Newbie Q's on Arcanum~

[friarted]

My GF just got this & isn't on the Net so she has these Q's- sorry if this isn't formatted correctly or answered elsewhere-

My GF has been playing this game, and has some question I have not been able to find answers for on the Net, so if you're familiar with it- please help. She asks-

How do you change the reactions of other characters to you aside from wearing clothes or articles? I'm traveling with Sogg Mead Mug and Angus. I did not have them wait while I was going to pick pockets and think this has negatively impacted how they feel towards me. I've been killing a whole horde of zombies is Ashbury and for some reason, this has made Sogg want to kill me. Why did this happen & how can I correct it? It seems like my relationship with all of my followers is steadily declining even though I am very careful to act positively in front of them. How do you improve relations with your followers?

Of what use is prowling? I don't get it.

Is there a way to pick pockets more than 100 pieces of gold at a time?

What do I need to do to unlock the barrels or the chests that won't come open with the unlocking cantrip or the basic lockpicking skill?

Does anyone have any suggestion for the best placement of character points or is it pretty much open for anything?

Btw, isn't this one of the bad-assest games you've ever played. I love it!

[Darkstone]

How do you change the reactions of other characters to you aside from wearing clothes or articles?

Increase your Beauty. Maxing your Charisma and Persuasion works pretty good too. Also a couple of quests help.


I'm traveling with Sogg Mead Mug and Angus. I did not have them wait while I was going to pick pockets and think this has negatively impacted how they feel towards me. I've been killing a whole horde of zombies is Ashbury and for some reason, this has made Sogg want to kill me.

Did you accidentally hit Sogg in combat? That can do it. Also they don’t like it when you kill the hobbit’s pigs. Magnus will usually speak up when you do something he doesn’t like.


Why did this happen & how can I correct it? It seems like my relationship with all of my followers is steadily declining even though I am very careful to act positively in front of them. How do you improve relations with your followers?

Dunno about Sogg, but use some Dwarven Snuff on Magnus. You can find it in most general stores.


Of what use is prowling? I don't get it.

You can sneak around and backstab people and pick locks without being seen. However, if people turn toward you when you’re in Prowl mode that means they can see you. Get the skill up and wear a couple of sneaking items. Don’t clomp around in metal armor.


Is there a way to pick pockets more than 100 pieces of gold at a time?

Nope.


What do I need to do to unlock the barrels or the chests that won't come open with the unlocking cantrip or the basic lockpicking skill?

Enter combat mode, hold down the Alt key and use the mouse to hit it. It will cause damage to weapons, though. Or fireball the area. Eventually the chest or door will go away. It may damage some goodies though. Best thing is to come back later when you’re a more powerful mage or technologist.


Does anyone have any suggestion for the best placement of character points or is it pretty much open for anything?

Well, it depends on what you want to play. If you’re a mage get your Magical Aptitude up to 100% ASAP. That way you can cause maximum damage with your spells and your unlocking cantrip will open just about any lock.
Similarly, if you’re going Technologist get your Technological Aptitude up to 100% so all your tech equipment functions at full strength and your tech skills will be at their most effective.

Afterwards I’d raise Dexterity to max, especially if you’re using turn mode. I then like to max out Charisma and Persuasion, but that’s just me.


Btw, isn't this one of the bad-assest games you've ever played. I love it!

Yep!

[galraen]

Originally Posted by friarted

Does anyone have any suggestion for the best placement of character points or is it pretty much open for anything?

Darkstone has pretty much covered the rest, and his/her advice is sound.

When it comes to using character points it pretty much depends (as Darkstone indicated) on what sort of character you want to develop regarding Magic or Technology.

Common to both is combat ability, and for that you need to develop dexterity and strength. If you want to utilise range combat a lot, then perception also needs some attention.

For technologists, intelligence is the prime requisite, you need minimum intelligence for each successive rank in the tech schemes, culminating in 19 for the top rank.

As far as magic is concerned, the prime requisite is Willpower, again there are minimum requirements for each successive rank in each school.

There are items which can boost you attributes, either continually or for a short period, but these are either magioc or technology oriented. Gloves of dexterity for example will boost your dex if you have a magical affinity, but are useless if you go too technical. Likewise with charged rings, except they're tech based, and therefore work for technologists, but not for mages.

Originally Posted by friarted

Btw, isn't this one of the bad-assest games you've ever played. I love it!

Sure is a great game, it's definitely worth playing more than once, first time I played I tried to keep the character balanced between magic and technology. Second I went pure mage, third pure tech. Enjoyed all three run throughs immensely, and each one was different from the rest.

[the shape]

Originally Posted by friarted

It seems like my relationship with all of my followers is steadily declining even though I am very careful to act positively in front of them. How do you improve relations with your followers?

I've been experiencing some issues for quite some time with this.
Magnus is a good aligned character which means he will react badly if you attack good aligned creatures. For example Vincent in the old Caladon sewers. You can pretty much leave him behind since he's so damn irritating about it, but if you're new to the game you might want to keep him around for some quests and dialogue. You can tell him to wait while you're doing your job or if you just have to attack some good aligned creeps summon something and order it to attack. That provided you do it in turn-based mode he will not suffer bad reaction. However you still get to suffer decrease in alignment for killing goodies. If your alignment drops too much Magnus will leave your group.

Sogg however will not care what alignment you have. He may be upset with you if you hit him with a stun grenade or any aoe spell and also if you leave him to wait on an open spot(not in a town).

You may spend a fate point to force a good reaction upon your followers if you feel like it. I personally never use fate points and once you advance beyond level 15 the game isn't as hard especially if you're a mage.

Also... when my alignment drops lower than 10, 15, 20 sometimes I experience glitches and lose reaction of my followers killing creeps. I'm talking like all my party complaining about kite men and vermin which *they* kill and I just feel dumb watching that. So... it may be a similar issue. Just save often and keep an eye out when your companions drop their reactions.

[Deadalready]

How do you change the reactions of other characters to you aside from wearing clothes or articles? I'm traveling with Sogg Mead Mug and Angus. I did not have them wait while I was going to pick pockets and think this has negatively impacted how they feel towards me. I've been killing a whole horde of zombies is Ashbury and for some reason, this has made Sogg want to kill me. Why did this happen & how can I correct it? It seems like my relationship with all of my followers is steadily declining even though I am very careful to act positively in front of them. How do you improve relations with your followers?
Personally I've found using the Machine gun drops reactions of team members, other guns do as well. Additionally some party members are really annoying about attacking doors, windows and boxes (not just good npcs). I know Magnus got really angry when I smashed some windows.

Of what use is prowling? I don't get it.
Prowling is extremely powerful for getting past characters or avoiding detection, unfortunately using it with party members is pointless.

What do I need to do to unlock the barrels or the chests that won't come open with the unlocking cantrip or the basic lockpicking skill?
Smash them!

Does anyone have any suggestion for the best placement of character points or is it pretty much open for anything?
There are quite a few ways to beat the game, I do suggest points into healing because it's one of the few ways to cure scar tissue.