Several months ago, I had a short burst of interest in D1, played for a few weeks, did a 3@30, tried a few IM games, and posted these ideas in another forum. It occurs to me that I should post them here, because perhaps others still have the occasional D1 urgings. I wrote this as a standalone ruleset, but clearly it is just a variation on canonical Ironman with extremely restrictive groundrules.
The "Lock In": Strict Ironman Interpretation
1) 3 brand new characters, one of each class, meet in town of fresh game. They may buy and sell items as long as nobody has entered the dungeon.
2) When one characters enters a dungeon level, the others must follow promptly.
3) Upon entering a level, the characters are locked in. They may not exit the level by going upwards. They may only go downwards once the level is cleared of all enemies and barrels.
4) A character may not go to town via a town portal, exit the game, or "Restart in Town". If a character dies, they must be resurrected by the party.
5) If a player is forced out of the game by disconnection, computer problems, etc., that player must return directly to the party (either by walking or taking a TP) without any interaction in town or previously cleared dungeon levels. If the player's character was dead when the computer problem occurred, one of the other party members must cast ressurection before the character can return to the active level.
6) If the party reaches dungeon level 16, Diablo may not be killed until all other enemies are dead.
7) When a party has access to down stairs (the active level is clear and all members are alive), they may opt to suspend the game and continue later. In this case, the characters must leave the game directly. No mules are allowed, and nothing may be taken from town or previous levels. When the team meets on a later date, they go directly to the next level they would have played. If that level does not have a town entrance, a non-party character must enter the game, find the stairs to that level, and set a portal for the party.
8) The game ends when A) the entire party is dead, B) the party cannot progress down because members are dead and no form of resurrection exists on the active level, or C) Diablo is dead. If level 16 is cleared of all monsters and barrels, the game is won (even if some or all party members are dead).
The "Lock In": Strict Ironman Interpretation
1) 3 brand new characters, one of each class, meet in town of fresh game. They may buy and sell items as long as nobody has entered the dungeon.
2) When one characters enters a dungeon level, the others must follow promptly.
3) Upon entering a level, the characters are locked in. They may not exit the level by going upwards. They may only go downwards once the level is cleared of all enemies and barrels.
4) A character may not go to town via a town portal, exit the game, or "Restart in Town". If a character dies, they must be resurrected by the party.
5) If a player is forced out of the game by disconnection, computer problems, etc., that player must return directly to the party (either by walking or taking a TP) without any interaction in town or previously cleared dungeon levels. If the player's character was dead when the computer problem occurred, one of the other party members must cast ressurection before the character can return to the active level.
6) If the party reaches dungeon level 16, Diablo may not be killed until all other enemies are dead.
7) When a party has access to down stairs (the active level is clear and all members are alive), they may opt to suspend the game and continue later. In this case, the characters must leave the game directly. No mules are allowed, and nothing may be taken from town or previous levels. When the team meets on a later date, they go directly to the next level they would have played. If that level does not have a town entrance, a non-party character must enter the game, find the stairs to that level, and set a portal for the party.
8) The game ends when A) the entire party is dead, B) the party cannot progress down because members are dead and no form of resurrection exists on the active level, or C) Diablo is dead. If level 16 is cleared of all monsters and barrels, the game is won (even if some or all party members are dead).
But that is pretty much what it boils down to. One important implication that you don't mention in your condensed version is that if someone dies, they have to be resurrected before the team can go down.
