Hi there, new here, loving GOG so far. :)
Anyway, I'm curious if dropped items will permanently stay where you drop them in Arx. Say, in a barrel or simply on a table in a room?
I have so much loot so early in the game (just meeting the human king) that I don't know what to hold onto for when I have more experience. It'd be handy if I could just place those things somewhere safe in town, is this safe to do?

So far from what I've seen and I have some 10 hours in my save.
Unless the limit is very small or there's a bug like in Oblivion, I doubt you'll see the items disappear anytime soon.

Thanks, that's good news. Oblivion came to mind for me too. I'll just keep in mind not to leave too many items laying around.

Well obviously you should never drop quest items or other important items to the ground in games like this, but if you really must do, I think the safest way to do it is to place it in a container.
If you really want the items to stay, I can say for sure the items don't disappear from the shop, just think of it as a very expensive storage :D

I'm sure of this much... the library with the snake woman has a table that will hold as much as you can fit for now. *Don't* sell stuff to the weapons dealer just for storage - you will need the money later... Soon, w/o telling you too much of the story, you will 'attain' an 'area' that will be completely safe to use. You'll even be able to lock it up! Happy adventuring...

Thanks for the tips & no spoilers.
I got to the point you mention, and certainly have less worries about juggling items now.
Inventory bloat is handled quite nicely as you progress, actually. They even go so far as to provide a key ring at one of the shops; I'm starting to feel like the janitor of Arx now. :)

Great, glad I could help... Arx is a great game. Don't be afraid to access a tip or hint from time to time from 'gamefaqs.com'. There's also an old *great* Arx guide from years ago in PDF form with pics of all the maps for all the levels with a complete walkthru. I *don't* usually use these types of guides often, but I find for *me* at least, that Arx can be a difficult game to know 'where to go next'... Even after finishing it once years ago, I still have to consult a guide once in a while. And I don't care. Keeps me from getting frustrated, and at my age (I'm what you might call an 'old timer'), I don't need any more hassles. Just don't overdue it with guides or they can ruin the (any) game. If you can't find the PDF file and you really want it (It seems that it's hard to find since Rpgdot went belly up), go over to ttlg.com (a homage to the great 'Looking Glass' games + others that are similar), and there is even a thread there on the subject. Let me know if you need any help. And good luck... :)

Note that some walkthroughs have minor inaccuracies that may you think you have hit a glitch or something when you haven't; for instance, to complete a particular task you may be told to "combine" an item with a target (which normally means you double-click it and then click on the target) when in fact for that particular task you need to drag and drop the item and position it on top of the target surface.
The PDF guide is readily available from Dreamcatcher Games' downloads folder (it says Xbox, but gameplay is identical on both systems).

Thanks, that's a good guide, has a few combinations that aren't in the manual that I hadn't considered. I'll definitely give it a look if I put the game down a while & need a refresher as to where I left off.
I certainly agree the game can be vague about what to do next, but it's sort of what's appealing about genuine adventure games to me; you don't have that all-knowing-compass driving you along.

Yes, I certainly agree - I don't want to be lead around by the nose, either (Oblivion, anyone?). My remark was for if you just got hopelessly lost and didn't know *any* place to go that might help. Like I said, use sparingly... BTW, you *have* played Gothic 1 and 2, right? Just checking, because to me - these are two of the best (all time).