Pagans
by Shank-Alfonse

Class: Any
Tag: PAG

Introduction

Before the introduction of monotheistic religion, people worshipped many gods; gods which represented several or individual aspects of life, ideas, or physical objects. Many of these polytheistic beliefs had been subdued throughout the world, but several sects of these religions remain. Most simply dub them pagans.

The Pagan believes in many gods; gods which represent the 4 elements, gods which represent the sun, moon, the dead, healing, justice, and evil. Here is a list of their gods (These are derived from mythology and religions):

Note: Alternate names for god given in parenthesis still pertain to same god. A different god would be given after a comma.

- God of Fire: Vulcan (Hephaestus)
- God of Water: Nu, Ea (or Enki)
- God of Air & Sky: Anu
- God of Earth: Geb, Enlil
- Goddess of the Earth: Innana, Gaea (Rhea)
- God of the Sun: Amon (Amen/Amun/Ra/Re)
- God of the Moon: Apollo (Phoebus)
- God of the Dead: Osiris, Anubis
- God of Healing & Medicine: Imhotep
- Goddess of Healing: Isis
- God of Justice: None Given
- God of Evil: None Given

Rules

When a person is born in a Pagan community the priests of the community will determine what gods of the Pagan's pantheon will play the most important role in that child's life by preparing an animal sacrifice. Through a practice known as 'divination' they will then cut open the animal and look at its internal organs, searching for abnormalities that might stand for certain signs from the gods. So when you create a pagan, choose 2 gods for the pagan to primarily worship. These gods will affect what spells the pagan can learn and what equipment it can use.

Each god has a specific effect on the strength of a character, some will sap strength to add to other abilities, and some will add to other abilities and vice versa. The maximum str req of an item to be worn must be 1/2 the character's specialized stat(what is meant by this is the stat that is raised to 250, sorcerer- magic warrior-strength rogue-dex) rounded down +/- bonus from the gods.

Similar to strength, magic is also affected by which gods a character chooses to worship. The max magic requirement of a spell is equal to the char's clvl + magic - 50 + bonus from gods.

Similar to str and mag, dexterity is also affected by the gods a character primarily worships. Armor has a dex requirement of 2/3 it's strength requirement rounded up. Dex req can be no higher than 5/2 a character's clvl.

Bonuses

Each bonus affects the maximum strength requirement that a char has. For example, a warrior with 80 strength would normally be able to wear an armor requiring 40 strength. However, if he worshipped the fire god the max would be reduced by 5, so he could wear only armor which required up to 35 str.

Deity | Maximum Strength Requirement | Maximum Magic Requirement | Maximum Dexterity Requirement
Fire | -5 | +15¹ | +5
Water | +10 | +15² | -5
Air | -20 | +20³ | +25
Earth | +30 | -304 | -5
Sun | +5 | +10 | +5
Moon | 0 | +30 | 0
Dead | -10 | +40 | -15
Healing | -5 | +205 | +5
Justice | +40 | +30 | +10
Evil | -20 | -20 | -20

¹:additional +35 to fire spells
²:additional +20 to water spells
³:additional +30 to lightning spells
4:additional +60 to earth spells
5:additional +40 to all spells not learned yet

In the chart above, a minus sign indicates a halving of the effectiveness of other gods' bonuses. A plus sign indicates a doubling of the effectiveness of other gods' bonuses. Just add the two bonuses together to get total overall effect.

As for spell elements, they are treated identically to the elements in the elemental wizard variant by Killian.

Items

Potions and Scrolls
No full mana or health potions may be used until character level 10. No full rejuvenation potions may be used until level 15. Elixirs may not be used until level 20.
No scrolls may be used until level 10.

Uniques
Uniques may only be worn if they are applicable to one of the two gods the pagan worships. A fire god worshipper, for example, could use an Inferno and a Dragon's Breach. An evil god worshipper could use a demonspike coat and a wicked axe. Etc.

Stages of Development

The Pagan society is a social hierarchy based on strength. The more you prove your worthiness in battle, the more social status you obtain. There are several tests of courage, strength, and faith a pagan must go under.

1) The First Trial
When the pagan first arms himself with what meager gear he can find and descends into the dungeon, he embarks on a test of faith. During his first few levels in the dungeon he can rely ONLY on what he finds, and will not deal with any townspeople. He only trusts fellow pagans and also several members of barbarian tribes if no other pagans are to be found. He will also focus on his reliance on his gods and not attempt to make himself stronger. At this time his equipment may not add to magic, strength, or dexterity. In addition, he will not distribute level up points during this time. At this point in a Pagan's life, he is known as a "Initiate."

Summary

- No dealing with any townsfolk at this time.
- No distributing level up points at this time.
- No wearing items that add to strength, dexterity, or magic.

2) The Second Trial
By killing Leoric the Pagan completes his first step of training. He then starts to train for prowess in battle. He may now distribute his level up points and may wear items that add to the specialized stat in addition to those that add to vitality. At this stage he sets forth into the catacombs to seek weapons and spells of power. He will still however, not deal with the townspeople. The pagan is now known as a "Seeker." During this stage...

Warrior
A warrior pagan will seek to obtain a unique weapon and shield (or a 2-handed weapon and armor) and then return and defeat Leoric with only these.

Rogue
A rogue pagan will search for a unique bow and a unique armor and return and defeat Leoric with these *without* getting hit by the skeleton king

Sorcerer
A sorcerer pagan will search for a staff with a spell suffix (other than holy bolt) and return to kill Leoric with it using only the charges on it. When the staff runs out, another staff with the same spell must be used.

3) The Third Trial
Once completing the class-specific goal, the Pagan is now ready for his next trial. After completing the second trial he will now deal with the townsfolk. In addition he may wear items adding to any stat now. His goal is to now descend into the caves and defeat a total of 8 bosses there using a class-specific method. During this stage the pagan is known as a "Warrior." Now the pagan must...

Warrior
Warrior pagans must slay 8 uniques in the caves using an axe.

Rogue
Rogues must kill 8 uniques in the caves using sword an shield.

Sorcerer
Sorcerers must slay 8 enemies in the caves using only either inferno or charged bolt from staves.

4) The Fourth Trial
After vanquishing hated enemies in the caves, they descend to hell. searching for Lazarus, they encounter hated enemies in hell. The enemies Witchmoon, Stareye, Rustweaver, Graywar the Slayer, and Steelskull the Hunter are feared by the Pagans for the raids of pagan villages they lead. The pagans, now known as "Pillagers" have the following goal:

Goal
Clear lv's 13 and 14 of hell without returning to town using only up to 12 potions brought from town. additional potions found in dungeon may be used.

5) The Vanquishing of Lazarus
The Pagan's most hated enemy, the archbishop Lazarus, who to their knowledge is the leading official of an 'evil' religion known as Zakarum. The pagans seek to kill him in the name of their gods and to always keep an item that he drops equipped as a reminder of his demise. The pagan is now known as a "Master/Mistress."

Goal
The pagan will seek to kill Lazarus. From now on, the pagan will always wear at least one item that Lazarus drops.

6) The Overthrowing of the Dark Lord
Once having slain the archbishop Lazarus, the pagan finds out about the true evil working behind the scenes. So the pagan sets out to kill Diablo. The pagan will complete this task thrice, each time using different method. (all on normal diff). During this stage the pagan is known as a "Hero." The three methods of defeating the dark lord are...

- By using only magic
- Hand-to-hand combat
- By using a bow (for sorcerer, firewall optional)

Once he has defeated the Dark Lord, the pagan becomes a Tribal Chieftain. The pagan may then undertake optional quests.