Plot hole with IFS Zephyr

Hello there, I've been a lurker on Terra-Arcanum since November, 2011. In fact, this site is how I found Arcanum, now usually I would just lurk and not be apart of conversations, but there was a burning question I needed to discuss with you guys.

Where did the IFS Zephyr come from? How would a mage even have gone on it without the Zephyr partially or completely failing?

Where did the IFS Zephyr come from? From what I heard, the Zephyr was headed towards Tarant, that's fine and all, but WHERE did it launch from? I don't recall there being cities in the west it may have come from, from the trajectrey in the crash-site, it seems to have been coming around the Glimmering Forest. Another thing to consider is that in multiple backgrounds it seems that there should be some kind of city. In Bandit, it says that you ran afoul of the law, were one step ahead of the authorities and reached the Zephyr. In Escaped Lunatic, it says you ran away from an asylum and reached the Zephyr. In Factory Escapee, it says you were a slave in a factory until you escaped, this is not a metaphor, and yet, there is no slavery in Arcanum factories, merely very low pay. I find it impossible that bandits, lunatics, factory escapees would venture across the world to get to the Zephyr. As you can see, there should be some kind of technological city at the southern edge of the Glimmering Forest or there is a large plot hole with Arcanum.

 

I'm pretty sure it launched from Caladon, hence why "Preston" got his passport sorted there by the Thieves' Underground.

Regardless, there's no reason why it would have to fly straight as a dart from place to place - so I don't think trajectory is really much of problem. It likely flew up straight from Caladon and then passed a low point in the mountain range (or was sent off course by its pursuers) to get to Tarant.

 

It definitely launched from Caladon. The only 'plot hole' in this case is that Caladon isn't marked on every PC's map from the very beginning. Any mage at level 1 could easily be dismissed as not powerful enough to cause a problem for the air ship. The asylum and the factory and anything else needed for PC backgrounds simply aren't shown in the game, but exist behind the scenes. Like that military academy that one of the pre-made PCs were headed to.

 

Somebody feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but I was under the impression that luxury transportation craft typically take non-direct routes that might lend themselves to a longer (and more expensive and sight-filled trip) route. It's not like you board these types of craft if you simply need to get from A to B under normal circumstances.

Perhaps the area of mountains west of Shrouded Hills (The Smokey Mountains? What were they called, this is the area of the fucking game I know the best dammit) is particularly breathtaking.

 

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The Stonewall Range? If the route of the IFS Zephyr isn't a straight line, it would probably be most easily explained by winds. As a lighter-than-air vessel it would make a lot of sense to follow winds rather than try to go against them. And for all we know the ship could have been forced off course by winds.

 

It's also interesting that no one in Caladon knows the player in, despite it being his/her hometown. In fact, many people refer to the player as "outlander", suggesting that you are not actually from the continent...

Yes, these are my thoughts exactly. With that in mind, I think that friartuck gives us a rather reasonable explanation in his (unfinished) Let's Play Arcanum.

The scenario described seems plausible to me and would explain why no one knows of the player even though one can play as fairly powerful people (Castleburger, Warrington etc).

Speaking of which, is friartuck still around? His LP was well written and a very entertaining read while it lasted.
If you are reading this, my good friar, would you please continue it?

 

I didn't consider the possibility of other continents, but if the IFS Zephyr has not only reached its first destination (on that distant continent), but also returned to its home port, how can it still be considered to be on its maiden voyage? Seems to really stretch the definition of that term.

The PC can still be an outlander as far as Caladon is concerned though. They could have been visiting Caladon. Possibly from a distant continent.

 

I don't know if it's that much of a stretch. Can't a maiden voyage have stopovers?

 

It probably can, but a distant continent is hardly a 'stopover'. That's more like a main destination, with any islands in between being the stopovers. And even if you generously extend the maiden voyage to include the trip back, it'd still be over as soon as the IFS Zephyr landed in Caladon again.

 

Fair enough. Still, landing in Caladon on the way back is optional for this theory. The ISF Zephyr could have been made in Caladon, then it could have gone to "a major city on another continent" to pick up upper-class passengers in order to take take them to Tarant.

Take the RMS Titanic for comparison. It was built in Belfast, moved to Southhampton to pick up passengers and then began her "maiden voyage" to New York. It's almost the same thing (and they almost shared the same fate).

 

The Inflatable Flying Ship Zephyr's maiden voyage was from Caladon to Tarant. It was billed as fast transit, not scenic transit, but the mountain ranges would affect the prevailing winds and atmospheric turbulence, so perhaps crossing near Shrouded Hills was the fastest route.

Finally, despite literal definitions, Caladon is on another continent to Tarant and, seemingly, to Qintarra as well. The mountain and rivers and sheer distance purportedly represent divisions between continental plates. As far as I'm concerned, Europe, Asia and even Africa are all one continent, but apparently not, so it's not unreasonable for Arcanumites to divide their supercontinent into seperate continents.

 

Never thought of that before ytzk.

 

Doesn't the elf living in Stillwater whom you give the giant's hide too say something about another continent?

 

With maximum IN and CH, an elf may say to Myrth, "You see, I am not from this continent."

Assuming the PC is from Caladon (as the IFS certainly is) the only logical conclusion is that Caladon counts as a seperate continent.

As I said, even IRL, another continent does not an island-continent make, just a long distance with some geography in the way.

 

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By that logic though, Myrth is on a separate continent to Quintarra and yet he still knows where it is; as does Gaylin. I guess they may have both come from Quintarra originally, but you would think Myrth at least would point out that he is on a separate continent too and he still knows where it is to antagonise the player further as he likes to do. I think it's likely either the PC is lying to mimic Myrth's wily nature and win his favour, or there really is supposed to be another landmass that makes a continent somewhere.

 

Except Stillwater is the closest human settlement to Qintarra, right next to the mountain pass Myrth uses, and is clearly on the same 'continent' to Tarant, where most of the story has occurred so far.

Saying, "I am not from this continent" may or may not be a lie. However, the IFS is definitely from Caladon and also definitely from a distant city on another continent, therefore Caladon is on a different continent to Tarant.

 

But wouldn't that make Caladon on the same continent as Quintarra if all they're separated by is a river? A river seems like less of a boundary to a continent as opposed to a mountain range, you would think if the region Caladon was in was a continent it would likely have Quintarra on that continent too.

 

You'd think so, yes, but no.

Personally, I can accept a river as a boundary between tectonic plates. Isn't the Indus River such?

Anyway, perhaps the working definition of a continent is simply 'a region of easy travel'. Maybe when the long lost bridge is commonly used again, and the pass of Gorgoth is a busy highway, then the whole of Arcanum will then be described as one continent.

But it's not.

Say, what is the difference between Asia and Europe? Is it tectonics or just politics?