Gargarean
A tough and proud warrior
by Charis
Thanks to Moriah for posting about the Amazon site he found.

Class: Warrior
Tag: GAR

Introduction

In Greek mythology the Amazons were closely tied to the Gargareans for it was with them that they would mate, and give away the large excess of male children. In the lands surrounding Tristram, this initially cold arrangement has led to respect and kinder treatment between the tribes. Over the years the Gargarean skills have more and more complemented that of the Amazon, so that a pair of similar level comrades would coop very well together. Similarities with Amazons include a love of hunting, self reliance, respect for the body and agility, and distrust of the unfamiliar. Having lived in a society where gender differences are so apparent, they quietly assume men to be superior and would find it boring and utterly pointless to argue the point. (Much the same way Amazons take female dominion as a given.)

Rules

Their respect for the body and a balanced physique leads them to work out often and give at least +1 vit, +1 dex and +1 str per lvl, with no pts to magic until the first dot. However, their pride and machismo sometimes leads them to wear -vit, etc. items, and pretend they're so tough it doesn't hurt them. (In some ways this resembles the GFP, but the Gargarean is a more balanced warrior.)

While stealth and mobility are important, so is the appearance of being tough, and they will often wear heavier armor than they really should (or can even put ON without magic help). In fact, if their armor's strength requirement is less than their current strength, they will seek to replace it with something heavier (even if the pref/suff aren't as nice). Royal Gargareans, fortunately, haven't learned to care less what others think but what is best, and are no longer bothered by this strength requirement.

Mage Demons are their worst enemies. By goodness they just HATE those lawyers. Pitiful excuses for men who run and flee from battle. Not brave like knights or drakes. Just plain cowards who think they're better than anyone else. Witches they view with amusement, and think it fun to play bloodstar tag with seminaked hellish minions. (Of course, their homelands were not ravaged by witches...) Black Death? A real man does not fear these, and would be cowardly to use magic or ranged weapons against them. Either avoid them, or kill them in melee.

Items

Helms
protecting those thick skulls is a very good thing. Crowns are cool, because people will think they're important.

Shields
Shields are often used. Fast block shields of any sort would lead to ridicule (what?! need a special shield to block fast??!) and are never worn. (of Blocking, Stormshield, Holy Defender)

Weapons
Weapons all are at some point permitted, but certain weapons are used during periods of training. They tend to either go for the tiniest possible weapon (to be macho) or the very heaviest weapons (to be macho). The women in their tribe skin their prey with daggers. Gargareans use them to show how tough they are when they're hunting prey.

Enchantments
They are somewhat different from other variants. They have no problem in wielding Knight's, Master's or King's weapons at an early age, for as Gargarean Trainees they see themselves as future leaders. Likewise they recognize the utility of dragon's or wizard's items to correct deficiencies. They hold Perfect items and Unique items in the highest regard, and often do not feel worthy to wield them, seeking out a way to prove their worth.

They love stealth and will wear -light radius items, but their insensitivity to others keeps them from realizing the difficulties +light radius object can cause, and so have no problem wearing those either.

Uniques
Several items have been revered by others because they are dangerous to the wearer. The insecure Gargarean will flock to the following items to prove their toughness: Wicked Axe, Bow of the Dead, Grizzly, Constricting Ring. The Gladiator's Bane is one of the PRIME tough guy items they like to wear.

They share the same reverence for the Blackoak forest as the nearby Amazons, but do not feel worthy to wear the revered items until they have proven themselves.

If there are two types of artifacts with the same class (equips in the same item slot), the lesser of the two may be freely worn, or if the base item is the lowest possible: Torn Flesh of Souls, Bloodslayer (also great because of -5 all), Needler, Hammer of Jholm, Civerb's Cudgel, Thunderclap, Helm of Sprits, Thinking Cap, Ring of Regha, Split Skull Shield, Black Razor, Gryphon's Claw, The Defender (sabre), Gibbous Moon, Ice Shank, Gleam Song, Staff of Shadows, Storm Spire.

Items that do not have the usual strength requirements are seen as too wimpy for the Gargarean to ever wear: Naj's Light Plate, Celestial Axe/Bow/Star (exception: the Spellbinder).

Shrines

Gargareans, being daring, and wanting to seem brave, do not fear to use any shrine. Those with aspirations for Gargarean Spellbinder will avoid ornate, sacred, and fascinating. But others who realize they will never be able to use magic effectively make a big deal about their iron stomachs and are not scared to use goat shrines or cauldrons, *especially* if their coop partners show any sort of fear about using them. (But be wary about using these devices. You could upset a partner if the random effect is Tainted Shrine.)

Spells

Any are allowed. They can be learned at any time their puny magic ability will let them read the book(!). For some reason known only to the Gargareans themselves, they are simply fascinated by Bone Spirit, Elemental and Flash, and like to throw Bloodstars at creatures they really hate as well.

Training

To be prepared for any situation and to prove himself a master of many forms of combat, the Gargarean undergoes a rigorous training schedule, which is necessary for all who would be leaders.

Gargarean Trailblazer
The skills of the hunt are adapted to the dungeon. The beginning Gargarean seeks to adapt and move quickly, wearing light armor, and using no weapons. If he can't kill things with his bare hands, he doesn't belong in a dungeon! Likewise, during this period, he must make any repairs himself, and can buy nothing from the townsfolk other than his favorite drinks from Pepin and Ogden.

He will need to fine a sturdy blunt weapon for his next phase, but to get there he must kill the butcher with the very FIRST melee weapon he finds in the dungeon. (It won't likely be that game, or immediately, but sometime when he is at least 7th level, keeping the weapon until then). Some Gargareans use a tribal weapon designed specially for this purpose, but they must give the weapon back after its use. The final kill of the Butcher can be done solo, or coop with other Gargareans.

Gargarean Punisher
What better time to learn how to crack skulls than the present? (especially given all the undead in the church)

To prove his mastery of the blunt weapon, he must kill a least a dozen Unique bosses of the Church and Catacombs. However the FIRST one that must be killed before any other are counted is he who the Amazons fear, King Leo. (If the Butcher was done solo with a blunt, this counts as as a kill too.) The final of the 12 MUST be a Catacombs boss that brings fear into the hearts of others: either -- Blightfire [7, Fire Clan Archer], Deathspit [6, Acid Beast], Chaoshowler [8, Poison spitter]. The truly macho Gargarean will slay all of these, and have at least half of the bosses come from the Cats, but this is by no means required.

Gargarean Hunter
Now he is ready to learn how to better deal with ranged attackers (especially with his limited magic ability). The Garg Hunter will equip a bow, and must kill six of the following eight bosses with ranged attacks in the Cats and Caves (and 1 in Hell).

Catacombs | Caves | Hell
Bloodskin Darkbow [5, Flesh Clan Archer] Gorestone [7, Night Clan Archer] Firewound the Grim [8, Magma Demon] | Plaguewrath [10, Poison Spitter] Brokenstorm [9, Red Storm] Witchfire the Unholy [12, Succubus] Windspawn [12, Vortex Lord] | Witchmoon [13, Snow Witch]

NOTE: The Gargareans learning the bow for use against ranged attackers, and not to be some fancy pants Ranger! If there are NO ranged attackers on the level, he'll switch to a melee weapon of his choice and keep his muscles toned up! Also, if a melee or mixed attack monster closes in on him and gets in a hit, its no shame to drop your bow (drop! don't put in inventory) and wail on him with your fists.

Gargarean Executioner
By now the Gargarean had better have the strength and bravery to take on and slay victims with large, sharp two handed weapons (sword or axe). He feels a surge of power when he has lopped of the heads of his foes, and has shown mastery when he has collected the heads of several of the toughest melee monsters in upper hell.

First a warm-up with ONE of the following melee bosses on lvl 12: Lionskull the Bent [Black Knight], Viletouch [Death Wing], or Viperflame [Fire Drake]. Next, the two heinous LAWYER bosses must be killed, and two of four meleers. (See table below.)

Mage Demons | Meleers
Dreadjudge [14, Magistrate] Vizier [15, Cabalist] | Gorefeast [13, Vortex Lord] Rustweaver [13, Doomguard] Graywar [14, Doom Guard] Steelskull [14, Steel Lord]

Gargarean Mauler
There remain a few vile lawyers left on lvl 15 which must be killed in this brief but important stage. For speed in cornering, for peripheral vision, and to master larger blunts, and to instill fear, a two handed Maul must be used against the enemies in the chamber of Archbishop Lazarus. Some show contempt for Laz by using a plain ol' Maul bought from Griz, or even worse, a cursed Maul. Others show it is a time long awaited by breaking out a very special and high powered Maul that they (or their tribe) have found long ago. (If a unique Maul has been found, now is the appointed time to use it and earn the right to continue using it). When lvl 15 has been totally cleared and Lazarus is dead, the Gargarean earns the title of Hero.

Gargarean Hero
Now that he has become a Hero, he must prove his skills against the Dark Lord of Terror, Diablo. He will use three different techniques in his three dots, by tradition. These three methods are to kill Diablo and any Blood Knights on the way with: i) shield bash or bare hands, ii) Axe, and iii) Dagger. The order of these is up to the Gargarean.

Gargarean Lord/Prince/King
Defeating Diablo in mortal combat earns the title Gargarean Lord. The second dot on Nightmare difficulty earns the 'Gargarean Prince' title. After this the mighty warrior kills Diablo on Hell difficulty (3rd dot) to become the Gargarean King.