20 Games Like Arcanum: of Steamworks and Magick Obscura(2001)

Prepare to be enchanted by a world where the choices you make and the paths you choose shape your destiny. Recapture the deep sense of exploration, the joy of a pulsating adventure, and the thrill of leading your own band of companions across a new fantasy realm and into the depths of monster-infested dungeons in search of lost treasures and ancient mysteries.

So gather your party, venture forth, and embrace adventure as you delve into a realm of wonder, nostalgia, and the excitement of classic RPGs with Obsidian’s Pillars of Eternity!

Every World has conflict. Good and evil. Friend and foe. Safety and danger. In Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn, you'll find yourself between these factions. This epic sequel to the Roleplaying Game of the Year will immerse you in a world of intrigue, adventure and fierce combat where your ability to discern the difference between these sides - with the assistance of steel and spell - determines your fate. Set in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting, Baldur's Gate II is the most stunning Advanced Dungeons and Dragons game to date.

The Battle for Wesnoth is a turn-based tactical strategy game with a high fantasy theme.

Build up a great army, gradually turning raw recruits into hardened veterans. In later games, recall your toughest warriors and form a deadly host whom none can stand against! Choose units from a large pool of specialists, and hand-pick a force with the right strengths to fight well on different terrains against all manner of opposition.
Wesnoth has many different sagas waiting to be played. Fight to regain the throne of Wesnoth, of which you are the legitimate heir... step into the boots of a young officer sent to guard a not-so-sleepy frontier outpost... lead a brutal quest to unite the orcish tribes... vanquish a horde of undead warriors unleashed by a foul necromancer, who also happens to have taken your brother hostage... guide a band of elvish survivors in an epic quest to find a new home... get revenge on the orcs by using the foul art of necromancy...
There are at least two hundred unit types, sixteen races, six major factions, and hundreds of years of history. The world of Wesnoth is absolutely huge and only limited by your creativity — make your own custom units, create your own maps, and write your own scenarios or even full-blown campaigns. You can also challenge up to eight friends—or strangers—and fight in epic multiplayer fantasy battles.

Dragon Age: Origins is a third-person role-playing game described as a spiritual successor to Baldur's Gate and Neverwinter Nights franchises. Players create their own character by customizing gender and appearance as well as choosing a race and class. Combat is in real time with the ability to pause at any moment: tactical options include an editor which allows the player to give the AI detailed instructions on how to behave in every possible situation. Although the main storyline is the same for every character created, the game features six unique prologues, two for each race. Dragon Age: Origins received critical acclaim upon release, with praise mostly directed at its story, setting, characters, music and combat system.

Warlords Battlecry III further expands the Battlecry tradition of featuring persistent RPG-like fantasy heroes with its retinue of loyal followers fighting massive battles in the Warlords' world of Etheria. It is a true sequel to Warlords Battlecry I & II, featuring many familiar races and troop-types, while also adding some new ones into the mix.

Warlords Battlecry III continue to perfect its automated feature system, greatly reducing gameplay micromanagement and quickly proving to be the holy grail of RTS games among gamers of the genre.

While being a strong RTS outright, there are also numerous activities for players to engage in between battles, such as obtaining titles and awards, trading and purchasing items & retinue members, and even an upgradeable castle to reflect your importance and influence in the world of Etheria.

Extra features included in Warlords Battlecry III are specifically geared to please the legions of previous Battlecry players, including the removal of hero and unit caps, the addition of new special abilities for high-level heroes and the creation of an intuitive hero system. All of these features, coupled with new races and hero classes, new spells and items, and new building and dragons meld to form a Real-Time Strategy game that once again raises the benchmark for other games in the genre. Warlords Battlecry III is poised to receive even greater accolades than the previous award-winning titles in the Warlords Battlecry series.

A CRPG set in the Dungeons & Dragons setting of Planescape in which The Nameless One, an immortal amnesiac, sets off on a quest across the infinite Planes and gathers a party of conflicted companions to find out who he is and reclaim his mortality. Throughout it, he faces the consequences of the horrors he committed in his past lives and tries to find the root of all the torment plaguing his companions and the Planes.

Perfect World is a 3D MMORPG rooted in traditional Chinese culture and mythology. Set in the mythical realm of Pangu, it offers players an immersive adventure experience.

An ancient evil has returned to Baldur's Gate, intent on devouring it from the inside out. The fate of Faerun lies in your hands. Alone, you may resist. But together, you can overcome.

Gather your party and get ready for a new, back-to-the-roots RPG adventure! Discuss your decisions with companions; fight foes in turn-based combat; explore an open world and interact with everything and everyone you see. Join up with a friend to play online in co-op and make your own adventures with the powerful RPG toolkit.

Divinity: Original Sin is a game that gives you a lot of freedom and plenty of gameplay mechanics to use or abuse. The game's epic story may drive you toward your ultimate end-goal, but how you get there is entirely up to you.

Or up to you and a friend, because Divinity: Original Sin can be played completely cooperatively, and features both online and local drop-in/drop-out multiplayer. Great adventures become even greater when shared with a trusted comrade-in-arms!

Breath of Fire IV is a single-player game that continues the story with these "dragon people," who gave their lives to eradicate the evil goddess and restore peace in their world. This time around, battle has broken out between two powerful continents, and the fair Princess Elena has disappeared during a tour of the war-torn region. The princess's sister, Nina, who reigns o'er the Windia Kingdom, vows to retrieve her missing sibling. She meets Ryu along the way, who joins the epic quest

Silverfall, a once glorious city, lies in the fantastical Kingdom of Nelwë, where the forces of Technology and Nature are strongly opposed. Symptoms of this terrible conflict have begun to manifest physically as melded cyberbiologic organics and living steam-driven automatons.

Lord Draak's henchmen are spreading chaos in Uma. Are you going to let them get away with it?

In a world beyond imagination...

In their immeasurable greed and constant thirst for power, the thirteen most powerful Mages of all time doomed the land, hurling it into an endless spiral of chaos and despair. Entire countries were wiped out in the blink of an eye when the devastating power of the Elements was unleashed – Elements summoned by dark rituals. Continents shattered like glass, the pieces strewn about like leaves in the wind. Huge armies, bound by the the power of ancient runes, brought war and destruction to the lands that survived the initial onslaught. All that was left were a few islands, connected by magic portals.

Now, only a few years after the end of the Convocation, evil is back – stronger and more powerful than ever before – to finish what was started.

Yet there is still hope. The prophecies tell of a human. A human damned to immortality, bound forever by the power of the blood runes…

Soon, the time will come when the power of one may change the destiny of many. For better or for worse...

Summary of the most important features:

Innovative game design: The unique mixture of RTS and RPG elements offers a brand new game experience.
High degree of identification with the hero-avatar, whose skills and strengths can be improved by the player
Click’n’Fight: This revolutionary control system guarantees instant action, the best possible overview and completely new tactical possibilities in battle
6 races – Humans, Dwarves, Elves, Dark Elves, Orcs and Trolls – that can be used simultaneously (!) to build settlements and fight battles
More than 30 different enemy races, from cowardly goblins to powerful demons and dragons
A multitude of spells, divided into different categories of magic (white, black, elemental, etc.)
Persistant game world with continuous, gripping storyline and myriad sub-quests
Awe-inspiring 3D graphics with zoom levels from isometric to 1st-Person-views

RPG and sequel to The Witcher 2 (2011), The Witcher 3 follows witcher Geralt of Rivia as he seeks out his former lover and his young subject while intermingling with the political workings of the wartorn Northern Kingdoms. Geralt has to fight monsters and deal with people of all sorts in order to solve complex problems and settle contentious disputes, each ranging from the personal to the world-changing.

Torment: Tides of Numenera is a game set in the world of Monte Cook's new tabletop RPG setting, Numenera. Torment continues the thematic legacy of Planescape: Torment, the critically acclaimed role-playing game from 1999 that's considered by many to be a hallmark for storytelling in computer RPGs. With Torment, we're creating a rich role-playing experience that explores similar deep, personal themes.

In Aarklash: Legacy take command of a mercenary squad in search of truth and guide it through countless battles.

Experience an ever-expanding story across all of Tamriel in The Elder Scrolls Online, an award-winning online RPG. Explore a rich, living world with friends or embark upon a solo adventure. Enjoy complete control over how your character looks and plays, from the weapons you wield to the skills you learn – the choices you make will shape your destiny. Welcome to a world without limits.

Based on the novel series by Andrzej Sapkowski, The Witcher follows Geralt of Rivia, an amnesiac witcher (problem solver and slayer of monsters) whose home, the Kaer Morhen citadel, is besieged by an organization called the Salamandra, who steal their valuable potions and get away. Throughout the game, Geralt must resolve people's moral dilemmas, connect the dots of his past and track down the Salamandra.

Age of Wonders III, like the previous games in the series is a turn-based strategy game set within a high fantasy universe where the player assumes the role of a political-military leader. Gameplay is 4X-based (explore, expand, exploit and exterminate) where players explore the world map, slowly building an empire through colonization, warfare and diplomacy with rival powers. However new to III is the greater addition of role-playing game features, where players must first choose and customize their leader, all options dependant on the player's chosen style of play. There are six available races in the initial release: humans, draconians, high elves, dwarves, orcs, and goblins, all that will determine the race of their empire with each having unique perks and abilities. The leader and empire is further shaped by the choice from skill sets based on traditional RPG classes along with further specializations and skills to select. Each leader class also has access to their own unique units with a distinct visual look based on their corresponding race, each to accommodate their own unique approach to strategy, both in combat and when managing their empire. On release there are six different classes a leader can be. The "Sorcerer" class emphasizes the use of magic for enchantments and summoning powerful units. The "Theocrat" derives from an organized religion based society including zealots followers and the use of holy spells and warriors. The "Rogue" favors less direct approaches to situations, employing stealth, thievery and manipulation aswell as dark magic in diplomacy and warfare. The "Archdruid" channels the power of nature, using it to their advantage by being very self-sufficient and being able to call upon wild creatures. The "Dreadnaught" leads a steampunk styled society, using large industry, machinery and gunpowder-based units like cannons and tanks. Finally the "Warlord" specializes in direct conflict and combat tactics, utilizing effective non-magic based units and abilities.
Leaders themselves and separate recruitable hero units will be able to gain experience and level up, while also being able to gain new equipment and powers. Players can also develop their alignment between good and evil based on their player's actions and the cultures the player absorbs into their empire, rather than race like the previous games in the series.
Cities themselves provide much of the resources, infrastructure and host to unit recruitment. Independent cities and units not immediately aligned to any player/leader are also present in the world map. Units that come from an unaffiliated city will fight to protect a city's domain, and they won't forget that they're tied to it. Many of these independent settlements aren't cities in the traditional sense, but can be alternative settlements, like a "Giant's Keep" for example. The player can conquer these holdings, which will provide units like a city, or they can absorb them through diplomatic means by paying tribute and diplomatic and/or alignment standing. Quests can also be given to players by independent forces and cities, including but not limited to clearing out wild units, searching for relics and even conquering cities and other holdings. Quests can grant the support of independent forces for player in addition to a reward such as gold or equipment, sometimes with the choice of either given to the player upon completion of the quest.
As in the case of the first game in the series, Age of Wonders III offers a story-driven campaign that is playable from two sides, the human-centric Commonwealth Empire and the Court of the High Elves. In addition to the campaign; single-player scenarios, online multiplayer, random map generation and a map editor are also available. The graphics of Age of Wonders III will be presented in 3D instead of the isometric view the series has utilized up to this point.

Neverwinter Nights (NWN) is a third-person role-playing video game and is set in the fantasy world of the Forgotten Realms campaign setting, with the game mechanics based on the Dungeons & Dragons 3rd edition rules. The game engine was designed around an internet-based model for running a massively multiplayer online game (MMOG), which would allow end users to host game servers. The intent was to create a potentially infinite massively multiplayer game framework. This game was named after the original Neverwinter Nights online game; the first ever graphical massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), which operated from 1991 to 1997 on AOL.