My first contacts with variants came when i visited Woody's Diablo Asylum back in early 1998. Then, i was totally bored with the game and was seeking something to freshen up the game, such as cheats or some modifications. The asylum provided me with the opportunities to play with various interesting set of rules for the different classes and i quickly got hooked back on Diablo.
What are variants, you might ask? Variants are simply a term for some rules and restrictions which you follow while playing the character. These restrictions, in general, come in the form of equipment restrictions, spell usage, interaction with other players and villagers (i.e. Griswold, Adria and Wirt). Other rules can be in the form of quests such as in the case of the very extensive Amazon rules. Completion of the quests will bring about the lifting of certain restrictions and leads to greater challenges ahead. In many variants, a role-playing elements have been introduced to instill greater interest in the variant. An example would be the "race" variants (such as dwarves and elves). Some of the most extensive and exciting variants that i personally enjoy most are listed below.
Most of the variant information that i get comes from Woody's Diablo Asylum. Within that site is a host of various well-thought and extensively-played variants such as the beyond naked tro, the barbarian and the archer. The asylum messageboard, otherwise known as the Nude Beach, is also a good place to look for variants or ask questions about them. Charis' Diablo Variants is another excellent site containing the 1001 variants that Charis has come up with. The site mainly circles around the key variant hosted there -- the Amazon but also contains data on other variants. King of Pain's Dreams of the Sleeping God also has some valuable information about variants.
Eventually, the ultimate quest any character can undertake is the Retribution Quest, totally destroying Diablo's minions in front of him.
Amazons
The amazon variant is a variant that Charis
came up with. The fully extended set of rules came about after months of input and
playing by the many asylum regulars. Essentially, the amazon is a highly versatile
rogue-warrior who is well-versed with hand-to-hand combat and can devastate enemies with
the bow as well at higher levels. Completion of some of the optional quests lifts
many restrictions such as equipment and spell usage. An excellent variant that i strongly
recommend.
Beyond Naked Characters
Perhaps the "grand-daddy" of variants, Woody's
site is the home of the Beyond Naked Way. A beyond naked mage uses none of the items
that any normal characters would use. Tired of finding cursed items such as hyena's
ring of the fool or swords of corruption instead of the coveted Dreamflange you always
dreamt of? Then this is the variant for you. The bnm uses CURSED items
throughout, with corrupted items highly prized. The variant is still relatively easy
due to the sorceror's invincible magical prowess but the original variant should provide
great challanges for rogues and warriors. This is a link to the
rules available at Woody's Diablo Asylum.
Muscle Mage
A variant created by Charles Warren and Gyrefalcon, the muscle mage shows off
"fantastic" melee prowess by rejecting the use of all offensive spells (except
perhaps on item recovery), preferring instead to kill the enemies with the traditional
warrior's weapons. Challenging, yet at the same time very doable. Dual-classes
involving the muscle mage have also been coined before, most particularly the elitist
muscle mage who uses uniques only.
The
Savage Tribe
Not much of an "official" variant, but it's just a series of three variant /
variant-combo that i have created. One of them, the savage have found a home at
Charis' Diablo Variants and Strategy as well. The savage is basically a member of a
tribe of primitive men, whose homeland was devasted by human civilization. With
quick-learning skills and keen observation, the savages sought to learn more about the
human civilization and take revenge on the knights that have destroyed their homes.
Archetype Characters
Archetypes seek to take each class back to it's roots in the fantasy genre.
The rules are simple-to-follow, and has great fastasy role-playing elements.
A must-try for dungeon and dragons fans. This is a link to
the rules available at Woody's Diablo Asylum.
Other Rogue Variants
(1) Archer (ARC) is a variant created by Maya and is a
simple, yet interesting way to play a rogue. Rated A* by Woody, i strongly recommend this
variant as well. One of my starting variants and still one of my favourites
now. This page is merely a summary and brief account of my experiences with the
archer variant. A link to the official set of rules is included.
(2) Beyond Naked Rogues (BNR) is sort of a sub-class of the beyond naked mage created by Woody. An interesting variant which uses only cursed items. Though the rules have since been modified by the creator himself, i feel that the original rules has a greater flavour and can be kept as well.
(3) Elemental sorceress (ESC) is a variant created by Charis. Its original name would have been sorceress but as the variant came out around the same time as Hellbringer's Sorceress variant, the name was changed to Elemental Sorceress for identification purposes. This rogue-variant seeks to excel in spellcraft, in particular spells of an elemental nature.
(4) The Fairy is a more recent variant coined by Dr Disaster. A light-weight, dexterious fairy usually prefers ranged attacks to defeat the enemies and focuses only on magic and dexterity. A very interesting and cute variant.
(5) Nightshadow (NtS), the rogue variant among the trio of the Netherspawn series by Charis. This variant loves the dark and the spell "bloodstars". They have an evil alignment and enjoys sucking life out of the enemies. Surely the master of the dark.
(6) Valkyrie (VALK) is yet another variant created by Charis. The Valkyrie, in Norse mythology, are special virgin warriors chosen by Odin. Their name means "Choosers of the Slain". They seek to earn his respect by preparing to fight beside him in the final battle at Ragarok, known as Gotterdamerung. The challenge they face is tremendous, and their life is hard until the Gotter is finally found.
