Can't believe I just picked Arcanum up for 2 bucks, it was on sale... I hope it's good :)

It is.

One of the best.

Are the stories interesting? Thinking about main story + side-quests.

Bloody amazing. Think part American Frontier era, part Victorian England (yes, they do sort of go hand in hand) and part Tolkien fantasy, with most stories told in the game derived from one of these aspects - or the best ones being a mix of all of them. It's quite special really.

Make sure to check out the mods and fixpatches, etc., they are crucial IMO for this game.

Wow, sounds cool. I saw a screen of the inventory, looked very Diablo-esque.

haha. no. more like Baldur's Gate X Fallout if that makes any sense.

The Lost Dungeon of Souls module is suppose to be more hack 'n' slash though. haven't tried it myself.
http://www.terra-arcanum.com/downloads/section/modules

Arcanum is the best game ever made for side-quests. It's no contest.

It's not much like Diablo. It has real-time combat, but Arcanum's real-time combat was added in a very slapdash way at the end of development, and it sucks. You can and should play in turn-based mode.

If you do buy the game, try to resist the urge to play a Firearms character for your first try. That's a common mistake. If you're wondering why, there are lots of threads on this board that discuss the reasons.

This is true. Here are some other suggestions that are easier for a new player:

A grenadier: make molotov cocktails from garbage and throw them at your enemies. The explosions don't hurt you or your allies for some reason, so feel free to blast away!

A pure mage: Learn the harm spell for offense, and then you can branch out with any other spells that sound interesting. There are lots of spells to choose from.

A pure fighter: Melee combat is very powerful, and once you get a hang of it you can start adding some magic or tech to the mix.

There are lots of threads here with more details about designing characters. This is one of the best parts of the game, so feel free to try out some crazy character designs and don't be afraid to start over with something different. The game really rewards different playstyles and decisions (being good vs. evil, etc.).

https://www.gog.com/forum/general/small_belated_belated_birthday_giveaway_for_real_this_time/page1

well, i have 1 giftcode for arcanum if someone here wants it.