Things that bother me

There are already theories concerning magic and technology in the game :/

 

Yes, but this is what fanfic is all about; ain't it?

 

But fanfic shouldn't change anything from it's source of fiction.

 

Ahh, but my theories add to Arcanum's fiction. They just take a closer look.

Still, they aren't required, so forget that I said anything on this subject.

 

You could do the proper thing and, y'know, post your theories so we can dissect them ourselves. It's not like you're losing anything, in no point in your lifetime will you profit off of it.

 

Please post them Garm. I'd love to read about them. :thumbup:

 

Hmm, I have appeared to have missed these posts. School was pretty time consuming the first week. Anyways:

I wouldn't be so sure. I am currently rising up in the career path of video game design. I'm not saying that I will get far, but there is a chance.

In fact, I'm planing out a next gen RTS game with one of my theories being the primary game play mechanic.

But lol, you could probably find most of my stuff if you did enough Internet research (not that I am implying you have enough interest in my work to consider doing so).

Hehe, well here is my mana theory anyway, copy-pasted from another forum:

I have since developed this fictional theory a bit. Magic and technology can actually work together if one knows how to do it. For example, in my fiction's canon, witchdoctors are an excellent example of people who use magic and technology together.

Here is a copy-paste of what I posted in a Diablo 3 forum:

Edit:

Oh yeah, I forgot a few details.

My theory works well with many different canons of magical fiction. For example, in some fiction, spell casters need to wave their hands to preform magic, while in other fiction, spell casters need to dance. And then in some, casters need do no motion gestures at all. My theory can account for all this.

In my theory, energy still needs to be harnessed for it to be altered into mana. In a sort of similar way to how some people require to use their fingers to count, and others don't need to and can count in their heads, in my fictional canon, some people engage in motion, but imagine executing motion which requires more energy, hence tricking their bodies into changing more chemical energy into kinetic. However, this extra energy which isn't used must overlap on itself, and this causes it to obtain a texture, this texture being a message, hence forming mana.

The message tells the energy to do whatever depended on how the texture was formed, and can be sent out of the body via light bouncing of the skin (if the mana makes its way to the skin), or through sound energy formed by words or whatever.

Some people don't need to wave their hands; they are just better at harnessing mana without aid.

Also, this explains how some spell casters require to chant while others don't. The ones that don't just use different means to send the mana on its way. And the way some casters form their spells they must use particular words, to cause a wave pattern that works with the mana's texture.

And also, some spell casters require to use wands while others require nothing. This is because the ones who use wands require them because it is how they learned to practice magic. Also, wands can be waved (aiding the harnessing of energy to produce mana), and depending on what's in the wand, it can amplify the spell's effect.

And of course, the reason why spells cost fatigue, if my theory were to be applied to Arcanum, is because of the energy required to be turned into mana!

 

It's kind of a shame that Arcanum bombed. I'd have loved to learn more about the world. Then again, sequels probably would have inevitably ruined the setting. As it is now it shall always remain pristine.

 

I think you need to put in a 'friendly demon' that wears a suit, and seduces both males and females. A super swanky demon. That's my sole request for A:WIP.

 

also explain why the Isle of Despair doesn't allow teleportation (I'm assuming it's because of the Vendigroth sub that crashed on the isle...it's technologically advanced enough to interfere with magic on a very large scale). Also, if Vendigroth tech can do that, then why the heck is Tulla the neighbor to the Vendigrothian capital? And why can I teleport to the ruins of Vendigroth, but not to a big isle that had a metal tuna crash onto it?

 

Who knows, highlander? Here's my explanation:

Isle of Despair: You can't teleport to or from the island because of the giant high-tech tuna crashed there. No matter how high your MA goes, the tuna still beats you with it's whopping TA. It's simply too complex.

Tulla: Tulla is a nexus om magic in Arcanum. Most of Arcanums mages have gone there to study, and this gives the place an extraordinary magic aura. So extraordinary, in fact, that it overshadowes the ruins of Vendigroth nearby.

Vendigroth: Why can you teleport here? Firstly because of Tulla, I think. Secondly: almost every major technological item in the Vendigroth ruin is malfunctioning or has been destroyed. The TA drops like hell, and with Tulla nearby, the technological "aura" is even more diminished.

That should cover it.

 

From the game:

Geographical and Magickal Properties of the Isle of Despair:
A Brief History of the Dreaded Penal Colony
by
Sir Isaac Thrush, esquire.


The Isle of Despair
An Overview

It has long been debated as to who first discovered the peculiar properties of the Isle of Despair, and how it came to be used as a prison colony. There are historians who attribute this discovery the first master mages of Tulla, others who believe the elves found it during their journeys before their eventual building of Qintarra. In any case, it is well-documented that the Isle of Despair has housed Arcanum's more diabolical social element for well over 400 years, and that it is a perfect environment for that element due to both its geographical and magickal properties.

Geographically, the Isle of Despair is perfect for housing criminals and derelicts. Being that it is surrounded by water, with the nearest coast almost 1000 miles to the east, there is little danger of its inhabitants swimming to the mainland. The Isle itself is situated between three strong ocean sub-currents; consequently, the waters around the island are invariably rough, and violently crash upon the rocky shore both day and night. Massive whirlpools are known to appear suddenly and without warning. There is an account of three Ashburian merchant ships being swallowed by one of these very whirlpools in 1783.

But it is not only the geographical characteristics of the island that make it the perfect prison. Inexplicably, the island seems to negate certain types of magickal practices, but most importantly those of the Conveyance College. Mages find it impossible to transport themselves from the island's surface to the mainland. Various theories have been postulated concerning this phenomenon. Some scientists believe that the island itself sits upon a massive vein of mithril ore. Mithril, having the ability to harbor magickal flows, might just be the cause behind this most curious distortion. Archaeologists have theorized that the Isle of Despair might once have harbored an ancient civilization that used an early form of technology, and that old ruins might exist beneath the island's surface to verify that fact. Both theories might be scientifically sound, but none has yet been proven.

Regardless, the Isle of Despair will continue to harbor our social convicts until the day comes when its vagaries are no longer sufficient, or until we, as a society, no longer have the need for it.