Pure:
*You must find or purchase your own Items.
*No third party software(s). You must play the game as it was intended. This rule also applies to DevilutionX as if it was a brand new game.
*No cheating, glitching or duping.
*Pure characters can transfer or mule items so long as the characters & items are pure as well.
*No storage. You only have you forty inventory slots (You can stash items or mule items that you aim to collect. This means you must never use them ever again).
Ultra Pure:
*Ultra Pure characters must never transfer items between characters or mule (Unless to a legit character or a collector).
*Ultra Pure characters can also use every services in town but they are only allowed to purchase healing, mana & rejuvenation potions along with scrolls of town portals & scrolls of resurrect. All other items, elixirs & books must be found in the dungeons.
*Pure & Ultra Pure character(s) can be backed up via the Multi.Sv but only to prevent lag or other issues. (You can’t restore a character because of item loss or because of ‘Black Death’s’ penalties)
*No storage. You only have you Forty Inventory Slots (You can stash items or mule items that you aim to collect. This means you must never use them ever again).
Hardcore:
The objective of this playthrough is to play a character and either kill Diablo in Hell or reach level 50 without dying once. If the Character dies, he must be deleted forever.
Live Off The Land (Traditional & Modern):
My invented ruleset is a mixture between a 'Ultra Pure' character with one single life (Hardcore) and a Live off the Land limitation.
This means you must follow the Bostic Live Off The Land Rules:
No Griswold : You can't purchase or repair any items from Griswold.
Exceptions : None
No Pepin : Healing or buying Potions & scrolls is strictly prohibited.
Exceptions : None
No Adria : Buying potions, scrolls, books or recharging staffs is strictly prohibited.
Exceptions : None
No Wirt : You can't purchase items from Wirt.
Exceptions: None
No Deckard Cain : You can't identify items by talking to Deckard Cain.
Exceptions : None
Stash: This new feature in DevilutionX brings a fascinating element to this ruleset as it allows you to be more organized and meticulous in the way you approach this challenge. You can store potions, books, scrolls and the secondhand items that you find during your adventures. In traditional Live Off The Land, Stash is not allowed and neither is Torch. All you have is your forty inventory slots but you can drop stuff in town.
Cursed:
Cursed Items : These items have been corrupted by the most evil spells and enchantments and will latch-on to their new owner after being identified by a scroll. You are forced to equip them until you reach the next dungeon, even if it means you perish by their effect(s).
Exceptions : None
Detailed Explanations : Once you identify a cursed item, you need to equip it, even if it means replacing an item you are already using. If for example you already have a cursed amulet equipped and you find another one which has an even worst impact on your character, you have to prioritize the worst curse. The cursed items should be equipped for the whole duration of the dungeon you are currently in. So, if you are in Cathedral level 1 and you find a cursed amulet, you have to use that amulet until Catacomb level 1.
Contaminated:
Sickness: Black Deaths are carrying a deadly disease. If they hit you even once and you permanently lose 1 hp, you can consider your adventure a failure and delete your character.
Roleplay:
Roleplaying is about incorporating rules that align with unwritten traits assigned to the three main characters. While unspecified in the game,
the traits are extracted from obvious archetypal elements (Clothing, proficiencies, skills ...)
Here are some of my roleplaying ideas:
Warrior: This Character is noble and repudiates magic & witchcraft. He uses solely weapons and armors that are worthy of a knight (Swords,
clubs, maces, sabers, axes, scimitars, hammers). Bows are dishonorable to him, and staves are nothing more than a tool that you use once you are too old to walk on your own properly.
The Warrior uses no robes or cloaks, instead, he proudly wears the heaviest armor he can find and the most durable shield.
His social circle is as follow:
Griswold: Yes - A Warrior would be doing business with a blacksmith.
Peppin: Yes - A healer's services would surely not be refused by a Warrior.
Wirt: No - A child thief would be reprimanded by a Warrior, not encouraged.
Adria: No - A Warrior would vouch to strike down a witch living at the edge of the town.
Ogden: Yes - A Warrior would spend some time at the local tavern to eat, drink and gather news.
Deckard Cain: Yes - A Warrior would talk to an old erudite.
Gillian: Yes - A Warrior would talk to the owner of the only stash in town.(Devilution only).
Prohibited: Staves, Bows, Books, Robes, Spell Scrolls.
Allowed: Iron & steel weapons, armors, shields, helmets, scrolls of identify & town portal.
Rogue: This character is an envoy of the Sisterhood of the Sightless Eye and thus they are not opposed to magic & witchcraft since Akara is their leader and a witch herself. Understandably, the Rogue would prioritize the usage of bows, daggers, cloaks and certain types of spells that raise her awareness or provide healing. She is not trained to use weapons such as swords, maces and two-handed weapons are simply too heavy for her. She has a preference for light & medium armors but heavy is not prohibited and so it is up to the player's choice.
Her social circle is as follow:
Griswold: Yes - A Rogue would be doing business with a Blacksmith.
Peppin: Yes - A healer's services would surely not be refused by a Rogue.
Wirt: Yes - A child thief would be dealing with a Rogue that is able to unlock trapped chests.
Adria: Yes - A Rogue would not mind having interactions with a witch but would not buy staves as this has no utility to her.
Ogden: No - It is doubtful that a Rogue from a feminine order would gather information's from such a place. Perhaps once or twice.
Deckard Cain: No - It is doubtful that a Rogue would seek out the counsels of an old man while she can unveil secrets herself by various means.
Gillian: Yes or No - A Rogue would most likely be able to hide her equipment if necessary but some players might decide to trust Gillian and use
her stash.
Prohibited: Staves, two-handed weapons, all offensive & complex spells, robes.
Neutral: Heavy armors, untrained weapons.
Allowed: Bows, light armors, medium armors, all defensive & simplistic spells (Healing, heal others, town portal, flash, stone curse).
Sorcerer: This character is a scholar and an envoy from the eastern Vizjerei mage clans. His knowledge of magic and spellcasting is unparalleled, but he is positively incapable with common weaponry. Though it is more common to see them channel their power through staves, they can occasionally do so via a dagger, a mace or some sort of blunt weapon. Some of them even decide to become Battle Mages and wear heavy armors and shields but this is a rare sight indeed.
His social circle is as follow:
Griswold: No - A Sorcerer would not require the services of a blacksmith.
Peppin: Yes or No - A Sorcerer is fully capable of healing himself and mending his wounds but he could sometimes require a specific potion.
*If you succeed in reaching Nightmare & Hell, all players are resurrected in town and can benefit from free identifications from Deckard Cain for their items (This is optional and some players decide not to benefit from free identifications).
*If you reach Nightmare or Hell and you are under leveled, you must create a training game where you do not buy, sell or pickup anything at all from killed monsters. You are only there to gain experience until you can access the dungeon that you are prohibited from entering. What is allowed though is to use whatever you find in that game solely for the duration of your training process but you must not bring any items or potions over to the Ironman continuation. This rule exists so you do not spend your potions during the training session or use your hard-earned potions and scrolls (...)
*Upon entering a new difficulty game (Normal, Nightmare, Hell), you are allowed to purchase anything you want from the townsfolks. You are strictly prohibited from selling anything at all and resetting vendors items is also not allowed. There is also a restriction on both potions and resurrection scrolls upon entering town for Nightmare & Hell. A player can only purchase two full belts of potions (16) and one resurrection scroll.
*Muling is not allowed & further restrictions can be applied for greater glory. That is for players to decide what additional rules they want to integrate.
Naked Mage & Beyond Naked Mage:
While I am aware that resource's exist online regarding the rules to follow for the Naked Mage & Beyond Naked Mage, I decided to simplify and create my own rulesets.
Naked Mage is a Sorcerer that is allowed to use any staves but may not wear any other pieces of equipment's. You can purchase anything you want including scrolls and books but greater praise is reserved for those who find their own scrolls, books and staves instead of purchasing them. You can also purchase armors and weapons to collect them but only staves are allowed to use and nothing else. The objective is to kill Diablo on all three difficulties and if possible, without dying once.
Beyond Naked Mage is a Sorcerer that ventures in the dungeons but a terrible curse has been inflicted upon him. The rules are identical to the Naked Mage Variant but whenever a cursed item is found, it latches unto the Sorcerer forcefully and he has to wear that piece of equipment, for better or for worse, until the end of his quest. It can only be replaced by an even worse cursed item and nothing else. The objective is to kill Diablo on all three difficulties and if possible, without dying once.
Hoarder:
As the title suggest, this is simply a character that must obligatorily identify every blue and unique items he encounters. Nothing must be left behind. While tedious, this small constraint is an excellent opportunity to find extremely rare items and potentially nice specimens for a collection.
Collector:
A Collector is a 'Pure' or 'Live Off The Land' character that either uses the stash or mules to collect Items he won't ever use. Using any of the stashed or muled Items is a breach of the traditional 'Live Off The Land' Ruleset. A 'Pure' character can potentially use the stashed items as long as they have all been found by the character in question. This would not be 'Legit' by old players standards as it implies having room for items you would not normally have in Vanilla. Muling is permitted on another character and is considered Legit as long as you have two official copies of the Game.
Wirt: No - A wizard would have no interest for a child thief trying to make a quick penny.
Adria: Yes - A Sorcerer would be interested in learning or sharing with a witch.
Ogden: Yes or No - A prideful Sorcerer might not ask for rumors in a tavern but a humbler kind of wizard might.
Deckard Cain: Yes - Two scholars would surely have lengthy conversations together.
Gillian: Yes - Wizards are usually hoarders and while they might hold on to prized artifacts, they would surely store some lesser important ingredients or potions.
Prohibited: All weapons apart from daggers, staves & maces. neutral: Heavy armors, shields.
Allowed: Staves, books, scrolls, all spells.
Ironman:
*A solo player or multiple brand new characters, one of each class, meet in town in a new game.
They may buy and sell items so long as nobody has entered the dungeon yet.
*When a player enters the dungeon level, the others must follow promptly.
*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.
*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.
*If a player is forced out of the game by disconnection, computer problems, (...) that player must return directly to the party (either by walking or taking a TP) without any interactions 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 a resurrection before the Character can return to the active level.
*If the party reaches dungeon level sixteen, Diablo may not be killed until all other enemies are dead on the level.
*When a party has access to the next dungeon thanks to his current level (when the latest 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 dungeon that they were supposed to complete on their last play. 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.
*The game ends when: The entire party is dead, the party cannot progress down because members are dead and no form of resurrection exists on the active level or Diablo is dead. If level 16 is cleared of all monsters, the game is won (even if some or all party members are dead)
No Map:
No Map is an additional challenge in which the player is never allowed to use the map to guide himself through the dungeons.
Steel Only:
No map is an
Steel Only is a restricted character that is prohibited from using spells. He must only use weapons made of steel & wood (Bows are allowed). Furthermore,
The character is allowed to make use of utility scrolls: Identification scrolls, scrolls of town portals & scrolls of infravision but any other scrolls are prohibited including scrolls of resurrect. Staves are also not allowed for steel only characters. In this challenge, Magical Shrines become extremely important in order to defeat Diablo.
Pious:
Pious characters must activate any shrines, cauldrons or fountain of Tears that they encounter without being selective. This is often a fun challenge to attempt
while playing the steel only Variant since you do not worry at all about mana if you are a Warrior or a Rogue. A Pious Sorcerer would be considerably harder since his mana would end up being negatively affected in the long run.
Zoom:
As the title implies, this is a challenge in which you attempt to complete certain objectives with zoom 'on' at all times.
Noble:
A Noble character is only allowed to play with Unique items except for the Amulet. There are no restrictions on which items must be used though so anything goes. This variant can be undertaken as Ultra Pure and so the character starts with white & blue items and progressively equips Unique items as they drop. There is also the strictly pure alternative where another pure character transfer the following Unique items to start things off:
Warrior: Torn Flesh Of Souls - The Defender - Split Skull Shield.
Rogue: Torn Flesh Of Souls - The Needler.
Sorcerer: Wizardspike - Thinking Cap.
Combination (How I Play):
Trio of Characters # 1: Ultra Pure - Hardcore - Collector - No Map.
Goal: Either Kill Diablo in Hell or Reach Level 50 Without Dying.
Trio of Characters # 2: Ultra Pure - Hardcore - Live Off The Land - Steel Only - No Map.
Goal: Either Kill Diablo in Hell or Reach Level 50 Without dying.
Additional Rules: A Character being Hit by a Black Death or Mistakenly Drinking from a Cauldron must be Deleted.
Oddities: No Trading, No Coop, No Public Games. Warrior never use capes, robes and cloaks.
