What does "available magic power" on items mean, what happens when it reaches zero and is it possible to increase it, if so, how?

How much charisma is needed for more than 2 followers if more than 2 followers is possible and if so, how many is the maximum number?

If you upset a character that can join, for example I just met Magnus and I think I'll leave him be because I don't have enough Charisma at the moment, but not to the point they become hostile, only they don't like you it seems the the dialogue is blocked so you can't iniatite a conversation? Is this true?

I'm currently going with a gunslinger and I'm planning on using a few tech stuff like grenades and traps because they seem to have high damage, aoe, high hit rate etc.. Will I break my character going multiple ways? As long as my companions can kill everything I don't really care how good my main character is in combat, I actually prefer to keep him as a utility character because of all the possibilities there are in this game.

Is throwing needed for grenades? I actually miss half the time but even so, they are useful.

Is it possible to find items that increase the main stats? Specifically perception and dexterity since my main character is a gunslinger but the rest is also important.

Is there no way to change hotkeys without resorting to an external application?

And most importantly:

Is there no manual way to add notes or whatever in the game? The information that gets handed is filtered by date, that's not ideal for me. I prefer to keep quests in order of done, which city I am it may concern, and characters you meet are never written done. I have a fairly good memory but I prefer to keep things organized so that I don't run around lost, especially far into the game.

"Available magic power" is related to your tech/magic aptitude. Raising your magic aptitude will increase the available magic power. Basically, what it means is how much of the item's enchantment you actually get. If you are highly tech aligned, the available magic power can go to zero and you are essentially using an unenchanted item; the enchantment has no effect for you. Example: a magic sword has a enchantment that gives 2-8 fire damage. If you have 100% available magic power, you get the full fire damage, if you have 50%, you only get 1-4 fire damage, if you have zero you get no fire damage at all, just a regular sword. If you're playing tech you'll probably not have much available magic power on anything. BUT, if you're playing tech, you'll be really good with tech items, which can be just as cool. More than 2 is certainly possible, but I forget how much charisma you need; check the manual, it's in there. I think the max number of followers is five or six. I think Magnus is a special case where he gets mad if you don't help him investigate Schuyler and Sons, and he won't join you if you didn't help him. Can someone confirm? If I'm right, then what you want to do is have Virgil wait outside, take Magnus while you check out Schuyler and Sons, then when you're done, tell Magnus to wait and pick up Virgil again. Not a problem to branch out, but I wouldn't recommend trying both tech and magic with one character. Stick to tech, but feel free to branch out into different tech disciplines. Yes. But as you found, they're useful even without any throwing skill. Also, they will not damage you or your allies so you can even throw them right at your feet. Yes. For a tech character, check out the Charged Ring (Electrical college) which will increase dexterity. There are items for perception too but I forget what they are exactly (there are spectacles, and then there's like a goggled helmet I think?). Keep in mind that you will be finding tech schematics during your adventure that can build cool new stuff that's not included in any of the basic colleges. Most of these combine two colleges, like Smithing and Electrical for example. But you can build these even if you don't have points in those colleges by buying the appropriate tech manuals in Tarant. I don't think so. I don't think so. But you can always keep your own notes by Alt+Tab-ing out of the game and using Notepad or something.

I checked and I couldn't find anything other than that Persuasion Expert gives you 1+ follower and Master makes anyone join regardless of one's current alignment. Ok, good. However, if I increase throwing will I hit more often and deal more damage or make whatever I throw more efficient (like a flash grenade blinding them for a longer duration) Yes, I noticed that. I found bullets and magical cure. How do they work when it comes to creating equipment? Will they give me stats that isn't connected to magic but work in the same way? That will probably make the game more unstable. It has already crashed 6 or 7 times, 2 in a row yesterday. I followed the mod thread and added the recommended patches and whatnot, but I did include the level removal cap utility as well. I'll just have to bring a physical notebook if the information I'm receiving becomes more unorganized later on.

I found magical sword that had these two properties: 20+ critical hit effect, -20 critical failure. What does that mean exactly? I'll score critical hits more often but I'll also score critical failures more often?

The number of followers you can have is easy to check, it's simply CHA/4 (+1 from Persuasion Expert). I think the info is given under the description of the charisma stat in the manual.

Increasing a combat skill will only increase accuracy, and give you access to more training.

I think that sword only gives you better effects on the critical hit chart (if you do score a crit, and you would normally only do some increased damage, it might also cripple your opponent instead), it doesn't improve critical hit chance.
But if your character is tech-based, a magical sword won't do much of anything anyway.

I had some skill points left so added all to Charisma to see if I would have enough to get 3 followers and at 12 I could have 3 and now I've Magnus in the party. Pity I didn't keep the save before I ventured down in P.Schuyler. I assume that after speaking with them without Magnus in the party it's not possible to continue his quest about his missing clan and the bracelet?

It's really annoying that Charisma is needed for more party members and I lack the skill points for other skills as it is. I hope I find more items that give bonuses so can I keep increasing Charisma for a larger party.

As for the combat skill, the damage at this moment is fine but before I had Expert in Firearms I had about 20% hit rate, that's unacceptable. Luckily I read about the Molotov Cocktails or I would have probably given up with this build.

I forget to ask about skills for followers. I have that option checked so they use them automatically like Virigil keep healing me all the time. I noticed Magnus can make traps, can I make Magnus use them or do I have to? If so, when I use them the efficiency is based upon my tech aptitude or?

I read about the Shovel, items that you have to drag to the bar, but when I try to use it on a grave nothing happens. Am I doing something wrong or nothing is suppose to happen with unimportant graves?

I found a schematics for Fuel and since I'm using Molotov Cocktail more than my firearms I figure it was going to worth it. I was surpised to see this: You lack expertise

What exactly is required? There's an icon of a chemistry bottle on Yeast.

I found a guide on RPGCodex that said this: "Some schematics require items that can only be crafted graduating in that specific discipline, some others only require that a specific level of expertise is met,which can be achieved through the manuals that are sold at the Tarant University."

Is that true? I bought a explosive manual their thinking it would make them stronger but it weighs 200, that's rather annoying. So I have to buy one of those manuals then?


Can anyone recommend a good starting place to grind some money? I feel like I never pass 2000 gold and I'm level 13 now, currently only 1000 gold. I haven't been to the sewers in Tarant so I'm heading there soon, I think I read a thread here that someone stated there's a bunch of experience and stuff down there.

You should probably read all of this FAQ, considering your many questions.

http://www.gamefaqs.com/pc/914155-arcanum-of-steamworks-and-magick-obscura/faqs/63974

here's the easy early gold section:


GOOD EARLY GOLD:
----------------
the willoughsby house chest and razor's point chest require zero fighting and
effort.

shrouded hills bank robbery - 500g in vault

chest in willoughsby house, tarant 3600g - you can destroy this without
anyone noticing.

blackroot taxes quest - sell chest of gold instead of returning it 2000-
3000g. Sells for more at herbalists and no one knows why.

razor's point aria corpse and chest - 275+1200g. Amulet sells for about 400g
to gypsies. Razor's point is as far south and west as you can go along the
eastern side of the Stonewall Mountains. The coordinates are 1505 W and 1770
S on the world map, but anywhere near there will snap you right to the
location.

Blasted, I should have known thoes gold plates were worth more to a merchant.

I haven't opened the chest in Willoughsby House though however bashing doesn't work for me unless you have to do something special. If I press R then attack nothing happens.

As for the FAQ I haven't read everything but some of it.

I just searched for 'bash' in the FAQ and apparently I should hold down alt. If only Troika had included a tutorial in this game it would probably already be one of the top 5 games I've ever played.

The "expertise" thing is actually not explained in the manual and it's really confusing. Here's how it works:

On that schematic there are two ingredients shown. One is a bottle of wine (I think) and there are no extra symbols there, so you don't need any expertise for that part. The other is yeast, and here you can see a symbol of a vial in the upper left corner and the number 25 in the bottom right. The vial symbol means that this part of the schematic requires Chemistry expertise, and the 25 means you need 25 "expertise points" in Chemistry to craft it.

So what are "expertise points"? You can check your current expertise on the Character screen by clicking on the appropriate tech college. I think you get 10 expertise points for each level in that tech college, so if your character had 3 levels in Chemistry, he could make fuel. Or, you can use tech manuals. For each tech manual you are currently carrying, you will gain expertise equal to your Intelligence stat. So if you have 13 intelligence, you just need to be carrying two chemistry tech manuals and then you'll have enough expertise to make fuel. Since manuals are really heavy, it's best to find somewhere to store them when you're not crafting.

Since this is probably annoying to deal with for something cheap like fuel, you might consider just buying fuel when you need it. That's what I did with my grenadier character. But for other items, tech manuals are useful. For example, let's say you find a schematic for some sweet new armor, which you're only going to need to craft once. Then you just get the tech manuals you need, craft it, and move on. It's probably not worth it for something you'll need to craft often.

Actually, some quick googling shows I answered this question for someone before:

http://www.gog.com/forum/arcanum_of_steamworks_and_magick_obscura/i_lack_the_expertise_to_make_fuel/post3

I was just about to ask about that, thanks. Personally, this is not an ideal crafting system. It seems that for everything you can do in Arcanum you need at least two requirements. While this encourage replayability it makes one planned playthrough rather mediocre of things you can do with one character.

Damnit, I've forgotten to ask this. Is there anyway to stop followers from auto-picking items? This is bloody annoying if I want to them wear a specific items but they deem it better to pick another, even if it's actually worse.

The F1-5 commands as well. Sometimes the AIs just run out of the screen, that's an interesting bug but they seem to pop up next to me if I move. I hope there's no game breaking bug where they can just run off and take up a follower spot.

Now, F1 to make them move to a place. They don't stay there after they have reached the area. Is that possible?

Also, I bashed open that chest that had the money in it but my companions' weapons lost half their durability. Is that normal?

It works out to something like 1 extra follower per four points of Charisma. Also, having "expert" training in the Persuade skill (which requires having 3 levels of Persuade, and finding an expert to train you - Madame Lil in Tarant can do this) you get an additional +1 follower. You don't want to spread yourself too thin, but by using a few tricks I was able to master four tech disciplines by game-end, and dabble in three others, while still having decent stats. Here are a few helpful things to know:
-Each level you buy in a tech discipline does two things. One, it gives you the schematic for that level, allowing you to craft that item. Two, it increases your "expertise" in that discipline by about 10-15 points, which is necessary to craft more advanced items. However, you can also boost your expertise by buying the appropriate manuals from Tarant university, and multiple manuals stack the bonus. This means that the only reason why you would ever need to put points in a tech discipline is if you want the schematics that come with them - buying ranks just to boost your expertise is a waste of points.
-In order to buy ranks in tech disciplines, you need a certain intelligence level. However, potions of intelligence will temporarily give you a massive boost to this stat, I think it's by 10 points. Since you need 19 Int to unlock the highest levels of the tech disciplines, you could in theory have as little as 9 int and still unlock any tech level you want - just down a potion, spend your character points, and when the potion wears off you will still have the schematics. Your "expertise" will drop to the level your normal Int can support, but you can boost it back up with manuals, or by drinking another potion of intelligence. Eyegear will give you +2 PE while equipped, though you can find these in-game. Goggled Helmets give +3 PE. Charged rings give +2 dex each (which is amazing for how cheap they are.)

There is a one-time-only craftable item that will boost every stat by +1, but you won't find the schematic until almost the end of the game.

Another source of stat boosts is the Arcanum Gods Quest. You've probably run into some altars to various Gods scattered around Arcanum? If you present the appropriate offering, you will gain that God's blessing, usually a boost to one or several stats or skills. The trick is finding out which order to do it in so that the other Gods don't curse you. There is a necklace you can steal off an Elf in Stillwater that gives +2 Beauty and +1 Cha. There are also two quests that give you a permanent +1 Cha bonus (Madame Toussade's crystal ball in Tarant, and restoring the Statue of Geshtianna in Stillwater). Plus, some of the Gods in the aforementioned Gods Quest will give you Cha buffs. Firearms hit rate is dependent on a number of other factors too, including your Perception stat, your distance to the target, the light level, whether there are any obstacles between you, etc. Expert training in Firearms does not improve your hit rate, it just reduces the penalty for making called shots. You can only use shovels on certain graves - you will know because they will have a mound of dirt over them, will light up when you hover the mouse, and if you click on them it will say something like "you try to dig in the dirt with your hands, but you don't get anywhere". I think there are only 2 or 3 diggable graves in the game, all near the end of the game, so feel free to drop that shovel in a crate somewhere and pick it up later. Manuals improve your expertise, allowing you to craft more advanced items. However, they do not improve the quality of the items crafted - you can either make them or you can't. There are three craftable items that can be sold for a pretty substantial profit: flash grenades, explosive grenades, and eyegear. The components can be readily bought in shops, and if no-one else will take them, the junk dealer at the docks will still buy them off you for a hefty sum. Only way I've found is to take the other items away from them. Annoying, I know.

Note that followers will never equip a weapon that requires ammunition until you give them some of the appropriate ammunition. Took me a while to figure that one out. I don't think so. If your characters start wandering off, it's usually because they've seen something sitting on the ground that they want to pick up. They'll return to you once they've grabbed it. Yes. Bashing open doors or chests with weapons damages those weapons. Axes are mostly resistant to this, though, so if you have an axe, use it to do your bashing. (And by the way, if you're a technologist, keep checking the stores for the "Pyrotechnic Axe" schematic. It's bad-ass.)

A good place to farm XP is the cemetery in Ashbury. It is infested with zombies who continuously respawn. You can go up a ton of levels in this way. Just don't complete the quest associated with the cemetery; once it's done no more zombies..

Well, later on it's easy to get tech manuals so it's actually not that big of a deal. What actually makes it hard is that some of the special schematics you find require another crafted item as an ingredient, and often that item can only be made from one of the "learned" schematics that you get by actually leveling up that tech discipline. So, for example, a super-cool powerful gun can only be made by someone who is leveled up in gunsmithing because it requires one of the high-level smithed guns as an ingredient, for example. But other stuff is pretty easy to do with manuals.

As Azilut said, this is normal and you can usually avoid it by using axes. I've also heard that bashing open chests can damage or even break the stuff inside, does anyone know if that's true? If so, it's better to pick the lock if you have the means. Virgil has a little lockpicking sklil, if you still have him around... just try to pick it yourself and he'll volunteer to do it instead if his skill is higher than yours.

I've heard that too, but never experienced it, and I was bashing open all kinds of containers with a flaming techno-axe. So my guess is that if it does happen, it's so rare as to be not worth worrying about.