History VideoGame / ArcanumOfSteamworksAndMagickObscura

* AnAesop:
** Near endgame [[spoiler:Nasrudin]] summarizes the moral of the story to Virgil: "Blind faith is bad, question everything." This holds true with the [[spoiler:Panarii religion run by the agents of its devil-figure]], and [[spoiler:the deceptions of Min'Gorad which Loghaire admits that he should've been more suspicious of]], and even [[spoiler:the Gnome Ogre-breeding conspiracy which only functions as long as not too many people question the mysterious increase in the Half-Ogre population]].
** The other Aesop is "Even when life is suffering, it's still worth living."

* OrphanedEtymology: Polar Bears can be found in the central mountain range of Arcanum, which seems to have a mostly temperate climate.

* OurGodsAreGreater:

** Nasrudin was an ancient elf of the Age of Legends who is now worshipped as a god by the Panarii religion. [[spoiler: He's not really happy about this. His son]] Arronax is seen as the GodOfEvil, but is worshipped by the Dark Elves. [[spoiler: He hasn't been doing much of ''anything'' in the past two millenia. Kerghan has been impersonating him.]]
** A strong implication, reinforced by a couple of possible endings, is that being a God is simply a matter of being a powerful being worshipped by weaker beings. Compared to the people of the modern age, the Elven Council and [[spoiler: Kerghan the Necromancer]] are ancient beings of unimaginable power; calling them "gods" and worshipping them isn't really that far from the truth.

* FighterMageThief: In terms of builds, you have these three and Technologist; taking technological skills gives you ItemCrafting, AntiMagic and [[TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers lockpicking]].

Remarkably, the game is still being tested and patched by a squadron of devoted fans today. The game is [[http://www.gog.com/en/gamecard/arcanum_of_steamworks_and_magick_obscura now available]] on Website/GOGDotCom, with the notorious bugs fixed and the game adapted to modern systems. In August 2016, it made it onto UsefulNotes/{{Steam}} as well.

** Good luck finding out Called Shots on your own in the game. They are only mentioned in the manual and not explained nor described in-game in any way. Unless you find keyboard shortcuts for them in the net, you are out. Considering certain combat skills openly rely on Called Shots, it's a truly egregious case.

** The blessing from the All-Father. You have to make blessings at the altars in a certain order, some of which have to be repeated at least once, then find the final altar buried in Vendigroth. Oh, and if you're a technologist, you better have one of your followers carry a tech-based resurrect. The All-Father kills you in the process of blessing you, then casts Resurrect to bring you back... except a 100 tech-aligned character will block the spell, thus leaving you dead if your party can't bring you back. The game does give you a book and a vague diagram which can allow you to reasonably figure it out, and trial and error allows you to realize you messed up (other gods will curse you if you do it wrong).
** One particular bit on getting the All-Father blessing is ridiculously obscure. You need to give an offering to the Greater Goddess of Neutrality... But the altar is located in Gorgoth Pass, a location which is ''not shown on any map in the game''. Even if you know the place from browsing game guides, it still won't pop in your map until you're close enough, and just ''getting'' close enough is a challenge in itself. There's a journal entry gained from tavern gossip, but that alone requires you to TalkToEveryone with no idea where to hear it.

* LivingMuseumExhibit: H. T. Parnell's museum in Tarant is home to Gar, the world's smartest orc. He sold himself to Parnell as an indentured servant in exchange for Parnell saving his family from poverty, and works off the debt by performing as a "freakshow" exhibit, impressing visitors to the museum with his above average (by orc standards) knowledge.

* PeopleFarms: [[spoiler:As soon as you reach the Half-Ogre Island, you discover that this place was used for breeding factories of Half-Ogres by the Gnomish industrialists, with kidnapped human females as [[BreedingSlave Breeding Slaves]]. Nowadays, Gnomes use the same factories, but with Half-Ogre females, somewhere else]].

* BonusBoss: Stringy Pete and his crew are significantly harder to beat than the final boss. You can, however, give yourself an advantage by using your accumulated Fate Points to Critical Success Pickpocket all his gear before the fight.

** Technologists as a character build are an even greater example. While they get a far worse rap than they deserve from a lot of players, there are some serious issues with using them to their full potential, most notably the extreme cost in points to fill out their disciplines (seven compared to five for mages). Playing an effective technologist requires you to finesse your abilities and items for the utmost advantage, but a proper build can lead to a character who is mighty enough to defeat [[BonusBoss Stringy Pete and his crew of the damned]] by themselves.

* MercyKill: The BigBad wants to do this [[spoiler:to the ''[[OmnicidalManiac entire world]]''.]] He believes that since spirits on the mortal plane are always in pain and those that have passed on are not, killing everyone will free them of their suffering forever. [[spoiler:He's not entirely wrong, as another character can confirm, but that same character tells him not everyone feels theame about it.]]

** A high intelligence is required to enable certain dialogue options in order to resolve a few quests through dialogue; in particular to be able to debate Dwarven philosophy in the Wheel Clan caves.

* MutuallyExclusivePartyMembers: Certain companions will not travel with other potential companions if they are in your party, even if you've recruited them once before. This can be bypassed if you Charisma stat of 20 and Master Persuasion, which allows you to recruit anyone regardless of alignment or personal issues; they'll complain, but they'll still fall in line.

* NoKillLikeOverkill: The Disintegrate spell first kill their victim and then [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin disintegrates their corpse]]. [[DeaderThanDead There's no chance for ressurrection after that]].

** If you go to the Pit of Fires to retrieve a magic sword, you may find a group of adventurers who are there to obtain the sword in exchange for monetary compensation. If you can convince them that you need the sword for a noble purpose (Like, for example, [[spoiler:destroying L'Anamelach]]), they will go into the cave, brave all the Fire Elementals waiting in it, return to the entrance, and promptly hand the sword over to you. Not a single one of them dies in the process.

** In some versions, Looking-Glass Rifle deals 40-40 damage, which allows to reliably drop with single bullet all sort of low and mid level enemies. Always. Each shot. At the longest range of any attack possible in the game. And it also provides accuracy bonus to user, while cancelling range penalties, rendering Master training in Firearms obsolete.

* OneSizeFitsAll: Averted. Body armor comes in three sizes: medium for humans, elves, orcs, half-elves and half-orcs, small for dwarves, gnomes and halflings, and large for ogres and half-ogres. Bedokaans, being LizardFolk, don't fit any of the three sizes and can't wear armour at all. Also, ogres cannot wield pistols or other small firearms because their hands are too big, though other forms of armor have no such restrictions.

* OurCryptidsAreMoreMysterious: The Stillwater Giant is essentialy the cryptid of Stillwater. The Giant is regarded by the most people as a beautiful local fairy tale at best, scientists laugh at the very idea of it and all "evidence" of his existence is either very dubious or blatantly fabricated (like Stillwater Giant's pelt in the Museum of Tarant). After you bring the Giant's fake pelt to elf Mirth, however, you can discover that the Stillwater Giant is very real...

* ''VideoGame/TheCaseOfTheGoldenIdol'': The final scenario has someone gamble away a cannon over a game of cards to a drunkard. [[spoiler:Said drunkard later proceeds to fire it at point blank range, killing the main antagonist.]]

* MercyKill: The BigBad wants to do this [[spoiler:to the ''[[OmnicidalManiac entire world]]''.]] He believes that since spirits on the mortal plane are always in pain and those that have passed on have not, killing everyone will free them of their suffering forever. [[spoiler:He's not entirely wrong, as another character can confirm, but that same character tells him not everyone feels theame about it.]]

* {{Foreshadowing}}: A half-ogre you meet in an early-to-mid-game area tells you that he grew up in an orphanage where all of the children were half-ogres, and he finds it strange since the typical circumstances of a half-ogre's birth (a male ogre forcing himself on a human woman, who survives the rape, pregnancy and birth of the child) means that half-ogres are very uncommon in Arcanum. [[spoiler:Much later in the game, you can complete a quest in which you discover a conspiracy by the gnomish elite to breed half-ogres through a eugenics programme]].

* BringBackProof:

* BringingBackProof:

** NPCs usually have nothing but contempt for half-ogres, and those same lines can be spoken by an ogre.

** Perception. It has exactly four applications: using firearms, sneaking around, spotting traps and providing a small bonus to To Hit chance of ranged attacks (a single rank of a related skill will provide you with the same value as maxed-out Perception). Firearms are severely outshined by other weapon classes, Prowling is a gimmick-tier skill and there is a good chance you will ''never'' invest in Spot Traps. For anyone, who isn't a gunslinger, the stat is completely useless. Curiously enough, bows and their skill fall under the [[OneStatToRuleThemAll all-powerful]] Dexterity, making the stat redundant for archers.

** AI characters are programmed to switch to better gear in their inventory, but don't always make such determinations logically. This is especially true of armor, as characters may ignore a higher Armor Class for other statistics.
*** A common tactic for neutralizing the first BeefGate is to find and drop Railroad Spikes in front of the ogres, who will pick them up and equip, as they are unarmed, thus nullifying their massive unarmed attack for 1-2 damage the Spikes deal.

** Perception. It has exactly four applications: using firearms, sneaking around, spotting traps and providing a small bonus to To Hit chance of ranged attacks (a single rank of a related skill will provide you with the same value as maxed-out Perception). Firearms are severely outshined by other weapon classes, Prowling is a gimmick-tier skill and there is a good chance you will ''never'' invest in Spot Traps. For anyone, who isn't a gunslinger, the stat is completely useless. Curiously enough, bows and their skill fall under the [[OneStatToRuleThemAll all-powerful]] Dexterity, making the stat redundant for archers.

* BearsAreBadNews: While the black bears usually don't present much threat to any combat-oriented Living One, their grizzly bear cousins, on the other hand, are powerful random encounter critters and can be very deadly to the low-level characters. The fact that they spawn around locations which the player may want to visit right after leaving the first town doesn't help.

* BeefGate:

** AI characters tend to pick up anything on the ground that looks appealing -- even if that object is a several ton boulder that will almost crush them under the weight. You can use the AI's proactive behavior against it by dropping a piece of equipment that's been cursed and waiting for them to equip it, which will make them easier to kill or even kill them for you.

** Melee fighters. Forget using magic or technological disciplines, just put your starting points into Melee, Dodge, ST and DX. Not only it negates entirely the EarlyGameHell[[note]]You can reach Expert-level Melee skill by 2nd level and with the right background, ''start'' with it[[/note]], but by the middle of the game, your build will be complete, and you'll be strong enough to beat your way through almost any quest or area in the game (and in fact many guides recommend this approach for a first playthrough with an orc or half-ogre). The only problem is what you do with the rest of your level-ups.

* EvilVersusEvil: In the [[WretchedHive Boil]] there is a conflict between the gangs of Maug and Pollock. Both sides consist solely of violent thugs who don't hold any redemptional traits. The only way to get a good ending for the Boil is to kill leaders of the both gangs.

* SkippableBoss: The end boss can be talked into letting you kill him without resistance, again echoing ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}''.

* SniperRifle: One can be purchased (or built by characters exceptionally skilled in Gunsmithing). It has the longest range of any weapon, spell, or ability in the game, and can easily hit targets three or more screens away. The [[{{BFG}} Elephant Gun]] can also serve in this role; it has slightly shorter range but deals much more damage. On the other hand, in some versions Looking-Glass Rifle ''always'' deals 40 damage. That's enough to knock-out most of enemies you will ever encounter with precisely [[OneHitKill one bullet]] and can carry gun-totting characters throughout almost entire game. Best part? The rifle is extremely accurate, regardless of Firearms skill.

* StopBeingStereotypical: If a half-orc PC encounters orcish muggers or bandits approach thinking they're a human before letting them go as fellow orcs, the PC can berate them for giving orcs a bad name.

* TakeAThirdOption:
** Most of the quests in this game have a third option that can be taken in lieu of the "correct" one. For example, one quests tasks you with retrieving a gem from a shrine, only to be told that making any noise (i.e. failing to Sneak) will summon a bunch of monsters to kill you. There's nothing to stop you from just walking up, murdering the hell out of the monsters when they appear (it's not even that hard if your character or party has decent combat skills), then taking the gem at your leisure. Quests only ever give you an objective, they never say it has to be completed a certain way. That said, quest-givers do occasionally reward you better if you do it according to their instructions.

** [[spoiler: How you deal with Kerghan can boil to this. The most obvious outcomes are to fight or join him. The third and most difficult outcome is to talk him out of it.]]

** Because [[MagicVersusScience Magick and Technology are seen to be mutually exclusive and cannot be safely mixed without interfering with one another]], mages generally embrace a technophobic mindset and see technology as a threat to the "established order". Technologists, on the other hand, see magic as a relic of ancient times and a barrier to progress.

* ThisIsUnforgivable: If you reveal Bates didn't ''invent'' the steam engine, it will lead to a continent-wide outcry. Never mind it is made clear throughout the game and its endings he should still be credited as at least great engineer for ability to improve on the basic dwarven design and then continously produce better and more varied engines of top quality.

* TheTimeOfMyths: The Epoch of Enchantment that happened 900.000 years before the start of the game and lasted for some 4000 years. A wild and cataclysmic outburst of magick that mutated existing creatures (horses-unicorns, birds-firebirds humans-elves&giants), spawned new ones (wyrms, dragons, krakens, drakes, hydras) and chimerised others (centaurs, manticores).
** Age of Legends to a lesser extent (though it happened "only" 3000 years ago).

* UniversalAmmunition: Pistol? Rifle? HandCannon? [[{{BFG}} Elephant Gun?]] Same bullets.

* VillainBeatingArtifact: One quest requires you to find a specific dagger so that you can kill a wizard whose soul is bound to a demon. Killing the wizard with any other weapon will release the demon into the world. [[spoiler:Also, the final boss can only be killed with one of two items, the Vendigroth Device or Kryggird's Falchion, or with a magical attack strong enough to bash through the shield.]]

* WellIntentionedExtremist: [[spoiler:Kerghan wants to [[OmnicidalManiac kill everyone]] because he believes that the afterlife is better and more peaceful than life]]. Interestingly, that particular theory is somewhat confirmed in-game, since one of your party members [[spoiler:who dies and is resurrected]] agrees with him but still thinks that people should be allowed to choose their own fate.