What Should I Equip NPC's With?

I'm really not sure what is the best choice for my NPC's...or for myself for that matter. I'm an elven mage, and my followers are Virgil, Sogg, Magnus, Gar, and Raven (when I get to her). I'm not sure if putting plate on Virgil is such a hot idea...although maybe I'm just biased from previous RPG's...I don't really see any downsides here except for weight. As for magnus...who knows. Sogg and Gar...heck, I can even find any armor that fits them except for Dread Armor for Gar.

Also, does weapon type matter at all? I can't for the life of me see the advantage to using an ultra-slow hammer to a balanced sword...especially when the sword does more damage! Does crushing damage do more damage to certain opponents or what?

 

Certain types of axes/hammers seem to mow through doors/chests/golems/machines without taking damage, but I can't give your elf mage specifics, as I have been dedicated to a techno path.

Early on encumbrance (weight) is an issue, but as your party progresses to higher levels, and therefore meets greater challenges, "action points" can be reasonably sacrificed for greater a defense/offense as far as weight is concerned.

Ranged attacks work best when confronting armor/weapon damaging type monsters, I recommend fully investing in the skill of throwing for your elf mage character, a damn good back-up skill when fatigue runs out, with the right weapon.

As for followers, they are almost always inept, and will rush into situations that their skills are not adequate for. They will waste their ammo (arrows, bullets, spells, whatever) on lesser creatures and have none left for the "bad boys", and will almost always get their armor/weapons destroyed in the process. If this happens too often, weigh them down to the "moderate" level or higher to restrict their combat actions until their skills catch up to their bravado.

Equipment wise, early on this will mean Dread Armor and cheap weapons for the NPCs. Later in the game light encumberance will simply be a fact of life for them (and maybe you), so better, heavier equipment will become vital and welcomed. One thing to keep in mind as far as equipement goes: It will eventually break and become useless. Not always, but better to err on the side of failure (or is that caution).

At any rate, do not despair, the intrepid adventurer will always end up with more "stuff" than they could ever want or use.

In the area of the elf mage I can't give much advice in the way of personal experience in Arcanum, just play it how you like it.

I find I have more RPG fun if I pick a certain moral, ethical, professional, political, philisophical, or religous, path and stick to it. It creates more challenges. For example, I could wear the "Ultimate Badd-Ass Plate of Defence" and wield the "Super Sword of Unequalled Death", but my character is a monk, so I will simply wear robes, and maybe carry a staff, or just use my fists and feet.


I am sure this in no way helps you, and there are other posts here on building tank characters that might give you more of what you are looking for.

I have been way too verbose tonight, someone should kick me off this board.

 

Your an Elven mage?? well the ashen Robes worn by the Tarant Mage Shopkeeper is one of the best armor for Mages.As 4 weapon, try a filament sword, which is free if you gave the deed to Sarah.Then get the Nature Wrath helm from the maze, It gaves AC equal to a miners hat, without the PE penalty...