It's been a while. I intend to do a video playthrough of Arcanum, showing off a technology-based character with as much gameplay completion as possible. I was hoping for something different, like a half-ogre technologist/smooth-talker, but if that simply won't do, that is fine. I'm requesting help balancing a good build that won't leave me getting raped at every turn but still opens up plenty of dialog and story options. Suggestions on what paths to take and any walkthroughs I could consult would be helpful as well. I've not played Arcanum in nearly a decade, so I would love some advice on this.
I would go for a whatever the half ogre background is where they are supposed to be born to a human mother, with therapeutics. Through these means you can max both IN and ST (at 24 for the latter despite the background lowering it) and you save a shed load of character points to spend as you please (make them persuasive, a gambler, whatever takes your fancy). I played a half ogre through like this and it was the best character I've ever made.
Thanks for the advice! Sounds like it could be interesting. I made a quick test, taking the Rare Half-Ogre Birth background and pouring points into Therapeutics and some persuasion to start, but a draw-back I see is that the character begins with 6 INT (I raised it to 8 so I could take two levels in Therapeutics). Doesn't that mean that the character will max out at 18 INT, which is not enough to reach master ranking in any of the technological disciplines? Or is that not a problem?
Therapeutics can take you beyond the cap of 18, so the Mind Marvel learnt at 15 IN can be used to reach IN 19 (or 20, if you wanted). Though this may sound like an annoying impractical way of getting to 19 IN, once you use a therapeutics item I've never noticed it deactivate unless I waited or fast travelled from the location - so you won't have to be popping a potion every minute or so to carry on crafting master level items.
I am going to assume you will rely on technologically enhanced melee weapons as I do recall the manual stating Ogres were unable to handle most firearms due to the size of their hands. Best way to ensure combat is easy is by using that smooth-talking trait you hope to level and have lots of followers. Dog being a free and possibly over-powered option. Remember though that experience is gained through quest completion as well as every successful hit in combat. So with a large contingent of followers the likeliness of you reaping the mos experience possible from a fight will be low. I would suggest playing turn-based for combat to avoid silly deaths and maximise the potential for experience.
Thanks for suggestions. I'll certainly be using turn-based once I get to enemies that are dangerous, anyway. I'll likely real-time through the easy stuff, though. I hadn't really considered how allies could steal experience by grabbing all the hits, though. Doesn't it demand that I have a decent DEX so I can actually gain experience, then?
Dexterity is an important factor for any combat focused character, especially for melee if you choose to sink points into melee and dodge. As a tech based character though you won't be using the teleport spell which means you will have several traveling encounters which will undoubtedly push you to level 50 regardless of the size of your party. Though using a high persuasion means you should be able to skip certain dungeons as well. Remember persuasion is useless if you don't have the intellect required to open certain dialogue options.
If you're a strong half-ogre with solid tech weapons, just tell your party to back off while you one-shot the mobs.
Hm, thanks again. I'll keep it all in mind. Maybe I've forgotten, but I seemed to recall that, at some levels, you'd get two character points to spend. Am I just remembering incorrectly? Is it only one point per level and that's it, or is there anything that gives more at some point?
The max level is 50, and you have 5 CP's to spend at character creation. I don't recall if the total CP's gained are 63 or 65 - if it's 65, then that would probably be an extra point gained every tenth level. Also, it's good to see you back, xento.
That makes more sense. I was thinking two extra every tenth for some reason. Huh...63+65=128/2=64. Damn averages.
Thanks much for all the advice. Hopefully I'll be able to keep straight what I'm doing once I begin recording. There's still some planning yet to do. It's been a while since I've played the game. I'll be reviewing L0rdVega's Let's Play of Arcanum to get a gist of what may be a good way to go about the editing, handling lots of text, etc. I was impressed by how his series summed up pretty much the entire game in under six hours, which baffles me. I am sure that I do not recall the game nearly so well as that. So, I'm asking advice again for things to keep in mind. Any reminders on what must be done would be a great help. 1. Jongle Dunn (can he be helped without killing the little dwarf who loves the steam engine?) 2. Iron Clan (in order to go this route, I recall that a rare crystal must be used to make spectacles to help Magnus find his clan, and you cannot convince Logan Thunderstone to return, but the details beyond that are fuzzy) 3. Donn Throg (what must be done to convince him?) 4. Panarii Religion (what must be done to uncover the scandal?) 5. Negotiations (if I recall, there are two or three major negotiations that the player can participate in--what are they and what must be done to get the "best" result? I believe there are negotations between the United Kingdom and Cumbria, Blackroot's mayor, and maybe something else as well, but I do not remember what) 6. Dernholm (what must be done to convince Dernholm's proper king to return?) 7. Others (what else is really worth doing?) Thanks again, folks.
Yes, there are several ways to get him out of the way, but probably none of them are worth the time involved. They're mostly exploitative, which doesn't seem to be what you're going for. Close. The spectacles are to get into the Wheel Clan, and there's 5 ways of procuring them. You can convince Loghaire to return and/or accompany you, but you need decent persuasion and intelligence (or a potion of intellect). In the Wheel Clan, you can meet a historian who will start you on your way to the Iron Clan. You'll have to either make a key from heartstone and mithril, or spend a fate point on lockpicking to open the iron chest in the Tarant University Zoological museum. Inside is a map and a set of metal drums. Apply the drums to the machine at the location in the map. This points you to the Book of Durin's Truth, owned by the widow Misk in Caladon. Get it, read it, and you can find the location of the Iron Clan. To open the vault, you need the Glass Key, which you receive in exchange for bringing the truth about Mannox back to Hadrian in the Panarii Temple in Caladon. You just need a few points of persuasion. After you find Nasrudin's body, talk to the archaeologist and historian. Then go to Roseborough, head west along the coast, and open the small vault with the password. You'll find Mannox's journal and sword. Return to the Church and tell them what you found. There's those two, Gladys and Archibald in Dernholm, Maximilian on the Isle of Despair, Kan Kerai of the Bedokaan, and Kerghan in the Void. All of these only need persuasion skill; the dialogue's really straightforward. Persuasion skill. Treat him like a gentleman and don't push him. Again, it's very straightforward. Depends on the build and the goal of your videos, but my favorites are the Arbalah quest at the Crash Site and the Half-Ogre Island quest.
You can stun the dwarf, using either magick or the stun grenades found at the crash site if you still have them. However one time I tried this Constable Owens told me that Hervor had told him what had happened and then Owens wouldn't deal with me again so be careful (I haven't been able to replicate this again however even after leaving him alive). Apart from that, I think friartuck covered the rest of your questions perfectly well; although if I remember rightly Kerghan requires high CH to persuade as well as persuasion. Also most persuasion attempts can be resolved with only three points (Kan Kerai, Donn Throgg, etc.), it's only the mastery quest and Kerghan who require five.
Ahh, thanks. I appreciate all the help. I'm sure that I'll be begging for more soon enough. And yep, DarkFool. I'm still alive.
