Round Table of Arkain

[Championfighter25]

Vail and Gardon have raised their ''misfits'' pretty well. Larine, ehhhhh... Still though, they have big shoes to fill and considering what they will face in the future, those were rookie level accomplishments.

Spoiler: Opinion on successors

Garan:
A worthy commander who really knows what he's doing. He cares to learn from history and make sure he doesn't repeat other people's mistakes. I also like how Garan has inherited his father's assertiveness and non-openly expressed pity.

Zurae:
She made Gardon sincerely smile. She's certainly going places. A bit sad he doesn't pay her much attention though. Her skills are quite admirable, would certainly make a nice Grandmistress of a flame order.

Hotar:
He is certainly a good and kind soul. Those traits make him unique from the rest of the family, in a good way. I just hope his constant striving for improvement won't lead to something terrible happening to him.

Parlea:
Pretty sad. If it wasn't for her being a bastard daughter, those bullies would've been dealt with way sooner. And indeed, she is way too good for her own good. Sadly if she doesn't toughen up soon, she'll remain an insecure person for the rest of her life, allowing everyone to shame and bully her further.

Velina:
Don't really have much of an opinion on her. Seems like a cheerful, mostly innocent and a bit of an indecisive child.

Spoiler: Grammar fixes

The Strategist:

ruined casle -> ruined castle

us severly -> us severely
=============
The Magician:

severly -> severely
============
The Soldier:

him move -> him to move

was a honest person with sharp tongue -> was an honest person with a sharp tongue

been severly -> been severely
============
The Student:

halfblood -> half-blood

neccessary -> necessary

takes in one -> takes is one

Tojaz' -> Tojaz's
===========
The Archer:

slighly -> slightly

 

[LISBOAH]

Vail and Gardon have raised their ''misfits'' pretty well. Larine, ehhhhh... Still though, they have big shoes to fill and considering what they will face in the future, those were rookie level accomplishments.

Considering who their parents are, they wouldn't like to see their children become parasites of society so they raised them to develop their skills and be very fluent on several topics.

Spoiler

Zurae:
She made Gardon sincerely smile. She's certainly going places. A bit sad he doesn't pay her much attention though. Her skills are quite admirable, would certainly make a nice Grandmistress of a flame order.

Spoiler

I am actually surprised that Gardon sent his seven year old daughter to fight in a battle.
Does this mean that kids that young can join the army if they have the skills required.?

OMG
Zurae will be Arkain's version of Tanya von Degurechaff!

Spoiler

Hotar:
He is certainly a good and kind soul. Those traits make him unique from the rest of the family, in a good way. I just hope his constant striving for improvement won't lead to something terrible happening to him.

Spoiler

Considering Arkain, this might end bad.

 

[Shar Dundred]

Hidden

I like Garan. He is both knowledgable of the battles during the Second Void War, is aware that in order to win sacrifices must be made and thinks outside the box.

A worthy commander who really knows what he's doing. He cares to learn from history and make sure he doesn't repeat other people's mistakes. I also like how Garan has inherited his father's assertiveness and non-openly expressed pity.

He certainly inherited his father's competence, I would say.

Zurae seems to be quite a brave woman, a good mage and seems clearly eager for her father's approval.

She made Gardon sincerely smile. She's certainly going places. A bit sad he doesn't pay her much attention though. Her skills are quite admirable, would certainly make a nice Grandmistress of a flame order.

And that is just her being a little girl, wait until she grows up!

I like that Hotar doesn't wish to be treated differently simply for being royalty. I also like that he, like me, likes honest girls with sharp tongues

He is certainly a good and kind soul. Those traits make him unique from the rest of the family, in a good way. I just hope his constant striving for improvement won't lead to something terrible happening to him.

Hotar is the kind of guy who would stand in the first line, side by side with the other soldiers.

Poor Parlea How they dare to bully her simply for being half-blood. Birram is right, she is too nice for her own good. She should fight back.
Good to see Birram protecting her behind her back, even if through threats.

Pretty sad. If it wasn't for her being a bastard daughter, those bullies would've been dealt with way sooner. And indeed, she is way too good for her own good. Sadly if she doesn't toughen up soon, she'll remain an insecure person for the rest of her life, allowing everyone to shame and bully her further.

Half-bloods are a rarity in Arkain, so.... yeah.
I wouldn't be too concerned regarding her future in that area, though. There is at least one person who is now forced to protect her from other bullies.
Who knows how long he may be her guardian....

I hope she and Parlea have a good sibling relationship

They have, I can easily confirm that being the case.

While it seems clear that Larine loves her children, she seems to be willing to use them to seek more favor with Gardon.

I would say she is trying to give both herself and her children Gardon's favor, but I get what you mean.

I am actually surprised that Gardon sent his seven year old daughter to fight in a battle.
Does this mean that kids that young can join the army if they have the skills required.?

It is unusual, but Gardon is not really known for being conservative, is he?

 

[ankel_beans]

is genethas really fixed as the traitor in the empire? i chosed to side with gardon in my playthrough and completed the 2nd book. What happens in the 2nd book if i sided with genethas instead of gardon?

 

[LISBOAH]

is genethas really fixed as the traitor in the empire? i chosed to side with gardon in my playthrough and completed the 2nd book. What happens in the 2nd book if i sided with genethas instead of gardon?

I don't think there are much differences in terms of gameplay.

From what I recall, the only diferences are in terms of the characters' dialogues.

 

[The_Messenger]

is genethas really fixed as the traitor in the empire? i chosed to side with gardon in my playthrough and completed the 2nd book. What happens in the 2nd book if i sided with genethas instead of gardon?

Genethas admits that he betrayed the empire back then so that he and hus men could survive the war. If you fights againts Gardon by siding with Genethas, he still admits that he's a traitor right after Gardon says that you've sided with the wrong person.

In the Second Human Book, if you sided with Genethas the only difference will be at the beginning where Gardon tells the inquisitor if you either sided with him or with the traitor. So he will either defend or condemn Blen Greymoore.

 

[LISBOAH]

In the Second Human Book, if you sided with Genethas the only difference will be at the beginning where Gardon tells the inquisitor if you either sided with him or with the traitor. So he will either defend or condemn Blen Greymoore.

Not only that.
Harmos will occasioanly mention Blen and claim that van Durce did a big mistake by killing him.
In the final mission (if we pick the Golden Guard) van Durce will admit to Marin that Blen didn't deserve to die and that maybe the whole situation could have been avoided if they hadn't imprison and kill him.

 

[The_Messenger]

Not only that.
Harmos will occasioanly mention Blen and claim that van Durce did a big mistake by killing him.
In the final mission (if we pick the Golden Guard) van Durce will admit to Marin that Blen didn't deserve to die and that maybe the whole situation could have been avoided if they hadn't imprison and kill him.

Blen really didn't deserve to die, in my honest opinion. Not only that I've grown fond of him during the First Human Book, it was nearly impossible to pin any blame on him other than possible treason, inciting rebellion and attacking an Imperial army.
I can't exactly say that Blen and Harmos were friends since the dialogues between them is "bare bones" (I would pin their relationship somewhere a bit higher than casual acquaintances) but Harmos did pledge his services to Blen and probably developed some kind of friendship later on based on their battles and when they fought side by side.
Van Durce was overzealous from the very beginning and it was highly unnecessary to use that on someone like Blen. Honestly, I'm surprised the Karskin haven't mounted a revenge plot againts Van Durce, or plan to hit the Golden Guard a few times as retaliation for what they did to Blen.

 

[ankel_beans]

Another question, i still havent found out about the unknown faction during the quest where you will/can aedale the green human faction. Who are they sided with?

 

[LISBOAH]

Another question, i still havent found out about the unknown faction during the quest where you will/can aedale the green human faction. Who are they sided with?

In the first book, where we face the Darkmind Clan?

Those unknown soldiers are servants of van Durce. Killing them will piss him off.

If you don't destroy them and if you choose the Golden Guard side, they can help you in the final chapter.

 

[Shar Dundred]

Newspost coming either today or tomorrow.
I can already say though, that I will release Chapter Three and if possible also Four and Five next week.

 

[LISBOAH]

Newspost coming either today or tomorrow.
I can already say though, that I will release Chapter Three and if possible also Four and Five next week.

No rush Shar. Take your time.

 

[Kasrkin]

How to completely scew the results of the testing phase 101, beat it so fucking quickly you start freaking out Shar.

Apologies in advance everyone.

 

[Shar Dundred]

Translation:
A chapter has been made much harder than it used to be thanks to @Kasrkin.
Please direct all your complaints regarding the difficulty of the next release towards him.
Thank you.

 

[Shar Dundred]

We are reaching the end of the "warm up" phase for the Second Orc Book.
The upcoming interlude will signal the beginning of the real deal.
Stay tuned! I will release more info in the Arkain News Network soon!

 

[Kasrkin]

Ladies and gentlemen, I am back with a news type post after quite a bit of time. The next chapters are in progress and we are thinking of truly dastardly things while making them. But that is still some time away so we'd like you to turn your attention to the Project Showcase we have updated some things please turn your attention towards the chapter names, including the old but also teasing you with possible things with the name of the next interlude and chapter!

Six sounds positively delightful.

 

[Shar Dundred]

Spoiler

Btw, does attacking the Kasrkin in the FOB change Blen's stance on the orcs after he kills Rath or does he still say "I won't fight you"?

It has no effect in this particular chapter. Keep in mind that it was Rangul who attacked the
Kasrkin if the player did it, not Rath (yes, Rath was part of it, but you played as Deathbreeze Clan still).
In fact, for the Orcs, several choices have a different effect than they did in the Second Human Book.
There is going to be a chance for a specific event to trigger at the latter stages of this campaign,
though I will not go into detail what it is because that would be very spoiler-heavy, but I will
tell you that this event will take a look at a lot of choices from both the First and Second
Orc Book and then calculate whether or not it is going to take place or not.
That is not to say that this is the only effect that the choices have, of course.

 

[Boriss]

Will you eventually also give a hint on how to unlock this event or will it be solely on us to figure out?

 

[Shar Dundred]

There will be a hint at some point, yes.

 

[Championfighter25]

Better chose carefully which bases to destroy and which to spare, because I have a feeling this event is related to those choices.

 

[Kuras2003]

Spoiler

wait.. if i remember correctly, after invasion of demons only 5 Commandors of Kaskrin survived..... did we just eccountered them?

and i am going to praise shar even more for this map

 

[Hardric62]

I think the Big Decision Shar mentioned could be pretty much a counter leading to 'Orcs: Diplomacy or Total Extermination?'. Remember in the Timeline and Tales he provided, a few of Salria human population accepted to join the Dominion.
If orcs show they can be something else than a force of destruction hampering efforts against the Demons, pragmatic heads will be forced to admit, deals with the Orcs are the best way to go to manage the problem while the Demons are dealt with.
Tip the scales too much, and they might go 'Fuck it, we won't go anywhere or have a shot at survival as long as these green morons are rampaging around, we'e forced to exterminate them before hopefully having a chance left of moving on to the Demons'. Yup, fullfilling some of these bonus objectives will be quite the balancing act...
Or too much hampering could doom the Humans, leaving the orcs to face the Demons full force, plus a pissed off Watcher not liking his balance shatterred. Or even him alone deciding to correct the trajectory leading to this crash collision...

 

[Boriss]

Spoiler

Shar, you might want to add Rath to the character list of the orcs just to keep people thinking hes important to make it so the more of a surprise when he gets gutted

 

[Shar Dundred]

Spoiler

Nice idea, but I also did not put Blen on the list of the humans.

 

[Boriss]

Spoiler

Nice idea, but I also did not put Blen on the list of the humans.

Spoiler

Blen got screwed in intro 1 whereas Rath keeps going for quite long.

 

[Shar Dundred]

Spoiler

I guess you could say that Rath doomed himself from the very beginning still.

 

[ankel_beans]

is it only me or someone else had the feeling that after finishing book 2 of the human, the dark one or should i say the most evil of them all in arkain that the heroes have to defeat is named "Shar Dundred" himself? lols


EDIT: About the second orc book, When did these chapters happened? Why is that greymoore is still alive and his subordinates not imprisoned? Im kinda confused

 

[Kasrkin]

Each of the books is a separate timeline, the first books can be seen as a distorted mirror, events are mostly the same but details are different. The second books are divergent where the choices and actions of the player's lead role: humans, orcs, undead now bring about a greater change.

Spoilers, I mean it.

Spoiler

The easiest comparison to show the drastic changes are Blen and Rath, Blen was found guilty of (false (maybe)) treason in the second human book but in the orc book perhaps due to the player being too successful as the orcs he does not make it all the way to the capital of Kerrel instead being forced to hold ground with a greater amount of surviving men.

Rath in the human book survives for a longer time weeks and months after the retreat from Lor all the way to the point he can finally face van Durce and the GG for stealing his kill. In the Orc book he gets a bit kill hungry and goes way too far into enemy territory to kill Greymoore, this of course has the consequence of forcing the attention of the reorganizing Kingdom forces onto the orcs and greatly angers the Imperial units still together on Arkain, they just lost a devastating amount of friends and fellows and the Orcs (Rath) do it again.

 

[Shar Dundred]

Chapter Seven is done & currently being tested by @Kasrkin.
I will not release it yet, however, I want to release it along with Chapter Eight.
The current speed is beginning to amaze me.

 

[Boriss]

Whats the relationship between elves, humans and dwarves in the orc books?

 

[Kasrkin]

Pretty much the same but you'll be seeing less of the elves, maybe not at all, the further the Orcs head south.

Elf-->Human = Defend us

Royal-->Elf = Annoying as hell, please be quiet
Imperial-->Elf = You're not getting anything else
GG-->Elf = Unknown at the moment

Dwarf-->Elf = Relations have been nonexistant for a long time but Zarin and other dwarves that worked with elven army units find them ok.
Dwarf-->Royal = Can't you guys do anything right? We're defending so much right now.
Dwarf-->Imperial = We appreciate the help, shame about what happened.

Imperial-->Dwarf = You guys are alright
Royal-->Dwarf = We'll work together...
GG-->Dwarf = N/A atm

 

[Lord Aiden]

@Shar Dundred

I think I realized something about Duke Redfist and why he and his faction hates the orcs so much

Spoiler: Possible Major Spoiler

Vanessa was Duke Redfist's daughter and she got abducted by the Orcs, so Redfist got really, really mad about it


My theory is based on these two bits of Arkain Lore:

It states in the Lore that Vanessa was originally a lowly noble's daughter

It also states in the Lore (for Duke Redfist) that he was once a lowly noble

 

[DingoT]

@Shar Dundred

I think I realized something about Duke Redfist and why he and his faction hates the orcs so much

Spoiler: Possible Major Spoiler

Vanessa was Duke Redfist's daughter and she got abducted by the Orcs, so Redfist got really, really mad about it


My theory is based on these two bits of Arkain Lore:

It states in the Lore that Vanessa was originally a lowly noble's daughter

It also states in the Lore (for Duke Redfist) that he was once a lowly noble

I had just read their respective character lore/profiles and this may be spot on

 

[Boriss]

@Shar Dundred

I think I realized something about Duke Redfist and why he and his faction hates the orcs so much

Spoiler: Possible Major Spoiler

Vanessa was Duke Redfist's daughter and she got abducted by the Orcs, so Redfist got really, really mad about it


My theory is based on these two bits of Arkain Lore:

It states in the Lore that Vanessa was originally a lowly noble's daughter

It also states in the Lore (for Duke Redfist) that he was once a lowly noble

thats a very old theory and I think Shar already said its not accurate

 

[Lord Aiden]

@Boriss

Oh sorry then, i was never aware that this theory had been brought up before, it just popped into my head when I read Redfist's and Vanessa's Arkain profiles, especially with Redfist having so much hate for the orcs

 

[Championfighter25]

I don't think Shar's ever said it's correct or incorrect.
I personally think it's correct, though we will have to wait and see.

 

[Daffa]

Ain't all the people insde sans Vanessa was killed?

 

[Shar Dundred]

I don't think Shar's ever said it's correct or incorrect.

Yep, I never did.
I am neither confirming nor denying such theories, no matter about which character.

Ain't all the people insde sans Vanessa was killed?

Hidden

Not sure if I got this right, but if you are asking about Vanessa's Death, that only happened in the Undead timeline.

 

[Daffa]

I'm referring to Orc 1 chapter, where Rangul ransack the town.

 

[Shar Dundred]

Everyone who was there got killed, except Vanessa, obviously.

 

[Boriss]

The noble was not home at that time tho.

 

[Kuras2003]

what leadership bonuses will use humans in chapter 7?
also orcs will get only 1 bonus?

 

[Shar Dundred]

what leadership bonuses will use humans in chapter 7?

Surprise.

also orcs will get only 1 bonus?

Orcs do not use the leadership boni race mechanic, they have their own.
So, they have no leadership boni at all.

 

[Kuras2003]

cool,
can't wait till you releasy chapter 7


i am bored as hell

 

[Shar Dundred]

For those of you who are interested in that kind of stuff, have two WIPs for both upcoming chapters!

Hidden

 

[LISBOAH]

For those of you who are interested in that kind of stuff, have two WIPs for both upcoming chapters!

Hidden

So we will face the Golden Guard and then rescue the Centaurs...

Neat.
Their golden helmets and armors will be useful for Amari's soo-to-be-made throne and crown!

 

[Hardric62]

Not 100% sure they're Golden Guard, they don't have Crossbowmen, and Map 6 had Pikemen amongst the troops defending the fortress. I guess a kingdom reguarly fighting Centaurs like Salria would have a standing army using polearms to fight them.

 

[Shar Dundred]

Uploaded a small hotfix of 0.40.
Here's the changelog:

0.41

General:
- Fixed ability tooltips for Grella

Chapter Eight:
- Redfist should no be able to properly recruit Conquerors
- Fixed the lack of enemy leadership boni

Edit: And another one!

0.42

General:
- Shredders are now trained in your Great Hall/Stronghold/Fortress instead of Barracks
- Shredders no longer can transform into Warmechs
- Warmechs are now trainable in the Barracks
- Increased the food cost of Shieldbearers to 5
- Mechanized Warfare and Aggressive Expansion now also require a Laboratory
- Veteran Camps no longer claim to be Spirit Lodges

Chapter Eight:
- Flammedus' Centaurs no longer have any goblin units available (whom they cannot train due to the lack of Mechanized Warfare anyway)
- Flammedus' Centaurs now starts with Burning Oil, Liquid Fire and Centaur Hooves already researched
- Cliffhunter Clan now starts with Mechanized Warfare and Aggressive Expansion already researched
- Cliffhunter Clan now has Cannon Towers instead of Watch Towers
- Cliffhunter Clan now has Pig Farms instead of Burrows
- Deathbreeze Clan now starts with Advanced Spiked Barricades (Sasrogarn could not come up with anything better to make up to the upgrades of his allies)
- The Heavy Armor upgrade is no longer available if you have no access to Shieldbearers
- Added a few units to the player base defenses

 

[renegade]

Shredders still have their tooltips mention they can transform into Warmechs
Maybe rename Spirit Lounges to something less confusing with Spirit Lodges?

Chapter 8
Flammedus' Marauders cant switch to an Impaler for some reason.

Also how can we get Shieldbearers?

 

[Shar Dundred]

Also how can we get Shieldbearers?

By having Sasrogarn agree with Vanessa in Ch. 7 FOB.