Half-Orc Technologist Help & Suggestions

Discussion in 'Arcanum Hints & Tips' started by feliciano69, Jan 29, 2012.

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  1. feliciano69

    feliciano69 New Member

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    Hello everyone, as you can all see, I am new to this forum, yet not to the brilliance of a videogame that Arcanum is, usually I played it all by myself checking some websites for hints and clues, but I couldn't seem to find an answer to some particular questions I have right now, and since I'm joining, I thought taking suggestions from the veterans wouldn't be bad at all !

    I've probably played Arcanum more than twenty times by now, it's without a doubt my favorite videogame, the experience is unbelievably inmersive and the backdrop for the story is ridiculously unique, yet, I need a little help since I'm going to take on a "challenge" with the game and some help wouldn't be bad.

    The character I usually play is a gunfighter technologist with persuasive skills, by the time I hit level cap I am a master in firearms, locksmithy and persuasion, I am also an explosives engineer (really love this last part).

    The thing that's different about this playthrough, is that I am attempting a Half-Orc, I tried it a couple of times before, until I discovered I couldn't get Raven, it was a bummer at the time so I switched to playing human, but right now I can't care less about her character, it's not my preference to play as a human simply to get a sort-of-sweet scene with her before going to The Void, I'm fully okay with going without romance on this playthrough.

    That said, I mostly need answers on a couple of questions:

    -What is the top rank for Charisma in orcs ? I once played a bandit Half-Orc and the game wouldn't allow me to raise my Charisma beyond 18.

    -If I was able to raise my charisma beyond 18, let's say 19, would the vivifier from Vendigroth allow me to get the stat to 20 ? I ask this because I have the impression that orcs can't max their charisma.

    -What's the adequate level for Half-Orc beauty without really having to lick everyone's boots ?

    Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance to everyone who can help !
     
  2. Muro

    Muro Well-Known Member

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    Welcome aboard, feliciano69.

    Indeed.

    The racial cap for any stat is initial value +12 (even if that exceeds 20). The cap of stats lowered by racial penalties can be raised (but not beyond 20) with backgrounds, blessings, worn items and chems.

    As for half-orcs, their normal charisma cap is 6+12=18. It can be raised to 20 if you choose the Miracle Operation background.

    If you're not interested in choosing that background, three things which add +1 charisma and raise the cap by 1 (up to 20) that come to mind:
    • Gypsy Blessing
    • Jewel of Hebe
    • Vivifier
    As long as you start with a background that doesn't lower charisma, having two of the three above is enough to up the cap to 20 with your half-orc.

    The initial reaction you get before the modifier caused by beauty applies depends on your race and the race of the one you speak with. In order to get a non-insulting reaction, the reaction has to be at least neutral (=at least 41).

    Assuming you receive Arbalah's +5 reaction blessing at the beginning, the beauty needed to get a neutral reaction with a half-orc is 6 when talking with orcs and half-orcs, 7 with ogres and half-ogres, 8 with humans and half-elves, 9 with gnomes and halflings and 11 with elves.

    Another option: leave your beauty at 6, but receive Arbalah's blessing, wear a smoking jacket/elegant dress (+20 reaction) while in cities/towns/villages and get a neutral+ reaction from everyone, elves included.
     
  3. feliciano69

    feliciano69 New Member

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    ^ Thank you so much for you help friend !

    Also, which is the gypsy blessing ?

    I always got Arbalah's, Brigitte's, and then Velorien's.
     
  4. Jojobobo

    Jojobobo Well-Known Member

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    You get the Gypsy Blessing in Tarant from Madame Toussade as a reward for her quest if you've already completed the Garringsburg quest. Honestly I always get the blessing because it's far better than receiving a piece of information that's easily obtainable anyway.
     
  5. feliciano69

    feliciano69 New Member

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    ....................

    Good lord..............all this time and I didn't know about that ?

    Well, better late than never :lol: ! Thank you very much friend.
     
  6. Jojobobo

    Jojobobo Well-Known Member

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    It's not very often in Arcanum that there are alternate rewards for quests so it's probably one of those things that you could easily never find out about if you weren't told. I think I just got lucky and completed the Garrinsburg quest first one time which is how I found out.
     
  7. Muro

    Muro Well-Known Member

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    In my case it was on my second or later playthrough, when I was checking how far I can interact with the world.

    I was curious if the game will allow me to prove the gypsy wrong, so I found and returned the painting on my own, bought the newspaper the next day for good measure and then finalised the gypsy quest, waiting for the Mulligan Bone response.

    I was very pleasantly surprised that the authors not only prepared an appropriate dialogue line for such a situation but concocted a special reward as well.
     
  8. feliciano69

    feliciano69 New Member

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    More help guys !

    Needed to ask, is there any, ANY way to get into the Thieves Cave as a technologist ? Really trying to get my head around to see if I can do that quest.

    As you know, the problem of being a Half-Orc remains.
     
  9. ytzk

    ytzk Well-Known Member

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    Hey, welcome.

    The answer is no, not without using a scroll of Shrink, but even then I guess it would go *phut* depending on your tech aptitude.

    I know the cave well but I've never found the quest associated with it... Who, how, where do you find it? Is it a Thieves Guild quest in Caladon, perhaps?
     
  10. feliciano69

    feliciano69 New Member

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    Thanks !

    It would go *phut* indeed, usually I'm 88 TA by the time I get there ! Wouldn't like being less techy just to get that quest, not dying so much for it !

    Also, I would pressume you have to be a member of the Thieves Underground to get the quest ?
     
  11. moonlight

    moonlight Member

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    No, all you have to do is to enter the cave, by finding it randomly.
     
  12. Muro

    Muro Well-Known Member

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    You do get a unique welcome if you are a member of the Underground, though. A nice touch, that.

    There are two hints leading the player to the cave.

    The first is a rumour in Roseborough mentioning thieves hiding in the mountains to the east.

    The second is a rumour in Caladon about a pass with an altar in it, somewhere in the mountains to the north-east. If the player attempts to check this rumour, he will travel along the mountains starting from the far south northwards until such a pass is found. The cave happens to conveniently be on the way. For me, this also happened to be the way to find Raizors Pointe for the first time.
     
  13. feliciano69

    feliciano69 New Member

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    Another question people !

    What is the most recommended "build" for Virgil ?

    Usually I give him magic stuff, but I'm having the feeling he doesn't really take all the possible advantage from the items, he gets an 8% boost from a mystic ring (for each resistance) when he should get 15%.

    Should his equipment be more neutral ? How would charged rings work on him ?

    Again, thanks in advance for your help !
     
  14. Muro

    Muro Well-Known Member

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    Virgil's aptitude is usually around 5-10 magickal, which means the bonus he gets from magickal gear is slightly above 50%. A magickal sword with a 50% bonus is better than a neutral one with no bonus at all (assuming it's not a special neutral sword, see below).

    His MA may be slight, but it is still enough to increase his chance of critical failure with tech gear. Each charged ring, for example, in Virgil's case means receiving half the bonus (that is, +1 dexterity) in exchange for a +1 or +2 critical failure chance. It's your call.

    Personally, I would give him magickal gear. The more powerful the better, arcane > mystic > magick > charmed. Neutral gear when it is visibly better than the available magickal with ~50% bonus (for example Cassie's necklace giving 40% MR no matter the aptitude compared to a Dorian Amulet).

    As for the weapon, I would suggest one of these.
     
  15. feliciano69

    feliciano69 New Member

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    Thank you friend ! It's a good thing I already knew to give him the sword from the Isle Of Despair, but I didn't know Arcane Staff was also a good choice, is it really effective with fatigue damage ?
     
  16. Muro

    Muro Well-Known Member

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    I'd say so. Even with ~50% MPA it will deal enough fatigue damage to significantly speed up rendering your foes unconscious and therefore harmless.

    The fact that it does very little normal damage also counts as a benefit, since it means the follower wielding the staff won't steal too much experience points during combat.

    80 additional regenerating mana points for Virgil's healing magicks are nothing but good news, too.
     
  17. feliciano69

    feliciano69 New Member

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    Is there any other ridiculous benefit I haven't been missing as well ?

    Oh right, he is a monk, and a staff suits him perfectly :lol: !
     
  18. feliciano69

    feliciano69 New Member

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    BUMP

    Forgive the grave-digging good people of Terra Arcanum, but I've returned and I've been rather interested in playing Arcanum again, it's been a little more than a year since I last played, and given how it's my favorite videogame, what other reason wouldn't I have to do it ?

    That said, I had some questions:

    - Is it possible to create custom backgrounds ?

    - Is it worth investing all points into explosives ? Is the dynamite really worth it ?

    - Is the Pyro Axe affected by your Tech aptitude ? A LONG time ago I read in this very forum (can't say exactly where) that, while a very powerful weapon, it was still neutral by some bizarre reason, and that thus it wasn't affected by whatever orientation you had towards technology, how true is that ?
     
  19. Ruda

    Ruda Active Member

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    Re:

    Yes, and it's actually quite simple. Download this and place effects.mes, backgrnd.mes and gameback.mes in the data folder and then edit them in notepad (or something similar) to create the background you feel your next character deserve. In fact, I think you can find all the info you need in a readme also provided.
    Uh, well that's up to you. I used dynamite to blast open doors and containers in the early game (using the bundles you find on the crash site, the toone mine and the wolf cave if I recall correctly) but that's not necessary late game as Arcane weaponry doesn't take damage. Other than that, you can plant the dynamite at a distance if you click on an object (door, NPC, etc) rather than on the ground. This way you can use it to gain an advantage in difficult fights as your targets don't notice that you've planted the explosives on them. Again, this is mostly useful early on. All in all, I enjoy playing with dynamite, but I tend to be satisfied with the pieces you can find.
    This I know nothing about. But I'm sure someone else do.
     
  20. feliciano69

    feliciano69 New Member

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    Re: Re:

    Thanks a lot friend ! That "Child of The Revolution" half-orc is coming full force now :lol:

    Same as I actually, those bundles come pretty useful at the beginning, but I did wonder if it could be worth it.

    Personally, I don't think I mind a lot in the end, stun and explosive grenades are absolute killers when trying to deal with multiple enemies, so no problem for me there.

    Please ! A merciful soul out there :eek: ?
     
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