Variant Roles
by Charis

Class: Any
Tag: N/A

Introduction

I've wondered for a while whether 'subclass' was a term interchangeable with 'variant', and whether various 'roles' were one or the other... Anyway, seeing some commonality or common goals between the growing list of different subclasses, and seeing some players with 'hybrids' (like Latona, Amazon-LoL), I wonder now if a new term would describe orthogonal relationships to subclasses, i.e. ones that didn't depend on class or which worked well with existing variants.

With that I introduce the term 'ROLES'. Some due to their requirements could be their own subclasses, some have minimal requirements, and some ways of playing could be seen more as a ROLE than a variant class (e.g., LoL?, aspects of PoW?, aspects of Pirate/Thief). Below are some that I've thought about... as with other classes I've presented, I present before dotting each one, and hope for your feedback (plus or minus)... From least restrictive to most restrictive they are: assassin, devotee, vampire, druid, aborigine, Celtic, bounty hunter, tycoon, vedic. No acronyms need go after the character name unless it becomes the dominant thing in their play.

Again, these 'Roles' are meant to be individual choices for existing subclasses and characters, not (necessarily) a variant of their own. If any of these rules conflict with another subclass rules, let the other have priority, although I would also tend to choose the most restrictive. No disrespect to any gender or people is intended by anything on this page. Finally, if I've used a name already in use for someone else's subclass, it's unintentional (just let me know).

Naturalist

- Nature lover, enjoys walks through Tristram, frequently stops in at Wirt's and Adria's
- Loves items 'of the mammal', spider/snake/raven/etc., of the bear/bat/leech
- But not blood/vampires; would treasure a legit item of the whale
- His stress on harmony of body and mind and nature also allow items of harmony, and lead him to use only yellow potions (once he can afford to do so)
- Swords do extra damage to animals, so he avoids using them if possible
- Somewhat partial to fire
- Favorites: Grizzly, Flamedart, Inferno, Immolator, Scav. Carapace
- Goal: become an Archnaturalist - single dot with a of the bear weapon, and at least one 'of the mammoth' item
- An Archnaturalist (Naturalist with a dot) will *NOT* harm animals (only undead and demons)

Celt/Celtic

- Lover of folklore, rare items and uncommon artifacts
- Can 'collect' from others, but will only wield those he finds himself
- Not just great items, but ones that make you say, "that's unusual!", e.g. a King's Dagger of Haste, a Meteoric Club of Vampires, Awesome Rags of the Mammoth
- Goal: to get three dots with a set of equipment unmatched (and unlikely to be matched) by ANYONE

Tycoon

For him the world revolves around money. He will only wear and/or keep items with the following pref/suff: fine, grand, awesome, silver, gold, platinum, Mithril, lord's, king's, ivory, diamond; other jewels only if perfect. For Unique artifacts, to be keepers: when sold they would take up more space than the item (eg Constricting Ring, armor >30K...) At the end of a session he will sell all items that don't meet these criteria, as well as any potions or scrolls that won't fit in his belt.

Vedic

- One not attached to possessions, but relying on skill and knowledge.
- He is often found searching for new books and knowledge in the church and catacombs.
- After each of three dots, will completely dump (not sell, but give to Farnham!)his equipment and start out afresh (like a reincarnation).
- Every seven levels after third dot will again completely denude himself. The Vedic carries *NO* gold from game to game. (excess items to sell are ok, as this furthers the idea of the transient nature of items). He will read any book he can get his hands on and understand, and never passes up an opportunity to get an elixir.
- Alternative: sheds items every *two* levels after third dot, has a title of Vedic, nnn'th life, where nnn=# of reincarnations. The Vedic has nine lives.

Hitman/Assassin

- Specializes in surgical strikes on boss monsters. He is in training and going about his/her business pretty much as normal during his first 12 levels. Hopefully level 13 will not be unlucky for him, as he starts to make hits.
- There are two ways to go about this: through stealth or diversion. By stealth he will try to avoid or escape as many creatures as possible, and seek out the telltale 'light' of the boss to make his kill. By diversion he generates chaos on the level by charging headlong down the halls trying to catch the bosses by surprise
- To be completely successful, the only kill on the level must be the boss, *or* the boss must be killed with NO witnesses (visible on screen) -- killing from a distance or in stealth can be used. He gets a 'notch' on his belt for each successful hit. If unsuccessful, he will either be dead, fleeing the level to try for a different boss, or in some cases, executing the kill and dispatching every witness - none can escape.
- Higher level assassins will have a tougher time of it, but have more tricks at their disposal (greater stealth likely, teleport/phase, stone curse(!), and distant attacks like elemental and guardian).
- Note that a character can do this as much/little as he/she.

Bounty Hunter (or Secret Agent)

Cousin to the hitman, but an agent of, not against, the law. As an authorized bounty hunter, he doesn't care if there are witness. But his targets are not random! In fact, Wirt is a special operative that gives assignments to the bounty hunter. For security reasons, the BH will not buy items from Griswold or Wirt except in combination with completion of a mission (explained below).

On starting a game, the BH/SA will go straight to Wirt for his assignment, which is decoded (with Jarulf's Guide!) as follows:

- Add the 'level' of the base item and suffix (or prefix IF no suffix).
- 0-15: Church
- 15-31: Cats
- 32-63: Caves
- 64+: Hell

The suffix determines which of the four levels of that section that suspect is thought to be hiding.
Suffix level ---- Floor of the chosen section
0/none - 10: first floor
11 - 20: second floor
21 - 30: third floor
31 - 60: fourth floor

Special cases
If the first floor of the church section is chosen, the info is likely partially incorrect - the BH should use his judgment as to where the criminal would be hiding (first floor of another section, or a different floor in the church). The other special case is 'of the Ages' -- when this happens, the BH must go to Griswold, who is being used to passed information from an informant. Example the first item Gris has for sale - and apply the same rules as above (the only exception, if his first item is 'of Ages' the target is none other than Diablo!) In any case, if that item is at all purchasable from Griswold, it should be bought and used. If the mission is a success, the item can be kept. Likewise, the item offered by Wirt may be bought, but ONLY kept if the mission is successful.

Mission success
Once the target level is identified, the BH enters the relevant section and goes down. He must ignore any bosses reached before then (no warrant, doesn't want to jeopardize the case), *except* those on the most wanted list with known hideouts: aliases - the Butcher (2), the Baker (15, Laz), and the Candlestick maker (3, Leo). If their hideout is passed, they should be brought in... for questioning. The target level should be searched until a boss is found; if the whole level is cleared without a boss, assume they have fled down a level and descend. Once the target is acquired, he and any other accomplices (bosses on that level) must be killed. The BH gets a notch on his belt, and the right to keep/buy the items offered by Wirt and Griswold. (At some point after I've tested this more, I'll set a list of notches/ranks for the bounty hunter!!)

Aborigine

A strange creature indeed - a fierce warrior but with certain quirks:

- Strong preference for jade & emerald (green), strange/weird weapons, knocking things back (telekinesis, of bear), items of the Vulture, deadly, champion's, osmosis, flaming, bashing.
- For a warrior, uncharacteristic frequent use of a bow, War Staff, and the Golem spell
- Even been known to streak after finding a corruption item.
- Their tribe places highest respect on Messerschmidt's Reaver, Stonecleaver, Eaglehorn & Windforce, The Grizzly, Cranium Basher, Storm Spire, Rod of Onan.
- They live in fear of (and do not use): Gotterdamerung or other darkness items, fire bows including Flamedart, and powerful hammers and Mauls (although if both prefix and suffix were preferred they could use one).
- Not to be confused with the CGW {hi Ziffy!}; the Aborigine is superstitious, not crazy.

Vampire

Not often, but from time to time, a character who has been bitten by a vampire gets an uncontrollable urge for a nocturnal mission, donning up to -80%l.r. and a good 'of the Vampires' weapon down into the church as far down as he can go, ideally claiming the Soulstone and the power of the lives contained therein. The rest of the time he seems like a normal enough person (as far as Variants go :-).

Devotees of...

Thor
Love lightning, wield only hammers, learn no fire or magic based spells, frequently fight giants, prefer +STR items but would not wear 'of giants' (their bitter enemy; 'of titans' is ok). Prefers: Schaefer’s Hammer, Thunderclap, Light Sabre, Sparkling Mail; items of Thunder, also of Shock and Lightning, Cobalt/Sapphire.

Set (or Loki?!)
A serpentine flair, somewhat dark. Favorites: Doombringer, Exec. Blade, Gibbous Moon, Dragon's Breech; also Snake/Serpent/Dragon/etc., prefers obsidian, prefers Carnage/Gore/Slaughter, Brutal, Merciless, Savage, but not Massive/Heavy.

Artemis/Diana
Love the hunt, freq. put on dark gear and a single bow and essentially streak (most but not every game). recover with full items, goal is to eventually kill Diablo on such a streak. Prefers: Deadly Hunter, Windforce, Royal Circlet, also likes Diamonds, Crystal, Emerald, Accuracy, Precision, Perfection, Balance/Harmony, 'pure' objects. [seems natural for an Amazon, eh Moriah?]

Apollo
A bane of demons - prefers: Bloodslayer, Deadly Hunter, Civerb's Cudgel, Celestial Axe/Star, +Vital artifacts like Baranar's Star, Helm of Overload, Hellslayer; the healing Protector, likes Vim/Vigor/Life, health etc., and strives to have high level heal spells.

Mercury
Lives for speed - light or low strength items (up to Breastplate), and loves swiftness, speed, haste, and meteoric items. Uniques: speedy ones like Celestial Star, Needler, Falcon's Talon, Stormshield, Holy Defender, Nightscape.

No matter the subclass, followers of Mercury (Hermes) like to achieve their goals quickly, teleport when they could walk, portal when they could climb, and will do their utmost to become golden 3@30's.

If they had Spears and Tridents, I would have included Odin and Nepture... it should be easy to extend to Ares/Mars, Aphrodite, Cupid, and several others...

For most of these 'devotees', these are meant to be guidelines, not hard rules.