, many unnecessary stats wasted; it is gonna be a hell of a game, but I hope it will be great fun.

If you watched the movie and think I am missing some points please show them, thanks!

 

Right now I'm thinking about whether to go with the last character concept I posted or if I should make a character based on Theodore Roosevelt. It occurred to me that the Sickly background is very similar to Theodore Roosevelt's own childhood.

 

The last character I beat the game with was one I really enjoyed: Arius, an elf with the Troll Offspring background who I built to be a fighter/mage. The early game was made really hilarious by abusing Stun and backstab, and later on it was just getting silly with Weaken and Haste tossed in. Just for laughs I went with getting the worst endings in every town possible.

Right before him I went with Pogo, a half-ogre (I forget the exact background, Raised in the Pits IIRC) basic melee + dodge type who was there for my "dumb dialogue options" run. Out of lack of anything else to dump points into during the late-game I ended up giving him thief skills, which got really really weird at some point.

For my very first playthrough I went with a really basic human Charlatan's Protege diplomatic mage-type named Presto, getting all sorts of spells along with maxed persuasion. In contrast to Arius this guy was my "get all good endings" game.

Up next maybe I'll try playing Garrett from the Thief games by going bows with thieving skills. Hmm.