An Arcanum Follower Question

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I'm playing as an ugly, half-orc mage in Arcanum right now. I can only have one follower at a time(because of my bad charisma) and I've gone through it all with Virgil so far.
I got sick of him and decided to try someone else. Problem is he(Dante) is at a much lower level than me.

I was wondering if he'd stay at the same level ratio(I'm level 30, he's 12) or if he'll just shoot up to my level after I level up.

 

When you level up to level 31 he will level up to level 13. If you have the patch installed, he will still level up after you have reached level 50.

Due to this it is wise to as soon as possible get the follower you want to have with you trough the game.

IIRC there is a mod that will increase the levels of the followers at www.terra-arcanum.com

PS. I would rather choose the mage in Ashbury instead of Dante

 

Thanks for the advice. I guess I'll just use Virgil from now on.

By the way, I was too Good to get that Evil mage(he's a necromancer so that pretty much explains it). And he didn't like me because I was ugly (6 Beauty).

 

Ah, no need to start a new topic I see. This topic gets to the heart of my problems.

Here's the scoop:

I love the world of Arcanum, I really do. But I find myself loving the game of Arcanum less and less. I’m fairly new to it. I’m on my first game. I’ve been to Shrouded Hills, Tarant, Stillwater, and Blackroot (in that order). Magnus and Virgil are in my party. We’ve all recently made it to level 13.

And we’re supposed to discover what the hey is going on in the Black Mountain Mines for Gilbert Bates. Problem is, they’re filled with Ore Golems and Rockrats that smash us to smitherenes and degrade our weapons. Then there’s barracades blocking alternate paths. Who knows we could probably blow them up, but I can’t find anymore dynamite or gernades in the aforementioned towns (I’ve used up what little they had already). Besides my character is not a very good thrower, she’s more of a mage.

And that leads to my biggest gripe about Arcanum...followers. I can’t get Virgil and Magnus to do anything besides basic combat. I can’t even tell them to back-off from a fight. I’ve tried the F5 hotkey, do they listen? No. Here’s a little history with me and the BG/IWD games, when it comes to NPC’s, I’m a control freak. If you’re in my party, you do things my way or the highway. I chose what weapons you use, I tell you when to attack and when to retreat, I tell you when to pick a lock and when to stay put, when to throw a grenade or heal a person. But not in Arcanum. Grrr. It irks me to no end that my followers die in a fight because they all ran off willy-nilly, fighting whatever the hey they pleased and we died because instead of everybody focusing on one enemy, our resources are spread out and we die. And Virgil gets it in his head that he only needs to heal Magnus half of his total hit-points and then sits there (with plenty of fatigue to spare) and just watches Magnus walk around half healed. Then when we get into the thick of combat, Virgil has to waste extra time healing Magnus because he went into combat half-healed. Well duh.

I just wish Minsc and Boo would jump through a portal and brighten my day in the land of Arcanum. At least they know what it means to be a good NPC.

What would really make me enjoy this game more, would be to have a party of PC’s. Sort of like playing multiplayer in the BG series or a party in the IWD series. That way I could have a mage, and some technologists with various degrees of specialty. Is this possible? Are there any mods, hacks, cheat codes out there that can allow a party of PC’s for Arcanum?

 

The reason why Virgil won't heal magnus is that he is to technologikal, magick and technology don't work together remember? The followers AI in Arcanum is really bad, for example: I and Jormund are out traveling, we run in to a dire wolf, jormund starts summoning up a fire elemental and turns himself to a fire elemental while I take down the ferocious dire wolf with one hit by my sword so yeah it's bad.

 

Yeah I read that technology and magic didn't work well together in the manual, but it didn't register until I saw it firsthand in the game. Still, Virgil has points in the Heal skill and I have put bandages in his inventory. I expect him to heal Magnus that way, but he won't. Which is one reason why I hate that the game automatically decides what skills and stats NPC's raise.

Which brings me back to my main question, can I play the game with a party of PC's?

 

I like Arcanum for the variety it gives but tis true The NPC AI is poor. You need to put points into Thief skills because you can't develope Virgil's skills. Traps because same for Magnus skills. The game would be better if more control of NPC's With difficulty I kept control of my NPC's for battle. Remmember they have to be able to hear you. They do run off. IMO not enough dialogue between Characters. It still one of my favorite games.

 

OK, I'm giving this game another shot. But I need to know a few things first.

1) (a)How do schematics work? Is it a one-time deal or permanent? Or does it depend on the schematic? (b) Here's an example scenario: Do you have to have at least one degree in Chemistry to use a Chemistry schematic?

2) Is a Flow Specktrometer (The Associate Degree for the Field of Electricity comprised of small electric parts and a compass) a one-time use item or a permanent deal? If it's permanent than I don't need to worry about putting points in spot traps. If it's only one-time use then I think I better stick with spot traps.

3) If you wanted to be able to use most guns, what's the min. strength requirement you would give your character? And if you use a gun and don't meet the MSR, how much of a penalty do you incur?

That's all I can think of for now.

 

1. If you learned a schematic you can use it as often as you want, but they have requirements for your knowledge in the tech disciplines they belong to.
2. As long as it's in your shield slot it will detect all traps.
3. I don't know, i don't use guns very much, i prefer melee with the pyrotechnicaxe for tech-chars.
Edit: iirc you get -5% on your chance to hit for every point of strenght missing, but i'm not sure on this.

 

When you get into the tech skills, it gets really hairy on the found schematics. This is where the tech manuals come in. If you drop everything that you have, and load up electricity tech manuals, you can pull like a 70% profeciency in elec. only having a single point in the actual skill itself. Tech manuals will help you out, a lot.

You can learn any schematic at any time, but the question is can you use it? If you can't even use it, then it was just a waste of cash, which won't bother you at the end of the game, but at the beginning it's a tough sacrifice.

None of the firearms take that much strength. I don't know for sure, but like a Stake Thrower and a Grenade Launcher take about a 12; which is about the mid-level sword range. The penalty (to hit and fatigue) for not meeting the minimum STR is really low compared to what you get from the skill points. It's your firearm skill that makes all the difference in the world. Get expert, at least.

The Flow Spec. helps out on traps. Having a light source (hand-held lantern/lightbuld, miner's helment, Illuminate spell, magic item that confers light) helps you out a *tremendous* amount, as well. The Flow Spec. uses up charges for each trap it finds, and it goes through batteries like there's no tomorrow in really trap laden places (there's two dwarf mines that are heavy duty trapped). You are best off having a constant light source, and using the flow spec. if you die or are having a really tough time in one area.

Take a look here for Technologist goodness

 

Sounds good, I snagged a lantern from Bessie Toone's Mine. I use firearms and consequently have a high perception. I also plan to max out in the fields of mechanics, explosives, therapeutics, and herbology (both mechanics and therapeutics offer ways to increase perception).

I've just planned ahead and know I have a few points to spare and was wondering if I should put them towards the Electricity field and get that Flow Specktrometer, or if my high perception coupled with a light source would be sufficient enough to detect most traps. Detecting them is what I'm worried about, thanks to the Trap Springer (Mechanics) I'm not so worried about disabling the traps.

Is it neccessary to put at least one point in Spot Traps skill if I have all this other stuff going for me? Or would that be a wasted point? The manual says the engine is contstantly calculating for spot traps without me needing to activate it by getting that skill.

BTW, I glossed over a few other Arcanum threads here, and I have to agree, Molotov Cocktails are awesome.

 

Most Techs put a couple of points into electricity just for the charged rings. They boost your perception for as long as you wear them, and use no charges.

Since you'll have two points, there is absolutely no good reason not to upgrade to a lightbulb. Lantern and filament. Quite a bit more light.

But remember, that light is only used for spotting traps. In a battle, it counts toward the enemy's perception (to hit you).

Yes, you need a point in spot traps. What the manual means is that it's a "passive" skill. Like melee and bow skills. You're constantly searching for traps without having to select "spot traps". Pickpocket and disarm skills are active; you have to select them.

 

@ Ejsmith

The charged ring dosn't raise your perception. They raise your dexterity.

 

The game is going a lot better this time around. Virgil and Magnus have taken a back seat to Sogg Mead Mug, Gar, Dog, and now Chukka. There's less chances for poor AI to screw up when all the followers need to do is attack and carry stuff.

This leaves me, the technologist, the brains of the operation. I've been planning out my character points (I'm currently level 21) and I've figured out schematics improve your rating for each field according to your Intelligence. Right now I have 15 intelligence so with a tech manual I get +15 points in expertise. The schematics are broken down into two items, some items have a minimum technological expertise to be able to use them. So for example, I have the schematic for fuel and this schematic requires Brewer's Yeast, an item that requires at least 25 points in Chemistry expertise, to be able to use the schematic.

But through planning I've realized, I don't have enough points to spare to max out in every technological field (right now I'm favoring Chemistry and Electricity more than Gun Smithy and Smithy.) So I need to plan wisely.

So my next question is, how many different manuals are available in the game? I know there are manuals for each field of technology in Tarant's University Court, but are there duplicate or improved manuals elsewhere in the game? I need to know in order to plan my skill points out just right. If there are other manuals out there, the situation I am proposing is for example, carrying two Chemistry manuals and getting double the intelligence bonus to technological expertise in the Chemistry field.

Second question is, if I download the experience cap remover while I'm in the middle of this game, will it still work? Or will I have to wait for my next game to get the benefits of the experience cap remover? Or do you in a regular game even come close to maxing out at level 50 to even worry about the experience cap remover?

 

Second Question-IIRC I added the experience cap remover in the middle of my game. Yes, you can max out. Do a lot of exploring (fighting) and all the quests you can.