Arcanum Walkthrough Guide

Welcome to my walkthrough guide for Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura, a cRPG developed by Troika (2001). This commentary is based on the authoritative version of Arcanum; that is, v1.0.7.4.

As it pertains to cRPG Design, Arcanum is rated as Well Above Average.

As with my other walkthroughs this one is based on Arcanum installed from optical media purchased when the game came out.

I haven't played Arcanum for over a decade, maybe 15 years. When I first loaded the game nostalgia hit me like a ton of bricks. Indeed, at one point I felt like shedding a nostalgic tear, but I couldn't call one forth when I tried. As I said in my ToEE Review, I love Troika's games -- bugs and all.

A formal, multi-part retrospective is being drafted in parallel but will not be published until this walkthrough is completed. I guess this may be considered a warm-up for the retrospective.

Is Arcanum a good game

Arcanum is a good computer role-playing game. It is not a good combat computer game. Know what you're dealing with. Remember that Arcanum is a reactive cRPG that expands greatly on Fallout's reactivity.

That means, what we say or do sometimes actually matters. Take the dialogue and questing seriously. The cRPG writing is great. If you don't like reading, thinking and planning, don't play Arcanum.

In addition, Arcanum is supreme as it pertains to meta-gaming. If we know the game well we can gain significant boosts to our character's capabilities. I'll mention those points as I come across them in the walkthrough.

Arcanum Hotkeys

Spacebar switches between turn-based and realtime modes
Right-click cancels combat mode (if everything's dead)
R-key forces call-up of combat mode
I-key is for inventory
C-key is for character
W-key is for map
L-key is for Logbook or journal
S-key is for sleep menu
F-key is for Fate menu
Esc is menu or ragequit
F7 is for quicksave, F8 quickload

Arcanum Guide for Beginners

Arcanum Best Build
Best Backgrounds Arcanum
Best Race Arcanum
Best Spells Arcanum
Best Schematics Arcanum
Best Companions Arcanum
Best Weapons Arcanum
Best Armor Arcanum
Best Gun Arcanum
To increase screen-scrolling distance from your current position, make a shortcut to the exe and add the -scrolldist:0 switch to its target field.
Save often, and in separate save slots. Never, ever rely on Quicksave for extended periods. That is crazy.
Don't make a character with <5 Intelligence unless you want to talk like an idiot (which can be funny but is best left for subsequent runs). However, if we increase our IN stat to 5 or more in-game we will speak normally and our journal will be updated accordingly. We also can't cast spells with <5 Intelligence.
Don't make an ugly character unless you want everyone to be disgusted in you. You will have to beg all the time to get them to listen to you.
Don't play an Evil build on your maiden run. You can miss out on tons of top-tier content if you do that.
Dexterity is useful for all builds because it governs the effectiveness of several skills in addition to increasing movement rate, attack rate and casting rate. Don't dump it, pump it.
Encumbrance sucks because it impacts movement rate, attack rate and casting rate. Employ mules (Arcanum companions such as Virgil and Sogg).
No matter what build you play, I recommend taking Charisma and Persuasion all the way.
Purchase Lockpicks in the chargen store aka starting barter. Then, get Magnus to make the Auto Skeleton Key. Make sure locks don't jam. Some locks unjam over time, though.
Pure Technologist builds are not easy to play for newbies. You need to carry a crap load of stuff around, too.
Gunslinger is very cool but not easy to play for newbies either. We need to know where to get good guns. Same with bows.
Don't equip unidentified magickal items! They may be hexed / cursed.
Magickal items can be identified by the Wise Woman in the towns. It costs 100 GP per item.
Mages are the best builds due to their DPS and mobility. If you're a Mage, Fatigue Restore potions are your best friend.
Some areas do not permit resting. Try resting for one hour to replenish fatigue: rest, let Virgil heal you, rest, let Virgil heal you, rinse repeat. If you can't rest in a dungeon, all you can do is wait in realtime, quaff a potion or go to an area that permits resting and then return to where you were.

Melee / Dodge builds are great for newbies, though I'd recommend Mage for newbies as well. If going for a martial build, note that damage resistance is superior to armor class (DR > AC).
Harm and Fireflash are the best direct damage spells for the first few hours. If you want to go strong on direct damage, master the Force college. Don't neglect other schools even as a specialist. Get Unlocking Cantrip and Teleport.
Night and day are meaningful because NPCs follow schedules. Some walk about, too.
It's easier to pick pocket someone when they're sleeping.
XP is based mostly on how much damage you inflict. Get in first and hit hard or blast away with magic.
Keep a close eye on your alignment and Magick-Tech meter.
The journal is very informative: read it often.
Hovering the mouse cursor over a sign or plaque for a second will mark the name or address of the building on the map.
Bash inanimate objects with fists, gauntlets or weapons you don't mind breaking.
Recruit the Arcanum Companions you want as soon as possible. Why? Because they level up when we do, but they won't scale to our level when they're not in the party. If this is your maiden run of Arcanum, make sure you recruit Virgil and Magnus. Sogg Mead Mug is very helpful. He can be picked up in Shrouded Hills, but you NEED a Charisma score of 9 to get him in the party. Hit the F1 key to direct your companions.
In order to level more quickly, our build should be able to inflict damage (melee, ranged, spell). We gain much more XP when WE hit the enemies, rather than letting companions hit them FOR us. This, in turn, causes companions to level more quickly which in turns makes the game easier.
The Reaction value for Good-aligned companions decreases if you kill an innocent. To bypass that, simply tell the companion/s to Wait (temp-removed from party).
The inventory of stores (what they sell) changes daily. What they sell is random though drawn from preset pools. Move away from the vendor and rest for a day in order to have them reset and restock their inventory. The Rubbish bins also spawn random trash. Don't store your items in rubbish bins because they will be deleted from the gameworld forever! There are many receptacles in which items can be safely and permanently stored (e.g., inns).
Dump the garbage you don't want on corpses or in bins and other containers. Otherwise, your stupid companions might pick them up. By doing so, they may encumber themselves, clutter their inventory or even curse themselves if the item is hexed. Presumably, companions are coded to pick up items automatically in case they drop their weapon.
Store the items you DO want in the Shrouded Hills inn. There is a cabinet in one room and a chest down the hall in another room. The items WILL be safe if left there (they won't be stolen or deleted).
Some itemization is static / hand-placed and some is random.
Learn to advance time and employ waypoint paths on the maps.
Don't waste Fate Points because they can get us out of jams.
Don't go to any God altars and give offerings unless you know exactly what you're doing.
Play in Turn-based mode to get a feel for things. You can hit the spacebar to switch to realtime if you want to mop up a pack of easy enemies. Hit spacebar again to return to TB mode.
Ask bartenders about rumors. Talk to everyone.

There are many other tips throughout this walkthrough.

Arcanum World Map

Arcanum map bitmaps extracted and recombined by cRPG Blog:

Arcanum Character Build

The character I have chosen to play is a Mage of Elven Arcanum Race. For such a build, Willpower is the prime spellcasting stat, and so I have chosen the Arcanum background that gives the greatest bonus to Willpower: Only Child.

In addition, Intelligence is useful to me because it governs how many spells I can have active at a given time. As a Mage, cranking Magickal Aptitude is also vital since it governs the potency of spells such as Harm, as well as other spell-based mechanics. Conveniently, Magickal Aptitude increases 5 points for each spell chosen.

Elven racial virtues and flaws:

From the starter store, I purchased the Elegant Dress for +20 Reaction, along with the Fine Steel Dagger and a set of Lockpicks. I also bought a Rapier for Virgil because Rapiers attack quickly and inflict more damage than the crappy Quarterstaff he starts off wielding.

Stonewall Range: Crash Site

Sole Survivor of IFS Zephyr zeppelin crash

It's the 1st of January, 1885. You were a passenger aboard the I.F.S. Zephyr zeppelin, flying high above the Stonewall mountain range en route to Tarant from Caladon, but the zeppelin crashed to the ground when it was attacked by strange flying machines piloted by ogres. Miraculously, you emerged from its flaming wreckage unscathed, and as sole survivor.

Preston Radcliffe

Before he died of his wounds, a gnome passenger called Preston Radcliffe gave you an old, silver signet ring, which has the initials G.B. set into its face, and the words "P. Schuyler and Sons" inscribed on its band. The gnome wanted you to deliver the ring to "a boy" and warned you that someone - a "He" of great power - is coming back "to destroy everything and everyone".

Spoiler Links:

What do the initials "G.B." stand for? Check the P. Schuyler & Sons section of Tarant Arcanum.
Who is the boy and who was the gnome?
Who is the "He" of great power? Spoilers: [pic, pic]

Virgil

"My name is Virgil, and I'm the Panarii monk who witnessed the crash! When you crawled out of the wreckage without so much as a scratch, I got down on my knees and recognized you as the reincarnation of an ancient elf as prophecized by the Panarii religious scriptures: The Living One shall be reborn on wings of fire."

In order to get clarification on the prophecy Virgil recommends teaming up and checking out the nearby Panarii shrine, as well as visiting Elder Joachim in the town of Shrouded Hills, not far away.

Virgil is a weak generalist companion, but I bring him along for his healing ability, his quests and his flavorsome interjections. Virgil is also my mule (he carries all our stuff).

The wilderness around the crash-zone is fraught with peril: wolves, wild boars and kite scouts / shaman can give new players hell as they look for treasures and other points of interest.

Treasure Set Arcanum

A Kite Shaman guards a chest which randomly spawns items from M1 Treasure Set. The best item that can spawn from M1 Treasure Set is Ring of Protection. Most M1 Treasure Set items are of the Magick and Charmed type, which are inferior to the Arcane items that can be farmed from Wise Woman Arcanum and M3 Treasure Set.

We can either jab the aggro to death with a dagger or unleash the Harm spell on them. Harm is where's it at for inflicting damage, which scales with Magickal Aptitude. Providing we're not encumbered, we get three castings of it per turn. Or in AD&D terms, it's basically "ApR 3".

Loot the casualties around the zeppelin wreckage to come up with a passport, a damaged camera and a matchbox from Roseborough Inn. Who knows, they may come in useful.

Sadly, on one of the corpses, we find a recently-penned letter to one Jared, whom the deceased, Wilhemina, was soon to marry. Indeed, the letter was an acceptance of his proposal.

Flying Machine Wreckage

In the north is found the wreckage of one of the flying machines that attacked our blimp. Its plaque indicates that it was made by Maxim Machinery, Caladon. On the corpse of its ogre pilot, we found a strange amulet: a Molochean Hand Amulet. Hold onto it!

Spirit of Brehgo

We come across a cave that leads into the side of a mountain. This kicks off our first sidequest:

Inside, we take out a few sewer rats and loot more treasures, including grenades. At the end of the small dungeon, we come across the spirit of Charles Brehgo, crying out in pain:

We agree to help the spirit against "Arbalah", who it was apparently cursed by, and then we take our leave of the cave.

Panarii Shrine

En route to Shrouded Hills we come across the Panarii shrine Virgil spoke about:

Nasrudin is the name of the ancient elven wizard.

Assassin

At this point someone unfriendly approaches us:

The elf turned out to be an assassin of some sort, so we slew him on the spot. Like the dead ogre we found earlier, the elf was wearing an amulet with a strange symbol on it. We need to find out what organization or cult this is. [What IS the cult's name?]

Keep heading down the path from where the assassin came from. When the map icon turns blue, we can access the Arcanum World map. Note that we can keep following that path for quite a while, slaying wolves for easy XP.

Arbalah's House

We make our way to Arbalah's house in the south. It was evening upon our arrival, and the door was locked, so we slept under the stars that night (Sleep: until morning). In the morning, Arbalah told us a tragic tale:

We returned to the spirit of Brehgo in the cave, hoping to gain knowledge of Fahrkus' whereabouts. In desperation, we lied to the spirit: we told it that Arbalah's curse would be lifted after it devulged Fahrkus' location:

The murderous accomplice was found hiding out in a shack, so we took him out and looted the artifact from his cold, dead hands:

Fahrkus Shack

Note: Males can intimidate Fahrkus into handing over the artifact, but there is no alignment penalty for slaying him.

Arbalah's Blessing

Arbalah was grateful and blesses us with Reaction +5. In addition, I received a 10-point alignment shift towards Good.

Showing our gratitude we then cheaply slew Arbalah for +XP and a mere 1-point alignment penalty. Of course, we took the artifact back as well:

Then, we returned to the spirit of Brehgo to inform him of Arbalah's demise:

In such a manner we received the XP for returning Arbalah's artifact and for slaying Arbalah for Brehgo.

So there we have it. Thus far, I have survived an aircraft crash and a dozen or so critters in the wilderness. My inventory is filled with garbage (thankful for auto-sorting), and I've got a companion tagging along as well (Virgil), who thinks I may be Nasrudin reborn (a powerful elven wizard).

Together we have completed one optional quest and have several items in our possession which may lead to other quests.

We also have a few leads: the signet ring, the plaque, the amulets and Elder Joachim.

Finally, we have gained three character levels already.

Arcanum Setting Waypoints

One nice sanity-saving innovation in Arcanum is the ability to set waypoints on the map and have our party follow them. This becomes extra-helpful when we need to nagivate city streets and dungeons.

Coming up: Our first of too many towns: Shrouded Hills!

◦ Having been given the strange ring by Preston Radcliffe, you are currently attempting to find its owner.

Part II: Shouded Hills Arcanum.

Arcanum Character Creation	Arcanum Backgrounds	Arcanum Companions
Arcanum Walkthrough	Arcanum Races	Arcanum Weapons
Arcanum Maps	Arcanum Spell Colleges	Arcanum Armor
Arcanum Tarant	Arcanum Technological Disciplines	Arcanum Waylays

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