Master of all Skills walkthrough

Expanding upon and explicating this build:
http://arcanum.wikia.com/wiki/Builds
(Thanks to whoever edited the wiki to incorporate this guide without proper attribution, btw. Cool beans.)
AND serving as a first play walkthrough.

A master of all skills character is exactly what it sounds like – someone who had attained the Mastery training in every possible skill. This does NOT mean that every skill is permanently maxed out – the walkthrough will explain exactly what temporary bonuses, blessings, potion effects etc you can use in order to attain the skill level needed for mastery, even temporarily.

The guide also has information on all the training sources and the Ancient Gods questline.

Why even try this, much less on your first playthrough? Because it’s fun and interesting, obviously. You’ll be able to experience the vast majority of optional Arcanum content, and will come out of it with a hyper competent character.

Basics / things to keep in mind

You can get a maximum of 64 Character Points throughout the game, including the 5 points you get during character creation. Getting to mastery in all the skills without any wasted points accounts for… let’s round it out to about 55 points in total. That means that you have 9 points to “waste” on errors, stat increases, or on Magick colleges / Tech disciplines, which I generally would not recommend.

Skills go from 0 to 20, and each character point spent in a skill raises it by 4. So an item that raises a skill by 2 or 3 is NOT the equivalent of spending 2 or 3 character points on the skill.

How much magic items improve your stats / skills is determined by how magically or technologically your character is aligned. Items with bonuses that are transcribed like this: (+1/+2/+4) give different bonuses depending on how Magically / Technologically inclined you are. For instance, at neutral aptitude, Dexterity Gloves give +1 Dex. If you're more magically inclined, they give +2 Dex. At 10 or more Tech aptitutde, they do nothing.

As you improve the “technological” skills – Repair, Firearms, Pick Locks, Disarm Traps – you get progressively more technologically inclined. If you want to use magical items to improve your stats (and you do), you want to leave improving your tech skills for the very end of your character build.

Each skill is governed by a stat, and you need that stat to be high enough if you want to increase the skill further. So you need 9 in Dexterity in order to put a second point into Dodge, 12 for a third point, 15 for a fourth point and 18 for the fifth and final point. Same thing for other stats and skills. Blessings and bonuses can reduce the stat level needed to max out the skill, but not eliminate the stat check completely.

You still need a basic competence in the stat responsible for a skill to take full advantage of bonuses. For instance, if you have a blessing that gives you +12 in Dodge, you’re going to need 2 character points AND a 15 in Dexterity to reach mastery level.

You’ll retain the Master title even if you’ve only increased the stat temporarily and the skill goes back down. Make sure you save before undertaking Mastery training though – if your potion wears out in mid-conversation, you’ll never be able to receive mastery training again, and will be stuck as an expert.

Stats / Skills

Dexterity:
You are going to need Dexterity to increase your Bow, Dodge, Melee, Throwing, Backstab, Pick Pocket and Pick Locks skills. I recommend dropping a single Character point into Dexterity as you start the game, for reasons outlined below.

[1] Character point (not strictly necessary but helps with early game combat )
• Agility of Fire - the first Fire College spell. (+4/+8/+12/+16/+20)
• Scroll of Agility of Fire (+4/+?) (Only one for sale when you first get to Tarant?)
• Gloves of Dexterity (+0/+1/+2)
• x2 Charged Ring (+0/+2/+4) (Sebastian will make these for you)
• Staff of K'an T'au (+1) (Spot Trap mastery quest)
• Trapmaker Spectacles (+2) (Disarm Traps mastery quest reward)
• Tonic of Increased Reflexes (+2) (Jayna Stiles will make these for you)
• Vivifier (+1) (Schematic in Vendigroth that permanently increases all your stats by 1. There's only one Unknown Chemical Compound, and it's in a vat in the Vendigroth ruins)
• Energizer (temporary +2 to Strength, Constitution, Dexterity and Beauty) (Given by Pollock in the Tarant Boil area to a Techie joining his gang, can also be made with Therapeutics)
• Blessing of Makaal (+1) (Heartstone sacrifice at the village of Bedokaan)
• Blessing of Velorien (+4) (Complete the Ancient Gods quest)


Bow
[2] Character Points (+16)
• Blessing of Ter'el (+4)
• Blessing of Kai'tan (+4) (overrides blessing of Ter'el)
• Helmet of Yzar's Cost (+8) (Torin Quarry, 1419W 1099S, filled with high level monsters)

Dodge
[3] Character Points (+12)
The build on the Arcanum wiki assumes 2 points, which doesn’t QUITE qualify for Mastery for me. Unofficial patch issue?
Edit - someone suggested heavy armor reduces your dodge, prowling and pick pocket, which might be the case
• Blessing of Velorien (+12)
• Half-orc racial bonus (+2)

Melee
[2] Character Points (+8)
• Blessing of Velorien (+12)
• Finger of Mannox (+2)

Throwing
[5] Character Points (+20)

Backstab
[1] Character Point (+4)
• Shadow Hand Dagger (+8) (Strange Ceremony on the way to Qinatara, 1375; 704)
• Blessing of Moorindal (+8)
• Creep Armor (+2)

Pick Pocket
[1-2] Character Points (+4\+8)
(Again, the wiki build assumes 1, I’ve found that 2 are necessary.)
Edit - someone suggested heavy armor and gauntlets reduce your dodge and pick pocket, which might be the case
• Light Fingered Gauntlets (+1) (Magic armor stores, Thief Fences)
• Oiled Thieves Leather (+1) (Ditto)
• Blessing of Velorien (+12)
• Blessing of Bolo (+4) (Overridden by the blessing of Velorien)

Pick Locks
[4] Character Points (+16)
• Blessing of Bolo (+4)
(Lockpicks increase your chance of success, but don't add to your skills)

Intelligence
You are going to need Intelligence for Gambling, Heal and Repair. As long as your starting intelligence is the average 8, all you’ll ever need is:
• Essence of Intellect (+10)
Which can be found in Mage shops or bought from Mysterious women
• Ring of Dark Magics (+1) can be useful in other builds.

Gambling
[4] Character Points (+16)
• 2x Fated Ring (+4) / 1x Fated Ring, 1x Lucky Medallion (+4)

Heal
Keep in mind that you are going to need to have positive 40 Alignment for Master training.
[4] Character Points (+16)
• Blessing of Halcyon (+4)

Repair
[5] Character Points (+20)

Perception
You are going to need Perception for Prowling, Spot Trap, Firearms and Disarm Traps.
[2] Character Points
• Staff of K'an T'au (+1) (Obtained during the Spot Trap mastery quest)
• Helmet of Yzar's Cost (+0/+1/+2/+3/+4) (Found on a body in Torin’s quary – where the priests in Vooriden send you to restore Halycon’s altar)
• Eye Gear (+1/+2) (Vollinger and Sebastian both have it equipped, Magnus can create is as he levels up. Also, the first level of the Black Mountain mines – room with Seething Mass in it)
• Trapmaker's Spectacles (+2) (The reward for Disarm Traps mastery)
• Liquid of Awareness (+2) (Jayna Stiles)
• Vivifier (+1)
• Vendigrothian Elixir (+2) (One-off item that temporarily increases all your mental stats by +2, found in the Vendigroth)
• Blessing of Halycon (+2)


Prowling
[2] Character Points (+8)
• Small Robe of Chameleon (+3/+4) (Mysterious Women, Magic armor shops)
• Creep Armor (+2\+5?)
• Ring of Concealment (+2) (Worn by Gildor Nightwalk, Stillwater)
• 1x Ring of Silence (+1/+2) / 2x Ring of Silence (+2/+4) (Mrs. Morgan, Roseborough – gifted after completing Pick Lock mastery, stealable. Another copy is given out by the Prowling master once you complete his quest – not very useful)
• Amulet of Prowling (+2, but bugged?) – In the Elven Ruins that Cassandra Pettibone in Tarant sends you to. Apparently it doesn’t do anything, even with the unofficial patch.
• Blessing of Moorindal (+4)


Spot Trap
[4] Character Points (+16)
• Blessing of Halycon (+4)
Edit - apparently, using a Spot-Trap scroll (scattered all over the Black Mountain Mines) can raise Spot-Trap to 20, which counts for the purpose of mastery?

Firearms
[2] Character Points (+8)
• Blessing of Velorien (+12)

Disarm Traps
[5] Character Points (+20)

Willpower
[1] Character point
• Race: Gnome (+2)
• Finger of Mannox (+1)
• Vivifier (+1)
• Vendigrothian Elixir (+2)
• Blessing of Halycon (+2)

Haggle
[2] Character Points (+8)
• Race: Gnome (+2)
• Blessing of Kerlin (+4)
• Blessing of Kai'tan (+4, overrides blessing of Kerlin)
• Lucky Medallion (+1)
• Ring of Influence (+3) (Worn by J.M Morat)

Charisma
You are going to need Charisma for Persuasion.
• Background: Charlatan's Protégé (+6)
• Ring of Influence (+1/+2/+3)
• Jewel of Hebe (+1)
• Vivifier (+1)
• Vendigorthian Elixir (+2)
• Gyps-y Blessing (+1) (help Madame Toussaude in Tarant)
* Kai'tan's Blessing: +1

Persuasion
[1] Character Points (+4)
• Elixir of Persuasion (+2) (Jayna Stiles can make this for you)
• Ring of Influence (+3)
• Blessing of Velorien (+12) (Overrides blessings of Kerlin and Kai'tan, +1 and +2 respectively)

Training:

Where can you get your apprentice / expert / master training?

Note that some Expert trainers will also give you Apprentice level training. Masters, on the other hand, will never train you as Expert or Apprentice.

Bow:
Apprentice - Speed with bow increased by 5 - Any Elite Bow Guard (Derhholm / Caladon)
Expert - 2 attacks per arrow - any Elite Bow Captain (Dernholm / Caladon)
(The Elite Bow Captain in Dernholm is dressed in a wool jacket, not leather like the rest of the guards)
Hafling guard in Shrouded Hills
Master - hit chance not affected by range - Kietzel Pierce (Anabelle's Galley, Blackroot)
You’ll meet Kietzel at the Blackroot inn, right next to the Throwing Master. He’ll ask you to find an apprentice of his, by the name of Dudley. Dudley is one of the Bow Captains walking around Dernholm. Kietzel has moved on after giving you the quest – he is now at the Mushroom inn, in Caladon. He will mark a dungeon on your map – make your way through the tattered bowmen in the dungeon (you can just run right past them) shooting the light at the end of each corridor to progress further, until you find the bow, which you present to him. Alternately, you can just pay him 2000 gold, and keep the mediocre bow.

Dodge:
Apprentice - 10% chance enemy will critically fail if you roll a critical success - Any Guard
Expert - 50% chance - Hekmer Oggdoddler (center island, Blackroot)
Winde (Qintarra)
Master - 100% chance - Adkin Chambers (shack, Still Water)
Adkin Chambers and Garrick Stout (the Melee master) quests will both end with you finding the other master. Adkin will send you to kill Garrick, which starts you on Garrick’s quest below.

Melee:
Apprentice - speed with melee weapons increased by 5 - Any Guard
Expert - no more lighting penalties (fighting in the dark) - Herkemer Oggdoddler (center island, Blackroot)
Gorrin (Island of Despair)
Master - cannot critically fail - Garrick Stout (Barracks or in front of the Palace, Dernholm)
He’ll ask you to save Druella, Adkin’s beloved. Get over to where she’s being held and save her (this is a spot in which a large party comes in handy, as Gyr Dolours can stunlock a single high level character). She will tell you about Garrick’s duel with Adkin, and convince you to kill Garrick. Bring her back, get your mastery training, murder Garrick (do so as he walks away from the Barracks in the morning or the evening to avoid having the entire town guard agro on you) and head back to Stillwater to help Adkin and get your training from him.

Throwing:
Apprentice - speed with throwing weapons increased by 5 - Any Guard
Grunwald (Blackroot)
Expert - throwing range increases by 50% - Lianna del Par (Dernholm)
Theo Brightstart (Ashbury)
Master - hit chance not affected by range - Clarissa Shalmo (Anabelle's Galley tavern, Blackroot)
She is the half-orc by the bar. She’ll send you to get a legendary training star from a dungeon (notably, she’s one of the few Masters that WON’T require you to qualify for mastery before being sent on the quest, though you will need to qualify to get trained). The dungeon is navigated by hitting specific fires at the end of each corridor. You’ll find a boomerang in a chest as the start of the dungeon – this is just in case your current weapon (like the Aerial Decapitator) lacks the range to hit fires. Hit the middle torch in the first room, the rightmost torch in the next one, leftmost, the unlit torch, then the middle. Loot the chests, take out all the creatures attacking you, then hit the middle torch again. Grab the star from the altar, then hit the torch to teleport out.
If you want to keep the star, use a fate point to steal it from Clarissa. Killing her turns Blackroot hostile.

Backstab:
Apprentice – backstabs bypass armor - Any thief, after discovering the thief underground (for instance, the barfly at Madam Lil’s, Tarant)
Guards (if of evil alignment)
Magick Shop Clerk (Barach's Magerium in Tarant)
Expert - You can backstab with swords and axes - Any Thief Fence (Tarant / Caladon)
Master - much better chance to get a critical backstab - Edmund Craig (Roseborough)
You will find Mr. Craig in a little house north of the dairy farms in Roseborough. Just talk to him with the right stats, and he will train you – then backstab you as you try to leave.

Pick Pocket :
Apprentice - only caught if you critically fail - Any thief after discovering the Thieves underground (again, the barfly at Madam Lil’s)
Vollinger (Dernholm bar)
Bar Patrons (if of evil alignment)
Expert - item sizes penalty halved - Poone (Poone's Flophouse, Tarant)
Mr. Black - Tarant Thieves' Guild
Mr. Razzia - "Sobbing Onion" inn in Caladon
Master - can't be caught when planting an item on an NPC - Sammie White (Kensington Park, Tarant)
He will start the conversation by insulting you. Insult him right back until his disposition improves enough that you can talk to him. He will send you on a quest – strip naked and run around Tarant for a while. Since the mastery bonus for pickpocket is pretty bad and this quest hurts your reputation in Tarant, you might as well leave it until the very end of the game. Check your reputation before you start, then keep running until your journal lights up – you’ve gained reputation as “the pervert of Tarant” and can go back to Sammie for your training.

Pick Locks:
Apprentice - lockpicking time is halved - Most blacksmiths
Any Thief
Expert - no more darkness penalties - Garret Almstead (Blacksmith, Ashbury)
Adam Maxwell, Caladon
Master - lock difficulty penalty halved - JT Morgan (Caladon, Prison)
To receive his training, you must talk to his mother in Roseborough. She will give you his toolkit to smuggle into the Caladon prison (right next to the police station)

Gambling:
Apprentice - you can gamble for more expensive items - any Barfly who asks you a question worth 500 gold
Langley, Tarant (Bridesdale Inn greeter)
Expert - you can gamble for items the target is wearing \ wielding - any Bartender
Master - gamble for any item the target has - Gurin Rockhollow (Gentleman's Club, Tarant)
You need to win a certain sum of gold (approx 10000) off of him. The exact win/loss ratio doesn’t actually matter, just win enough times.

Heal:
Apprentice - extra 50% healing - any Herbshop clerk
Grunwald (Blackroot)
Panari Temple (Tarant)
Doc Roberts (Shrouded Hills)
Expert - no more critical failures using up more bandages - most Herbshop clerks also offer Expert Training
Gaylin, Shrouded Hills
Perriman Smythe (shows up near the Willoughsby residence in Tarant once you’ve been to Quintarra)
Doc Roberts (Shrouded Hills)
Master - all successes are critical and can heal crippling wounds - Fawn (Quintarra)
Fawn is found directly south east from the first tree you go up to in Quintarra. Your alignment has to be 40 or higher for her to train you. If you need an alignment increase for some reason, giving gold to beggars over and over will slowly increase it.

Repair:
Apprentice - repairing an item only removes 5% durability - any Blacksmith
Any Junk Dealer
Inventors
Raymond Pierce (Ashbury)
Factory Foremen (Tarant)
Expert - repairing only costs 1% durability - Garret Almstead (Blacksmith, Blackroot)
Junk dealers
Master - no durability is lost during repair unless you critically fail. You can restore broken (0%) items, at a cost of 5% durability - Hieronymous Maxim (Factory down Old King's Way, Caladon)
Bring him the Camera from the Crash Site. If you sold it to Ristezze, he should still have it even if his inventory refreshed.

Training (part 2)

Prowling:
Apprentice - noise penalties halved, nor penalties for prowling during daytime - Elite Bow Guards (Dernholm/Caladon)
Vollinger (before you recruit him)
Theo Brightstart (Ashbury)
Mysterious Women
Expert - walk while prowling - Any Elite Bow Captain (Dernholm/Caladon)
Any Thief Fence boss (Tarant / Caladon)
Master - run while prowling, remain in stealth when using ranged weapons - Albert Leek (Sobbing Onion, Caladon)
You get an entire quest to find him, with notes and puzzles etc (Caladon Mushroom inn room 4 – put on the glasses and look at the picture. Go to the mysterious location, and kill / sneak past the Brute Fangs, towards the stump. Now read the note again at the Mushroom inn) But you can just talk to “A.L” at the Sobbing Onion tavern in Caladon, provided you have the right stats, and get him drunk enough that he’ll admit to being the prowling master. You might need to sober up before you start training, as drinking lowers your Perception.

Spot Trap:
Apprentice – no penalty for spotting traps in the dark - Most guards
Most thieves
Vollinger
Expert - can detect magical traps - Herkemer Oggdoddler (Blackroot)
Vegard Molten Flow (Wheel Clan)
Master - failure (but no critical failure) gives you a second chance to spot the trap - Fred Fitzgerald (40 Polton Cross, Tarant)
He will ask you to retrieve a magical staff from a heavily trapped castle. At the end of the castle is a lich and a magic chest. The chest is supposed to open when the lich dies, but it’s likely to be bugged, forcing you to destroy it in order to grab the staff. Steal the staff back from Fitzgerald – that extra +1 in Perception (and less importantly, Dex) is going to be useful. The staff also has three Teleport charges, which might allow you to use certain stat boosters for more than one quest.

Firearms:
Apprentice - +5 speed when wielding a firearm - any Firearms shopkeeper / Inventor
Doc Roberts (Shrouded Hills)
Expert - called shots made at 2\3 penalty - Herkemer Oggdoddler (Blackroot)
Doc Roberts (Shrouded Hills)
Master - range no longer affects your hit chance - Willy Thorndop (Southern Ashbury)
He’s reluctant to train you – until someone runs in to offer a convenient hostage-rescue quest. Follow the dirt path to the farm, and dispose of the gang (make sure the hostage is unharmed) – now you can pressure Thorndop into training you.

Disarm Traps:
Apprentice - no darkness penalty - Gunsmiths and Inventors
Blacksmiths
Expert - critical success allows you to recover an item from the trap - Thrayne Iron Heart (Wheel Clan)
Jason C. Guy (Roseborough Inn)
Adam Maxwell (Caladon)
Master - second chance to disarm if you fail (but don't critically fail) - Daniel MacPharson (right across from Maxwell)
To receive his training, you must go through his trap gauntlet. Fun fact – do you see the door south of where you came down the ladder? That’s the door you’re supposed to EXIT his trap dungeon through, but you can probably click on it to ENTER the dungeon, then leave right away – successfully completing the gauntlet.

Haggle:
Apprentice – you get to know the merchant's markup - Most shopkeepers (particularly General Store shopkeepers) can teach you this
Expert - merchants buy just about anything from you - any Bartender
Master - merchants will sell everything they have - JM Morat (Grant's Tavern, Tarant)
You need to pay him 10000 gold in order to get the training. No quests, no ways to get around the requirement. If you feel like killing him to get your money back, note that he has two Ogre bodyguards. Though, by the endgame 10,000 gold should be nothing to you.

Persuasion:
Apprentice - follows wait twice as long as normal - Jongle Dunne (Shrouded Hills)
Raymond Pierce (Ashbury)
Prostitutes at the Dockside Brothel
Expert – extra follower slot - Madam Lil (Tarant, Dockside Brothel)
The tailors in Tarant (Thurston's Fashion Palace) and Blackroot (The Dancing Needle)
Master - most followers don't check alignment, magical\technical aptitude or follower conflicts when recruited - Mr. Willoughsby (Council Chairman in Tarant)
Willoughsby will return to Tarant after you’ve been to Quintarra, which is the first chance you’ll have to get the training. He sends you to negotiate the incorporation of Caladon into the Unified Kingdom. As long as you don’t completely tank the negotiations and ruin the deal, he will train you as a Persuasion master, even if you didn’t stick to the ideal terms he outlined for you.

The basic MoaS build and implications.

Did you read or browse through all of that? Taken altogether, it means that a MoaS character is actually fairly restricted in some ways. He (and it probably is a he) is going to be a Charlatan’s protégé Gnome, technologically inclined, good-aligned, with a focus on Throwing or Bows, and with plenty of followers, going through the game while completing the Ancient Gods[arcanum.wikia.com] quest.

Why these specific conditions?

The Charlatan’s Protégé Gnome thing is a suggestion – one that saves up on precious character points by tanking unimportant stats in favor of stats a MoaS will need. If you have other build suggestions in terms of race / background, post them here.

The MoaS has to be good aligned in order to gain Healing Mastery, as noted above. Theoretically, you could play as a ba$tard and just shove a bunch of coins down a beggar’s throat to improve your alignment, but… meh.

Just mastering the technological skills will leave the MoaS so technologically aligned that healing spells will regularly fail. I recommend leaving those skills for the end of the playthrough, or at least until after you’ve reached Caladon. If you’re playing the unpatched version of the game (don’t), you could repeatedly put on and take off the Dark Helm to boost your magical aptitude and negative alignment – but you can only do so after mastering healing, and it’s a bit of a cheat anyways.

If you do NOT complete the Ancient Gods quest, you won’t have enough free character points to master all the skills.

Since the culmination of the Ancient Gods quest occurs near the endgame, and since optimal strategy invests no more than 2 points each into Melee or Firearms, the MoaS main combat skill is going to be Throwing or Bows.

Both have advantages and disadvantages:

Throwing weapons do not use up ammo. You don’t have to account for ammo cost (mostly an issue at the start), weight (a fairly major concern for a low-strength character) and you will never run out of ammo in the middle of a dungeon. Being a throwing master also helps a lot with throwing grenades – you can have Sebastian make all kinds of neat toys for you, or (if you have the spare character points) invest into Explosives yourself. Throwing weapons hit harder than bows, and will more easily batter down doors and chests than bow attacks. You also have a choice between a magical “ultimate” throwing weapon and a slightly slower neutral ultimate throwing weapon. Finally, throwing weapons are one-handed – you can use them with a shield, which greatly increases your survivability.

On the other hand, Throwing is remarkably worthless in Real Time combat, as you wait for each attack animation to finish before starting the next one. It’s also quite annoying even in regular combat, as you have to either constantly click to end animations or sit and wait as they play out.

Bows take fewer character points to master, don’t have any animation issues, work well (despite wasting a lot of arrows) in Real Time, and the ultimate bow, though magical, is far superior to either ultimate throwing weapon, turning you into a walking machine gun. The Expertise bonus for Bows is also exceptionally good. That said, the optimal skill point allocation requires at least one blessing, fighting or sneaking your way through high level monsters, and using a cursed helm.

As to the followers… personally, I just enjoy having plenty of followers in an RPG. But more seriously – MoaS has to have a high charisma, so might as well make use of it. The followers make up for the MoaS deficiencies in combat during the early and mid-game, and the MoaS gets plenty of pack mules to carry his stuff – which is very useful, given that his strength is so low. Besides, you NEED Jayna and Sebastian to craft stat-increasing items.

Walkthrough: Part 1

Download and apply the Unofficial patch[terra-arcanum.com] before you start the game. And remember – save early, save often, save in different slots, particularly before you undergo mastery training, just in case you run into any bugs.

As the game starts, drop 1 point into Dexterity (one of the few Character points we get to “waste”), 2 into Dodge and 2 into either Bows or Throwing. Purchase a pair of lockpicks, a weapon, and spend the rest of your money on arrows if you’re using a bow, or a nice shiny rapier for Virgil if you’re not. Your leveling priorities in the near future should be something like 1 point in Persuasion, 1 in Pick Pocket, 1 in Prowling, and 2 in Pick Locks.

Scour the Crash Site. Make sure to pick up the camera on Zaprooder’s body, Willhelmina’s letter, and all the steel / iron ore you can find. Explore the cave on the east (right) side of the crash site. This will send you on a quest towards Arballah’s house that (if you’ve been killing critters properly) should end with you being level 3. I’d recommend talking to Arballah, then heading to Shrouded Hills before you complete the quest, due to reasons stated below. Oh, and when Virgil tells you to access the World Map as you exit the crash site, do so. All that you’ll find as you follow the corridor out are a bunch of wolves that will tear you apart.

Ok, you arrive at Shrouded Hills. Head on down to the inn and pick up Sogg Mead Mug. If you’re playing the recommended character, Charlatan’s Protégé should be more than enough to cover the needed 9 Charisma. Sogg is actually the only follower other than Virgil who can join you when you're level 1 (most want you to be the same level as them) but he won’t level up until you hit level 3. So getting Sogg at level 2 is a way to avoid “wasting” a level that could make him stronger, and a way to have more help for the harder parts of the Crash Site.

Now you can go back and deal with the Arballah quest, getting the good outcome (talk to the spirit in the crash site cave, then recover the artifact). If you haven’t already, clear out all the critters hanging around the Crash Site, including the level 12 Kite shaman, who might have been too much for you and Virgil on your own. You can even have a go at the wolves past the exit from the crash site, though save before you do.

Back to Shrouded Hills. Head to the inn to meet elder Joachim, only to find dead assassins. Read the letter, grab one of the Molochean Hand talismans (if you haven’t grabbed one earlier at the Crash site). Time to find out what that ring you got is all about. Talk to Ristezze, the junk dealer. 1 point in Persuasion should be enough to get him to spill the beans about the ring – select “let’s talk about you” and never contradict him or ask for specifics. Alternately, he will cooperate if you hand him the camera or a souvenir of Bessie Toon. The camera is going to be useful in the future, so explore the Bessie Toone mine (stopping at the owners house for a quick chat and making sure to pick up all the ore / steel) and bring Ris her boot. Drop the camera before you talk to him, then pick it back up. If any of the stores are selling Fine Hilt Guards, buy them (you’ll need 3-4 total).

Optional – wait until Ris goes to sleep, and run into his bedroom as he opens the door. Pickpocket his key, which opens his inventory. You now have an exploitable source of free junk and free money, which renews every 24 hours, as Ris totally doesn’t mind you strolling in and grabbing back the stuff you’ve just sold him. Have fun – no other shop owner has a key that ALSO opens their inventory storage, and you won’t level up your lockpicking skill to the point that allows you to open shop chests for a long time. You’ll have to earn your money the old-fashioned way – by killing stuff.

Now to clear out the thieves guarding the bridge. If you've picked up any railroad spikes (some can be found nearby), try dropping them right next to the ogres. They'll pick them up and use them as weapons - and the max damage a spike does is far lower than the max damage of an unarmed ogre. If you've put a point into Persuasion, you can pretend to be a fellow thief from Tarant, but don’t go into any specifics. You’ll get an introduction to the thieves underground in Tarant, which is fairly useful. As the bandits walk away, attack one of the trailing ogres. With any luck, you’ll fight it on its own, or at least just the ogres, without Lukan. If need be, toss one of your stun grenades into the fray. Your prize is a Large Leather Armor, perfect for Sogg.

So, the way is clear to Tarant, right? Wrong. Your first destination is Dernholm. If you destroyed the town steam engine for Jongle Dunn, he probably gave you directions. If not, just head towards the solitary ship drawn on the world map, and you’ll get there eventually. You want to recruit Jayna Stiles (level 6) as soon as possible – two skillpoints invested into Lockpicking should make you tech-oriented enough for her. Once you’ve recruited her, she’ll never worry about your tech level again, so feel free to drop a point into the first Fire College spell – Agility of Fire. Not only will this drop your tech-aptitude to the point that magical items will work better, but 4 “free” points of Dexterity per casting of AoF (stacking) are great for increasing your skills.

Jayna is a tech NPC with absolutely no personality. You wouldn’t bother with her in most playthroughs, but she will be absolutely godsend to a MoaS. You don’t have enough character points to increase all your stats high enough to get your skills to Master level, so you’ll be relying on items, spells, blessings – and potions, which Jayna makes. Jayna will be able to boost your Dexterity and Perception, which are the two most widely used stats.

Get a quest from the King to solve the Blackroot taxes problem – you may or may not be capable of solving it right now, but it will put Blackroot on your map (if it doesn't, just head up along the coast and you'll get there). Head there, and talk to the Bow and Throwing masters on the map. Kietzel wants you to locate his apprentice, Dudley – who is currently one of the generic “Elite Bow Guards” in Dernholm. Don’t worry, we’ll be coming back to Dernholm several times before we can catch up with Kietzel. Clarissa will give you the location for the ultimate throwing weapon if you have at least 1 point in Throwing (oddly, she’s the only Master that will give you the ultimate quest even if you haven't mastered the relevant skill yet). Travel to Tarant.

You’ll need to wait until you’re level 8 to recruit Magnus, so do some quests around the town as needed. Solve the Garrison painting theft (if you’re stuck, go to the Wellington’s gentleman club and deliver a note for the shady individual there) and THEN do the Delores Beston / Madame Tussad quest (in favor of Tussad). Use a fate point to pickpocket a ring of influence from J.T. Morat in Grant’s tavern. Steal the Jewel of Hebe from the Panaari temple. (You’ll need to do at least 2 of these in order to recruit Magnus without investing points into Charisma, if you don’t want to waste a point on Persuasion) This is the juncture at which I waste 1 point on Persuasion – combined with the ring / Jayna’s elixir, that should be enough for Madam Lil to train you as an Expert – netting you 1 extra follower. Gar the Intelligent Orc will happily accompany you if you figure out his secret. While you’re here, get an introduction to the thieves’ guild from the barfly in Madam Lil’s.

Grab the Compound Bow from the dwarf weapons merchant if you’re a Bow-user – the first time you enter Tarant (or first day there) is your only chance to get that weapon without crafting it, as it disappears when merchant inventories refresh.

Walkthrough: Part 2.

Once you can recruit Magnus, have him smelt all your Iron Ore + Steel into Pure Ore, and combine it with Fine Hilt Guards to create a number of Balanced Swords. (It’s going to be a long while before your character becomes decently skilled as a fighter – having a well armed team of NPCs is important). Your party's offensive potential is kinda amazing when armed with balanced swords.

Storm P. Schuyler’s offices with Magnus. When you reach the Schuylers, entertain their proposal, then accept Magnus’ plea for a free Fate point.

Have a chat with Gilbert Bates (there are several mutually exclusive ways to do so, but accepting Cedric Appleby’s suggestion and going in as a servant is the only one that won’t lock out any future options. Not saying you WANT to betray Bates, but still). Once done, go earn some experience before you travel to the Black Mountain Mines by taking on random quests and getting random loot.

Clean out the rat-infested warehouse down by the docks – you can use it to store important items for handy retrieval. These include: the camera from the crash site, at least one Molochean Hand amulet, the Dwarven Ore found in the warehouse itself (Magnus will be able to make excellent weapons using this ore + axe-handles sold by junk dealers when he hits level 16), a Shovel, a pair of Kathorn crystals, any Mithril you happen to come across, at least 2 Copper rings and random crafting ingredients. Also store all the offerings for the Ancient Gods quest when you get them: a Li'tani (sold by an Elf near the Ahsbury docks), 3(!) heartstones (scattered around the Bedokaan village), 2(!) Lava rocks (Black Mountain mines), a passion root, an Olive Branch (Wheel Clan gardens), a ruby, two random rings, 2 Mnura coins and a Geode.

You may be unsure where to put your character skills – even with Agility of Fire, we don’t have access to a lot of skills / stat boosts just yet (We’ll be able to get Charged Rings and access the Ancient Gods quest in earnest once we come back from Quintara). Combined with the fact that we can’t increase our Tech skills just yet, so as not to push the character’s tech alignment too far, we might end up having a few unspent character points / throwing points at skills we don’t really intend to use. You can increase Spot Traps quite a bit (and it will come in handy in the Black Mountain mines) as well as Haggle (being an Expert in haggle is actually very handy). You can also increase Bows / Throwing (whichever you did not start with) and maybe switch between the two.

You can also Master Gambling at any point – Int potions, 4 character points and 2 Fated Rings + Lucky Medallion (from the only person sleeping in Poon’s Flophouse). In fact, make sure to master Gambling before you start going all tech, because the Fated Rings may not work otherwise. Talk to Gurin Rockhollow at the "Gentleman's Club" in Tarant. Play for high stakes, and make sure to win before your Int potion runs out.

Around level 12 you should go pick up Dog in Ashbury. He’s in the south-east part of town, being kicked to death by a gnome. At level 15 you can go back to Dernholm and pick up Vollinger (though frankly, he’s probably the least useful tech companion, with the possible exception of having Eyegear / crafting Repeater rifles). Use a fate point to steal a Hand Cannon from Sammie White, and Vollinger will be at least semi-competent in combat.

Make sure Magnus crafts you some Feather-Weight axes at level 16, and possibly upgrade them to Pyrotechnic axes. The schematic shows up randomly in Inventor stores (rarely) and there's one you can get under Mr. Willoughsby's house (accessible via a trap door or via the sewers). The guardians will probably tear you apart if you don't grab the chest then get the hell out (you can either lockpick the chest OR plant a dynamite charge, climb out, then enter the Tarant sewers in different location to have it explode... then double back through the trap door in the house to pick up the schematic), but having a bunch of weapons that don't break whenever they hit an Ore Golem / Fire Elemental is amazingly good. You’ll need to memorize the schematic and craft it using Tech Manuals.

Tech manuals (purchased at the Tarant university) increase your expertise in Technological disciplines by an amount equal to your intelligence, per each manual. (That doesn't mean that you automatically learn the schematics you would had you learned the discipline by investing skillpoints - it only allows you to craft found schematics). Since manuals are very heavy, you ideally want to keep them all in a container somewhere, chugging down an intelligence increasing potion BEFORE you take them out, then quickly crafting whatever schematic you want. So look at the schematic, see which two Disciplines it uses, divide each number by 16 (your Int when the potion is in effect) and that’s the number of manuals you need to buy.

Eventually we head to the Black Mountain mines (bring along spare armor), back to Bates, Island of Despair, then the Wheel Clan. Chug down an Int potion before you talk to Randver and ask him about the Shape and Stone philosophy. Chat with Loghaire and regurgitate the Stone+Shape spiel. Don’t sell anything to Dwarf shopkeeps if you can avoid it – you'll get more for your items anywhere else.

On to Stillwater (fun fact – you can skip the entire Stillwater giant quest by killing the elf and bringing his amulet to Gaylin in Shrouded Hills), then Qintarra (stopping at the Strange Ceremony [1375; 704] to grab the backstab dagger and at K’na Tha to get Azura’s Star). Make sure to bring along a Li’tani and some Mithril – the bow you’ll get in return for giving Ellumyn mithril is basically the best in the game.

Now we can finally start doing the Ancient Gods quest.
Get the blessing of Ter’el in Falcon’s Ache and the blessing of Makaal in the Bedokaan village. Grab a Black Diamond from the Bengallian deeps (next to the village) if you need one. If you’re focusing on throwing, check out [750; 556] on the map. You won’t see a location pop up, but this is the home of the Old Blind Master, and the location of the ultimate neutral throwing weapon.

When you return from Qintara, you can have a chat with Wiloughsby and recruit Sebastian, who is capable of forging Charged Rings. Also, work for Pollock in the Boil to get a single Energizer. Go to Caladon, bringing your Camera and shovel along. Find Kietzel in Caladon, and get your Bow Mastery (charged rings + Jayna’s elixirs should get your Dex high enough). Congrats. You can also get Throwing mastery now, assuming you have Agility of Fire, which you should (hopefully you already got Azura’s star). Now complete the blessings of Halycon (make sure to pick up the helmet of Yzar’s Cost in Torrin’s Quarry if you haven’t already) and Moorindal.

Complete the third circle all the way up to – but not including – Kai’tan. The blessing of Shakar should get your Dodge and Melee to Expert level– grab the training while you can, it will be a while before your melee and dodge are that high again. With Moorindal’s blessing and the backstab dagger from the Strange Ceremony, you can get backstab Mastery training from Edmund Craig in Roseborough (once again, increase your Dexterity before you do). With 4 points in Healing, the blessing of Halycon and an INT potion, you can get Healing Mastery training from Fawn in Qintara (provided you’re good aligned, which you should be) as you head for Tsen-Ang (Bring along a Molochean Hand amulet).

Note: the following section relies on getting the Vivifier in the Vendigroth Wastes before mastering a number of skills. That’s the very endgame, and we have points to spare. If you’re impatient, you can in fact spend 2 points on Willpower in order to get Haggling mastery. For that matter, I haven’t found any way to avoid spending 2 points in Perception, so you might do that now and get mastery of certain skills earlier.

Walkthrough: Part 3

Return from Tsen-Ang and talk to Acolyte Alexander in the Caladon Panaari temple. Talk to both historians, head into the sewers outside the temple doors and into the crypt. Investigate the sarcophagus and click on the sarcophagus lid. Talk to both historians again, then head to Roseborough and follow the coast north-west. Enter the door, grab the journal and sword (it doesn't really matter if your followers automatically grab them). Back to Alexander, then talk to the historians again to get Mannox’s finger.

Head to Thanatos, then into the Vendigroth Wastes, Tulla (grab the Pyrotechnic bow from the Fire-Master mage in Tulla if you’re a bow user – it’s the superior bow for fighting automatons in Vendigroth), and the Vendigroth ruins. Get the schematic for the Vivifier, and the Vendigrothian elixir, then leave. Head to Tarant and craft the Vivifier with tech manuals.

Time to finish off most of the remaining masteries before we complete the Ancient Gods quest. As long as you’re in Tarant, drop a single point into Willpower in order to qualify for Haggle mastery (+1 Willpower from the Finger of Mannox + 3 Haggle char points + blessing of Kerlin + Gnome bonus. Lucky Medallion should not be necessary)

On to Prowling mastery. Get a Robe of Chameleon, Ring of Concealment, and Ring of Silence. Maybe the medallion of silence as well, on the off chance it’s not bugged in your version. Here’s one major reason I’ve recommended investing in Agility of Fire: with the Blessing of Halycon, the Helmet of Yzar’s cost, Liquid of Awareness and the Vivifier, your Perception is 15, which is just enough to qualify for mastery. However, with 2 Lockpicking, you’re a bit too tech for the Rings + Robe to give you enough extra prowling – you’re going to need to throw 3 points into Prowling instead of 2. But if you invest just 1 point into Agility of Fire, you’ll be close enough to neutral to get boosted over the line.

Same set up gives you the Perception needed for the Spot mastery quest. 4 character points in Spot trap + the blessing of Halycon (or use Spot Trap scrolls). Get the staff back for an important extra point in Perception (and, to a less important extent, Dexterity).

With all the other skills basically handled, it’s time to start investing in tech skills, which is a tricky balance. The blessing of Bolo and 4 points in Pick Lock should allow you to talk to Mrs Morgan. In Roseborough, and be sent into the Caladon jail to receive Lockpicking mastery.

As you get the Disarm mastery points, you want to balance things out so that you’re getting +2 Perception from Eyegear, yet the staff of K'an T'au still grants you +1 Perception. You might want to throw in the 2 points into Firearms at this point. The blessing of Halycon + Eyegear + Liquid of Awareness + Vivifier + Vendigrothian Elixir+ Staff give you the necessary 18 Perception.

Now go to Gorgoth pass and sacrifice to Kaitan, followed by a return to the Vendigroth ruins and giving yourself to Velorien.

First thing first (before any further investment in tech skills makes the Ring of Influence unusable) – complete the Persuasion mastery quest. With 2 character points, the blessing of Velorien, Ring of Influence and Potion of Persuasion (from Jayna), Willosbough should send you to negotiate on Caladon’s inclusion in the UK. Don’t mess up the negotiations too much, and you should get your Mastery training.

With the +12 points in Firearms from Velorgien’s blessing, all we need are 2 character points in Firearms + 15 Perception. Sadly, we just lost the blessing of Halycon and the staff of K’an T’au no longer gives +1 Perception. This basically means that even with the Vivifier, Liquid of Awareness and Eyegear / Trapmaker’s spectacles, we’ll still need to invest two character points into Perception, unless some kind of additional Perception boost exists. Chat to Willy Throndop in Ashbury, eliminate the gang, and guilt trip him into training you. You monster.

The Melee and Dodge quests are combined. Talk to Adkins in Stillwater (you might be forced to put a third point into Dodge to qualify), talk to Garrick in Dernholm, rescue Druella, talk to her, get training from Garrick, kill him, get training from Adkins.

Finally, get some Intelligence potions and put five points into Repair. If you’ve returned Maxim’s camera in Caladon, he should now train you.

Issues with the walkthrough – those two damned points in Perception. If there was any other way to increase Perception, that would be hugely useful. One possibility – using the Staff’s teleport power to have the Vendigrothian Elixir be useful for two different Mastery quests (probably Disarm Traps and Haggle), which would save on spent points.

Let me know if you have any suggestions or possible improvements.

Ancient Gods quest - the specifics.

The order you're going to offer your sacrifices. God: location, item needed, bonus the blessing gives you.

1. Ter'El: Falcon Ache (Raven sends you there from Qintara). There’s an altar to Ter’el in the tree canopy right above where the surveyors are. 1 Li’tani purchased from the elf trader near the Ahsbury docks gives you PE +1, Bow +4.
2. Makaal: Bedokaan village (Winde in Qintara sends you there to rescue an elf hunter). Three Heartstones are scattered around the village – 1 right above the pit, and two north and south-east of the Bedokaan chief. Sacrifice one at the altar for +1 Dex.
3. Alberich: Wheel Clan, first floor. A Lava Rock (the BMC is littered with them). ST +1.
4. Geshtianna: Stillwater. Passion Root (the garden in which the statue is located has a few). Beauty +1.
5. Halycon: The priests in Vooriden (868;1191) will send you to the Torin Quarry to bring back a large altar stone. You’re given a temporary follower to carry the stone, but he will leave if you stop anywhere along the way, so bring along a Large armor + Shield + weapon for him beforehand. Torin Quarry has a bunch of level 30 enemies, so make sure you’re prepared. The sacrifice is an Olive Branch (found in the Wheel Clan gardens, same floor as the shopkeeps). WP +2, PE +2, Heal +4, Spot Trap +4. Halycon’s blessing (same as any major god blessing) cancels out the four blessings that came before it.
6. Torg : Torg's Altar (1215;1139), directly on the path between Shrouded Hills and Tarant. Sacrifice a ruby. CN +1.
7. Bolo: Bolo's Altar (1626;1636) between Caladon and Roseborough. Sacrifice any ring for Pick Pocket +4, Pick Locks +4.
8. Kerlin: Kerlin's Altar (881;424) south-east of the Bedokaan village. Sacrifice a Mnura Coin for Haggle +4, Persuasion +4.
9. Shakar: Kree (635; 1204) Taddeus Mynor (the thieves guild contact in Tarant) will send you there to steal a golden idol. Sacrifice a Bone Dagger (Orc bandits often have one) or Reaper's Axe for Melee +4, Dodge +4.
10. Moorindal: Ancient Temple (776; 919) between Tarant, Ahbury, and the Liar of Bellgorim. Sacrifice a Black Diamond (Wheel Clan, Ancient Maze [1367;1582], Bangellian Deeps (1178; 289 right above the Bedokaan village) for Backstab +8, Melee +4, Critical Hit Chance +10, Prowling +4. Again, Moordinal’s blessing cancels out the previous 4 (but not Halycon’s blessing).
11. Alberich (again)
12. Makaal (again)
13. Kerlin (again)
14. Bolo (again)
15. Kai'tan: Gorgoth’s Pass (1500; 1444), only barely rumored in Caladon and filled with dangerous beasts. Sacrifice a Geode for Persuasion +8, Haggle +4, Bow +4, CH +1, BE +1. Don’t get this one until you’re ready to receive Velorien’s blessing shortly thereafter – it’s pretty bad.
16. Velorien: Vendigroth Ruins (the main quest will take you there around the endgame, but you could go there beforehand: 306, 588). Sacrifice your life (you’ll be resurrected as long as you’ve followed the Ancient Gods order of blessings thus far) for HP +100, FT +100, Melee +12, Dodge +12, Pick Pocket +12, Firearms +12, Persuasion +12, DX +4, DR +30, MR +30.

[Xander77]

Thanks.

Didn't notice the helmet of Yzar's cost also helps out with bows.

Current guide already asks for exactly two points in Melee, accounting for Finger of Mannox.

The guide currently accounts for Shadows Hand Dagger, Creep Armor and Blessing of Moorindal, so I'm fairly sure you still need a point in backstab.

[retakrew7]

a couple of points from my side:
- you only need 18 for most skills, the only exceptions are Dodge, Persuasion, Gambling, which need 20
- using the helmet of Yzar's cost means you only need to put 3 instead of 4 points into Bow
- using the Finger of Mannox you only need 2 points for Melee
- using the Creep Armor and the Shadow Hand Dagger you do not need any points in Backstab
- Light Fingered Gauntlets + Oiled Armor are enough for Pickpocket to only consume 1 point
- since 18 is enough for the Perception skills, you actually don't need to raise Perception to 18, 15 is plenty enough if the skill is raised to 20
- Dwarves benefit greatly from their +2 to all tech skills, you will need to invest heavily into magic though to make a lot of the bonus items work
- in the base game you can go therapeutics to wildly modify your base stats as necessary, you can be much more flexible with your background for example, in modded versions it is easiest to have a therapeutics companion

[Xander77]

Nah, you can't change your companions levelling scheme in the base game. Weird, because you can click on it and see the available options, but only the PC can change their.

[brujahharpy]

I am using the Multiverse Edition, and I guess everyone is. The change levelling scheme is above their tech/magic affinity gauge.

[Xander77]

Can you change companions levelling schemes without mods?

[brujahharpy]

Late to the party but switching Jayna's levelling scheme to None or Clarissa Vorak allows her to make Mind Marvels (and maybe even Revitalizes). Get Brain Builders by Wheel Clan/Stone Cutter for cheap/Early access to Haggle Mastery and Spot Trap before Bolo's Altar screws up the Tech Aptitude.

[Xander77]

Is that unpatched?

[SCARaw]

i made this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQRRPrygJiQ
this is very poor video with gambling and haggle

but i swear it works with 11 skills
bow, heal, persuasion, barter, melee, dodge, spot trap, backstab, prowling, thievery and last one

[Xander77]

Explain how?

That dagger is +5

[SCARaw]

you are late

now i get
backstab, spot trap, bow, melee, dodge, prowling, gambling, haggle, persuasion and heal with 0 points investment

+8 dagger is a dagger you find on the way to quintara