Arcanum expansion plan (Conflict Culminated)

Some years ago, I started a suggestion for an expansion for Arcanum to discuss with rroyo, but I guess anyone who would like to see such a plan for expansion could participate and cooperate on it.

It would deal much with main storyline of Arcanum as it feels like there were some things originally meant to be in the game that were cut. Those of you who know Fallout 1 and 2 - there is a Restoration Project for FO2 that adds much of the cut content and also some ending scenes - and I was kind of inspired by it.

I uploaded some data files, notable the formatted .txt file for main storyline additions, including dialogues, quests, additional locations, ending scenes etc.

As it deals with the main story plot, I guess I should give a SPOILER warning, but read on if you completed Arcanum (at least once for both good and evil side):

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Conflict Culminated is the name for the expansion because it focuses on political and power-struggle aspect of factions in Arcanum and adds more detail to factions that are maybe not mentioned as they would probably deserve.
IMHO, the factions of Dark Elves and the Molochean Hand belong to the most deadly of the Arcanum and yet, there's not enough room for them in the main plot, even though they both play a large role.
And so, in this expansion, the player could influence this culminated conflict between political powers and witness for example:

- Living One joining the Molochean Hand (or: )
- Living One (turned to dark side) joining Dark Elven Warlord in order to restore the Elven Council

- Find Trellian's resting place and an artifact - the weapon of the First Assassin
- Discover the province of Vendigroth in MUCH detail, with more places than single Vendigrothian ruins
- see the holograms of people of Vendigroth before the events with Arronax (using Vendigrothian holodiscs)
- listen to the recordings during the conflict with Arronax (via Vendigrothian holodiscs)
- access Vendigrothian Progressor (VP) - the ancient computer of Vendigroth (like supercomputer ZAX in Fallout 1 in location Glow)
- Gideon Laier converting to Panarii
- Becoming the Scourge of Tarant (wiping it from the face of Arcanum)
- King Praetor becoming the puppet of the Dark Elves and the new Elven Council
- conflict between the Arronax of flesh and true Arronax of spirit

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As you see, first Fallouts together with Fallout Tactics influenced me much cos that's why I see the number of ending scenes in Arcanum less than in these games. In Fallouts, you have much more options for the final events stemming from the actions of the player.
That's all for now folks. I would like to have feedback or if someone feels like they could work on it (together with rroyo perhaps), then great.
I admit, not all of ideas may be appealing to you, but heck, that's why we are discussing it.

 

Hello.
Your project seems really cool. And if you really do it, I will obviously test it.
Unfortunately, I cannot help you with it : I don't even find time for my own module that year, and I don't speak english with a enough level to understand everything you are descripting.
If I would let you a first feedback, it would be that : that's a good idea to explore some special points in Arcanum (the "Conflict Culminated"), but I think it's a little "shame" to develop just some few parts of the story, why don't you try to develop some other little points to renew more the game experience. I mean : by adding some little things in several places (not really additions, but completions to some quests, maybe the half-ogers quest or some others).
But, I can understand your choice too, and even more if you are working on "cut" ideas only.
I hope I didn't seem rude in the way I write, that's not what I want at all. Anyway, good luck for all this work and thanks.

 

Why? ...not a rude response at all! Thank you for feedback actually.
I understand what you meant to say about whole of the Arcanum with additions and not only a small part of the story.
I only created what I could and wrote it down into notes of .txt file - of course, I also tried to make dialogues of the characters to be already copied and used in Editor.
That sure doesn't mean there can't be some mistakes or possibly some logical problems with it, but that's why I want it to be discussed in the forum,
so that everyone who would like to work on such expansion could cooperate.

Essentially, I INVITE everyone who has some experience with Arcanum World Editor and willing to work on it or everyone who are interested in such thing - how would it look like, to partake on the expansion and add whatever they feel necessary to be added into it. Post suggestions and/or even criticism what would/wouldn't be a good idea to add, involving the story concept.
I realize there are many empty places to be filled with something, but I only made a draft. And of course, there are things that should also be there but I didn't mention them.

For example:
-Z'an Al'urin would not take kindly the idea of the original Dark Elven plan to take place in the end (with the assistance of filler character - Dark Elven Warlord Fin'gorod Moth'rin)
-Caladon as a superpower also remains in question - how would the Dark Elven rule treat it? Is leadership of the Panarii by K'an Hua sufficient? Or do the kingdom of Arland pose any threat to them?
-What about the dwarves and their clans? (I guess that's another story for another time, perhaps the sequel of Arcanum)
-Question of Tulla remains unanswered - they could possibly pose some threat to new Dark Elven Council - but from the aspect of magic/technology, they could make allies?

 

I've always wanted to travel to Cattan, and there are several other places mentioned throughout the game that aren't directly in the Arcanum world, such as those Ristezze mentions. Falsburg is one example. Surely these could be linked to the story in one way or another, too?

 

Of course, also the places Edward Teach mentions he visited on his Gypsy Shadow, the places they adventured together with Franklin Payne, the fire giants and so on... possibly.
These would be interesting additions to the expansion, but what I take focus on, is rather more something involving the main storyline... these additions seem to be parts of the world of Arcanum, but they do not directly touch the main plot.
I hope you didn't take it wrong - these are interesting things to add, but I also expect someone to help me the empty places (possibly features) in the main plot (if there are people who think there are some other things to be added to it - like I figured the agenda of the Dark Elves and the Molochean Hand, and Vendigroth)

So, feel free to post suggestions - additions concerning both the main plot (if you found something to be added) and also the places to be discovered.
For example:

- (as Nataku mentioned above) Half Ogre Island quest elaborated - something to be done about all this, finding the guilty party

- (as you mentioned) Cattan and Falsburg - speaking of Cattan, possibly some relatives to Geoffrey Tarelond-Ashe and his home (there are some questions, though - what kind of background does he really have? Why did he decide to dedicate his life to go the path of magic instead of technology, what lead him to study also the black necromantic arts etc.?)

- there could be a spectacular, monumental ridge to be found near Vooriden - the place where the epic battle of the Molochean Hand and the Grey Legions of the Derian Ka took place (the art could be based on some void cliff background - something like that) - citing Torian Kel: "They stood across from us, on the opposite ridge. Lightly armored, faces masked...their archers armed with Elven Great Bows, almost as tall as they were. *He whispers.* And fire, stranger, so much fire..."

- Dwarven clan kingdoms could also be mutually connected via underground, as it is in Tolkien's world, couldn't they? e.g. once you find Iron Clan, you could find out that the underground highways to other kingdoms were either not yet established or it is such an ancient clan that the connection to other underground kingdoms have been collapsed/obstructed due to lack of maintenance (cos nobody was there for centuries - if not millenias).

- Speaking of dwarven clans, in vannila Arcanum you can actually count them on one hand - Black Mountain Clan, Wheel Clan, Stonecutter Clan and the lost Iron Clan. Is that really all? I am convinced there are many more clans than these few. Some new clans could be added - now you can use your creativity together with logic and create some new names for clans - some of these clans could be also on the side of mountains there are none or only few locations, like the northern part of Arcanum, near Kerlin's Altar. There at the mountain side could be a new clan, leading to the Wheel Clan and also the Stonecutter Clan via underground.