One of the things that really ruined Fallout 1 and 2 for me were the time limits. So before I pick the game up are there any time limits that flat out cause the game to stop, or can I rove to my hearts content?
I'm probably being rather paranoid about the whole thing but I thought I'd make sure.

I'm not aware of any time limits in Arcanum . . .here is a quote from a walk through.
"Lawn mowing: Don't even think about lawn mowing Arcanum (i.e. finishing one section, then moving on to another). Most of the quests will require you to go to multiple areas to finish them, and you will wind up getting information on completely different topics as you do them. Don't let that frustrate you; kick back and do whichever of your quests interests you most, then go back for the next. There is no time limit on any of them, and the interesting and well-thought-out quests are the best part of the Arcanum game, so take your time and enjoy every one."
Quoted from here.

So far I've encountered only one quest that mentions a sort of time limit and it's only alluded to, instead of laid out specifically as two weeks or something like that. This particular quest says that if you don't accomplish XYZ "soon" then the town council will find someone else to do the job. I have no idea how long "soon" is, or if the game will arbitrarily finish the quest without you. Either way, it's not part of the main storyline so if the quest does indeed expire, you'll only miss out on some loot, experience, and goodwill within the town.

Thank you both!

Me too. Thanks. I am just starting Fallout now, and I'm trying to find out if the patch is doable for the 3-pack DVD. The patch supposedly changes the 500 day-limit to 7 years. I'll post my results.
Oops, forgot to mention, I'm posting that here because your description of the laid-back questing in Arcanum has swayed me to go ahead and purchase the DL now, :)