Ed from Russia
12-07-2007, 19:54
This is the account of 3 players attempting to recreate the Ancients and defeating them in NM. We will get them through Normal and Nightmare. Our intention is to take it slowly, killing all monsters. We will do it untwinked (we simply do not have gear for 3 barbs) and without MF running (boring), so we’ll be dependent on the gear we find.
The main characters
Talic (played by Mike), fights with Sword and Shield, and uses Whirlwind
Madawc (played by Paul, who is new to D2) fights with 2 (throwing) axes and uses Double Throw and Shout
Korlic (played by myself) uses a Polearm and uses Leap Attack
Introduction
“Our parents have a strange sense of humor, calling us after the Ancients”, Korlic thought not for the first time as he walked home from the gym. Grandma Malah had told him the story many times. Even the doctors were surprised when his mother delivered not one, not two, but three baby boys. Luckily their father, a local arms dealer called Larzuk, was a rich man, and he immediately went out to buy two more cradles, plus one of those wide prams that can carry multiple babies.
The problem was that they had only thought of one name; Toby for a boy or Judy for a girl. It had taken months for mum and dad to decide on these names, and now they have to think of 2 additional ones in a few hours. “No Worries, I’ll take care of it”, dad said, and left his wife alone with 3 crying newborns.
Larzuk was lucky to have married her. Barbarian women were bulky and rough, and the few Amazons that came to the Northern Steppes were sought after by many of his peers. And Vidala was the prettiest of them all. She had a fit slender body, and enough stamina to go on all night. Plus, she cooked great fish fingers. The typical way of courting Barbarian women, bashing them in the head and carrying them on your shoulder back to your hut, did not work on Vidala; she would dodge, avoid and evade all blows Larzuk attempted. She only started to fall for him, quite literally, when he managed to put a sleeping pill into her rejuvenation potion and managed to get her home before she woke up. There, the king-size bed, plasma TV and automatic blinds did the rest.
Mum was not happy when her husband returned and told her the names he had chosen. 'Talic, Madawc and Korlic' it was. “I should have hidden away that Lord of Destruction disc ages ago”, mum complained.
Still, Korlic couldn’t complain. If it had been up to mum they would have been named after the Spice Girls. Mum still called his brother Talic ‘Baby’ sometimes. She also called Madawc ‘Scary’, but that was mainly because he often walked around the house without a shirt, and because he would often sneak up to mum and shout in her ear. Mum called Korlic just ‘Korlic’, because that was his name.
Ever since Talic was old enough to started spinning around the room, Madawc started throwing his Star Wars miniatures at mum's head and Korlic was able to jump over the hut without tripping over the chimney, the three brothers had had a dream. When they were big, they would travel to Mount Arreat and beat up the real Ancients. Most people they told made fun of this, but their dad was always supportive. “They must be about 500 years old by now, so just take away their Zimmer frames and beat their ***”.
Each brother had his own reason for this desire. Talic wanted to pay them back for the times when they were made fun of at school for their stupid names. Madawc was just always looking for a fight, no matter against whom. Korlic’ had always been annoyed that because of his name he had to learn the completely useless Leap Attack skill.
This morning at the gym had not been different from others. While Talic kept whirling around trying not to lose his balance, and Madawc was throwing his wooden training axes at targets and small children, Korlic spent his time jumping over obstacles toward other pupils. Even if he didn’t hurt himself by hitting the gym roof (they were inside because it was raining), his opponent would just take a step away from where he landed and hit him in the back. The only time when his Leap Attack was effective was when Madawc came from the toilet and was not paying attention. Madawc was not amused, and spent the rest of the training aiming his training axes at Korlic’ head and vital organs. Korlic had to admit, in a high voice, that Madawc's trowing skill had improved.
Perhaps more out of annoyance than anything else, their trainer Qual-Kehk had concluded the training early. “You are now ready, I cannot teach you anything more”, he said. According to Talic he softly added “You’re useless”, but no-one else heard it. “It is time for you to start your quest”. “But we only started this Monday, and we paid you for 10 lessons”, Talic said. “You will learn on your way to Mount Arreat”, Qual-Kehk answered, “more time here is wasted”. This time all three brothers heard him say "You're crap".
Before the brothers left the gym the old trainer added:”If Anya mentions me, tell her that I have been busy and that I’ll call her soon”. “And remember to bring me back the Jah rune you promised, so I can finish my Enigma armor; I’ll give you a powerful Gull dagger for it in return, but only because your father and I are good friends”.
After packing their bags, the brothers walked over to the local branch of ‘Warriv’s Leisure and Business Travels’, and bought themselves a ticket by Caravan to the Rogue camp in the West. They were a bit confused that Qual-Kehk had told them to travel West, then East, then South, the Upwards (?) and then North again, while Mount Arreat was just a short walk away from the Barbarian camp. But their trainer had been persistent; they could use the exercise (this time he said nothing else). The next day they got up really early, brushed their teeth, ate their cornflakes and left the house.
Technical information
Our 3 builds are planned as follows:
Talic
Skills: Max Whirlwind, Sword Mastery, War Cry and Berserk (2nd attack). 1 pt in Increased Stamina, Increased Speed, Iron Skin and Natural Resistance.
Stats: Dexterity enough for max block, Strength enough for equipment, Energy base, rest in Vitality
Equipment: Aiming for Chaos Armor with Smoke, Dimensional Blade with Spirit, and Basinet with Lore, Shield with Rhyme.
Madawc
Skills: Max Throwing Mastery, Double Throw, Double Swing (synergy), Shout. 1 pt in Increased Stamina, Increased Speed, Iron Skin and Natural Resistance.
Stats: Strength enough for armor, Dexterity 150-200, Energy base, rest in Vitality
Equipment: Leather types of armor only (or bare-chested), with Smoke or Stealth, rare throwing axes, rare circlet with good mods
Korlic
Skills: Max Leap Attack (main attack, right button), Leap (synergy), Concentrate (2nd attack, left button), Battle Orders (synergy). 1 pt in Battle Command, Increased Stamina, Increased Speed, Iron Skin and Natural Resistance.
Stats: Strength and Dexterity enough for equipment, Energy base, rest in Vitality
Equipment: Chaos Armor with Smoke, Polearm weapon with Infinity or Honor, Basinet with Lore
Next steps
Coming weekend we hope to get at least through Act I –III Normal.
The main characters
Talic (played by Mike), fights with Sword and Shield, and uses Whirlwind
Madawc (played by Paul, who is new to D2) fights with 2 (throwing) axes and uses Double Throw and Shout
Korlic (played by myself) uses a Polearm and uses Leap Attack
Introduction
“Our parents have a strange sense of humor, calling us after the Ancients”, Korlic thought not for the first time as he walked home from the gym. Grandma Malah had told him the story many times. Even the doctors were surprised when his mother delivered not one, not two, but three baby boys. Luckily their father, a local arms dealer called Larzuk, was a rich man, and he immediately went out to buy two more cradles, plus one of those wide prams that can carry multiple babies.
The problem was that they had only thought of one name; Toby for a boy or Judy for a girl. It had taken months for mum and dad to decide on these names, and now they have to think of 2 additional ones in a few hours. “No Worries, I’ll take care of it”, dad said, and left his wife alone with 3 crying newborns.
Larzuk was lucky to have married her. Barbarian women were bulky and rough, and the few Amazons that came to the Northern Steppes were sought after by many of his peers. And Vidala was the prettiest of them all. She had a fit slender body, and enough stamina to go on all night. Plus, she cooked great fish fingers. The typical way of courting Barbarian women, bashing them in the head and carrying them on your shoulder back to your hut, did not work on Vidala; she would dodge, avoid and evade all blows Larzuk attempted. She only started to fall for him, quite literally, when he managed to put a sleeping pill into her rejuvenation potion and managed to get her home before she woke up. There, the king-size bed, plasma TV and automatic blinds did the rest.
Mum was not happy when her husband returned and told her the names he had chosen. 'Talic, Madawc and Korlic' it was. “I should have hidden away that Lord of Destruction disc ages ago”, mum complained.
Still, Korlic couldn’t complain. If it had been up to mum they would have been named after the Spice Girls. Mum still called his brother Talic ‘Baby’ sometimes. She also called Madawc ‘Scary’, but that was mainly because he often walked around the house without a shirt, and because he would often sneak up to mum and shout in her ear. Mum called Korlic just ‘Korlic’, because that was his name.
Ever since Talic was old enough to started spinning around the room, Madawc started throwing his Star Wars miniatures at mum's head and Korlic was able to jump over the hut without tripping over the chimney, the three brothers had had a dream. When they were big, they would travel to Mount Arreat and beat up the real Ancients. Most people they told made fun of this, but their dad was always supportive. “They must be about 500 years old by now, so just take away their Zimmer frames and beat their ***”.
Each brother had his own reason for this desire. Talic wanted to pay them back for the times when they were made fun of at school for their stupid names. Madawc was just always looking for a fight, no matter against whom. Korlic’ had always been annoyed that because of his name he had to learn the completely useless Leap Attack skill.
This morning at the gym had not been different from others. While Talic kept whirling around trying not to lose his balance, and Madawc was throwing his wooden training axes at targets and small children, Korlic spent his time jumping over obstacles toward other pupils. Even if he didn’t hurt himself by hitting the gym roof (they were inside because it was raining), his opponent would just take a step away from where he landed and hit him in the back. The only time when his Leap Attack was effective was when Madawc came from the toilet and was not paying attention. Madawc was not amused, and spent the rest of the training aiming his training axes at Korlic’ head and vital organs. Korlic had to admit, in a high voice, that Madawc's trowing skill had improved.
Perhaps more out of annoyance than anything else, their trainer Qual-Kehk had concluded the training early. “You are now ready, I cannot teach you anything more”, he said. According to Talic he softly added “You’re useless”, but no-one else heard it. “It is time for you to start your quest”. “But we only started this Monday, and we paid you for 10 lessons”, Talic said. “You will learn on your way to Mount Arreat”, Qual-Kehk answered, “more time here is wasted”. This time all three brothers heard him say "You're crap".
Before the brothers left the gym the old trainer added:”If Anya mentions me, tell her that I have been busy and that I’ll call her soon”. “And remember to bring me back the Jah rune you promised, so I can finish my Enigma armor; I’ll give you a powerful Gull dagger for it in return, but only because your father and I are good friends”.
After packing their bags, the brothers walked over to the local branch of ‘Warriv’s Leisure and Business Travels’, and bought themselves a ticket by Caravan to the Rogue camp in the West. They were a bit confused that Qual-Kehk had told them to travel West, then East, then South, the Upwards (?) and then North again, while Mount Arreat was just a short walk away from the Barbarian camp. But their trainer had been persistent; they could use the exercise (this time he said nothing else). The next day they got up really early, brushed their teeth, ate their cornflakes and left the house.
Technical information
Our 3 builds are planned as follows:
Talic
Skills: Max Whirlwind, Sword Mastery, War Cry and Berserk (2nd attack). 1 pt in Increased Stamina, Increased Speed, Iron Skin and Natural Resistance.
Stats: Dexterity enough for max block, Strength enough for equipment, Energy base, rest in Vitality
Equipment: Aiming for Chaos Armor with Smoke, Dimensional Blade with Spirit, and Basinet with Lore, Shield with Rhyme.
Madawc
Skills: Max Throwing Mastery, Double Throw, Double Swing (synergy), Shout. 1 pt in Increased Stamina, Increased Speed, Iron Skin and Natural Resistance.
Stats: Strength enough for armor, Dexterity 150-200, Energy base, rest in Vitality
Equipment: Leather types of armor only (or bare-chested), with Smoke or Stealth, rare throwing axes, rare circlet with good mods
Korlic
Skills: Max Leap Attack (main attack, right button), Leap (synergy), Concentrate (2nd attack, left button), Battle Orders (synergy). 1 pt in Battle Command, Increased Stamina, Increased Speed, Iron Skin and Natural Resistance.
Stats: Strength and Dexterity enough for equipment, Energy base, rest in Vitality
Equipment: Chaos Armor with Smoke, Polearm weapon with Infinity or Honor, Basinet with Lore
Next steps
Coming weekend we hope to get at least through Act I –III Normal.