Quote:I think if we are going to do any sort of GvG play we will want to consider how we can get variant characters into the mix

Quote:I think if we are going to do any sort of GvG play we will want to consider how we can get variant characters into the mix

Disclaimer: This Variant owes an inspirational debt to the ABC TV network, Eagles wide receiver Terrel Owens, and a promotion for the new prime time ho-drama Desperate Housewives. A sneer is cast to the Drama Queens at the NFL front offices, and elsewhere, who responded to what was at worst an exercise in bad taste, and more a reflection of the groupie syndrome endemic to professional sports. Given the character portrayed by the actress involved, TO's well advertised (via ESPN and other network live locker room interviews) beefcake credentials, and the theme used by all network TV of "libido as THE driving force in the universe" . . . why all the fuss? What did the NFL expect?

I checked the Variant's page. (nice segue, eh?)

Did not find the Seven Sisters/Assassins team that Sirian had proposed a couple of years ago. Ran across the Moore Wall of Death. Looked at KoP's success with Zon tanking for Rogue. Considered Bolty's All Paladin team. Mixed in some Seven Samurai farmer themes, and Harlequin Romance novel cliche's, and a nod to Mae West.

Add my penchant for being politically incorrect, and the result is

Mandingo and The Underground Railroad

Team variant. This could be tough solo. Might best be done HC. My experiences with the EEP Paladin showed me how hard it is to keep that wench alive, thanks to the air head element of rogue AI. Of course, this team may never happen, as Diablo II is getting long in the tooth.

Team pure, team play. No twinks, no trades other than within the team. You just can't trust anyone else . . .

Premise

After the most recent garbage detail, cleaning out the Grave Yard, "enough is enough" decides Mandingo. The time is now for leaving the drudgery of the Plantation, which is run by the Slave Drivers Kashya and Warriv. One of the young Ladies of the House has been eyeing the handsome laborer, with suppressed libido, ever since he arrived from the slave markets of Westmarch. She succumbs to temptation after the death of her rival Blood Raven -- who was a catty b***h anyway, what with her nicer dresses and exotic hats on display at all of the cotillions.

Time to hit the road, just in time to stop a lynching in Tristram . . . only to discover that Cain is High Yellow and in league with The Man!

The two lovers travel from town to town, only to find betrayal and discrimination dogging their footsteps. They party up with likeminded couples who dream of escaping the stifling social restrictions to their torrid love. (A TFOS to approximate the Ripped Bodice would be nice.) Thus begins the cliche escape from the Plantation by a slave, accompanied by the jaded and lusty lady of the house.

**Sound of bodice ripping**

Mandingo and "the Mistress" are pursued by the Hounds of Hell, the Law, the enraged Plantation owner, Colonel Sanders, Elvis, David Duke, Paul Tagliabue, or whoever fits the Harlequin Romance cliche of "illicit love" in the ante bellum South, or last week in the NFL!

Cover Story and Goal

The Lady is travelling with her personal body servant (double entendre intended). Her superior combat power demonstrates who is in charge. Once "free" in the North, where Baal the Slave Master is finally defeated and a door to "a new world is opened," the couple can live in freedom and love happily ever after, etc ad nauseum.

**Sound of bodice ripping**

Paladins/Runaway Slaves serve the mistress dutifully, for which they expect (dream of?) ample romantic reward.

Neurotic relationships for fifty, Alex?

**Sound of bodice ripping**

The Kicker

If the Lady dies, it is over. No love, no cover for the runaway. If Mandingo dies . . . she commits suicide, as she knows she can't ever go home.

Options:

1. The Act Ending Battles are out of whack in re damage done to servants. In this option, the "I am not dead yet" dodge is allowed for the aftermath of Andariel, Duriel, Meph, Diablo, Baal. It takes a team to pull this off and Three Dot, in my estimation. That, and a decent connection to bnet. Ancients may also be waiverable, given the holiness of that mountain . . . otherwise, Do Not Let Your Ladylove/Mealticket die. Oh yeah, and don't die yourself: you want to die a free man!

2. Do it as a Live Off The Land style game. Upon the death of Blood Raven, you can only go to town to extinguish the exclamation points. At all other times, you can't even go to town. You are on the run, on the Underground Railroad, and on your way to the next town.

3. If not opting for 2, You can always go to town and mess with your stash if you have a WP, TP scroll, and want to re organize you kit. No littering the town with items, that allows the Law to track you. Cleanup after yourself, cover your tracks.

How it works.

A paladin, and his dearly beloved rogue, with 1-7 like minded couples.

After the first dot, you start over again with no wench in the next Diff level. You earn her admiration by reaching the "enough is enough" point in the Grave yard. In Live Off The Land option, you go on the lamb after you rescue Cain and find out via the gossip mill that he will betray you for your efforts.

Aura Focus.

The team combines auras to serve their Mistresses. General priority:

Defiance, Vigor, Might, Concentration, Fanaticism, Conviction, a resistance, Sanctuary, Holy Freeze. (Need to get used to the Frozen North as you travel North.)

Vigor must have at least one point, since
i) you are on the run and
ii) you are fast. (T.O. is fast, and why not give a nice nod to the list of Gold Medal Olympic Sprinters since Jesse Owens, not to mention Kenyan Marathon runners!)

Healing skills need careful consideration.

How the team mixes skills to be decided on a team by team basis, since smaller teams need different mixes than larger teams.

Armor Restricitons: None. Whatever you find or gamble is yours to keep until it wears out.

Weapons Restrictions.

Rogues use bows. That was the easy part. The rest is more non-PC.

Mandingo the Paladin has Javelin in Weapon Tab I. Missile, or both, his choice. A shield is allowed, but it must be round.

Weapon Tab II:

Clubs, axes, hammers, machetes/falchions, knives, sledge hammers (mauls), pitchforks (tridents) and scythes of any sort are allowed. These are farm implements most familiar to them. No Swords. No Maces. No bows. No spears/pikes. No Wands. No throwing potions. No Sceptres. No throwing knives.

Interaction with townsfolk:

When an exclamation mark is over the NPC's head. Otherwise, townsfolks will turn the runaways into The Man.

Exception.

1. (Optional) To gamble once beyond the initial exclamation point rule opportunity. The gambling NPC, the criminal element, is the only fence and the contact for the Underground Railroad. Also, the gambler is the only authorized fence for selling stolen/found items.

2. In Act IV, you can talk to any NPC other than Cain. Angels are OK for any lovers true of heart. Halbu and Jamella are sympathetic. During this act, Gambling and selling to the fence is unlimited.

3. Nihlathak is an albino who cannot be trusted, as he has made a deal with The Man. He MUST be killed in all three difficulties, and cannot be spoken to after the initial exclamation point is sorted out. You NEVER gamble with him, since he cheats.

4. You can't go back to previous towns. You are on the run, heading north.

5. Repair. Via Horadric Cube, other wise . . . on any occasion that the blacksmith can be spoken to under exclamation point rule.

5. Items. Anything gambled on authorized visits to the den of iniquity, or found. Fencing stuff for cash to gamble with is authorized on visits to the Fence.

6. Potions. Only Jamella may sell you potions, except under the exclamation point rule.

7. Imbues are all authorized, though you can expect to be cheated! :mad: Charsi must die!

No skill restrictions. Whatever it takes to keep her alive, you do it!

Wonder if this one will ever happen.

Occhi

I have been thinking of starting up a topic on the PvP aspect of the game but I wasn't sure what I wanted to cover

Quote:Still, the competitive aspect can be bad for us on some points. Are we going to play to win? Or are we going to play BNM and take ubervariants into battle vs other guilds? If we ever do the latter, how will the competition react if/when they realize that is what we are doing? There are a lot of things that could go wrong if we aren't careful.

Still, when Occhi first pointed out this game, the PvP and the teamwork elements were a big part of the appeal. Competitive multiplayer is something that can be very much fun under the right conditions. The odd thing seems to be that one needs to balance SP and MP in order to get stronger characters. That may tend to favor those with lots of time or a greater capacity to handle Feast Mode. We'll just have to see.

Frankly, the biggest appeal so far in SP is the tactical element. I'm afraid that the quest system, or what I've seen of it so far, is rather shallow and even boring. The combat was a lot more interesting than running around gawking at the art and trying to guess at the bonus quests. I never was one for Mario Brothers type "secrets" and puzzles.

Quote:Someone - The thing that concerns me most about Guild Wars, besides the time thing (which may be manageable) is the PVP aspect. Is PVP integrated thoughout the game, or how does it work? As usual, I'm in the dark.

Quote:Zed - Going on the basis of Diablo, Civ, and MOO, I think, in general, we in the RB crowd enjoy competing against the game, far more than competing against other players who don't understand our philosophy. Even when we gather for a more formal competition such as the Epics, care has always been taken to at least attempt to emphasize competition against ourselves and de-emphasize competition amongst ourselves.

Quote:Are we going to play to win?

I got an email message tonight about galciv2.com being open only to those who bought the AP expansion. Previews, maybe even betas. There was one bit of potentially encouraging news in this message: they are NOT close to releasing. Sounds more like sneak peeks and community feedback.

My needs haven't changed. The AI needs a massive upgrade for the game to be worth my attention. The original was a load of fun until I had solved the paths to victory and boiled the game down to a few essentials. Do this, you win, don't, you lose. Not enough game left after that to hold my interest, even though I really liked a lot of the game's elements.

Anyway, that's all I know for now. Not sure when I'll learn more. I don't exactly plan to contribute to their effort, but I would be happy to see them be successful. Maybe I'll check out one of the beta versions, if my purchase of AP is good enough to open that door. If I see things moving in an encouraging direction, I'll be happy to buy the next version and give it a whirl, whenever it's finally ready.

Anyone else have thoughts on this subject?


- Sirian

Nature's Cabal - Team Variant - Rules v1.0 - by Sirian

This variant is intended for play on Diablo II Expansion, under patch 1.10 or later.


CONCEPT

The Rogue Revival team variant has been a huge success. My team is already talking about what to do after we complete that concept, so I have been thinking about why it has worked out so well and how to build another good design.

After looking at several ideas, I believe I have come upon one that I can balance, at least within reason. This concept will not translate to a 4dot run, as it will not work under Friendly Fire conditions, but it may be worth a 3dot run.


NATURE'S CABAL

Up to eight may play. All characters involved are of the Druid class. Each character will be limited to specific skills. Some will have item restrictions. The design is meant to be balanced, fair, and sturdy, meaning that the team should be able to function even if one or several characters are absent from a given session. At least that will be my aim.


+SKILL ITEMS

Skill bonuses ARE allowed, but only on Druid Pelts (helms). Exception: the Rabid Clubber may find +skills on clubs.


SKILL CHOICES

Each Cabalist must abide by a set of skill restrictions, specific to his definition. Synergy-only means these skills are NOT ever to be used, but player may invest points in them to obtain synergy with usable skills. Prereq-only means one point max to this skill, and do not use this skill unless specifically allowed by your rule set.


RUNEWORDS

All runeword items are forbidden. We will make our way on what we find, buy, or gamble.


MERCENARIES

No mercs.


ITEMS WITH CHARGES

Knock yourself out. However, if you need a recharge, you have to pay your own way.



NATURE's CABAL CHARACTER TYPES:
* Rabid Clubber
* Bearly in Motion
* Frozen Turkey
* Spin Doctor
* Boulder Bowler
* Fissure Fisher
* Spirit Keeper
* Ursa Major


:mad: RABID CLUBBER

Unrestricted Skills:
* Werewolf
* Lycanthropy
* Feral Rage
* Rabies
* Fire Claws
* Hunger
* Cyclone Armor

Prereq-Only:
* Werebear
* Maul
* Arctic Blast

Synergy-Only:
* Poison Creeper

Skill Requirements:
* Must obtain slvl 10 Rabies before advancing to Nightmare.
* Must max Rabies before advancing to Hell.
* May add up to one point to Poison Creeper for each act completed. (Max slvl = 14, in Hell Act 5)

Stat Requirements:
* Must invest enough into Dexterity to maintain proficient blocking (as good as the shield claims or better).

Item Restrictions:
* May ONLY use clubs as weapon. Club, Spiked Club, and the improved versions of these.
* Must use a shield.
* May not use ranged weapons, including throwing potions.


:zzz: BEARLY IN MOTION

Unrestricted Skills:
* Werebear
* Lycanthropy
* Maul
* Fire Claws
* Hunger
* Shockwave
* Cyclone Armor

Prereq-Only:
* Werewolf
* Feral Rage
* Arctic Blast

Stat Requirements:
* Must invest at least 40% of stat points into Vitality. More is allowed.

Item Restrictions:
* Must use two-handed weapons.
* May not ever equip any items with Increased Attack Speed


FROZEN TURKEY

Unrestricted Skills:
* Raven
* Arctic Blast
* Cyclone Armor

Synergy-Only:
* Twister
* Tornado
* Hurricane

Stat Restrictions:
* May not exceed 25 points of base Strength.
* May not add to base Dexterity.

Item Restrictions:
* May not ever equip any item that provides Cold Resistance!


SPIN DOCTOR

Unrestricted Skills:
* Cyclone Armor
* Twister
* Tornado
* Solar Creeper

Prereq-Only:
* Arctic Blast
* Poison Creeper
* Carrion Vine

Synergy-Only:
* Hurricane

Skill Requirements:
* Skill level on Tornado may not exceed that of Twister.
* Allowed to use prereq Arctic Blast until reaching character level 18 and obtaining Twister.

Stat Requirements:
* May not exceed 25 points of base Strength.
* May not add to base Dexterity.

Item Restrictions:
* May not ever equip any item that provides Lightning Resistance!


BOULDER BOWLER

Unrestricted Skills:
* Firestorm
* Molten Boulder
* Cyclone Armor

Prereq-Only:
* Arctic Blast

Synergy-Only:
* Fissure
* Volcano
* Twister
* Tornado
* Hurricane

Stat Requirements:
* May not exceed 25 points of base Strength.
* May not ever add to base Dexterity.

Item Restrictions:
* May not ever equip any item that provides Poison Resistance!


FISSURE FISHER

Unrestricted Skills:
* Fissure
* Cyclone Armor

Prereq-Only:
* Molten Boulder
* Arctic Blast

Synergy-Only:
* Firestorm
* Volcano
* Twister
* Tornado
* Hurricane

Skill Requirements:
* Fissure base skill level may not exceed that of Cyclone Armor.
* Allowed to use Molten Boulder between character levels 6 and 11 (until you get to Fissure).

Item Restrictions:
* May not ever equip any item that provides Fire Resistance!
* Must use a shield.
* Must equip throwing weapons in left hand. (Prevent Monster Heal items are recommended! Potions are OK, too.)


SPIRIT KEEPER

Unrestricted Skills:
* Summon Spirit Wolf
* Spirit of Barbs
* Cyclone Armor

Prereq-Only:
* Raven
* Oak Sage
* Heart of Wolverine
* Arctic Blast

Synergy-Only:
* Summon Dire Wolf
* Summon Grizzly
* Twister
* Tornado
* Hurricane

Stat Requirements:
* Must add at least 40% of stat points to Dexterity.

Item Restrictions:
* Must use a bow (not crossbow) as weapon, to be equipped at all times.
* Lacking for AR bonuses from skills, player will have to sort out how best to balance weapon use and magic use.
* Allowed to use your starting equipment until such time as you can obtain a bow and equip it.


URSA MAJOR

Unrestricted Skills:
* Oak Sage
* Summon Grizzly
* Cyclone Armor

Prereq-Only:
* Raven
* Arctic Blast

Synergy-Only:
* Summon Spirit Wolf
* Summon Dire Wolf
* Twister
* Tornado
* Hurricane

Skill Information:
* Your only attack skill is Summon Grizzly, and this does not arrive until character level 30! This may be the most boring of the eight roles on the team in that regard, but we turn you loose with weapons, sans Lycanthropy help, so that you can do something other than stand around watching.

Item Restrictions:
* Must equip polearm weaponry in one slot. This includes Bardiche, Voulge, Scythe, Poleaxe, Halberd, War Scythe, and upgraded versions. This does not include any form of spear.
* May equip crossbow (not bow) in second slot, or a second polearm.
* Allowed to use your starting equipment until such time as you can obtain a polearm or crossbow and equip it.


NATURE'S CABAL TEAM VARIANT

* Each character has specific skills and strengths.
* Each character has a specific weakness. Melee chars are exposed to more danger. Chars required to equip two-handed weaponry forego blocking and resistance benefits from shields. All others have one resistance vulnerability.
* The Cabal is a tight Brotherhood. They may not play with any characters except brother Cabalists. (This means they play only with fellow team members, in private team games. No "passersby" or "guests", no joining RBD games or AB games, etc.)
* Only Cabalists are allowed in the brotherhood! No Amazons, no Paladins, no regular Druids, etc.
* If a Cabalist "leaves" the brotherhood, he may play with other characters but never return to the team.
* No twinking. Use what you can find, buy, or make for yourself. This is a pure team concept.
* No "variant within the variant". You can run a cabalist solo any way you like, but no macho stuff when playing as part of a team. Follow the rules and play within them to your full potential.
* Any number of players may play, up to the maxium 8 of course.
* Any late-starting players who are trying to "catch up" and "join the team" must build their chars solo, in isolation. There are no exceptions to the purity concept. If you are to prove yourself to your brothers and join the order, you must show discipline and commitment!
* Although this team variant is highly flexible, it is not meant to be played in "pickup" fashion. Any true team variant requires regular gaming nights and scheduled activity.


- Sirian

Quote:Guild Wars Battle Report Contest
The Guild Wars Team would like to invite all of you who participated in the World Preview Event and Beta Weekend Event to submit your best battle report for consideration in our Guild Wars Battle Report Contest. We will select the ten best combat stories based on Guild-versus-Guild warfare. The ten best stories will be immortalized on our website, and the writers of these heroic tales will receive an invitation to join the ongoing Guild Wars Beta Test.

Just thought I'd share a fun experience I had with a group of friends. We were running in the Hell Chaos Sanctuary. My leaper was leading the group, and decided it would be fun to pin all the monsters to the walls, while the zon and sorcie pummelled them with arrows, orbs, and meteors. I didn't get the best screen shot, but I think you can see the helplessness of the CS denizens. There was a host of laughter from the headphones, as all of us kept trying to play while laughing at the Hosts of Diablo.

If I'm not hallucinating, some of RBD has been in various phases of the Beta.

I've been messing around in the open beta (just a *very* little bit so far), and have played around with a Pally (human), Hunter (Night Elf), and Shaman (cow). They are all still babies (lvls 5-11), but I am already concerned about something.

The combat seems, well, glacial. This drove me nuts in NWN. It's like some little gnome behind the monitor is rolling dice between every swing. And the mobs (so far) politely wait for you to finish your swing, then take their best shot while you politely stand still for them to do so. I'm sitting there, leaned back in my computer chair with my arms crossed watching this little slow-motion minuet, thinking "Get ON WITH IT!!!" If this was Civ3, I would have pulled up the "Options" menu and turned off combat animation by now .

So, once you get out of newbie-land and get some skills, does the combat pace pick up?

For some reason I'm just not having "fun" so far. Hmmm, maybe I'll go start a nuker.

--Cy

I just had my first win on Impossible! I realize that's probably small potatoes to those who regularly win variants at that level, but it's significant to me. Five opponents, medium galaxy, played as the Psilons (yeah they're the most powerful, but this was my first Impossible game. Sue me ). Managed to stave off some brush war action from the Silicoids long enough to turn everybody else in the galaxy against them, then took the diplomatic victory. Not very impressive, but I'm happy

-dathon

During the past beta weekend, I grabbed a lot of screenies of the different possibilities for guild banners. (This is going to be a spacious post!) Please consider the options, and vote on your favorite combination.

To start with, here is the current guild banner, created by Sirian (note the new cape design, which may mean that having a really visible color may not be truly useful in PvP):


Here all all of the possible designs:












Here are the banner styles (shapes):
(BTW, I tried to create a Nuclear Orange banner, but as you can see the color didn't come out that lurid. And I'm partial to dragons, hence the design choice for illustrative purposes...)



Here are the detail patterns:






If it were up to me, here's my personal favorite combination:


Okay, people, vote!

Cheers,
Hawkmoon