Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura

Plot synopsis:
=== Setting ===
Arcanum is the name of the fantasy world in which the game unfolds. It consists of a continental mainland and three islands. The world is inhabited by various races resembling those from the works of Tolkien, including humans, elves and half-elves, dwarves, gnomes, halflings, orcs, ogres, and various wildlife. Players can choose from humans, elves, dwarves, gnomes, halflings, and human hybrid races, including half-elves, half-orcs and half-ogres as playable races. The continent is divided between several different political entities. The Unified Kingdom is rapidly industrializing. Its two largest cities are Tarant and Ashbury, and it is the most technologically advanced kingdom. The Kingdom of Cumbria is a deteriorated kingdom, consisting of Dernholm and Black Root, and ruled by an old conservative king. The Kingdom of Arland, extending from Caladon to Roseborough, is a small but thriving monarchy west of the Stonewall range. The Glimmering Forest, the largest in Arcanum, is home to the elven city of Qintarra and the dark elven city of T'sen-Ang, and has been untouched by the technological advancements of the time. The Stonewall and Grey Mountain Ranges are home to the remaining dwarven clans: the Black Mountain Clan, the Stonecutter Clan, the Wheel Clan, and the Iron Clan. Many other minor settlements also exist, as well as containing ruins of past civilizations. The biggest of these is the ruins of Vendigroth, the most advanced city on Arcanum, which met a sudden and mysterious end.
An important in-game dynamic is the dichotomy of magic and technology in the world. Technology is explained to function by using physical law to produce a desired result, e.g., a bolt of electricity from a Tesla Gun would arc through the most conductive path to its target, with some plated armors being more prone to electrical damage than others. Magic, on the other hand, is explained to manipulate physical law to make a lightning spell follow the shortest path to the target, instead of the natural path. The two are incompatible to the point that they overwhelm each other. Technological devices will become ineffective or even permanently inoperative in the presence of powerful magic and vice versa. Much of the population has chosen to embrace technology for its efficiency, accessibility, and permanent results. The elves, dark elves, and some humans continue to practice magic exclusively. This also affects interactions between different characters, as spells cast on technologists or firearms used against mages have a failure rate.
Orcs and ogres are looked down upon as savage, feral peoples by Arcanum's civilized folk, who own virtually all the industry of the major population centers. There is a great enmity between elves and dwarfs, the former being naturally inclined towards magically-defined society, the latter being forerunners of the technology race—and many elves blame the dwarfs for the rise of human technology and concomitant waning of elfish political power. Scientists are unwelcome in magical societies like Qintarra or Tulla but will be respected if they are righteous and good folk. Conversely, a mage would be admitted onto a steam train only on the provision that he take a third-class seat on the last caboose, so as not to cause interference with the engine (despite there being no in-game mechanic by which even the powerful mages can affect it). Powerful mages may be denied transport altogether.
=== Plot ===
Arcanum begins with a cut scene of the IFS Zephyr, a luxury zeppelin, on her maiden voyage from Caladon to Tarant. Two monoplanes, piloted by Half-Ogre bandits, close in on the craft and commence attack runs, succeeding in shooting it down. An old gnome who is a passenger aboard the Zephyr is now in his death throes under charred debris and tells the player to bring a silver ring to "the boy," and promptly dies. Being the only survivor of the crash, the main character is proclaimed as "The Living One," a holy reincarnate, by the only witness to the crash, Virgil. The story follows the player's path as he searches for the origin of the ring. Over the course of the game, the player uncovers more about the history of the continent, the motivation of the assassins who are trying to kill him, and the identity of the one threatening to end all life in the land.
Arcanum is an example of a non-linear role-playing game. At various points throughout the game, players may take the story in different directions, sometimes permanently removing different paths of action. The game's central quest ultimately develops according to how players navigate its dichotomies, the most apparent being that of magic and technology. Many of the game's side quests allow for more than one solution depending on the player character's specializations and certain portions of the main quest can be solved more easily through dialogue than through combat. The game's magic/technology and good/evil alignments also influence what followers a character can attract throughout the game or how other NPCs will react to the player.

Tags: fantasy, sci-fi

Review:
It's unique setting makes for satisfying roleplay.. Arcanum's charm lies in its unique 1885 setting. In comparison with RPGs such as Baldur's Gate, Planescape : Torment, Icewind Dale, or even Fallout, it offers  sense of realism in its portrayal of a colourful people of humans, elves, dwarves, orcs and ogres co-existing in the very beginning of a modern era. Steam engines and newfangled revovlers are the craze, phasing out old-school magicks.The depiction of magick, swords and shields as old-fashioned and unpredictable, in contrast with modern steamworks and guns as the heralders of a new era, is attractive and makes for immersive role-playing that is believable and fantastic at the same time.As far as your character is concerned, he/she can be anything he wants - a madcap inventor, femme fatale, wise mage, sharpshooting rogue, even a dumb brute whose entire vocabulary consists of monosyllabic words. And the NPCs (non-player characters) you'll meet are not your typical bewildering array of nymphs, giants, stone monsters, annoying insects, bugs and monsters of every shape and size. The bulk of them will be just like you, with distinct personalities - shopkeepers, aristocrats, factory workers, politicians, gangsters, and the like.The story starts of with a bang as your chracter meets a mysterious ally who seems to think of you as an elven god reincarnated. As it goes on the element of suspense is tastefullly executed as you gradually uncover more and more of the mysterious happenings in Arcanum. However, the story is anything but linear, and players will be given every oppurtunity to interact with the world around them. They can rob unsespecting shopkeepers, pick fights with the local Mafia, visit the library, or simply explore the country for some adventure.Arcanum's Achilles' Heel lies in the fact that experience is only gained either by completing quests or by the amount of damage done to an enemy. This makes playing a dumb, unintelligent, sword-wielding, all-out-melee, ogre the easiest way by far to finish the game. Coupled with the fact that weapon combat in Arcanum is decidedly unattractively animated, most casual gamers will be put off by this.Other weak aspects to the game would include a case of too-many-spells-spoil-the-broth, as some spell schools simply don't cut it compared to the others; the lack of powerful spellcasting foes; the ease with which thieves can rob stores, and mid-level graphics.For role-playing fans, however, the unique setting and non-linear gameplay will more than make up for its drawbacks.. Arcanum, dying classic. This game's most important feature is its impressive character creation abilities. As a tool in every RPG game, this has seen constant development and interesting new looks in most every game that it is used in. Arcanum, in my opinion, has yet to be beaten by another game in its superb consideration of nearly all types of players and catering to them all without a specific class system.Also, an interesting and genuinely intriguing tool that the game's developers inserted into the game was the rising conflict between Magics of the past and the rising Technologies in the world of Arcanum. Escelating into a miniature Cold War, Magic wielders would sabotage the trains in cities while the followers of technology would use these conflicts as an excuse to limit all magic users' freedoms with their powers. This, I found, led into an intriguing study of what "magic" means to people, even in the world outside of the game, and what technology meant to people, likewise in and out of the game.Being a plot driven game with extreme freedoms, Arcanum might have been a little before its time and now has been mostly forgotten with its parent company declaring its bankruptcy and closure. A classic, nearly perfect example of the ideal for RPG games of the late 90's, the style in which Arcanum was made was both practical and brilliantly presented; a true classic of its time.