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jakotaco
03-08-2008, 15:22
This thread might be a bit pointless, partially a bit of a rambling. But hopefully someone knowing more brings it up to a reasonable level. :whistling:

Instead of stating which kind of classes you'd expect in an action RPG. What do we know since before? which orders, sects and warrior societies can we expect to find in the lands of Diablo?

I haven't read any of the books, apart of the Diablo I and Diablo II manuals of course. But if you take a read through the Diablo I manual you will find lots of things in the lore that later on ended up in Diablo II. So why wouldn't the same be true for Diablo III?

And most interesting thing would be if some potential classes could show up. Something we could have seen long ago...

Take for example the Horadrim: what classes could have come from their ranks? Ok, bad example as they are down to one member namely Deckard Cain. But we know the Horadrim were fromed from the three major mage clans. So we know they are well-versed in the arcane arts. Could they have had Sorcerers or Summoners like the Vizjerei in their ranks? Could our friend Deckard Cain in his youth have been something more than a helpless Loremaster that can't even escape a wooden cage guarded by a few carvers? And what of the Horadrim Monks who imprisoned the three within their soulstones? Where these monks of the religious kind (cleric-like?) or of the Martial Arts kind? (D1:hellfire monk) were they students of the arcane? (just another naming of the sorcerers) or was the binding of demons something they were specialised in? (maybe some banishing, summoning, controlling class?)

Sure, the order is not what it was, but the mage clans might still have members of the professions among them...

Speaking of the Mage clans. What about the Taan Clan, where our friend Ormus might be found. The Taan Clan is mostly known as practitioners of Skatsimi rites. Could a Skatsimi Mage make a class? in act 3 a Skatsimi blade was used by Ormus to ward the city against demons. But what else do we know about Skatsimi magic? The Skatsimi practitioners are scarce enough and little information is given. Could make for an atypical mage class...

The Zann Esu Clan, specialised in elemental magics, most known as the Sorceressesin Diablo II. Are also likely to make a reappearance, are there even Action RPGs without an elemental mage anymore? However, we have all seen they have some more magics than the pure elemental magic (teleport, telekinesis, mana shield from diablo II) And references to Zann Esu Oracles can be found aswell.

The most famed mages are probably the Vizjerei, most notably the Diablo I Sorceror. Also them were famed practitioners of elemental magic. But Horazon the Summoner for example used his magics to enslave demons. Drognan is an ex-Vizjerei selling potions in Lut Gholein. So Alchemy could very well be one of their domains aswell. From the Vizjerei also springs the Viz-jaaq'tar or the Assasins, who were tasked to hunt down rogue magi withing their ranks. The close relationship could maybe even be used to create a cross-class: Sorcerous magics combined with mental tricks and contraptions or something?

The Priests of Rathma gave us the necromancer, will he come back? who knows?

The Barbarian tribes had their shamans, probably close to the druid class. But maybe the Shamans of the <insert animal>-tribe could make for some cool all new class?

As of the Ammuit Clan and the Ennead Clan... I have no ideas what values and specialisations they had.

But whatever magic users they might throw at us, they do have a few to choose from. Not to mention the possibilities of using some of the "not yet revealed" orders or clans of the world. And even if they keep themselves to the existing ones there is nothing that prevents them from giving them other kinds of professions than we're used to. ie. Witches of the Sightless Eye?

Schwalker
03-08-2008, 19:17
As we are mainly talking mage clans here you might have noticed that Caldeum mages have been mentioned and as Caldeum is latin for Chaldean we might expect the city to have a Babylonian feel and lo it does according to the artwork.

Itīs also a magelike figure in a Babylonian inspired dress holding what looks like a cold spell in his hand in the artworks somewhere so Iīll put mu money on a Caldeum mage appearance.

ill logic
03-08-2008, 21:37
I haven't read any of the books, apart of the Diablo I and Diablo II manuals of course. But if you take a read through the Diablo I manual you will find lots of things in the lore that later on ended up in Diablo II. So why wouldn't the same be true for Diablo III?


http://diablo.wikia.com/wiki/Clans_and_Orders

I'd agree that the clans and existing lore is going to be a fertile area for later classes to be added. That's why I suggested that if the Paladin "returns," he and she may be members of the Hand of Zakarum which disappeared, rather than the D2 Paladin's Knights of Westmarch group. HoZ had an ambiguous morality which fits Blizz's idea of having chars that the player may not be sure they like.

Now, I don't believe we've heard anything about Witch Doctors and the Umbaru tribes up until now. I think all we have is that they reside in the same general area as the Necromancers, as revealed when D3 was presented. So the plan does have drawbacks.

I'm reading one of the Blizz novels and one of the characters is actually undead. There may very well be a possibility for an undead PC, if not an undead NPC, if the old chars of D2 themselves will be brought back. I would love to meet an undead Necromancer.

Dwovar
04-08-2008, 19:56
I'd like to see the Knights of Khanduras come into it. Perhaps a revived order (KoK 2.0). Perhaps members captured during the raid on Westmarch who are now released. Perhaps (even better) corrupted members that served as Black Knights (and their incarnations) but resisted like Lachdanan. That third one is my favorite choice. I always liked Lachdanan.

jakotaco
05-08-2008, 18:13
I'd like to see the Knights of Khanduras come into it. Perhaps a revived order (KoK 2.0). Perhaps members captured during the raid on Westmarch who are now released. Perhaps (even better) corrupted members that served as Black Knights (and their incarnations) but resisted like Lachdanan. That third one is my favorite choice. I always liked Lachdanan.

Wasn't the Warrior of Diablo I one of those Khanduras guys? Some kind of armored knight is always a nice staple of this kind of games. But seeing as we already have one heavy melee class it would probably need something else to set it apart. Something that would make it more of a fighter/hybrid class. So a Knight of Khanduras seems a bit unlikely, but maybe one of their Battle Leaders with a Melee/Support theme, preferably being able to summon an original D1 Black Knight or two... :nod:

Schwalker
05-08-2008, 20:38
Wasn't the Warrior of Diablo I one of those Khanduras guys? Some kind of armored knight is always a nice staple of this kind of games. But seeing as we already have one heavy melee class it would probably need something else to set it apart. Something that would make it more of a fighter/hybrid class. So a Knight of Khanduras seems a bit unlikely, but maybe one of their Battle Leaders with a Melee/Support theme, preferably being able to summon an original D1 Black Knight or two... :nod:

What about some arturian "Knights of the round table" character?, plenty of opportunities for adding some "Holy Grail" traits around such figures.

Not necessarily the Monthy Python version...:whistling:

deadbeater
06-08-2008, 01:10
Hell yeah, add the Monty Python stuff. I like to play a knight who says 'ni'.

NKlint
06-08-2008, 01:24
No, no we shall not go to Camelot, 'tis a silly place.

andytheavs
09-08-2008, 06:06
Bravely bold Sir Robin/
rode forth from Camelot/
he was not afraid to die!/
Oh! Brave Sir Robin....