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. 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, while the majority of elves, dark elves, and some humans and half-elves 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 dwarves, the former being naturally inclined towards magically defined society, the latter being forerunners of the technology race—and many elves blame the dwarves for the rise of human technology and concomitant waning of elvish 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
cutscene 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 or she 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 or her, and the identity of the one threatening to end all life in the land.
Arcanum is an example of a
nonlinear 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. The game is also notable for being possible to complete in everything from a completely pacifist to a completely violent way. The player can, technically, kill every person they meet and still complete the game, even the very first companion they meet at the start of the gameif the person was an important NPC with plot information to divulge, they will carry that information with them in the form of a journal or the like. Likewise, the player is technically able to avoid combat altogether from start to finish, and can defeat even the final boss of the game without using violence (although this requires certain conditions to be fulfilled to be possible to do). Most players will of course fall somewhere between these two extremes, but the possibility is unusual for a role-playing game and also something that remains popular with fans. ==Development==