This would soon change, however, as in the year 216 a meteor fell to earth, and soon thereafter the sky began to darken. Long before the events of the game, Arx was a prosperous city led by the noble King Poxsellis. The events of Arx Fatalis take place in and around the city of Arx.

Despite not bearing its name, many elements of the final product, from its level-based underground structure to its runic magic system, will be immediately familiar to anyone who has played an Ultima Underworld game. Though the developers had the blessings of Looking Glass founder Paul Neurath, acquiring the rights to use the Ultima name from Electronic Arts, who had obtained them by purchasing their original publisher, Origin Systems, proved to be too difficult, and the idea of making it an official Ultima Underworld title was eventually abandoned. Arx Fatalis, developed by Arkane Studios, is a solitary first-person role-playing game that was originally envisioned as the third game in Looking Glass Studios' Ultima Underworld series, following in the footsteps of Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss and Ultima Underworld II: Labyrinth of Worlds.

Arx fatalis character creation