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Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura: Difference between revisions

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''Arcanum'' is an expansive and very open-ended [[Role-Playing Game]] where Tolkienian [[High Fantasy]] meets Vernian [[Steampunk]], courtesy of the designers behind the first two ''[[Fallout]]'' games.
 
Much of ''Arcanum'' deals with [[Item Crafting]] and character building—almostbuilding: almost everything the player finds can be customized, and [[The Dev Team Thinks of Everything]]. It contains a very detailed setting and a well-designed scenario, as well as ''vast'' amounts of political backstory in the game's libraries, newspapers and legends. The game retains a cult following similar to its cousin ''[[Fallout]]'', and is additionally often very favorably compared to ''[[Baldurs Gate II]]'' and ''[[Planescape: Torment]]'', although ''Arcanum'''s detail focuses more on its setting's history and mechanisms than on its playable characters.
 
The ''[[Zeppelins from Another World|IFS Zephyr]]'' has just begun her maiden voyage, a marvelous, high-society venture through the clouds. Aboard, the cream of high society enjoys the flight, playing chess, sipping fine wine, etc. Sadly, nothing gold can last forever—and, out of the blue, the airship is attacked by a group of ogres on fighter planes. Within moments, the vessel goes down in flames.
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{{tropelist}}
* [[100% Heroism Rating]]: The PC gets better reaction from other characters (including shopkeepers who give them discounts) if he or she helped the inhabitants of a given settlement. Additionally, characters sometimes mention specific deeds of the PC and act accordingly. Of course, evil deeds get attention and respect of shady characters (including party members who base their decision to join the PC on his or her karma meter).▼
* [[Absurdly Low Level Cap]]: The level cap of 50 can be reached before you've even finished half the game, quite easily at that.
* [[Adventurer Archaeologist]]: Franklin Payne combines this with [[Gentleman Adventurer]].
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* [[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.
* [[Hoist by His Own Petard]]: {{spoiler|The Vendigroth device}} exploits the unstable relationship between magick and technology to turn a mage's powers against them.▼
* [[Hollywood Silencer]]: Although, since semi-automatic pistols have yet to be invented and normal revolvers can't be silenced, [[Reality Ensues|it can only be used on a certain custom-built firearm]].
▲* [[Hoist by His Own Petard]]: {{spoiler|The Vendigroth device}} exploits the unstable relationship between magick and technology to turn a mage's powers against them.
* [[Humans Are the Real Monsters]]: Dwarven technology in human hands has propelled Arcanum into an industrial revolution, which has led to the destruction of Morbihan Forest and rendered Tarant the world's most polluted city. Dwarves in particular invoke this trope, and attempt to justify it; humans, being so short-lived compared to the non-human races, must be motivated by the fear of impending death (in other words, they want their life to mean something), driving them to greater and greater heights of progress. They rarely live long enough to see the destructive consequences of their actions.
▲* [[100% Heroism Rating]]: The PC gets better reaction from other characters (including shopkeepers who give them discounts) if he or she helped the inhabitants of a given settlement. Additionally, characters sometimes mention specific deeds of the PC and act accordingly. Of course, evil deeds get attention and respect of shady characters (including party members who base their decision to join the PC on his or her karma meter).
* [[I'm Dying, Please Take My MacGuffin]]: Slightly subverted. {{spoiler|You'd expect the ring given by the dying "gnome" to be either magical or at least the key to unlocking some ancient horror. However, the signet ring is merely a clue to figuring out the identity of "the boy", and it's fully possible to identify, locate him and acquire his aid even if you let the ring be stolen within 5 minutes of obtaining it. Keeping it only allows you to sell it back to the owner for a small sum.}}
* [[Inventory Management Puzzle]]: Characters can only carry a certain amount of weight in a certain amount of space. Objects like guns and bows, though not overly heavy, can take up about a twelfth of your inventory space, while things like potions only take up a single square. Crates, chests and such can hold a much larger number of items, and have no weight penalty, but still have a space limit.
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* [[Luck Manipulation Mechanic]]: The game has fate points, which may be used to force a critical success (or do something else if you prefer). This is most useful for forcing a critical pickpocket success, allowing you to steal the unique items from certain NPCs.
* [[MacGyvering]]: You'll do this a lot if you play as a scientist.
* [[Magic From Technology]] / [[Clarke's Third Law]]: Technology in this setting is capable of doing things so fantastic that it's essentially indistinguishable from magic in many ways (though magic itself is still a separate, distinct thing). A healing salve that closes gashes and mends broken bones in literally seconds? A staff that fries your foes with pinpoint-accurate bolts of lightning? A ring that gives you limited [[Super Speed]] when wearing it? A chemical concoction that can ''bring people back from the dead''? All of this and more can be yours through the wonders of [[Steampunk|late 19th Century]] [[For Science!|SCIENCE!]]
* [[The Magic Goes Away]] / [[The Magic Comes Back]]: Its implied that, because of the [[Magic Versus Science]] rules discussed below, Arcanum goes through cycles of a period of high technology, a period when magic and technology coexist in uneasy balance, a period of high magic, another period of coexistence, and so on. Bates' manufacture and marketing of steam engines to the humans is causing a new age of technology to begin and magic to wane. Certain in-game books and conversations imply that magic was once stronger than it is now, and some of the relics from Vendigroth and The Iron Clan hint at what technology might achieve in the future. Although the Vendigrothian relics suggests that it is quite possible for the periods of uneasy coexistence to have both magic and technology be what the 'present day' of the game would consider high.
* [[Magic Versus Science]]: One of the best [[Justified Trope|justifications]] on record; [[Magic and Powers|Magick]] ''[[Reality Warper|alters physics]]'' to do stuff, Technology ''[[Awesome Yet Practical|uses physics]]'' to do stuff. Machinery operating around people using spells are performing nonsense actions - powerful spells will break weaker machines just by being used in the vicinity. Likewise, spells used around machinery are basically inserted into said machinery - powerful machines will cause weaker spells to fail just by operating in their vicinity.
** A hilarious and quickly-tiresome conversation occurs every time you try to buy a train ticket, basically boiling down to "Are you a wizard?", "Are you sure you're not a wizard?", "You might be a wizard, if-" and quickly turns out to be completely redundant, since the conductor has a device that detects hazardous levels of magic before letting you board a train anyway. Conversely, simply being inside a train station instantly lowers your magicka stat.
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* [[One Stat to Rule Them All]]: Dexterity and weapon speed, in ''both combat'' options. In ''Arcanum'', number of hits simply outweighs raw damage by a huge amount.
** [[God Stat]]: Dexterity, and Speed in general if you're playing the game in Turn Based mode.
* [[Our Elves Are Better]]: The major elf groups can be ''colossal'' [[Jerkass|Jerk Asses]] to anyone who isn't an elf...up to the [[Knight Templar|Dark Elves]] who want to [[Fantastic Racism|bring all non-Elves under Elven domination, or else just kill them off]].▼
** [[Can't Argue with Elves]]: Raven can be frustratingly unwilling to help you clean up {{spoiler|a mess that the Dark Elves made by forging a letter from their ruler.}} Yet you really have no choice but to play her games and help with her problems before she'll let you talk to the Silver Lady.▼
** [[Screw You, Elves]]: Unless you are totally unwilling to put up with her shit, in which case it's time to start killing (or pickpocket her).▼
* [[Our Dwarves Are All the Same]]:
** Played straight to the extent that female dwarves are simply a rumour dwarves never discuss (and your player can't be one), so all dwarves to be found are bearded males.
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** [[Invoked Trope|Attempted invocation]] by {{spoiler|Magnus, who's so ashamed to be a city dwarf, he makes every attempt to be More The Same like he imagines ''real'' dwarves should be. Even when he doesn't exactly know the customs he should be following, he'll make them up as he goes along.}}
** Also subverted by {{spoiler|Preston Radcliffe, the dying 'gnome' at the game's intro. He's actually a dwarf who shaved his beard to disguise himself. To the rest of his clan, this is an unthinkable disgrace only partly forgiven by the severity of the situation. The player, if a dwarf, can lampshade this by saying, "We dwarves would rather cut our throats then cut off our beards."}}
▲* [[Our Elves Are Better]]: The major elf groups can be ''colossal'' [[Jerkass|Jerk Asses]] to anyone who isn't an elf...up to the [[Knight Templar|Dark Elves]] who want to [[Fantastic Racism|bring all non-Elves under Elven domination, or else just kill them off]].
▲** [[Can't Argue with Elves]]: Raven can be frustratingly unwilling to help you clean up {{spoiler|a mess that the Dark Elves made by forging a letter from their ruler.}} Yet you really have no choice but to play her games and help with her problems before she'll let you talk to the Silver Lady.
▲** [[Screw You, Elves]]: Unless you are totally unwilling to put up with her shit, in which case it's time to start killing (or pickpocket her).
* [[Pacifist Run]]: Possible if you have a high Persuasion skill and one of the following: [[Stealth Run|High prowling skill]], [[Non-Lethal Warfare|technological non-lethal explosives]], or the [[invisibility]] spell. Unless you side with the dark elves (where you need to go [[Omnicidal Maniac]] on a town) and/or count {{spoiler|Kerghan's letting you kill him}} nothing must be killed to beat the game, or at least nothing sapient.
** [[Technical Pacifist]] Runs are a bit easier: just build up your Charisma until you can sign up a bunch of henchmen to do your fighting for you.
* [[Peninsula of Power Leveling|Portal of Power Leveling]]: One early [[Sidequest]] involves the discovery and destruction of a one-way dimensional portal spawning an [[Alliteration|endless array of enemies]]. Destroying the portal allows you to complete the quest, but it's actually possible to just sit outside the portal and kill the not-quite-endless swarms until they simply run out. You'll jump about twenty to thirty levels for your trouble, in a game where the [[Character Level|Level]] [[Cap]] is only fifty.▼
* [[Physical God]]: Anyone of sufficient personal power is effectively a deity. Nasrudin and Arronax are even worshipped as such, {{spoiler|and they're hardly the most powerful beings in the setting. In the ending, you can declare yourself a god, and given that you just took Kerghan apart, it's really more of a [[Lampshade Hanging]] than anything}}.
* [[Point Build System]]: ''Arcanum'' has one of the most flexible character creation systems in all of gaming.
▲* [[Peninsula of Power Leveling|Portal of Power Leveling]]: One early [[Sidequest]] involves the discovery and destruction of a one-way dimensional portal spawning an [[Alliteration|endless array of enemies]]. Destroying the portal allows you to complete the quest, but it's actually possible to just sit outside the portal and kill the not-quite-endless swarms until they simply run out. You'll jump about twenty to thirty levels for your trouble, in a game where the [[Character Level|Level]] [[Cap]] is only fifty.
* [[Protagonist Without a Past]]: Of course, if you take the trait "child of a hero", the game claims that everyone knows your father is famous, but no one will acknowledge it (although they will tend to react more positively to you).
* [[Psycho for Hire]]: Sebastian, Vollinger, and Chukka.
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* [[Science Destroys Magic]]: One late conversation mentions that the world goes through cycles of magic, uneasy balance, tech, etc., with the game taking place during the uneasy balance leading into an era of technology. There's an [[Unreliable Narrator]] at work, however, {{spoiler|and other indications (such as the state of the world in the Age of Legends) indicate that it's possible for high technology and high magick to exist simultaneously}}.
* [[Science Hero]]: You can play a technologist character yourself, but there are straight examples among NPCs as well.
* [[Shotguns Are Just Better]]: Averted. They're cheap, light, and compact but are still objectively one of the worst firearms in the game, with [[Short-Range Shotgun|terrible range]], [[Arbitrary Gun Power|poor damage]], no armor penetration and a slow fire rate.▼
* [[Sealed Evil in a Can]]: The Void fulfills this purpose. Arguably, {{spoiler|L'Anamelach counts as well.}}
* [[Selective Memory]]: Our hero was going from the second largest city on the continent to the largest one, but does not remember where these cities are located. All our hero has is a map which shows the major topographical features of the continent, but none of the settlements. The player character is supposedly from a different continent which makes their lack of geographical knowledge about Arcanum understandable.
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* [[Sheathe Your Sword]]: There's a side-quest where you have to get these human prospectors off of elven holy ground. The ground is cursed/blessed so that anyone who acts violently while on it is killed instantly. You have basically two options; talk/trick the humans into leaving, or goad them into attacking you thus getting them killed. If you're going for the latter option, [[Guide Dang It|make sure you have Automatic Combat switched to "off."]]
** You can order Virgil to hold position somewhere nearby so that he can't reach the fight until everyone is already dead; the Resurrection spell, however, ''can be cast at long distance.'' [[Good Bad Bugs|If he casts it on you before combat ends, the game over screen doesn't appear.]] Really, who doesn't want to cheat their way out of a peaceful elven hippie curse using a combination of ''[[Murder Is the Best Solution|violent mayhem and necromancy?]]''
▲* [[Shotguns Are Just Better]]: Averted. They're cheap, light, and compact but are still objectively one of the worst firearms in the game, with [[Short-Range Shotgun|terrible range]], [[Arbitrary Gun Power|poor damage]], no armor penetration and a slow fire rate.
* [[Shout-Out]]:
** Several to ''[[Fallout]]''. You find a power-armor-wearing man outside of the secret mage city. He was sent to find a water crystal but now they won't let him back in because he's been contaminated by the outside world.
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