Technology in Arcanum plays the antagonist to the ways of magick. Because technology utilizes the laws of nature, and does not bend them, it lends itself to common use and widespread popularity. There is no mystery in the spark between two pieces of flint, and even advanced technology is just an extension of these basic principles, from a simple Skeleton Key to the complex Tesla Rod or the Mechanized Arachnid. Consequently, technology has become quite popular to the shorter-lived species of Arcanum, such as humans and orcs, who lack the longevity and patience to practice the magickal arts for decades on end. The level of technology in Arcanum is what you would find at the turn of the 19th century. Steam engines, revolvers and muskets are common in the world of Arcanum. But the player will be able to find and create extraordinary pieces of technology such as fully automatic mechanized guns, mechanical creatures, and stat boosting therapeutics. There are literally dozens of technological items to be discovered in this world. There are eight disciplines of technology, and each discipline will have seven degrees within it. These 56 technological degress can be obtained by spending character points. The eight technological disciplines are:
- Chemistry - Studies man-made substances and their deleterious effects.
- Electric - Explores the effects of charge and magnetism.
- Explosives - Covers the research of new and unstable substances.
- Gun Smithy - Controls the design and implementation of new weaponry.
- Herbology - Concerns itself with study of the body and how natural substances can affect it.
- Mechanical - Studies the physical properties of materials.
- Smithy - Covers the construction of armors of all types.
- Therapeutics - Explores the beneficial effects of man-made substances.
With each degree obtained, players gain specific knowledge in that discipline, allowing the player to read more advanced schematics. Schematics are technical drawings found in the game showing an item that can be created, and what two objects you need to obtain in order to create it. For example, a player can use their points to gain the first degree of the Mechanical discipline, which is Trainee. This gives him the knowledge to read the Spike Trap Schematic, which tells him that the two items necessary to complete the spike trap are a railroad spike and a large spring. If he has both items, he can put them together to create a spike trap, and then place the trap on the ground and any creature stepping on it will take damage.
Note: File:Handshake-32.png means that an item or component can be be made by technological followers (Magnus, Jayna Stiles, Vollinger, Sebastian, Franklin Payne
Herbology
| Schematic | Components | Description | Found in-game? | Component for something else? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Healing Salve |
Kurda Stem(6)
Ginka Root(10) |
Restores 20 Health Points. 5 units are made. |
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 Fatigue Restorer |
Coca Leaves(15)
Tobacco Leaves(3) |
Restores 20 Fatigue Points. 4 units are made. |
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 Poison Cure |
Venom(25)
Kurda Stem(6) |
Reduces Poison level by 80. 3 units are made. |
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 Fatigue Limiter |
Fatigue Restorer(40)
Witchbane(10) |
Halved Fatigue consumption. Identical to the Fatigue Slower potion. 2 units are made. |
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 Accelerate Healing |
Healing Salve(65)
Coca Leaves(15) |
Slowly regenerates 25 Health Points over the course of ~90 seconds. 1 unit is made. |
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 Wonder Drug |
Accelerated Healing(70)
Poppy Flowers(20) |
Restores 60 Health and Fatigue Points. 1 unit is made. |
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 Cure All |
Wonder Drug(85)
Big Chief Snake Oil(15) |
Fully restores Health and Fatigue Points, and reduces Poison level to 0. 1 unit is made. |
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Note: None of the above can be applied to mechanical characters.
Chemistry
| Schematic | Components | Description | Found in-game? | Component for something else? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Strong Poison |
Monroe's Aqua Vitae(10)
Monroe's Cleaner(7) |
Adds 290 points of Poison to the target. 3 units are made. |
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 Charges |
Electrolyte Solution(15)
Metal Plates(5) |
Used as "fuel" for various technological items (mostly those in the Electrical disipline). 50 units are made. |
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 Animal Scent |
Bromide(35)
Morning Star Perfume(5) |
Prevents wild animals from entering combat with the player or their party, and will assist the player in combat against enemies. Identical to the Charm Beast spell. 1 unit is made. |
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 Corrosive Acid |
Pete's Carbolic Acid(45)
Sulphur Pills(40) |
Thrown weapon; causes splash damage where it lands. Dependant on the Throw skill. 1 unit is made. |
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 Hallucinite |
Mushrooms(60)
Varham's Aqua Vitae(10) |
Causes the target to panic, during which it will attempt to flee from combat. 1 unit is made. Cannot be applied to mechanical characters. |
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 Paralyzer |
Potassium Chloride(45)
Strong Poison(75) |
Temporarily paralyzes the target. Oddly, this can be applied to mechanical characters. 1 unit is made. |
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 Anaesthisizer |
Hallucinite(85)
Bromide(35) |
Causes the target to fall asleep. 1 unit is made. Cannot be applied to mechanical characters. |
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Electric
| Schematic | Components | Description | Found in-game? | Component for something else? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Electric Light |
Lantern(n/a)
Filament(10) |
Increases combat accuracy by 5% while in the dark. Otherwise, illuminates the area around the character equipping it, similar to the regular Lantern. |
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 Charged Ring |
Copper Ring(n/a)
Capacitor(20) |
Increases DE by 2 for characters with at least 10 Mechanical Aptitude, 1 for aptitude-neutral characters, and 0 otherwise. |
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 Flow Specktrometer |
Small Electrical Parts(30)
Compass(n/a) |
Detects all traps in the game that appear within the equipped character's field of vision. Requires Charges to operate, which it continuously consumes while equipped. |
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| Large Capacitor(40)
Staff(n/a) |
Melee weapon; inflicts 5-10 ED. Requires Charges in order to operate. |
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 Chapeau of Magnetic Inversion |
Electrical coil(53)
Top Hat(n/a) |
Increases DR by 20, the largest increase of all headgear in the game. |
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 Healing Jacket |
Electrical Harness(70)
Leather Armour(n/a) |
Increases AC by 8, DR by 14, and FR by 5. Restores 4 HP per 5 seconds. |
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 Tesla Rod |
Tesla Coil(80)
Shocking Staff(90) |
A Firearm, not a Melee weapon. Should its shots miss, they will continue through the target and will check if it hits the next target. Therefore, you can easily wound or kill allies with this weapon. Also, it does not seem to have a range penalty. Deals 10-40 ED, and requires charges in order to operate. |
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Explosives
| Schematic | Components | Description | Found in-game? | Component for something else? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Molotov Cocktail |
Fuel(8)
Rag(n/a) |
Thrown weapon. Explodes on contact, dealing moderate damage, and causes significant knockback to all characters caught in the blast radius. 1 unit is made. |
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 Flash Grenade |
Magnesium(20)
Wine(n/a) |
Thrown weapon. Causes blindness to characters caught in the blast radius, but deals no damage. 5 units are made. |
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 Smoke Grenade |
Tom's Fertilizer(23)
CK Sugar(n/a) |
Thrown weapon. Creates a 6x4 area of smoke on where it lands, drastically reducing accuracy of all characters within, and ranged attacks from anywhere. 5 units are made. |
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 Stun Grenade |
Stearic Acid(38)
Saltpeter(5) |
Thrown weapon. Stuns all characters caught in the blast radius. 4 units are made. |
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 Explosive Grenade |
Black Powder(55)
Metal Can(n/a) |
Thrown weapon. Causes significant damage to all characters caught in the blast radius. 3 units are made. |
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 Fire Obstruction |
Kerosene(70)
Liquid Soap(n/a) |
Thrown weapon. Creates a 3x3 area of fire on contact, lasting roughly 10 seconds, dealing damage in excess of 200, assuming no FR. 3 units are made. |
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 Dynamite |
Nitroglycerin(85)
Saltpeter(5) |
Requires the player to plant it on another object. Explodes after 10 seconds, dealing huge damage to all characters caught in the blast radius (more than enough to kill the player, and most enemies, at any level). Can destroy most doors and chests. 1 unit is made. |
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Gun Smithy
| Schematic | Components | Description | Found in-game? | Component for something else? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Hand Crafted Flintlock |
Broken Flintlock Pistol(8)
Small Metal Tube(n/a) |
D 2-6; FT 1-4; ТН +5; RNG 15; speed 5 |
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 Fine Revolver |
Revolver Parts(15)
Revolver Chamber(10) |
D 3-12; FT 3-9; ТН +15; RNG 15; speed 12 |
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 Repeater Rifle |
Hunting Rifle(25)
Revolver Chamber(10) |
D 2-10; FT 1-5; RNG 15; speed 12; 2 bullets per shot |
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 Hushed Revolver |
Fine Revolver(35)
Engine Muffler(n/a) |
D 2-9; FT 2-5; RNG 9; speed 8 |
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 Looking Glass Rifle |
Marksman's Rifle(52)
Looking Glass(n/a) |
D 40-40; FT 40-40; TH +20; RNG 25; speed . |
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 Hand Cannon |
Clarington Rifle(70)
Fancy Pistol(40) |
D 5-20; FT 1-10; RNG 12; speed 8 . |
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 Elephant Gun |
Hunting Rifle(25)
Big Pipe(n/a) |
D 20-40; FT 1-10; RNG 15; speed 4; 2 bullets per shot |
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Mechanical
| Schematic | Components | Description | Found in-game? | Component for something else? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Spike Trap |
Railroad Spike(1)
Large Spring(10) |
Causes damage to enemies. 3 units are made. |
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 Trap Springer |
Metal Casing(20)
Small Spring(20) |
Disarms any trapped container. 2 units are made. |
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 Auto Skeleton Key |
Lockpicks(10)
Small Spring(20) |
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 Eye Gear |
Pocket Watch Parts(35)
Eyeglasses(n/a) |
Increases PE per 2 points. |
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 Bear Trap |
Metal Clamp(65)
Large Spring(10) |
Immobilizes an enemy and causes damage to them. 3 units are made. |
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 Clockwork Decoy |
Clockwork Parts(80)
Small Spring(20) |
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 Mechanized Arachnid |
Small Steam Engine(85)
Large Gears(55) |
A mechanical follower. |
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Smithy
| Schematic | Components | Description | Found in-game? | Component for something else? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Pure Ore |
Iron Ore(1)
Steel(10) |
Used for creation of a balanced sword and is necessary for Lloyd Gurloes's quest in Shrouded Hills. |
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 Balanced Sword |
Pure Ore(20)
Fine Hilt and Guard(5) |
D 3-12; FT 3-9; speed 18 |
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 Feather-Weight Axe |
Dwarven Ore(25)
Oak Axe Handle(n/a) |
D 1-16; FT 3-11; speed 12 |
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 Dwarven Gauntlets |
Sheet Metal(40)
Leather Gloves(n/a) |
AC 3; DR +5; D +7 |
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 Helmet of Vision |
Great Helm(20)
Leather Straps(n/a) |
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 Feather-Weight Chainmail |
Spool of Heavy Wire(70)
Leather Armor(n/a) |
AC 13; DR +24; FR +5; ER -10; NP -25 |
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 Elite Platemail |
Dwarven Steel(90)
Feather-Weight Chainmail(20) |
AC 20; DR 40; FR +30; NP -35 |
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Therapeutics
| Schematic | Components | Description | Found in-game? | Component for something else? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Elixir of Persuasion |
Migraine Cure(8)
Thermometer(5) |
Increases Persuasion by 0.5 for 4 hours. 3 unites are made. |
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 Elixir of Physical Prowess |
Famous Blood Pills(20)
Spirit of Camphor(10) |
Increases ST by 2 for 4 hours. 3 unites are made. |
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 Liquid of Awareness |
Migraine Cure(8)
Doolittle's Glyceride(32) |
Increases PE by 2 for 4 hours. 3 unites are made. |
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 Tonic of Increased Reflexes |
Tincture of Arnica(35)
Rheumatism Cure(46) |
Increases AG by 2 for 4 hours. 3 unites are made. |
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 Mind Marvel |
Nerve Pills(55)
Elixir of Persuasion(56) |
Increases CH, IN, WP and PE by 2 for 4 hours. 1 unit is made. |
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 Energizer |
Quinine(70)
Elixir of Physical Prowess(78) |
Increases ST, AG, CN and BE by 2 for 3 hours. 1 unit is made.. |
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 Revitalizer |
Mind Marvel(85)
Energizer(92) |
Increases all stats by 2 for 3 hours. 1 unit is made, |
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