So I'm posting this because I'm doing a replay of Arcanum, and I really didn't want to kill Hervor, makes me feel like an ass, but I need that 800 XP!

All the guides I could find claim that killing Hervor is unavoidable if you want to destroy the steam engine, but after a lot of trial and error I managed it. Here's my method:

1. Tell your companions to wait somewhere outside the room Hervor is in.
2. Make sure the doors are closed.
3. Go into the far right corner of the room Hervor is in and Prowl. (I did this with 13 Dex and no Prowl skill)
4. Make sure he can't see you.
5. Equip a bow.
6. Shoot the lantern so its dark.
7. Shoot the control box until it breaks.

If it works the same as it did for me, he shouldn't notice what you're doing. I can't swear it'll work the same way for everyone else, but this was super fun for me to figure out.

Urg, never mind. I should have known better than to challenge fate. I just sort of assumed that if Hervor never sees you he won't tell anyone but apparently he still tattles on you.

Still, that's an ingenious method. :salute:

All right, I'm curious. Why?

Thank you, good sir! Mostly I'm just a completionist and want to do all the quests. But also I'm trying to make a theif who can also fight, and being a low level theif suuuucks.

If you don't mind exploiting the system, there's a thief build that is the most overpowered in the game - even more than a Harm spamming mage. You can slaughter almost any monster at level 1 using nothing but a dagger.

Other than that, I applaud you for playing a thief. It's one of the most fun character types in the game.


Don't read this:

https://www.gog.com/forum/arcanum_of_steamworks_and_magick_obscura/an_unreasonably_overpowered_build

So you can complete this quest and have hervor alive at the end without being ratted on. You can either use dominate will to get a monster to join you, teleport to shrouded hills, then let it free when it is in the room with hervor. Make sure your party is outside the closed door and run outside the temple. Go back in and it will kill hervor for you without you losing alignment. Then just go in, kill the monster, destroy the control panel, and then resurrect hervor. You will still lose alignment when you tell jongle it’s destroyed, but at least the dwarf lives and will not tell the doc about you. Alternatively this can be done with the Virgil debug menu. Make sure Virgil is the only one in your party then go near the doors by hervor. You should make sure you are inside the door with hervor and Virgil is outside it and turn based combat mode is on. Use Virgil debug menu to spawn a random monster, which will appear next to you. Enter prowling mode and go through the door, shutting it behind you. Then get out of the temple as fast as possible. Enter the temple again and it will kill hervor. Kill monster, destroy control panel, resurrect hervor, tell jongle, done. If you need an item to resurrect hervor, the shrouded hills herbalist sells one, though it is quite expensive. Cheers!

lmao

For other obsessive completionists and "non-evil" (sort of) role players, it's absolutely possible to destroy the steam engine, complete Jongle's two quests, and repair the steam engine, while leaving Hervor still alive at the end of it all. Of course, Hervor won't be too pleased, but you can't have everything:

1) Successfully reverse-pickpocket an item into Hervor's pockets
(this is to ensure his body has at least one item in inventory so it doesn't disappear after you...)
2) Kill Hervor and destroy the steam engine, in either order
3) Report destruction of the steam engine to Jongle, and optionally get and complete his Dernholm package quest
4) Get and complete the steam engine repair quest from the constable
5) Go back into the temple and resurrect poor Hervor, then get the hell out of there, unless you really are a sadist and want to kill him again, in which case, why are you reading this?

That's it. Didn't take long to figure out. Hope it's of use to at least one other player!

Best way not to kill Hervor. You need about 10 acids depending on your throwing skill. You need an anesthesizer and invisibility. Go at night and have your party wait outside. Use invisibility and go into the temple. Hervor will be sleeping. Use the anesthesizer on him and destroy the steam engine with acid.. Just that easy.

for me it worked by doing the following, placing dynamite next to the controls, and having good luck the dwarf died in the process