(Part II of Arcanum Walkthrough for Troika's cRPG Definition of 2001, Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura).
Shrouded Hills Location
Shrouded Hills is located to the east of the crash site. In order to travel to Shrouded Hills from the crash site, head south down the path where the assassin was encountered, near where the Panarii shrine is located. Then, access the Arcanum map.
Shrouded Hills
This old mining town is so-named because it is shrouded in fog. It is a backwater encircled by a river and thick forest. Silver used to be mined in its more prosperous days, but now only iron ore is.
Shrouded Hills suffers from poor leadership, and has a few problems. This post covers the main problem; the next post covers optional quests and objects of interest.
Shrouded Hills suffers from poor leadership, and has a few problems. This post covers the main problem; the next post covers optional quests and objects of interest.
Shrouded Hills Map
Shrouded Hills Merchants
There are five merchants in Shrouded Hills that sell all kinds of stuff. Remember what I said in Part I: 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.
Search string [0.1] for an example of what can spawn in vendor inventories. Indeed, players on their maiden runs might like to re-read the tips section in Part I, before moving on.
As soon as you arrive, make a separate savegame. That way, you can return to a fresh Shrouded Hills in case you mess something up.
Elder Joachim
Upon arrival in Shrouded Hills Virgil interjects to remind us that we need to track down Elder Joachim at the Shrouded Hills Inn. These voiced/floaty-text interjections are cool because they add flavor and direction without interrupting exploration or any aspect of the game-play.
In Joachim's room we find two bodies on the floor; both wearing the same amulets as the ogre pilot and the assassin. We find a note on the floor, too:
Once we have read the note Virgil interjects and opens up a little bit:
There is no more we can do as it pertains to Joachim until we reach the city of Tarant, so we take our leave of his suite.
Sogg Mead Mug
In the common room we recruit the half-ogre companion, Sogg Mead Mug. I needed to bump my Charisma up to 9 even though 8 is supposed to allow for two companions. Thus, there must be a special Charisma check for Sogg, who I'll employ as tank + DPS + mule.
Sogg levels Dodge and Melee combat skills. He cranks Strength and Dexterity as he levels, which is wise. Sogg can wear heavy armors without getting encumbered (which impacts attacks per turn). Due to his size, it can be hard to find great armors for him in the early going, but they'll eventually come along. Sogg can wield big two-handers such as the flamberge, and yet still equip a shield.
As the recuitment of Sogg shows, it can be useful to save some of our character points and spend them when we feel they're needed.
There are several sidequests offered in Shrouded Hills, a few of which can't be completed until we've been to the cities of Tarant and Dernholm. Indeed, it's not so easy to get out of Shrouded Hills because there is a plot-critical gating encounter to overcome, covered below. Anyway, we don't even know the location of Tarant or Dernholm yet (though getting that info is much easier).
The order in which sidequests and the gating encounter are undertaken does not matter, but it is much easier to tackle the latter if we have milked Shrouded Hills for its sidequests, first. That is because the completion of sidequests results in power progression, wealth accumulation and extra options for tackling the gating encounter, which can be difficult or impossible to negotiate, depending on player skill/knowledge and character level/build.
That said, I'm first going to show how we get out of Shrouded Hills because that's what most players have trouble with. Optional questing and other points of interest will be covered in Part III.
Shrouded Hills Bridge
Problem: A band of thieves has blocked the bridge out of town, and is charging a heavy toll to leave town. Their leader, Lukan the Witless, holds the key to the gate that opens onto the bridge and out into the wider world.
Constable Owens (CO) is standing by the well in the center of town. CO has been putting off dealing with the thieves because he is a coward; so much so, that he is trying to build another bridge over the river in order to avoid confronting them. CO is also cheap to boot: he only offers us 50 GP to deal with the thieves. If we ask him if that's his salary - afterall, we're doing his job - he feels insulted and begins stuttering:
If we push on by expressing our contempt of him in no uncertain terms - "You're pathetic, a disgrace to the badge" - he'll go hostile and we'll be forced to slay him and three town guards (+3 Evil). While certainly viable, that is not desirable at this point.
Lukan the Witless
The thieves in question are located in the far northeast of town, guarding the gate to the bridge that leads out of town and onto the overworld:
We could simply pay the steep toll of 1,000 GP, but it is doubtful we could afford it. And it doesn't solve the problem properly, anyway -- though it does get us out of Shrouded Hills, which is the most important thing:
[Right-click → open in new tab]
In my opinion, the best solution is to smooth-talk Lukan. This next dialogue is one of the funniest early ones in Arcanum. To get the most out of it, my character needed two ranks in Persuasion which requires a Charisma score of 9.
Note that I have quoted the dialogue thread verbatim, with the "correct" dialogue choices bolded. I have not shown the "incorrect" DCs. The instigation of persuasion is bolded in blue.
We could simply pay the steep toll of 1,000 GP, but it is doubtful we could afford it. And it doesn't solve the problem properly, anyway -- though it does get us out of Shrouded Hills, which is the most important thing:
[Right-click → open in new tab]
In my opinion, the best solution is to smooth-talk Lukan. This next dialogue is one of the funniest early ones in Arcanum. To get the most out of it, my character needed two ranks in Persuasion which requires a Charisma score of 9.
Note that I have quoted the dialogue thread verbatim, with the "correct" dialogue choices bolded. I have not shown the "incorrect" DCs. The instigation of persuasion is bolded in blue.
Also note that, in addition to outright insulting Lukan's intelligence, it is easy to stuff up the persuasion segment by being too bold, saying too much or by making assumptions:
Reward: Fate Point +1 and Knowledge of the Thieves' Underground (guild) in Tarant.
Or we can slay the thieves and take the key to the gate, though in doing so we don't gain knowledge of the guild. (The fight is also tough: the two half ogres are hard-hitters, and the trio are armored.)
Or - best of all - we can persuade Lukan and then slay the thieves as they leave for a bonus Fate Point (+2 total). We can still gain access to the guild.
Either way:
[Good +5, 1,000 XP, 200 GP from Lukan, 50 GP from CO, Location of Tarant from CO].
Alternatively, we can do Lukan's dirty work:
This involves making our way to the south and destroying three piles of lumber which represent the bridge materials. To do that, we must click the Combat Toggle, hold down the Alt key and left-click the lumber. The PC and companions will then beat upon the lumber with fists and weapons, until they are destroyed.
Reporting the successful sabotage:
[Evil +9, 1,000 XP]. Choosing this path also results in easy access to the Tarantian Thieves' Guild. Moreover, we can slay Lukan post-reward (for Fate Point +1) and still gain access to the underground.
On the other hand, if we had already accepted CO's request to remove the thieves, we are locked out of Lukan's request to sabotage the bridge materials:
And if we sabotaged the bridge materials we are locked out of removing the thieves for CO (even if we slew them post-sabotage). We are also locked out of any other dialogues with CO (which aren't particularly important but they're still notable, lore-wise):
Slaying the trio is not easy at low level. If worse comes to worst, we could employ the stun grenades found in the crash site cave:
I don't want to put too finer point on it, but the difficulty of this battle is build- and level-dependent. Take for example the Summon Undead spell, which I could have taken at 5th level. It allows me to summon two 12th level Ragged Fighters with 80 HPs and 56 Fatigue. The 3rd level thieves stand no chance against them.
Don't forget to loot the trio of their armors! Perfect for Virgil and SMM.
Pick-pocketing the gate key from Lukan is possible with two points in the Pick Pocket skill. In that case, no dialogue is necessary but there are also no mechanical rewards.
The locked barrel contains revolver parts and 47 GP (not worth picking).
It is also possible to face off against Doc Roberts at the gates, instead of Lukan the Witless.
Reward: Fate Point +1 and Knowledge of the Thieves' Underground (guild) in Tarant.
Or we can slay the thieves and take the key to the gate, though in doing so we don't gain knowledge of the guild. (The fight is also tough: the two half ogres are hard-hitters, and the trio are armored.)
Or - best of all - we can persuade Lukan and then slay the thieves as they leave for a bonus Fate Point (+2 total). We can still gain access to the guild.
Either way:
[Good +5, 1,000 XP, 200 GP from Lukan, 50 GP from CO, Location of Tarant from CO].
Alternatively, we can do Lukan's dirty work:
This involves making our way to the south and destroying three piles of lumber which represent the bridge materials. To do that, we must click the Combat Toggle, hold down the Alt key and left-click the lumber. The PC and companions will then beat upon the lumber with fists and weapons, until they are destroyed.
Reporting the successful sabotage:
[Evil +9, 1,000 XP]. Choosing this path also results in easy access to the Tarantian Thieves' Guild. Moreover, we can slay Lukan post-reward (for Fate Point +1) and still gain access to the underground.
On the other hand, if we had already accepted CO's request to remove the thieves, we are locked out of Lukan's request to sabotage the bridge materials:
And if we sabotaged the bridge materials we are locked out of removing the thieves for CO (even if we slew them post-sabotage). We are also locked out of any other dialogues with CO (which aren't particularly important but they're still notable, lore-wise):
Slaying the trio is not easy at low level. If worse comes to worst, we could employ the stun grenades found in the crash site cave:
I don't want to put too finer point on it, but the difficulty of this battle is build- and level-dependent. Take for example the Summon Undead spell, which I could have taken at 5th level. It allows me to summon two 12th level Ragged Fighters with 80 HPs and 56 Fatigue. The 3rd level thieves stand no chance against them.
Don't forget to loot the trio of their armors! Perfect for Virgil and SMM.
Pick-pocketing the gate key from Lukan is possible with two points in the Pick Pocket skill. In that case, no dialogue is necessary but there are also no mechanical rewards.
The locked barrel contains revolver parts and 47 GP (not worth picking).
It is also possible to face off against Doc Roberts at the gates, instead of Lukan the Witless.
Arcanum Merchants
[0.1] Merchant note:
Random items spawn at Arcanum vendors and in receptacles (such as chests) with a percentage chance, which can vary depending on the vendor and receptacle (an item can have a 5% chance of spawning "here", but 10% "there").
Lloyd Gurloes Items
Lloyd Gurloes is the Shrouded Hills Blacksmith. Lloyd sells an array of arms and armor. Most of Lloyd's items are mundane in nature, but he sells a few magical items as well.
Lloyd Gurloes Weapons
Dagger, Fine Steel Dagger, Sword, Quality Sword, Broadsword, Falchion, Axe, Mace, Hammer, Bow, Arrows, Flintlock Pistol, Hunting Rifle, Bullets.
Lloyd Gurloes Magical Weapons
Dagger of Speed, Sword of Defense, Enchanted Sword, Inferno Hammer, Crushing Hammer, Axe of Strength.
Lloyd Gurloes Armor
Small Leather Armor, Leather Armor, Large Leather Armor, Small Studded Leather, Studded Leather, Large Studded Leather, Chainmail, Dread Armor, Battered Wooden Shield, Dented Iron Shield, Leather Gloves, Chain Gloves, Gauntlets, Helmet, Fine Helmet.
Lloyd Gurloes Items Misc
Iron Ore, Fine Hilt and Guard, Leather Straps, Copper Ring.
It is possible to find two of a certain item in one inventory spawn: I once found 2x Small Steam Engine at Geoffrey's Gears & Gadgetry in Tarant.
Wise Woman Arcanum
Don't forget to check out what the Wise Woman aka Gypsy is selling in the north. Wise Woman can spawn between 0 and several magick items per 24 hours. The most she ever spawned for me was 9.
Mages will often visit the Wise Woman in order to stock up on Fatigue Restore Potions.
Wise Woman Weapons
Axe of Strength, Crushing Hammer, Inferno Hammer, Sword of Defense, Enchanted Sword, Filament Sword, Mage's Staff, Mage's Dagger, Dagger of Speed, Sword of Air, Sword of Sickness, Mystical Chakram, Bow of Terror, Elven Hunter's Bow, Arcane Staff, Arcane Mace, Reaper's Axe.
cf. Arcanum Best Weapons.
Wise Woman Armor
Arcane Gauntlets, Arcane Platemail, Arcane Robes, Arcane Shield, Arcane Traveler's Cloak, Dark Helm, Enchanted War Boots, Helm of Light, Light-Fingered Gauntlets, Magick Robes, Shadowing Robes.
cf. Arcanum Best Armor.
| cRPG Blog | 8. Thieves' Guild Arcanum | 17. Ashbury Arcanum |
| ARCANUM (Index) | 9. Cassandra Pettibone | 18. Isle of Despair |
| 1. Arcanum Walkthrough | 10. Gilbert Bates | 19. Wheel Clan Arcanum |
| 2. Shrouded Hills Arcanum | 11. Garringsburg Heist | 20. Durin Stone Arcanum |
| 3. Bessie Toone Mine | 12. Madam Toussaude | 21. Stillwater Arcanum |
| 4. Jongle Dunne | 13. Ancient Maze | 22. Qintarra Arcanum |
| 5. Doc Roberts Arcanum | 14. Dernholm Arcanum | 23. Bedokaan Village |
| 6. Amulet of N'Tala | 15. Black Root Arcanum | 24. Persuasion Master Arcanum |
| 7. Tarant Arcanum | 16. Black Mountain Mines | 25. Caladon Arcanum (to the end) |
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