Nature's Cabal

[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

[Smegged]

I'd love to commit, but it would greatly depend on time. Living on the other side of the world has its disadvantages (but some great advantages, like the beautiful warm weather we're having at the moment). So put me down as a maybe for the moment. The frozen turkey sounds most appealing to me at the moment. I've always wanted to give that arctic blast a good go.

[Sirian]

I'm not assembling a team, at this point. These are just the rules.

It may be that by the time we finish Rogue Revival, that it will be time to move on to Guild Wars. However, designing a workable variant can be as much fun as actually playing it, so there you go.


- Sirian

[Sullla]

I see Sirian has already answered my question as to whether this variant was about to start up soon. Assuming that there is still interest in a Diablo II team variant when Rogue Revival is done, I would like to tentatively put my name in for this team as well. Frozen Turkey, Boulder Bowler, and Ursa Major would be my preferred choices.

[Occhidiangela]

RUNEWORDS

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

Under what rubrik? What is the logic within the Druid theme that drives this prohibition?

It strikes me as counter intuitive that, upon finding the runes for a low level rune word, and the socketed armor or shield to fit them into, you still want

No Rune Words.

May I point out that the easy to make and find Rune words, the low to mid level rune words, are not very powerful. In the course of three dotting this variant as a team, the likelihood of finding the exotic runes and the snap in pieces to make them into the Uber Rune Words is extremely low.

You'll accept gamble for rares, but not make simple and relatively low power rune words as you find them? Why allow gambling at all?

The prohibition seems inconsistent with the semi live off the land premise of work with what you find that you are citing.

Restrictions, in a Variant, strike me as needing to fit into a theme. That may be due to my own view on how to build a variant.

Your concept, run with it. I thought the feedback might be useful.

PS: We never did run that Seven Assassins team, which was rife with potential.

Occhi

[Sirian]

I despise the Runewords as a mechanism. There are half a dozen that get used over and over and over and over, and the rest I never see. Bah. Increasing sockets was good. Adding runes for more socketable variety was good. But the runewords? NO.

What runewords could we make? Steel for clubs? A bow? Lore is out because of the skill point. Stealth would be the main item. Bunch of spellcasters running around with an uber item that passes itself off as mundane? No thanks.

The runeword concept has been a miserable failure. So has the "new" item drop mechanism. So is the item charges mechanism. Please don't get me started up on ticking off the lists of things I hate about the expansion and explaining why I hate them. It doesn't take much to lead me to remember why I quit playing this game.


- Sirian

[Occhidiangela]

OK, you hate runewords. Got it. Crafts?

Themewise, you could sugesst that Druids use the aural tradition, and are illiterate.

Occhi

[Sirian]

Not aiming for a theme so much as good balance. The theme is more like extra credit.

I don't have a problem with crafts.

[Hawkmoon]

What runewords could we make? Steel for clubs? A bow? Lore is out because of the skill point. - Sirian

Ahem. Lore is NOT out by that logic - you can find 2-socket druid pelts, and you've specifically said that +skills are allowed on pelts!

I think it would be amusing if team members were required to make runewords that are never used (Nadir, anyone?).

Regardless, it sounds like fun. We'll have to see how time allows after the Rogue Revival. (can you say hallelujah? let's all say thankya!)

[Sirian]

Ahem. Lore is NOT out by that logic - you can find 2-socket druid pelts, and you've specifically said that +skills are allowed on pelts!

Woops. You're right. Good thing then that I covered that with the runeword prohibition. So... No Steel, no Itheleth, no Lore pelts, and no Stealth.

When we could gamble for uniques and sets (with a reasonable degree of reliability if one spent enough dough) one could choose from dozens of interesting and useful items to pursue. With the runewords, it's down to just a few, and only armor/helm/weapon. Blah.


- Sirian