Hey First all I must say that the game genre that I've bothered myself with for the last couple of years is western RPG. Sadly, nowadays they don't seem as inspiring as before (most of Black Isle's works come to mind). Recent RPGs build ups seems mostly contain ingredients like simplistic storylines, plain quests, 90% hack and slash ect ect. I'm always gladdened when I finally stumble upon a game back from the days, Arcanum in this case, which got lost under my attention. Once I started Arcanum à got filled with the nostalgia, which only appears when I decide to do reruns through Baldur's Gate, Fallout Planescape, Torment, you name it. Okey, enough of my pointless ramblings and let met finally come to the point . The unique and hugh world of Arcanum forced me to peek in some FAQs mostly for managing character planning. I've got most questions answered but some weren't which I hope they will thanks to this forum. Well, let me get started . 1) I've gathered that attributes are maximized at 20 and skills at 5. But due to the fact that some NPCs overstep these caps (Chukka for example) I wonder if you're supposed to do so yourself due to items and blessings and if yes will you gain any benefits from it (like raising your CHA to 24 will net you an extra follower)? 2 a) I've always been a team player so this one concerns the follower limit. Does the maximal number of followers you can recruit equal 7? 4 from having a CHA of 20 and 2 from mastering you persuasion skill. b) some followers like Worthless Mud and temporary allies do not take up followers slots. Are there any more besides those? c) does the level of a mechanized arachnid equal the current level as your main character's when they are created? Do they level up? d) This is most likely not so but do monsters you've mind controlled/reanimated or summoned gain levels? 3) I'm currently directing my main character into becoming a mage (mastering five schools). However, as I'm interested in the arachnid I'm also wanting him to doctorate in the mechanical scheme. But as far as I've understood magick and technology don't go hand in hand, so will there occur any penalties for this? 4) As I've mentioned above most of my skill points will be invested in magic and attributes leaving only a few left overs in skill investment. Will NPCs like Underhill or Rubin be enough for the thieving parts? That would be enough for now . Any help I highly appreciate.
Okay, I'll try to make this as clear as possible. Racial modifiers can push stats above 20. Chukka is a half-ogre, and half-ogres get a +4 ST bonus, meaning he can get a 24 ST. However, racial maximums at 20 or higher can never go higher, Chukka's ST is capped at 24. Negative racial modifiers work nearly the same way. Dwarves, for example, have a -1 to their DX and are thus capped at 19 - however, racial maximums below 20 can still reach 20, if you use gear that improves your stats (thus, for a dwarf technologist, there's no real need to buy more than a 16 DX, since two charged rings (+2 DX each) will get you to 20 anyway) Background modifiers work the same way in regards to negative modifiers. A sickly human, his +6 IN mod notwithstanding, is capped at a 20 IN (because backgrounds can only push negative racial modifiers to 20, they can't take anything beyond [20 + positive racial modifier], yet he could use the aforementioned charged rings to reach 20 DX, even though his background incurs a -1 penalty. Consequently, there's no way for you to reach a 24 CH, sorry. Your maximum amount of followers equals CH/4 plus one additional follower for being an expert in persuasion. That equals six, if you maxed your CH. However, there are free followers, like Dog, that don't count against your follower maximum. Then there's automatons, summons, charmed NPC's etc. Thorvald, Jormund and Dante are those I could think of. And Swyft, although she'll only follow you during her quest (and she'll disband if you wait too long). I rarely play technologists, but I think they do. Not 100% sure on this one though. Sorry, no clue. Some summons become more powerful the higher your Magickal Aptitude is, however. Isn't the arachnid a found schematic? In that case, you could purchase tech manuals at the Tarant university to reach the required expertise and forget about investing anything in mechanical. If you still want to invest points in the mechanical discipline, you could use a dark helm to up your Magickal Aptitude (which will be lowered if you invest in tech). The backside with the Dark Helm is that it lowers your alignment too, but that can be overcome by giving money to beggars. Your arachnid should work fine though, regardless of your MA. Depends on how much thieving you'll do... not sure how good thieves those guys are (never tried them myself), but Arcanum's AI could definitely be better. But look at it this way - next time you decide to play through Arcanum, play a thief!
Like Dark Elf said, there's Dante, Thorwald and Jormund. What he didn't tell you is that the three of them will initially occupy a follower slot, so if you come to Dante with all your follower slots full, he won't join. The solution is to tell one of your followers to wait, then talk to Dante and get him to join you, then ask Dante to wait, make your other follower rejoin, and then make Dante rejoin. From that moment on, he will not count as taking a follower slot. I think they start off being level 25. They do level up with you; however, as I recall, they lose the gained levels if folded, and will be level 25 again when you deploy them anew. You can get one medical arachnid for free from one of the quests in the game. Dark Elf- the basic Mechanical Arachnid is a learned, not a found, schematic, it is the Medical Arachnid which is a found one. So he WILL need to invest, if the medical arachnid from Hieronimus Maxim isn't enough for him. 4) As I've mentioned above most of my skill points will be invested in magic and attributes leaving only a few left overs in skill investment. Will NPCs like Underhill or Rubin be enough for the thieving parts?[/quote] No, because they can't gain Apprentice or Expert status. However, as a mage you do not have much need in stealing, ans in emergencies you can always use a fate point.
Actually, Chukka is a full ogre, and has a strength cap of 26. And that's all I have to say about it, you seem to have covered most everything, DE.
No. The mechanical arachnid is definitely a doctorate in Mech and is the main distraction from the preconcieved level schemes of all my characters. And summoned, raised, constructed "companions" won't gain levels, but they can be "cast/built" with higher levels corresponding to your Magickal/Technological apptitude. Oh except for summoned. I'm pretty sure they're just stuck at the level of their "living" counterparts permanently.
The Medical Arachnid you get from Hieronimous Maxim does gain levels, although it does not make use of the gained CPs. I think this is the way other arachnids and automatons work as well.
Oh I was pretty ignorant of that. I was only looking at attributes/skills, not at actual level (of which I thought the point of leveling would be to advance in attributes/skills).
