I
have high hopes. I am hoping, with Hellgate London's single player mode (the game
being solo able), we will see a resurgence of variants. How much more variant
friendly it is than games such as Guildwars remains to be seen, nonetheless, I
think this is a good time to present an overview on variants. I am also taking
this opportunity to reiterate what Realms Beyond is (since RB and variants are
intrinsically inseparable), hoping to help new comers assimilate into the community.
Realms
Beyond is founded on several key points, which is declared on every front page
of each of RB sites.
- to seek challenge and fun, not simply 'high score'
or 'the most elite stuff!'
- to excel is virtue
- to look to become friends
with those you play with
- to treat others with respect, whether you agree
with them or not
- to steadfastly avoid cheating This
is Realms Beyond's mission statement; this is our mission statement for whichever
game we play. (Side
Note: Instead of linking to specific sub sites or sub forums, you would be doing
everyone a favor when you direct people to the RB front door.) Since
many new comers may have bypassed the front door to RB, it's worth expanding this
by saying the focus is on quality, not quantity. We're not interested in being
a 'top site' or even have a large 'group'. But as we discover interesting new
things about the game, we want to share that with others, especially if it involves
greater challenge. Realms Beyond people (RBD - Realms Beyond Diablo, or now, maybe...
Realms Beyond Diehards!) are one subset of a greater "Variant" community
where we use **self-imposed** game restrictions to increase challenge, add a nice
role-playing element, and push the game to its limits. If you're familiar at all
with Diablo, you might know that a Sorcerer is fairly easy to play, in fact at
high levels he can be grossly easy. Well try playing one who uses no items. That's
a naked mage, and a nice variant. But why stop there?? Go Beyond!!! Wear no magic
items EXCEPT cursed items!! See the player killers expression on his face when
he sees your elite gear fall to the ground, like that Tin Ring of the Fool! You
can't help but gain in skill as you learn how to master the "Beyond Naked
Mage" (BNM). Carrying
that flavor over to all other games we play, we play not only regular games, but
ones with honorable, and variant, rules. If you want to join an RB associated
game, you do NOT have to be good. But if you're looking to learn, have fun, and
can respect others in the game with civil posts and playing in a timely fashion,
you're welcome!"
Let me also quote "Realms
Beyond According to Sirian"
The
Realms Beyond is definitely not a clan.
*
There is no "joining", no "signing up". Folks come and go
as they wish. *
Anyone can give our activities a try if they are interested. Those who have a
good time can come back for more any time. *
We're a loosely knit community sharing a common set of ideals about gaming. The
primary ideal is to "play legitimately". It derives from the community's
origins with Diablo 1 since 1997. Any of you familiar with that game will recall
that cheats of all kinds were readily available and widely used, dominating public
play on Battle.net. Realms Beyond players are not interested in cheats, trainers,
etc. Our activities are structured in a way that offers many incentives to legitimate
play and few if any incentives to cheat. There's just no glory to be had in it.
We don't have ranks or rankings, we don't have high score boards. What we do have
are skilled players and some rich traditions. Those attracted to our style of
gaming may be relatively few, but they are out there, and we are always looking
to make contact with kindred spirits. *
The secondary ideal is to seek challenge. If a game has a flaw in the design that
can be exploited to massive advantage, we may agree as a community to restrict
use of the option, or even ban it from our collective activities. That is to say,
we may add our own rules to enhance the game environment. For example, in Diablo
1, the Sorcerer class was so strong, we would often play them without any use
of items, just to increase the challenge and keep it interesting. Another example:
in Civilization 3, the game mechanic allows the player to sign Right of Passage
agreements with the AI's, and one can then carefully position multiple armies
right on the doorstep of the target's cities, then betray the ally and attack.
This effect makes no sense within the context of the game. (What civilization
has ever been so gullible as not to see betrayal of that magnitude coming at them
so clearly?) Only the combination of the turn-based nature of the game combined
with several other factors allows this move. We've decided to disallow it from
our activities. Just because the software allows you to do something, or cannot
prevent you from doing something, doesn't mean (in our view) that it must be exploited.
We believe the game is more fun to play without this option. Moves of this category
are labeled "exploits" and taken off the table. We don't rush in to
add rules for the sake of adding rules. The rules evolve over time, in response
to imbalances or loopholes in the game that undermine enjoyment or defy reason.
Those of you turned off by aspects of games that ruin the fun because they make
the game too easy or warp the gameplay into something other than it set out to
be, may find the standards, principles and cohesion at the Realms Beyond to be
a safe haven from chaos. *
In seeking to embrace challenge, we also embrace variety. If you are the sort
of player who finds a niche and never ventures out of it, such as playing the
same race or game settings all the time, you won't have fun at RB. We thrive on
creativity and variation, always looking for new challenges or scenarios that
haven't been experienced yet. *
Because the Realms Beyond is years old (Since 1997), with continuous activity
across our history, we have a rich culture already in place. There are bonds of
shared gaming experiences, lots of good times our players have had together, which
breed all kinds of "inside jokes" and references to past events. This
may be offputting to some, but there's no elitism. People come and go all the
time. It's very easy to participate. You just show up, familiarize yourself with
any applicable rules (posted for easy reference) and play. The play is the thing.
If you love the game, that will show, and you'll fit right in. The
Realms Beyond is not for everyone. And that's cool...
Simply
put, we are scum, variant scum! Thus, in case where variants and normal characters
play in the same game instance, we give variants the right-of way. The rules in
which a variant is playing should be observed and respected. This is where tags
come in. Tagging your name to the variant you're playing, such as KingOfPain[BNM],
is a courtesy and a friendly reminder to other folks which variant you are playing.
A tag informs your cooper the rules and restrictions you are under so others can
take appropriate precaution and understand why you talk/act a certain way (don't
take you for a jerk when you are role playing a [BRAG], for example). Likewise,
it will help you to be a better person to coop with if you have a good knowledge
of all the variants out there. This does not mean you have to know all the variants
by heart but it's recommended to at least skim as much as you can; if only the
ones you meet often. Ask what they are about if you are unsure. The
worse thing a player can do, especially in a game mixed with variants, is to bring
and play an over powered character. It takes all the fun away from other players,
variants or not. If you're killing much faster than your partners, don't go killing
everything in sight and leave your partner nothing to do, unless your assistance
is needed and asked for. This does not show you are a good player. It shows your
character is over powered. What to do? Tone down you skills. Use a less powerful
skill set, go to a harder area, take some items off, etc. This is only common
sense if you want to be a good cooper, variant or not. It is also a good idea
to ask them about bosses and quest objectives, just a quick rundown if they needed
to be done in a certain way. We like to play together, most of the time if the
rules are too imposing on non-variant players and when it won't be too much trouble
for a repeat, we would just go with the flow and redo later. It's a matter of
give and take. Some
hints how we usually operate under the Diablo system that may transfer well to
Hellgate London:
- even when we are starting a new character needing all quests
in normal act 1, we would join a normal game in process anyway to see who is in
game. Usually, people already in game would gladly wrap up at a convenient stopping
point and join a new game you host so you can get your quests. -
Start a game with a brand new character or one with the most quests open, so that
more players needing quests may join. -
If someone lags out of your game, wait a reasonable amount of time before completing
any quests they might have been working on with you. -
When a person joins a game, invite them into your party. -
If you join a pre-existing game and plan to clear a section of the game that has
not been already cleared, ask the players in the game whether they mind if you
clear that section. If they do not want you to clear this area then don't.
- This one is all common sense, alas, most ignored - Greet people when you log.
Ask what is going down (so you may join in), and say what you wish to do (so others
may join you). Finally,
if you want to maximize your coop-ability and party fun, do what RB regulars do
- Have characters at different stages of the game so that you are able to join
in most games with an appropriate character. This
might seem a lot to remember, and certainly more long-winded than I wanted to
be. All it boils down to is this, have a little consideration/respect for other
players and you will be rewarded by many game invites. 
On
Variants
So
what's this variants stuff, and more specifically, how does Realms Beyond define
variant? I will let Charis explain this.
A
short introduction on Charis is in order for those who did not have the good fortune
to have met him.
The
Twisted History of Variants by LemmingofGlory:
…And
then came the Charis. Oh, yes, the scary, scary Charis. With him he brought a
landmark variant: the Amazon! Though all was not well in the head, for the Amazon
brought with it torrents of, as described by Cyrene, Can't Find The Boss Angst
and the need for Rules Printout! Despite these seemingly scary turns of events,
they only served to further dement the minds of those who were contained within
the Asylum. And thus the Charis began to change the landscape of variants. He
started a site of his own to host his variants - and many did he have! Variants
sprang from the Charis like weeds from a Chia Pet! And what's more, he play tested
them all (dotted; made "official")! Official variants were tried-and-true
characters, and with so many to choose from players were sucked into the gaping
maw of the Asylum. While many escaped, some did not...
He
was one of the founders of RB, our resident math boy, and a superb human being.
Although
this is written based on the Diablo series, I think it translates well to other
games even if we might need to make some minor adjustments. Use the Diablo
Variants Master List if you want to reference the various variants he mentioned
in the following section.
On
Variants, Roles, Subclasses and Styles
After
experimenting with some (heavily) multiclass characters and new variants that
work for several classes, I wanted to overhaul an old post on the distinction
between a 'variant' and a 'role'. At that time there were a few posts 'Hey I got
a new variant!! A WarRioR that jUsT uses BladeZ!', as well as some variants that
just had a few features and could be used with existing characters. Here let me
clarify a few terms, and make some suggestions for enhancing your 'variant experience'.
Terms:
Variant -
i) a system of play designed to differentiate, limit, and make
a character more challenging;
ii) a character that plays by some variant set
of rules. Way
-
A common set of defining elements that can be shared by anyone who wishes.
e.g. The Beyond Naked Way includes 3 main variants, and several less common ones
(BNAPM, BNSNOB). They share not only rules on items and over attitudes, but a
delight in 'streaking'. You might consider Paladin, Cleric, ARCs, Diakons together
as The Way of Light, while Ninja, Netherspawn and Assassins: The Way of Darkness.
Living off the Land is another rich 'Way' of life for characters, as is Ultra
Purity. Subclass
-
A distinctive atmosphere and guiding rules for a specific class of character.
Many of these have breadth enough to have several different flavors (see below).
e.g. Muscle Mage, Amazon, Barbarian, Goth. (Others have used 'subclass' to mean
characters "act like they're supposed to", and variant for one class
acting like another. I tend to avoid this usage.) Aberrant
-
One who goes far beyond the limits of normal behavior. With time, some
forms of aberrant behavior come to be accepted as alternate, or even normal. (e.g.,
variants, or BNMs) Note this is as subjective as the definition of 'normal' :)
e.g. CGW, FOM (and SNOBs would consider SOBs abberant) Role
-
A set of limitations or guidelines designed to add a role-playing element,
which can be applied well to any existing class or subclass (for which the role
elements are not illegal) e.g. Body Builder, Follower of Thor, Kin of Albrecht,
Bloodguard, Perfectionist, Demoniac, Glutton for Punishment. e.g. Elf, Dwarf are
roles that can be applied to several classes. This could equally be called a 'path'.
For several, see:
Flavor
-
A minor but distinctive component added to an otherwise common base
set of elements. e.g. A Goth can be Vizigoth or Ostrogoth, and there are several
'Orders' as well. e.g. Elemental Wizards have four flavors. Savages have different
flavors which depend on their class. Style
-
A chosen manner of playing consistent with a more broad set of allowed
options e.g. Battle Mage, Arty Mage and Hybrid Mage. Or Bow-rogue, CAT-rogue,
CC-style, S&S rogue. e.g. decide not to use Bastard, but only up to Broad
Swords; prefers Crowns, hates Crowns, etc. e.g. make all lvl up points to dex
until 8th lvl. Mode
-
A temporary or situtational playing style e.g. Stealth Mode, Recovery
Mode, Axe Mode (for a young Amazon) So
What is a Variant?!
Simply put, any character that follows some imposed
set of limits to be different or have more challenge. Using only hammers makes
you a variant, although if this is the only restriction you won't find other beating
down the door to play it. If you have a developed 'role' with an otherwise unrestricted
class, it's a variant. A Muscle Mage (MM) can choose a body building path (BB)
to make him a little different from other MM's. Or a sorcerer who doesn't want
to give up spells can just be a BB variant. He should play that up then, wearing
his Ring of Might instead of that newly found Drakes/Sorc Ring. Do not in anyway
feel bad to take an existing variant and play it with an altered set of rules
that *you* think is fun. At the same time, referring to your warrior who casts
spells and wears jewelry as a Barbarian, or a max-resistance shield-wearing Viking
will cause needless confusion. Sometimes it's fuzzy whether something is a role
or variant of its own. When the limitations are so severe it dominates actions,
it becomes more than a role. So a Valkyrie is a variant in its own right, and
Feline is right on the border or variant and role. (Just a point of distinction,
this doesn't make the Feline less challenging or less fun.) Multiclass
Variants -
What is a dual class or multiclass variant? One who plays by
two or more sets of variant rules. Usually, this means trying hard to follow the
most restrictive path. But that's not always possible. Let me give some specific
examples which I or others have tried: -
BAR/SNOB - sounds ridiculous, but by using *UNID'd* unique items the BAR gets
a tad more damage, slightly more AC, and more fun in finding cool items, but retains
all the challenge of no blocking, useless AC at higher difficulties, and pitiful
to hit. -
AMZ-SNOB - with Amazon rules restricting the use of several unique rings, and
with the necessity to wield some heavy gear, perfect rings were allowed as well
as perfect amulets. The SNOB restrictions on spells remain in full force. The
high respect of Amazons for unique items made this a great fit. -
EXC/EWIZ - the Executioner rules, in the way they made allowances for sorcerers,
led me to play a dual class with an Earth Elemental Wizard. Essentially all rules
of both classes were observered, thanks to the EWIZ's broad range of allowable
weapons and armor. -
TRN/ARA/AWIZ - no longer can you fit the tag on the name :) Charis`Crystal is
an animal rights activist who loves to collect and use Crystal items, and specializes
in spells of the element of Air (and Bow). One modification I made, which happened
to be perfectly 'in character', was that Crystal armor found was assumed to be
Crystalline, not metal, and so could be worn (metal not allowed for AWIZ). -
LoL/Exorcist/Demoniac - Given the amount of times LoLs spend in church, I wanted
a character that was not afraid of Black Deaths, or taking Goat and Ornate Shrines.
The Demoniac is a role, that gives him hatred of demons, a desire to use CC and
Bloodslayer (when he finds!), and an eventual goal of Retribution Quest :) -
Marshall/Agile Mage/Druid - Charis`Tachyon. The rules were a little far apart
in some cases, but the druid emphasizes flexible, mandating that the character
learn both melee and spells, while the Marshall also dictates that the body and
hit points are not neglected. Play tends to be in modes: strict Agile Mage mode
in coop with MM's, Druid blasting mode for quicker EXP runs, and Marshall-dominant
for fun general coop play.
When a character is multiclass, there is often one
or two variants that are dominant, and an extra role or so that add some distinctiveness.
Caveats: -
some variants don't go well together because of difference in attitude (Netherspawn
and Amazon) or restrictions that, when combined, are brutal (LoL and Savage, who
don't use potions for first 10 lvls and die frequently) -
too many variants can leave you with a blurred hodge podge. In several cases I've
dropped a third class when i saw that it wasn't fitting with the characters personality
-
you might need to print out the rules With my Goth-Garg-ObsLord I soon lost track
of what the heck I was doing :) -
If you're new to variants, try one of the old standby's first: BNM, BAR, ARC,
or SNOB, to get a feel for how limitations affect playability, before trying something
too fancy.
Overall,
'personalizing' your variant by adding a role, sticking to a style of your choice,
or by a multiclass character can be a lot of fun.
A
variant is NOT a Zealot, Whirlwind Bard or Bow-Zon, etc.(Diablo II)
A variant
is NOT a Spirit Turret, Minion Master or Prot Monk, etc.(Guildwars)
So
why should you play variants?
Although you don't need to be into variants to have fun playing with us,
you are missing out. I would highly recommend everyone to at least try
out a couple of variants for the fun factor, camaraderie, and who knows,
it will also improve your skill as a player. Start with something simple,
something with less restrictive rules. It will only be difficult (if at
all) in the beginning, besides, the most memorable gaming moments are
the ones you really have to work for, when the risk factor is high. Variants
bring player skill, tactic and strategy into play where it might otherwise
be a mindless hack and slash game.
Your
skill will improve over time the more you play variants. Using myself for an example
- When I first heard about people playing Naked Mages and beat end game at level
30, (lvl 30 (level cap being lvl 50) being the earliest you can get to Hell/Hell
difficulty in Classic Diablo.), solo, I was in disbelieve because my normal mage
was in his mid 30s and still fooling around in Nightmare difficulty trying to
get better items and spells. Upon some web surfing I came upon the Asylum, the
home of the Beyond Naked Mage. I was saying to myself, WTF? This BNM is not only
naked, he is required to wear nothing but cursed items, items that will hinder
your characters abilities such as taking more damage when you get hit, minus max
HitPoints and Mana, plus Light Radius so you would attract more monsters, minus
Light Radius so you can't see too well, absolutely no Resistance to any form of
attacks, etc., etc. And they solo Hell diff Diablo at 30!?!? Quote
from Woody in the BN rules - What
is being a BNM all about you ask? It's about the hardest damn thing you can imagine.
If your a pantywaist, read no further. Well, the ultimate goal is of course to
kill Diablo, but there's more to it than that.
He
was right it's about the hardest damn thing I could have imagined. But he was
only right for so long. I too had a 3@30 BNM after awhile and moved on to Beyond
Naked Warrior and Rogue. BNM became too easy. At around the same time, 3@30 had
become rather common for variants. I have since turned my BNM into a variant of
the BNSnob
variant, one who used among other useless elite items, The Cranium Basher (minus
150 mana. That's a huge penalty, especially when mana is calculated in your chance
to hit when using offensive spells) and a Constricting Ring (drains 1.25 life/sec).
The Constricting Ring on a mage's measly HP means he had to self heal constantly;
and without Mana Shield as a buffer he can only take 2-3 hits before he drops
face down on the ground. Incidentally, this was the new era in the evolution of
variants, in terms of challenge level - heavily restricted mages without the use
of Mana Shield, such as the Geezer
and Son
of a Baron (Minimalist). And
then there's Ironman,
the ultimate test of skill and endurance. Basically, you are a hardcore character
and the game is over if you die (in single player). Ironman presents a lot more
challenge than Hardcore/Survivor since you start with a new character and have
to clear every area as you advance, and all the spells and items you use you find
(no interaction with town folks). What that means is that if your items wear out,
you are out of luck; and there is no repeating area to build up experience. When
I started playing Ironman most people are happy to get out of Normal Churches
(the first of 4 acts) alive. It wasn't until a year after near the end of 1999
one team managed to finally beat the game in Normal difficulty. There was much
rejoice when the regular RB Ironman players heard the news, that team proved it
can be done while we were still struggling in Cats (second act of 4). The RB gang
was pumped into Ironman high gear which brought us to what I consider one of the
golden eras of RB history. Although there were only a little more than a handful
of regulars there were a lot of high quality discussions, discoveries and progress.
It took only a month and a half after the first Ironman victory (Normal Diff)
report when the RB gang claimed their first IM victory. It was another six months
when yours truly posted about the death of KoPhanTom, my solo Ironman, in Hell
Diff Cats. A
few good men were enough to make much noise and the game fun for all those involved. Variants
are not all we ever play. We also keep a few normal high powered characters around.
It feels good to bring them out for some mindless hack and slash fun, after a
long session of variant play. It
is also important to note that some variants are not meant to be able to beat
the game (although we proved the variant's author wrong at times). Some are made
just for goofing around and some are made as a pure support character with little
to no killing power on their own. The thing is, rather than being goal oriented,
enjoy the journey! Well,
that was a longwinded way to say your skill will improve over time the more you
play variants, and have fun at the same time. I got carried away reliving some
of the glorious moments, the fun and the camaraderie. If you don't give variants
a fair shake, you are robbing yourself of some great gaming experiences!
Awesome
that you are still with me after 14 pages :
I have better snip the rest of
the post (covering other variant concerns) and save it for another day.
Feel
free to post your questions, comments and fond variant memories.
How's that
for my 1000th post? Spam you later :)
KoP
Posted
on Aug/30/2007 | 
