Thunderstruck! Blind playthrough of Arcanum

[JustKneller]

In any event, I've run my lap around Tarant, picked up Magnus, came up with a good reason for him to give me his gauntlets, and am now underneath P. Schuyler and Sons working my way to the end. I have my CH and Persuasion in a good place and also bumped Strength a point to 8, with the gloves, which lets me use pretty much any firearm worth using. I need to consider how I want to start building into the tech tree. I definitely want charged rings for all my tech friends and myself, so I might pop two points into that. From there, who knows?

 

[JustKneller]

Ok, so I've run the gambit on Tarant, I think. The only thing left to do is hit up the owner of the mysterious ring. I gotta be honest, I was expecting far more trouble from P. Schulyer and Sons once I learned what they were up to. However, they fell pretty easy, and my party (now Virgil, Sogg, Jayna, and Magnus) wasn't even tooled up. I took a break after that fight to do exactly that (as well as some housekeeping). Thanks to Magnus, everyone has balanced swords, except for Virgil (who is using an enchanted axe I found). I also dropped some coin to get Sogg some proper leather armor and get him out of those rags he has been wearing.

I brought all my swag from Shrouded Hills to Tarant and set up base in the warehouse. Lots of storage there for organizing things. Then, I took some time to figure out what to do with all this stuff...and was quite disappointed. I discovered I had a fair amount of materials (metal shavings, ammonia, etc.) that were totally useless. Then, there were other materials that not only could not be sold, but you couldn't flip the crafted items either. I had Magnus craft some spike traps and trap springers, neither could be sold to inventors or general stores. Both of them are quite heavy as well. I was considering a Flow Spektrometer/Trap Springer combo for traps, but honestly, it's not worth the weight. I'm better off just biting the bullet and healing. Anyway, I filtered through all my materials and disposed of anything with no ultimate use to me, which was at least half of what I was hoarding.

I did pick up schematics for bullets, fuel, and a manual for explosives (since I had no points in it). At first I was thinking the manual was a waste. I could actually put a point into explosives, not that I would use any, but then I could craft and (hopefully sell) molotovs for extra coin. However, I think I'll still need the manual because I'll need 25 Explosives to make fuel for the molotovs. One point in Explosives for molotov will give me 10 skill points, then the manual with IN 15 (which I'll need to get to anyway) will get me to 25. I may even put a second point in explosives for stun grenades. I found a couple at the crash site and they sold for a good bit of coin.

Looking at my party, I'm realizing they could use some shields. They all have one handed weapons, so why not some extra armor? I don't have the money for it at this time, but will keep it in mind down the line. I'm about 250xp away from level 10 where I'll be putting both points into Electrical (for charged rings). I'll also be able to build everyone electric lights for their offhand. I'm not sure how much they are dealing with light penalties, but it's better than nothing.

After Electrical 2, I'm not sure where to go from there. I have Jayna, so I don't need Herbology or Therapeutics. Chemistry 2 might come in handy (for charges) if I build out electrical for the Tesla Rod. But really, it's not much better than what I intend for my next pistol and pistol ammo is so much cheaper/easier to make. I doubt it's worth going deeper than Explosives 2, and even that is just for some extra coin. Ironically, there's no point in building Gun Smithy. There's only one gun of value after my next one, and it's a found schematic. I can just buy some manuals to build it, I expect. Finally, there's Mechanical and Smithy, both are Magnus' wheelhouse. Except, he'll never get to the point where he can build higher end items (like automatons). With a full party, though, is it overkill?

Speaking of a full party, I do have one more open spot, so I picked up Gar in Tarant. I'm now heading to the Gates estate.

 

[Skatan]

"Thanks to Magnus, everyone has balanced swords"

Great! This was that tip I put in the spoilers, to use Magnus starting recipe and create these swords for all companions who melee (which most of them do).

I'm impressed by your progress! You seem to be doing quite fine and fast.

 

[JustKneller]

I'm impressed by your progress! You seem to be doing quite fine and fast.

My crew is rather under-equipped though. The swords are nice, but they have next to nothing for armor aside from basic torso armor and whatever boots I've been able to pull from the rubbish. Everyone still needs helms, gauntlets, proper boots, shields, and (except Virgil) charged rings. This is why I'm thinking about pumping something to make some money. I think my next move is to max out my CH (I'm at 17 now) and get the max companions (as well as unlimited wait), and then maybe delve into Explosives/Electrical? It's hard to say. The path is not clear for this character.

This really has me thinking about how I would solo this game with a thief. The weird thing about Irvine is that he really doesn't need much aside from Charisma/Persuasion. Fully tooled NPCs can handle the combat, and Charisma/Persuasion covers everything else. However, a solo thief would require more micro and I'm not even sure if something like an Elven arcane thief or a Dwarven techno-thief. I think the elf would be easier since your materials (basically just fatigue) is an infinitely renewable and regenerating resource. But, I'm less interested in easier and more interested in synergy.

 

[JustKneller]

I found Gilbert Bates and he sent me to investigate a mine. I was feeling a little underleveled (only level 10) so I tried to clean up some old quests to get a boost. No luck. I started with Liam's quest near Black Root. I could get as far as the portal, but couldn't take the portal itself so I had to turn back. I probably could have leveled a bit there with all the void creatures spewing out. Then, I had a bash at The Boil in Tarant. It was a first round TPK when the thugs just inside the gate attacked. Guess that will have to wait for a while. I'm not seeing a choice except to head to the mine.

I did something I'm not proud of and used my one fate point to pickpocket a Hand Cannon from this rather rude gnome in Tarant. I need something that packs more of a punch and the gunsmith hasn't had anything decent in stock. So it goes.

I do think a part of my problem is that NPCs "steal" experience (from combat) so I'm not getting nearly the payoff from all the fights so far, which have held me back some. Still, I have five somewhat tooled up allies doing all my damage for me so I should be sitting relatively pretty.

Actually, I have an idea. I had an altar pop on my map as I went from Shrouded Hills to Tarant for the first time. I think I might explore the area some, get some xp from random encounters, and see if I find anything interesting.

I've also been thinking about my techno-thief on the side. Throwing may be problematic. Based on the equipment descriptions, throwing weapons are a little weak (at least, no stronger than my current weak pistol) aside from a couple of magical items that I wouldn't be able to use. I don't expect I'll be able to keep a massive inventory of grenades, though, so that wouldn't be a main attack. I may actually have to lug around traps and then plan my strikes. Or, I'm considering supplementing with firearms. I'll already need perception for prowling and (eventually) spot trap. This is going to be a tricky character. Both aggravating and interesting.

 

[Skatan]

Solo thief can be done with stealth and throwing, if you don't mind cheese. But that's more for a second or third kind of playthrough. I have done throwing (chakrams) with magic, but never played as a more thief-focused character with max stealth.

 

[JustKneller]

I decided against randomly wandering and decided to check out this BMC. I'm only level 11. At first, no problem. ailing wolves and kites. Then, out of nowhere pops an ore golem (level 25) and it's a TPK (with everyone breaking their weapons in the process). I genuinely feel I missed out on a major chunk of something in this game as I've been feeling underleveled at every turn.

I'm softlocked on the MQ, softlocked on Liam's quest, and soft locked for the Boil. Do I just wander and grind random encounters until I get to a respectable level?

I'm definitely thinking gunslinger was a bad idea. I have a whole team of melee followers that block my shots. I definitely think throwing would have been the way to go. Molotovs and Stun Grenades would likely be a lifesaver here. However, throwing means dex, which I tanked largely from Miracle Operation. But, giving up Firearms means I don't really need Perception (I wouldn't want to tank it though).

I gotta think about this one...

 

[JustKneller]

Well, I took another approach to the mine and I'm slowly muddled forward. Basically, I'm getting close enough to an enemy to be in range with my pistol, taking a few pot shots, and then kiting it back while the team whacks it down. However, their gear is taking a beating on ore golems. Every hit does damage to their weapons. If we even make it to the end of the mine, we're going to have to re-gear/repair everything. But, we didn't make it to the end of the mine. A kite summoned some kind of flaming ore golem thing and it obliterated my party.

This is about the point where someone would probably just ragequit the game, but honestly, I can only blame myself. I did not plan well enough, or gear up well enough. I have a tech dwarf with no tech skills except to build flashlights and charged rings. All this stat dumping into Charisma (I'm at 20 already) has made me useless at pretty much anything else. Part of me is kinda miffed that they make tech characters so much more challenging in this game than magic characters. Then again, I think it's clever they did this because it's like you have easy mode and hard mode.

Here are my takeaways.

I can get away with less Charisma. I don't need six followers. Frankly, Jayna is weaksauce and I can get 90% of her value from just leaving her parked in Dernholm and then recruiting her when I need someone to make healing salves and elixirs of persuasion. Looking at her leveling scheme on the wiki, she'll boost melee and dodge, but she'll always have low Strength and actually wastes points on beauty? Why? Sogg is solid. Magnus is not terrible, but also rather redundant. He has smithy and mechanics, but I'll probably want to max both to build an automaton army. And yes, I'm going to build an army. I should let him keep his fancy gauntlets, though. I can boost my Dex with CP, but he never will. Also, he's voiced and adds something to the story. Gar is solid, even with his armor restrictions, but I'm sure there's better out there. I wouldn't mind a second Sogg. Charisma 12 is probably my sweet spot. It lets me get to Persuasion 3 and have 4 followers with the Persuasion training.

Firearms aren't terrible, but they aren't any better than throwing until later. I should have started with Throwing and then maybe head to Firearms later, but this would require Dexterity (which isn't bad, it's just more CP). I can get +6 Dex from two charged rings and Magnus' gauntlets, if a Dwarf. So, base six would get me to level 3 throwing.

I don't think there's a non-cheese way to boost intelligence and I'll need 19 to make automatons. If I'm a Dwarf, I can get away with 12 PE for Firearms (+3 from the Goggled Helmet) to get to 15. With the dwarf tech bonus, I can get Firearms Mastery.

For skills, it's probably just Throwing, Persuasion, and Firearms. For tech, it's definitely Electric 2, Explosives 5, and Mechanics/Smithy 7. It might even be worth going Chemistry 2 (Charges) and Electric 7 (Tesla Rod). However, I would need three extra points of Strength for the Tesla Gun. Alternatively, I can go Chemistry 7 for the Tranquilizer Gun.

Is Miracle Operation (IN +3 / CH +3 / PE +5 / ST -3 / DX -3 / CN -5) the way to go? It's giving me 11 points I'm going to need anyway, but I'm going to have to replace that ST and DX, so I'm only netting 6. Plus that DX penalty is going to keep me out of Throwing to start. There's also Sickly (IN +6 / ST -2 / CN -4 / DX -1), but that's only a net gain of 3 and the extra IN can wait. Beat with an Ugly Stick is (BE -6 / ST +2 / DX +2 / Melee +1 / Dodge +1 / Bow +1 / Throwing +1) which makes it easier to get throwing expert and some DX. the ST would only be useful if I'm going for the Tesla Gun. The BE penalty is going to tank my shop prices (i.e. income), though.

A Dwarf has base (ST 9 CN 9 DX 7 BE 8 IN 8 WP 8 PE 8 CH 7)
Beat With an Ugly Stick would put him at (ST 11 CN 9 DX 9 BE 2 IN 8 WP 8 PE 8 CH 7), needing +11 IN, +7 PE, +5 CH and possibly something to mitigate the BE penalty for 23+ CP
Miracle Operation would put him at (ST 6 CN 4 DX 4 BE 8 IN 11 WP 8 PE 13 CH 10), so I'd need +2 ST, +8 IN, and +2 CH for 12 CP, and maybe another 3 ST for the Tesla Gun.

Miracle Operation is the clear winner. I can't put anything in Throwing to start, unless I also boost DX. It's looking like Persuasion +2, Electric 2, and DX+1 with my starting CP. If I can drum up a couple of Charged Rings, I can start putting points into Throwing, and then Explosives.

I need a new concept for this character, though. It can be pretty much the same story, except for the sharpshooter bit. Instead, Tiernon Thunderstruck was cut out for management (Persuasion +2) and planning to get into the clan's business (Electrical +2) when his illness bankrupted them. Now, he's hustling (+1 DX) out in the world to drum up new opportunities to restore his clan. Yeah, that tracks.

 

[JustKneller]

Wait, a case can be made for a human PC. The Dwarf's tech bonus is not really that significant. Plus, their stat adjustments take two points from stats I need and gives only one point to a useful stat. Additionally, if I'm keeping Magnus and letting him keep his gauntlets, that's one less advantage to the dwarf. On top of that, if I'm going to juice up my meat shields with Muscle Maker (I presume I can use this on NPCs), that sounds like a real human thing to do to people (dwarves have to much honor to experiment on other sentient beings). Sorry, I know that's a really racist thing to say about humans, but some of my best friends are human, so I feel like I can get away with it.

That being said, I think I would still in need to pick up Jayna for a spell. At least, I need to level her to Therapeutics 2 to for one of the components of Muscle Maker (and I can take it from there). I believe the UAP adds an item to automatically level a follower to your level, but I'm not sure I want to chance it.

 

[JustKneller]

Spoiler: Michelle Faraday

Surely you know the Faraday name? As in "Farady's Life Restorative"? Invented by Sarah Faraday, of the Caladon Faradays, this revolutionary cure for death itself brought the family great fame and near unimaginable wealth. Tragedy later struck the family when their only child, Michelle, contracted Stonewall Mountain Spotted Fever. This disease was blinding, fatal, and (perhaps ironically) one of the few diseases that rendered an individual incapable of being restored using Faraday's Life Restorative. Desperate to save their only child, the Faradays pursued any possible cure, even those of a magical variety. This was a rather expensive undertaking. When they found an unorthodox physician that was able to cure the child. Michelle was saved. Howeer, her family was destitute and even had to sell the patent for their prized invention. The Faradys had their daughter back, so while it was heartbreaking to lose their fortune, it was worth it. Sarah quietly carried her grief, but her grief overtook her when the family name was taken off the product. It was now on the shelves as "Restore Life". Some say she died of a broken heart, others say it was merely exhaustion from the rigorous labor of the factory where she now worked. Michelle was only 14 when her mother passed away in her sleep. Her father did his best to keep things together in her absence and did so for the next six years. A week before the events on the IFS Zephyr, his life was claimed in an accident at the capicator factory where the two of them worked. After handling her father's final arrangements, all Michelle had to her name was her mother's nicest dress from their glory days, her father's lucky copper ring, and a few hundred coin leftover from the accident settlement. Her plan forward was to leave Caladon, start fresh in Tarant, and find a new path to prosperity.

Being male would be slightly better stat-wise (+1 ST, -1 CN), but I couldn't resist gender-flipping Michael Faraday. Plus, I can start with a snazzy dress, which I purchased from the blimp along with a copper ring. I could have bought the boomerang since Throwing is right around the corner, but it seemed disingenous to the concept to be traveling with a boomerang. I'll keep an eye on the blacksmith and pick one up later or something.

I spent my starter points on ST+1, Persuasion 2, and Electrical 2. I'll need ST 6 to even throw a boomerang properly (and preferably 8 my off hand is free). My DX is in just a good enough place where two charged rings will get me to Throwing 2. I'm thinking the next few levels will be ST +1, Throwing 2, and Explosives 2. That should get me started.

 

[JustKneller]

January 7, 1885

I am exhausted and my nerves are frayed from the crash. The addled priest, Virgil, who thinks I'm the reincarnation of some long dead elf, only makes the experience more surreal. Still, he's a formidable escort and I am in dangerous territory. Somehow, his church and the Zephyr's crash is related. I'm not keen to travel with religious-types, by my intellectual curiosity renders me inclined to see this through. Virgil advised we find his mentor in Shrouded Hills. This will be but the first step of what I expect to be a long journey...

I took care of the crash site ghost situation before Shrouded Hills (and took the good path, if only for the blessing).

In the village, I picked up Sogg and gave him the kite dagger from the crash site. This was replaced with the fine dagger from the smith's pure ore quest. Everyone got whatever shoes I could pull from the rubbish.

Michelle can't fight at all yet, but she can kite pretty well and run circles around Sogg and Virgil while enemies chase her. I picked up the fuel schematic from the herbalist, but I'll need 25 tech points to make it. I can buy fuel in the meantime for molotovs, but I can't throw them (effectively).

For now, I basing in the abandoned temple. I can't use the bed, but there's decent storage. I took care of the quests around town and talked my way past the bridge bandit. I probably could have torched them with molotovs (getting some better armor for Sogg), but I think I prefer the xp at this point.

January 21, 1885

Our clues point towards Tarant, but I went to Dernholm instead. The detour would give me time to process everything that has happened as of late. Furthermore, Bessie Toone's daughter likely went that way. It is no surprise that I would empathize with someone who tragically lost her mother. I shall finish this business as best as I can and consider the course to Tarant from there...

Truth be told, I mostly wanted to rush Black Root for a proper home instead of squatting in the temple at Shrouded Hills. There's less storage in Black Root, but a better aesthetic. Additionally, this gave me a chance to scoop up Jayna.

There was not much to do in Dernholm aside from a quest about a couple of old folks and a ring. That, and collecting the taxes from Black Root for the king (which sends me to Black Root)

The junk shop in Dernholm had no capacitors. That's my stopgap for throwing, unless I want to put points in Dexterity, but it's really not needed. Two rings puts my DX at 9, which opens up Throwing 2. That's good enough for grenades and servicable for boomerangs.

I also haven't seen anyone sell fuel yet. But, I went to Explosives 3 (35 tech points) so I can just make it now. Or so I thought. I need 25 tech points in Chemistry, not Explosives. Fortunately, I was already planning to go to Explosives 5, so it wasn't a waste. I'll have to buy fuel for molotovs until I can get to Tarant and buy Chemistry manuals.

 

[JustKneller]

March 7, 1885

It seems I have found a home, of sorts, at least for now. I secured permanent lodgings in the province of Black Root in exchange for helping out the local innkeeper. The village is quaint and comfortable. I feel guilty to say my accommodations here are more comfortable than those in Caladon with father. Black Root is quite out of the way of things, but perhaps out of the way is a good place to be for now. We picked up Jayna Stiles of Dernholm in our travels. She is a budding physician whose techniques I prefer over Virgil's magic, though I would never voice this aloud. But if I am to be honest, it was a physician and not a wizard that saved me from my dreaded illness. I settled some of the issues in town so that Black Root will be quieter and more pleasant place to live. Whatever else is going on in the world, Black Root will be my safe haven. Virgil is now chomping at the bit to get to Tarant. I do not blame him. It has taken us more than a month to get situated and we certainly do not want our trail to go cold.

I acquired the room at Drop Yer Anchor first thing. Tarant might be more centrally located, but you're squatting in a warehouse there. In Black Root, I have a comfortable furnished room with a bed. I also have a smith, herbalist, and inventor right outside my front door and I'm close to the outskirts for when I need to hit the road. Additionally, the inventor in Black Root seems to have better quality stock than the junk dealers elsewhere. Thanks to him, I now have two charged rings, with more to follow for the rest of the team.

I made level 5 by sorting out the feud between the innkeeper and blacksmith (which earned me the free room). I spent my double points in ST and CH. This puts me at 6 and 12, respectively. So, I can manage a boomerang without penalty and add Jayna to the party.

Before doing anything else in Black Root, I got myself situated in my new digs. I stopped by Dernholm to pick up Jayna, went to Shrouded Hills to pick up my stash there, and ferried everything to Black Root. Fortunately, we were attacked by an assassin along the way. This provided a suit of leather armor and another fine dagger (for Jayna). Too bad he didn't bring a friend. Virgil could use leathers, too.

Along the way, I realized a potentially better use for Michelle. I notice that if I give healing items to NPCs, they chug them any time they get a scratch. But, if i keep them on Michelle and apply them to allies during combat when it's really needed (since she'll be rubbish at everything except grenades for a long time), it will use supplies more efficiently. This could make a case for building into Herbology for Michelle (healing salves only get you so far and Jayna won't get the better techs), but more than half of my CP are already spoken for with this build. I have some time to think about this. I have two ranks to get in Throwing, two more for Explosives (and additional IN for that), and then I can deal with the fork in the road.

At this point, I could set up a trade route between Shrouded Hills, Dernholm and Black Root punting flash grenades and fatigue restorer. It wouldn't be the most impressive profit margin, but it could work. However, the lap of all three places takes about five weeks in game. By the time I make a decent amount of money doing this, cars will be invented. Not only that, but random encounters are...varied. Getting free armor. Fun. Getting TPK'd in the first round and having to reload? Not fun. Not having the option to flee a random encounter. Really not fun.

I took care of the mayor's bandits for the Dernholm's tax quest. I was tempted to chicken out and just pay for the mayor's dagger, but decided to take a chance. I was able to split the gang into two fights and burned through (no pun intended) a half dozen or so molotovs to take them down. I never would have stood a chance without the molotovs. When I was here with Irvine, trying to shoot my way through ended in a quick TPK and I had to buy the dagger. I came out well ahead here. Instead of paying 300 coin for the dagger, I essentially spent less than 100 coin on the fuel and walked away with leather armor for Sogg and Virgil, better weapons for everyone, some other loot to sell, and the dagger, too.

I made a push for Liam's Workshop, but that was too ambitious. I didn't get far before I had to turn back. But, everything in Dernholm and Black Root is buttoned up so I can move on to Tarant.

 

[Skatan]

I decided against randomly wandering and decided to check out this BMC. I'm only level 11. At first, no problem. ailing wolves and kites. Then, out of nowhere pops an ore golem (level 25) and it's a TPK (with everyone breaking their weapons in the process). I genuinely feel I missed out on a major chunk of something in this game as I've been feeling underleveled at every turn.

I'm softlocked on the MQ, softlocked on Liam's quest, and soft locked for the Boil. Do I just wander and grind random encounters until I get to a respectable level?

I'm definitely thinking gunslinger was a bad idea. I have a whole team of melee followers that block my shots. I definitely think throwing would have been the way to go. Molotovs and Stun Grenades would likely be a lifesaver here. However, throwing means dex, which I tanked largely from Miracle Operation. But, giving up Firearms means I don't really need Perception (I wouldn't want to tank it though).

I gotta think about this one...

Yeah, I would say you were grossly underleveled. People play differently, but I can't be bothered leveling only on quests so whenever I play Arcanum I go around the a bit east and south of the starting position and level on on bears and wolves until I get to a decent level before moving on to Tarant etc. And yes, the weapons breaking is a classic. Always good to have some throwaways (ie extra swords without much value) for that area. If you reach enough levels, most damage from ie Sogg and the likes will come from the massive damage boost when reaching 20 STR rather than from their weapons anyways.

good luck with your new attempt!

 

[JustKneller]

good luck with your new attempt!

Thanks, but I actually think I've already screwed this one up. I'm mathing it out right now. I really think magic is easy mode and tech is hard mode. I'm not complaining, though. I'm just surprised at all the planning and preparation needed for a tech build. I underestimated this game by a fair margin, for sure.

 

[JustKneller]

April 27, 1885

We have arrived in Tarant, but too late to meet Virgil's mentor, Joachim. I was in this city once as a small child, but I had not my sight at the time. By the sounds and smells, I imagined it was a much more developed place. However, it does have some rough edges and we must be on our guard. We picked up a new ally in the city. Magnus the Dwarf has fallen in to our company. He is a skilled craftsman and a welcome addition. Magnus is also seeking out P. Schuyler and Sons for his own reasons. Virgil must be feeling quite out of place at this point. Three rational scientific minds...and Sogg. None of us share Virgil's leaning towards superstition. Perhaps we will be able to return him to his Joachim soon and he will be more comfortable.

Pretty much the first thing I did was chug a Persuasion Elixir from Jayna and go to charm school at Madam Lil's. This gave me my spot for Magnus. I'm now as full up as I can be unless I raise my Charisma. I may actually do that, but not for a while. I have Throwing 2 and Apprentice Training. I would love another rank and Expert training, but that would cost 4CP for DX (and one more for Throwing 3). It's probably not high priority right now.

I do need to make a decision about growth soon. By level 10, I'll have Explosives 5 and an extra CP to put me on my course. Am I going for the Tesla Rod? Should I stick with my grenade/combat medic strategy and start delving into herbology? Do I start Mechanical to build my robot army? Should I be picking up just one Chemistry manual and rushing Chemistry 2 for Charges, which will then let me make Fuel as well? Do I even need another combat skill if I'm building an automaton army? Should I consider repair instead?

I think I have to choose between shooting lightning (Firearms+5, Electrical+5, Chemistry +2, Perception+5, Strength +2) and building an army (Smithy+7, Mechanical+7, Herbology +7, Repair +5, Charisma+7). That's 19 CP vs. 33 CP, and I'll need another 7 points in Intelligence as well. (I'll have 54 CP left by level 10). Shooting lightning will pay off sooner, but I imagine a gaggle of robots with a full party will be far more formidable. Additionally, for the latter, I can even sprinkle in some Necromizer for free-ish to really get crazy.

You know, I said I was going to go army when I was creating this character so I'm going to stay the course. However, this makes the +5 PE from Miracle Surgery basically useless to me and really the whole background null and void for any value. I get +3 IN/CH, but -3 ST/DX and I have to replace at least 5 of those points with CP and I take a major hit to CN for nothing. It's not a train smash, though. I took a look through the backgrounds and the only one that would have helped more is Sickly. It would have given me a massive head start on IN (+6) for a penalty to ST/CN/DX (-2, -4, -1). I would only have to compensate for the DX. Miracle Operation only sets me back 4 CP.

Oi, let's not go down this road again. I really should have done this before starting this character. (to be continued)

 

[Skatan]

Thanks, but I actually think I've already screwed this one up. I'm mathing it out right now. I really think magic is easy mode and tech is hard mode. I'm not complaining, though. I'm just surprised at all the planning and preparation needed for a tech build. I underestimated this game by a fair margin, for sure.

There are several "easy" modes: Magic alone, magic + companions, magic + melee, pure melee, throwing, and probably tech + melee as well though I never tried it. It's just that the game is horrible unbalanced and firearms just aren't as good (due to the number of attacks per round). Harm spell, melee and throwing just get so many more and since you get EXP per HIT and not per kill, melee for example or harm-spamming gives you insanely much more exp and therefore levels. So firearms is of course doable but takes much more time (to level) and you'll never reach the same heights as basically all other builds.

If you tough it out and all your companion Ogres reach STR20 then it's easy from there, especially in RTWP. If you have to plink things to death with your few shots per round, it takes more time obviously. Also, the automatons are doable too but they move slooooow. Same with magical summons. I never had the patience to play with them since they drag around and takes forever to engage enemies. Having companions is just faster and more efficient IMHO. I like convenience personally so I prefer that route from mid to late game, though early game pure melee or pure Harm in TB is the easiest.

 

[JustKneller]

It's just that the game is horrible unbalanced and firearms just aren't as good (due to the number of attacks per round). Harm spell, melee and throwing just get so many more and since you get EXP per HIT and not per kill, melee for example or harm-spamming gives you insanely much more exp and therefore levels.

I sussed this out and also read some non-spoiler builds which gave me a good picture of the magic side of things. I have to laugh about how a starting spell for a magic user is the god move whereas tech really needs a lot of finesse. I'm less worried about XP since you can "get there" eventually and once you hit the cap it's irrelevant. I'm just concerned about function each leg of the journey and actually getting what you need within 64 CP (which is way harder for tech than I expected).

That being said...

Ok, I mathed it out. I can't actually build a grenade throwing techie leading an army of robots. I come up at least 7 points short and no background closes the gap. Through this process, I also ended up asking myself, are grenades cheesy? If you put the legwork in, it's infinite ammo, massive damage, and there's (oddly enough) no friendly fire. That last part is spinning my moral compass a little. I mean, if I just want to cheese-ily plow through everything, I can just make a melee mage and do so with far less headache. But no, I want to take the moral high ground here. And for that matter, is building an army as large as my GPU can handle also cheesy? A dozen or two fighting machines that are stronger than most/all followers (which max out at a party of 6) doesn't seem terribly noble, quite frankly. And, barreling through the game with an army of bots without breaking a sweat just wouldn't be satisfying.

I know what you're about to say, “why don't you come down off your high horse, just play the damn game, and stop agonizing over the ethics.” Unfortunately, this horse is quite high and I can't really hear you from up here.

So, in lieu of any audible objection, et's figure this out. There are 64 CP by max level. However, I also need to think in terms of milestones, as in, I want to have X in place by level Y, etc. Or, I'm going to build into such-and-such by here, which will grow into this-or-that by there. In other words, a build that only comes together after the 64 points is going to have a rough game and likely get soft-locked, as we learned from Irvine.

But, Irvine turned out to be an honorable start. The mortal sin there wasn't necessarily the build, just prioritization and pacing. And, while I know there are some great stat bonus things to make almost any build possible (I looked up what the Ancient God quest gets you, for example), all these things come far too late to be useful for most of the game. I also like to make my decisions "in character", so running around the world to worship a bunch of dead gods just for a few stat points seems kinda lame.

Blah, blah, blah, more pedantry from here. Long story short, I really retooled Irvine for the proper milestones. Is it too much? Maybe. But I don't want to run off broad strokes (again) and soft lock myself somewhere (again). So, what did I come up with?

(to be continued again)

 

[JustKneller]

Tiernon Thunder Struck
Dwarf with Miracle Surgery
Starting stats:
(ST 6 CN 4 DX 4 BE 8 IN 11 WP 8 PE 13 CH 10)
adding in Magnus' gauntlets, two charged rings, eye gear and gypsy's blessing:
(ST 7 CN 5 DX 10 BE 8 IN 11 WP 8 PE 15 CH 11)
still needs ST+4, IN+8, CH+9 by end game (21 CP total)
Skills (11 points):
Definitely Firearms +4 (with Dwarf bonus can get Mastery without maxing)
Definitely Persuasion +3 (should cover most checks and allow Expert level for +1 Follower)
Probably Repair +4 (once I get to end game gear for my large team, I'd rather fix it up than have to build new stuff)
Techs:
Definitely Electric 7 (for the Tesla Rod/Gun, the latter being the best “fire”arm in the game, it seems)
Definitely Chemistry 2 (for charges/ammo)
Probably Herbology 7 (Janya caps out at 4 and can't make the bigger cures, and I haven't seem them for sale)
Probably Smithy 7 (Magnus caps out at level 4, but I would need 7 for Machined Platemail for the party. Electro-Armor is comparable, but it also scales with TA)

Tiernon Thunder Struck's clan possessed great wealth that came from copper and iron distribution. However, nothing is more valuable to a Dwarf than their kin. When Tiernon fell ill, his clan did everything in their power to find a cure. Kinsmen traveled far and wide to find physicians who could treat rare illnesses. This affair cost the clan both an astounding amount of their wealth as well as ground with their competitors. Tiernon was cured, but not before the clan's business was depleted. At this point, there was not even an opportunity in the market to rebuild. His kinsman went from being the heads of industry to workers within it. They did this with pride because it was a small price to pay to save one of their own. Tiernon was the only Thunder Struck not prepared to face the clan's new lot. It was his illness that cost his kin everything. Now that he was healthy, he wanted to do everything in his power to bring them back to prosperity.

The Thunder Strucks may have been hedged out of mineral distribution, but while debilitated, Tiernon was diligent in his studies and learned of the work that the humans were doing with electricity. There was an opportunity here. While his kin were masters of all things fire and mineral, they had little interest or inclination when it came to electricity. He approached his elders with a proposal. Tiernon would travel the continent of Arcanum, collect any knowledge of the electrical craft he could find, and bring it back to his clan to forge a new path to glory. As Tiernon was still weakened from his illness, and had not the endurance for Dwarven labor anyway, the elders accepted his proposition.

Tiernon departed his home in the Stonewall Mountains for the first time at the young age of 100. He had heard tell of a technological marvel being launched from Caladon and decided that would be a good start to his research...

 

[JustKneller]

January 7, 1885

I had barely pulled myself from the rubble of the crash when I was approached by a priest. This human, Virgil, seemed to believe I was the reincarnation of some holy elf. How preposterous! That alone made me doubt looking towards human ingenuity for my clan's salvation. He insisted on tagging along and I was too battered and ill-equipped to discourage him. We crossed paths with an assassin on our way to the nearest village. Whoever took down the Zephyr wanted to make sure there were no survivors. They may want to hire better assassins. In the village of Shrouded Hills, it would appear that Virgil's mentor was attacked at the inn by the same group of assassins and needed to flee. It looked like the human priest and I are in the boat, and we all know how Dwarves feel about boats.

Starting CP went to Electric 2, Persuasion 2, and CH+1

Milestone:
To get to Tesla Rod, I need Electric+5, IN+8. I also want Firearms+2 as well as ST+1 so I can actually hit things with it.
Additionally, I want CH+1 and Persuasion +1 to get an additional two Follower slots in time for Jayna and Magnus.

I've usually let Virgil do the talking with the Elf in the pass in previous runs. However, Tiernon is not the type to take lip from some nosy, rude elf, especially after his recent ordeal with the airship. The assassin has killed both PC and Virgil before, and quite easily. However, he was having an off day today and the two barely took a hit.

They took care of the bandit ghost, siding with Arbalah, if only because it was the right thing to do. Tiernon's first CP went into Firearms. Considering the trouble at the crash site and the ghost bandit's partner, Tiernon thought it prudent to take up a weapon. After getting to Shrouded Hills and sorting out the situation with Virgil's mentor, they picked up Sogg. It was then I realized I forgot the kite sword back at the crash site. No matter, I picked up a staff like Virgil's for a few coin at the general store and gave that to Sogg that. The staff does more fatigue than physical damage. So, enemies are more likely to get knocked out by Virgil and Sogg, and can then be dispatched. This helps Tiernon, as knocked out enemies are easier to hit.

I do have to be conscious of getting Tiernon actually in a fight and not letting the followers do everything. He needs to get some hits in for some extra XP.

Tiernon received his first firearm from Doc Roberts. The first CP went into Firearms and Doc Roberts provided apprentice training. I'll be passing on the Expert training (bonus to aimed shots, which don't seem that great) until I need it for Mastery. I'd rather have the extra 500 coin in hand, for now. Virgil picked up a wool jacket from the bank robbers and everyone is wearing boots from the rubbish.

Once other matters in town were sorted, Tiernon stocked up on bullets from the general store. Virgil pulled some religious strings to get the crew storage in the abandoned temple, for now. But, we all know what happens next.

Tiernon talked his way past the bridge bandits. He would have rather fought, but that was a fight he could not win. Tiernon was level 4 as they left town. The past two CP went into CH and Firearms. I just remembered that I don't need Persuasion 3 until later. Jayna can make a consumable booster Tier on can use to get the Expert training with only two ranks. At this point, Tiernon just needs ST+1 and then can actually just focus on Electric and IN. I think this means he'll have a Tesla Rod at level 15.

 

[JustKneller]

March 9, 1885

I have cobbled together a rather unusual band of associates. Virgil, the human priest, is still in my company. In the village near the crash site, we picked up Sogg Mead Mug the half-ogre at the Shrouded Hills Inn. Then, in the dying city of Dernholm, Jayne the elf healer joined us. The elf is an odd sort. She has turned from magic and prefers the marvels of technology for her practice. I have never heard of an elf with such reason and sense. It is quite refreshing. As for our business, all clues regarding the airship and assassins point toward Tarant. However, I chose take a detour south to Dernholm, and by extension, Black Root. This is not without reason. The mine in Shrouded Hills is haunted and in disarray. As a Dwarf, it breaks my heart to see such a sight. Even for a human mine, it deserves better and a potential solution sent us to the south. The business of assassins and mysterious gnomish rings can wait. There are more important things in this Earth.

I recently secured permanent lodgings in the seaside town of Black Root. I much prefer the warm comfort of the mountains to the ominously chilly sea, but getting out into the human world is the point of this excursion. Our lead in the south for the mine's affairs is now pointing us north. Now, all our figurative roads lead to Tarant. Our course is set and our company supplied as best as our budget allows. To Tarant we go.

I've come to not like the tax collector quest for Dernholm. Even though it's basically just a fetch quest, this would have been a great opportunity to give the player a choice. Rebuild the relationship between Black Root and Dernholm, or strengthen the alliance with Tarant. If we're being honest here, any tech character would be telling Dernholm to sod off. This wasn't considered, and especially considering the theme of the game, it is a real missed opportunity for good storytelling.

There was little to do between Dernholm and Black Root. Old people and rings, innkeeper vs. blacksmith, grab a ceremonial dagger. There's also an odd side quest with some halflings in Black Root. I picked up the quest for Liam's Workshop, but didn't even swing by. Maybe I'll have a bash at it once I have the Tesla Rod and a fully geared up crew. In any event, by the time all was said and done, Tiernon was level 6. A point went to ST, which allows him to wield the revolver in one hand effectively, carrying an electric light in the other. From here, it's all going into IN and Electric.

I do like having housing in Black Root's inn, for the reasons I mentioned before. Also, I have a sneaking suspicion I'll be able to eventually buy my own boat for transportation. This will make the location even more convenient. When I did a little googling about early game housing, people really talk up the rat infested warehouse in Tarant for the extra storage, but it has no bed and it takes so much longer to get in and out of the city. I wouldn't mind a second container (e.g. a nightstand) in the Black Root room just to separate crafting materials from everything else. However, I think one container will be more than enough space, even with two crafters in the party. I'm not hoarding every little piece of trash. I'm just sticking to what seems important to save and what I can actually use for crafting. I have plenty of room for this.

I'm now heading to Tarant at only level 6. This seems low, for some reason.