I have a spoilerish question that I was hoping you can answer without spoilers

in general, how many ways can you beat Arcanum?

For example, in Fallout 1 you could beat the game in three ways (without spoiling that game theyre talking, sneaking, shooting) which is separated into how you can beat the game, whereas in Fallout New Vegas the endings are based on with whom you finish the ending (Independent, House, NCR, Legion)

so again, without saying with/for whom or how, in general terms how many ways are there to end the game?

Mind you, I dont mean the ending slides and the outcomes for the different factions and cities and so, just the number of ways to end the main quest

3 ways, 2 for good character, and 1 for evil.
Short answer, since you don't want any spoilers. :p
Edit: fixed

very interesting

so to poke the spoiler bubble a bit, are the "evil" endings both magically aligned, down-with-technology types or could one RP a not so nice technologist?

I'm pretty sure that the endings are independent of your magical / technological alignment (although I've only gotten one ending, so I'm not certain).

But your magical / tech alignment does matter... think of the endings as similar to Fallout, where, no matter which method you used to finish the game, at the end you learned what happened to each of the communities you visited based on your actions during the game. Arcanum has that too, and that ends up tying more into your tech / magic alignment.

thats good to know, but what I meant was I have an inkling of how the game ends but Ive never done it personally so I dont want to ruin any more than what little I know.

Im fairly certain (i think) that one of the evil endings is a magically themed ending, basically chalking one up for the Dark Elves? If im right there then I was wondering if theres a way to do an evil ending that doesnt plunge the world into darkness, destroying all technology, which ofcourse wouldt make much sense RP wise for a dwarf

Siding with the dark elves definitely sets you on the path to the evil pre-ending, and you have to already be somewhat evil to even get the option.

But the four endings are independent of the magic/tech divide, though most of them employ a piece of late-game technology. In a nutshell, the good endings are split between conversation and combat, while the evil choices boil down to cooperation vs. betrayal.

I really don't want to take it any further than that; and I doubt you'd want me to either.

well that sucks, so to do a magic using dark elf follower you have to have evil alignment? You cant go that path through just actions/dialogue choices?

Not at all: everything about your alignment (with the exception of one background option, an in-game magical headgear, and a quest-based magical weapon) is determined by your actions and dialog: specifically, which quests you complete, and how.

The option to side with the dark elves is independent of race (you could even be a dwarf!) and entirely dependent on whether you're evil enough by that point of the game.

interesting, and this is one of the four endings?

kind of disappointing as I have a an elf female, Dark Elf Follower nightblade kind of build that I was hoping to go that route but when Im questing I still end up with a positive alignment :(

It leads to the two evil-based ones, yes. But you can still get at least one of them, even if you follow the good route most of the way.

For a head start on being evil, the background you want is "Sold your soul". Unless you're planning on going tech.

The helmet is called the Dark Helm*; gypsies have it for sale, or you can find it in Ashbury. But you're on your own for the weapon; unless you force the location on your map, it's not available until near the end of the game.

*By the way, in the unpatched game the item is bugged: the alignment drop is permanent, allowing you to do "good" quests and still be evil. The UAP fixes this, just so you know.

I rerolled her with Sold Your Soul. It broke my RP a little but I really want to try for that ending and Id like to get it out of the way before playing as my real character. Hopefully the permanent -20 alignment will be enough to get me there without having to have the other alignment dropping items but well see

thanks again for the help

Mind explaining to me the other ways (send me a PM) ?
I checked GameBanshee, and they say there's only 3 ways to finish the main quest.

Happy to be of service. One more tip: help the thieves at the Shrouded Hills bridge, and then look around in the major cities for skulky characters standing in alleys; they'll often have some skullduggery they want you to do.

Not a problem; PM sent. :)

Thank you :)