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Black Mountain Clan

This forum is to be used for all discussions pertaining to Troika Games' Arcanum: Of Steamworks & Magick Obscura.
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trinity7
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Black Mountain Clan

Post by trinity7 »

Here's how it happened. I couldn't talk past the guard guarding Gilbert Bates' mansion.

So i tried to solve his issue with bandits in his factory but i couldnt even get the job. Then i used the entrance from the cemetary to enter his house illegally and ticked off practically everyone in the house.

Now i've killed Bates and don't know what to do about the Black Mountain Clan. I've travelled there, got this thing from a Gnome Wizard but don't know whom to tell my findings now. Any advice? Or is it just a quest that can be ignored?
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swcarter
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Post by swcarter »

It's difficult to give a recommendation here without knowing where the game thinks you are in the plot. Did you actually receive a quest to investigate the BMC, or are you following a walkthrough or something?

Troika made this a little bit awkward, but if you save your game and then check the load screen, the screenshot should list what your current main quest is. If your quest is to go to the Isle of Despair, then you should talk to a sea captain in Ashbury. If your main quest is something else, you might be in trouble.

SWC
Sir Edmund: "Should you obey the lord who asks you to put a village of innocents to the torch? Is that chivalrous? Is it noble?"
Me: "It's a great way to get promoted, I know that much."
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trinity7
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Post by trinity7 »

I'm on my own...walkthoughs would just spoil the fun for me.

I got the Schuylers to identify the ring for me. They said Gilbert Bates. So i went to guard guarding the gate to GB's mansion. I couldn't sweet-talk the guy. Then, a friend told me that you can get an audience with GB if you help solve those bandits that come at night. The thing is, I couldn't even get that quest from any of the guards patrolling there.

So, what i did was to continue other quests and went to Tarant's cemetary to look for the twins' skulls. And, i stumbled upon a way in GB's mansion. Everyone became hostile towards me and i had to kill chukka and GB himself. I ransacked his mansion and found a book and it pinpointed the location. I went BMC and came back but not knowing who to tell of my findings since GB is already dead.

So what should I do now? Can i just skip this quest? Or is it part of the main quest and i've destroyed it?
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tom the terribl
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Post by tom the terribl »

Quest

Did you get Bates letter from Schuller? With that letter the guard will talk with you. So restore the game in Tarant and go to Schullers and kill them and get the key to the cabinet and take the letter. After you read it the quest to Bates goes into your log. Then you can get the guard quest.
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swcarter
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Post by swcarter »

The Schuylers, Bates, and the BMC are all a part of the main plot. I don't think you've broken it, but you still haven't told me where the game thinks you are in the plot.

If the Schuylers identified the ring for you, then you don't need to do what Tom said in the previous post. If your current main quest is to look for the BMC on the Isle of Despair, then you should head for Ashbury and try to hire a ship there (that's what Bates would have told you to do).

SWC
Sir Edmund: "Should you obey the lord who asks you to put a village of innocents to the torch? Is that chivalrous? Is it noble?"
Me: "It's a great way to get promoted, I know that much."
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trinity7
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Post by trinity7 »

Think i'll have to go check my inventory and see if i have Bates letter.
I killed Bates and now I don't know what to do.

I feel like restarting again. Arghghh!!!
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Crunchy in milk
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Post by Crunchy in milk »

You don't need to talk to Bates at all to finish the game, he keeps a journal in his bedroom that leads you to black mountain and once you've discovered the mine empty you can travel to the isle of Despair by tracking down a sailor mad enough to take you there. Bates will outright tell you who to ask, but other ship captains will offer suggestions if they're too chicken hearted.

I tend to murder Bates out of habit due to his offensive nature and over bloated sense of importance. Especially when his 'secret' comes to light and he still feels it necessary to insult you regularly. Start again if its against your character's nature I guess but personally I find working for him far too degrading and unrewarding.
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