newbie help

[bolt]

I just started playing Arcanum for the first time, but I'm having a hard time with the game.

Firstly I didn't bought a lockpick at the beginning, so now I'm stuck without one. One of the faq from gamefaq said there is a crate at the crash site with a lockpick inside, I couldn't find the crate. Also I tried many vendors, none of them sell it. But I'm a melee character and is leveling up nicely so I can generally just bash everything, although it is annoying having to remove my companion's weapons whenever I want to bash a chest.

Also I have a bunch of magic items and non-magic weapons and armors but nobody is willing to buy them. I think I have a bunch of swords, a few axes, a couple of chain mails, a ton of leathers both large, medium and small, and a few magic armors, magic swords etc. Where in the world can I sell them?

Also I would love some tips on how a pure melee character can make money. I'm level 19, just starting quests in Tartan, and I can hardly afford anything.

[Charomon]

As far as lockpicks are concerned i´m not really sure but i think that you can find some in the wolf cave (somewhere north of Dernholm). Remember that lockpicks are useless if you don´t have the lockpicking skill.

Most shopkeepers are very picky about what they will buy from you. Your friend here is the junk dealer (standing next to a half ogre) in the docks district in Tarant. He will buy almost everything at pretty fair prices. Remember that junk dealers (cant really remember who they are or in what places you find them, except Tarant) are experts at repair. Generally it´s a waste to have a blacksmith do the repairing since he is more prone to drain the max durability of the item than actually restoring the lost one. So it´s a good idea to let a junk dealer do the repairing.

Selling all the things you are carrying that noone wanted to buy before should ease you financial trouble. Other than that there are a couple of ways to earn money without stealing. A lot of quests have monetary rewards. The local newspaper has an office near the train station. You can sell your story about surviving the blimpcrash to them for quite a large sum of money. An upside of this is that strangers in the street will recognice and pity you and therefore give you some money(albeit a pretty small amount).

Hope this helps!

[killerschlumpf]

Take a hammer or axe and destroy the chest or the lock. Steal everything and sell it ... save before stealing

[TwoHandedSword]

You didn't say where you are in the game, bolt. As Charomon pointed out, most dealers will only buy items similar to what they sell; junk dealers will buy just about anything, but will give you somewhat less for it.

Unless.

You invest 3 ranks in Haggle, and purchase apprenticeship (from a herbalist or general shopkeeper) and expertise (from a bartender, at a cost of 500 gp). Then you have the ability to sell anything to just about anyone, and you'll get a better price for all of it, to boot!

One further tip: it's almost always worth it to have magic items identified by a wise woman (for 100 gp) before equipping them or selling them. Identifying them unlocks their full potential, and you usually make the difference back when it comes time to sell.

The big exception would be cursed items (like the Fool's Dagger). It's worth a lot more as an unidentified magic item than it would be otherwise. Just one of a number of reasons to always save before having your stuff ID'd.

For the record, wise women hang out at the edge of town in Shrouded Hills, Tarant, Caladon and Ashbury.

[bolt]

Awesome, thanks guys! I found he lockpick in the wolf cave and managed to sell most of my extra stuff, now I can finally afford the train.

I have another question, I have Magnus in my group and want him to craft stuff for me (trying to make electric light with lantern and filament), how do I go about that? When I click on him to talk and ask him what can he make for me, I will automatically go into the craft screen but see nothing. I tried both having the ingredients in my inventory and his inventory, no luck with either.

Also, if I pick up a found schematic, should I let Magnus learn it or learn it myself if I never intend to craft stuff myself and only want Magnus to make it for me. If I'm to have him learn it, how do I do it?

[TwoHandedSword]

It's been a while since I've had a follower, or played a techie. But IIRC, you place the items in Magnus's inventory, then call up the "What can you build for me?" dialogue.

Then, when the tech screen comes up, click through the various colleges until you find the one that contains what you're trying to have him build. Magnus's build scheme is in the areas of Smithy and Mechanical; that means with the right materials, he can make Pure Ore and Spike Traps, but not Electric Light or Strong Poison.

So you either have to take the required ranks yourself, or seek out another follower who can build from the Electrical schematic.

*SPOILER BELOW*

That would be Sebastian, in the slum section of Tarant southwest of the bridge, known as the Boil. And I believe you have to be neutral, evil, or a Persuasion master to recruit him. You definitely have to be a fairly high level, as the Boil is not a very nice place.

FWIW, one of the most useful tech items in the game is in the Electrical college: the Charged Ring, which gives a +2 DX bonus per ring when worn!

*END SPOILER*

[Charomon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bolt Awesome, thanks guys! I found he lockpick in the wolf cave and managed to sell most of my extra stuff, now I can finally afford the train. I have another question, I have Magnus in my group and want him to craft stuff for me (trying to make electric light with lantern and filament), how do I go about that? When I click on him to talk and ask him what can he make for me, I will automatically go into the craft screen but see nothing. I tried both having the ingredients in my inventory and his inventory, no luck with either. Also, if I pick up a found schematic, should I let Magnus learn it or learn it myself if I never intend to craft stuff myself and only want Magnus to make it for me. If I'm to have him learn it, how do I do it?

About the last part: Followers can not (ever!) learn found schematics, regardless of what tech disciplins they know. It looks like you have to take them yourself. Remember that found schematics are a bit complicated. Less advanced stuff (like bullets) requires one rank in the disciplin they belong to. If the schematic requires a component that can be built with one of the disciplins then you need to be able to build that component. Some strange schematics that can be found defies this description and seems to require all ranks in the disciplin they belong to.

About lockpicks: Gamefaq is correct, there is a box labelled "factory discards" on the crashsite that contains lockpicks. I happened upon it when starting a new character. I think i have found it with earlier characters but i rarely use lockpicks so it's never a big deal for me. The box is well hidden in some shrubbery east of Preston Radcliffe (your starting position) and northwest of the body of Merwin Tumblebrooks (forgot spelling), right at the edge of some debris. For this reason you should never waste money on buying lockpicks in the beginning.