Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura: Difference between revisions

** {{spoiler|The Vendigroth Device is capable of killing a mage with no possibility of resurrection... except it only works if the mage has a certain ability which few are powerful enough to master, and that they typically only use when critically injured, so you have to go to the trouble of killing them normally first.}}

* [[Awesome but Practical]]: The game features a bullet deflecting top-hat, a modified rifle that fires spears, and a staff that harnesses the power of SCIENCE! to shoot lightning. In fact, pretty much anything made by a technologist after the first couple of levels that isn't a gun.

* [[Badass Bookworm]]: The player character can be one of these.

* [[Baleful Polymorph]]: Turning opponents into sheep is one option for mages with spells from the Morph college.

* [[Ballistic Discount]]: It's quite easy to buy something that's ridiculously expensive, then promptly kill the guy you bought it from and get your money back. This applies to weapons, but also to (for example) a ship.

** The dog becomes extremely strong in the course of time. He can just bite open all doors and chests with minor hitpoint damage (that is easily healed with a magic healer in the party). You do not need to worry about keys or unlocking magic/skills anymore.

* [[Cast from Hit Points]]: A variation. Using magic doesn't decrease your HP, but runs out your Fatigue meter. An unwise mage can exhaust themselves into unconsciousness.

* [[The Chosen One]]: Almost from the moment the game begins you're told that you're the reincarnation of Nasrudin, a messianic figure. Later subverted when {{spoiler|you actually meet Nasrudin, who's still alive and living in seclusion}}. Or possibly played straight, since {{spoiler|the exact wording of the prophecy says that the ''spirit'' of Nasrudin will be reborn, rather than the guy himself. Since Nasrudin was a force of order and righter of wrongs in his time, and you can become one too, it could be argued that you revived that spirit alright.}}

** Subverted in some of the ending choices.

** [[The Chosen Zero]]: If you happen to be, say, a dumb ogre, upon first meeting Virgil, he will make an awkward "the gods move in mysterious ways" excuse while trying (and hilariously failing) not to be offensive.

* [[Chronic Backstabbing Disorder]]: {{spoiler|The Master instructor of Backstabbing}} will stab you in the back, figuratively and literally.

* [[Cowboy Cop]]: Doc Roberts. Even though he isn't an actual cop. {{spoiler|He'll take the job from the useless sheriff if you save the town and help him stop the bank robbery, though.}}

* [[Crutch Character]]: Virgil allows a non-combat character (and even a pure combat character may have difficulty with this at level one and no real gear) to fight the random wolfs in the starting area (even if one at a time) and provides free healing. While Virgil never becomes a bad party member, it's almost impossible for some character builds to survive the early game otherwise.

* [[Cryptic Conversation]]: Virtually everything the Silver Lady has to say. It takes at least a second playthrough to fully decipher her visions, which include not only advice on where to go next but also tidbits of backstory as well as hints to the true nature of the villain. {{spoiler|Her mention of a lone figure floating above a plane of mirrored glass is worth remembering when listening to Kerghan's motivations}}

* [[Cutscene Power to the Max]]: Well, [[Backstory]] power to the max, anyway, overlapping with [[Informed Ability]]. Arronax {{spoiler|single-handedly destroyed the largest and greatest ''technological'' city of the Age of Legends}}. In-game, he can't even use Disintegrate (which he actually does use in a cutscene). It mostly amounts to a game engine limitation. Since all characters run on the same type of build (that is to say, they function as you do), it's impossible for him to be as powerful as advertised. Still not a sufficient excuse, though, because there are other characters in the game who are legitimately more powerful than he is, so someone overlooked something with him.

* [[Da Chief]]: The Police Chief in Caladon.

* [[Damage Discrimination]]: Averted. One stray bullet or misaimed boomerang is all it takes for two townsfolk to start laying into each other.

* [[Guide Dang It]]: Recruiting the dog can be quite the hassle unless you know ''exactly'' what you're doing. Then again, it's equally possible to just stumble upon the dog by accident, since recruiting him is time-sensitive upon arrival.

** The blessing from the All-Father. You have to make blessings at the alters in a certain order, some of which have to be repeated at least once, then find the final alter buried in Vendigroth. Oh, and if you're a technologist, you better have one of your followers carry a tech-based resurrect. The All-Father kills you in the process of blessing you, then casts Resurrect to bring you back... except a 100 tech-aligned character will block the spell, thus leaving you dead if your party can't bring you back. The game does give you a book and a vague diagram which can allow you to reasonably figure it out, and trial and error allows you to realize you messed up (other gods will curse you if you do it wrong).

* [[The Gunslinger]]: You can play this kind of character.

* [[Gypsy Curse]]: Killing Madame Toussaud is a ''bad'' idea. Can also be inverted with the quest's good ending.

* [[The Hat Makes the Man]]: The Helm of Dark Magics, which permanently lowers your alignment every time you use it.

* [[Heroic Fantasy]]: Melded with [[Steampunk]].

* [[He Who Fights Monsters]]: The Elven Council went around righting wrongs and doing hero stuff in the Age of Legends, but [[Can't Argue with Elves|their heads got pretty swollen from all of the heroic carnage]], until {{spoiler|Arronax finally went over the edge and nuked Vendigroth in the name of the Council}}.

* [[Hidden Elf Village]]: Two of them. And four dwarf ones {{spoiler|(only one's left, though)}}. Probably more, but they're just too well hidden to be in the game. And one for super-powerful [[Designated Hero|"good"]] wizards. And one for [[Lizard Folk]].

* [[Historical In-Joke]]: While the use of an engine muffler to make a silencer may look like just another example of [[Rule of Fun|the game's]] [[Bamboo Technology|approach to item crafting]], both items were invented by the same person (Hiram Maxim) on the same science.