There are really good backgrounds. For instance, I prefer walking with as little followers as possible so an Only Child Elf Mage is a really powerfull starting character(-4cha, +6!!! will). But, there are also bad backgrounds. The Educator is one such background because if you value your followers and want them to be really good at something you can only train them to the level before your own(if you're master, you train expert) but the characters often train themselves in their main skills(for instance, a certain dog becomes melee master at level 25 IMHO). Some are just fun to play, like Magick Alergy or Technophobia(cannot hold magical or technological items, with technophobia you can't even pick one up). Or a Savant(alot more int, but still dumb dialog options), that can be interesting. Don't choose stuff like Child of a Hero or anything else that gives you gold/items, it's not worth it. Try being Beaten wih an Ugly Stick [img]smile.gif[/img]

Yeah, agree with you there Bozos.
I also like 'Raised by Monks' as it gives you a bonus ability point (in perception), with little in the way of detriment. You only start with 100 gold, but that's fine, you'll make up that lost 300 gold soon enough.

Also, 'Born under a sign' can come in handy too. Makes for some great critical hit effects, and the augmented critical misses arn't all that bad anyway...

Thanks! Think I'll start over again, then. What are the most useful stats then? Should I go for balance? (Yeah yeah I just keep asking more questions. [img]tongue.gif[/img] )

Depends on whether you wanna be a swordswoman, mage, gunslinger etc.
Although, like you, I like to be 'liked' in the RPGs I play, so I'm somewhat addicted to putting alot of points into charisma. However, by and large, charisma and beauty and luxury stats in this game.

So:
Mage - Willpower (constitution helps too)

Technologist/Gunslinger - Perception and Intelligence.

Melee - Strength and Dexterity. Dext is necessary for skill levels in dodge and melee, whereas strength will ensure that your hits actually do worthwhile damage.

And you can add charisma/beauty/persuasion as a garnish if you feel so inclined [img]smile.gif[/img]

Note - 'balance' is a waste in this game. You pretty much have to be a specialist if you want to actually become powerful. Best to become really tough in one or two closely-related areas, otherwise you will end up with a whole bunch of nothing much.

[ 04-21-2004, 10:00 AM: Message edited by: The Hierophant ]

The pause button is the spacebar. If you're using real-time combat, I highly recommend using turn-based. Less frantic. [img]graemlins/lol.gif[/img]

Don't listen to the first reply, both magic and tech are good, imo tech has the edge but what will really screw you is trying to mix the two - either go whole hog into tech and eschew magic, or stick to magic and ignore tech.

Use your party members to cover skill areas you can't cover.

Thanks mate, much appreciated! Especially the pause button info, LOL! That ought to make combat much easier (not really into turnbased...)
Does anyone agree that the manual to this game is not exactly efficient in helping you get started? I mean it looks great and like they put a lot of work into it, but I had to search forever to find info on how to save my game!

[ 04-21-2004, 05:57 PM: Message edited by: Melusine ]

yeah but the cookies kick ass

There's a few good walkthroughs out there for those that have a hard time getting started. Check out gamefaqs.com and do a search for arcanum...

You can get hired and do jobs for them.

I wouldn't play with real-time combat, turn it to fast turn-based and you have a bit of time to think about what you're doing!

I think it's best to go for either magic or tech - trying to balance between the two means that none of your skills or spells will be that good, and your magic/tech points being somewhere in the middle of the range will mean higher chance of failure at both spells and skills. Be aware that whichever you choose to specialise in will affect quests and which NPCs will be willing to join you.

I have to say that Arcanum is one of the best games I could recommend - it takes a little while to get used to, but it is so large and although there are plenty of quests and a bit of fetch and carry, you don't feel as if you are being led by the nose along a fixed story line towards the end of the game.

Spend some time wandering around all the locations (some of which are huge), talk to everyone you meet - all the usual RPG advice!

And enjoy [img]smile.gif[/img]

(Isn't the music superb? This game has one of my favourite soundtracks ever).