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dr.cello
2009-06-27, 11:21 PM
This is, naturally, completely unnecessary, but nevertheless the idea of a tabletop version of Diablo has always amused me greatly: if you wanted to make a campaign/character/etc. based on Diablo II etc., what would you do/use?

(I am aware of the d20 supplement/ruleset/whatever that exists for Diablo II but was not much nourished by what I was able to find of it. Anyway this is more fun.)

hamishspence
2009-06-28, 04:32 AM
Keep on the shadowfell had "always spawning coffins" that could be suppressed.

Making the game "feel like" Diablo is probably the important bit. Minion-heavy. Adding templates to existing monsters to make them "Uniques" Shrines that grant temporary bonuses to the heroes. Etc.

The Portal line of rituals is strongly reminicent of Town Portal, with you being able to teleport to a designated circle.

KIDS
2009-06-28, 05:07 AM
I oftend tried to make characters based on diablo classes before, and it was a nearly impossible task (I managed Sorceress as a Warmage, Amazon as a Duskblade, and Assassin as some gimmicked monk/rogue/shadowdancer combination).

I'm not sure if it would be a bit simpler now; Sorceress fits very well as either Wizard or Sorcerer, Amazon is a ranger or a swordmage (just change 'sword' to 'spear), and Assassin works quite well as a plain Rogue or Monk.

dr.cello
2009-06-28, 06:48 AM
Let's see. Necromancer could be an Infernal warlock pretty easily. Paladin... is probably a Warlord or Warlord/Paladin multiclass or maybe a Cleric. I think Druid can remain Druid, ditto Barbarian (with an option on Warlord multiclassing for his war shouts), or perhaps Battlerager Fighter.

Minions is a good catch, definitely. Elites and Solos work pretty well to buff existing monsters into Uniques and Super-Uniques, especially slapping on a damaging aura of some sort.

Naturally, the PCs go through the same campaign three times with increasing levels of difficulty...

bosssmiley
2009-06-28, 08:55 AM
Silly dr.cello! It's 3E that pastiches Diablo (item slots, ability paths, [argle] [bargle] of [foo]); 4E models WoW. :smallwink:

Seriously? Find a random dungeon generator online, run it a few times, then throw in a load of single classed only characters. Grind until left mouse button dice throwing hand seizes up. Wonder why players never come back.

Diablo as written makes for a [I]really weak dungeon crawl. There's no problem solving, no sense of beating it through player skill (sheer persistence and a 'build' will carry you through), and no real meaningful action beyond "I click the monster/crate/shrine". Warhammer Quest had more depth as a dungeon simulator than did Diablo. :smallamused:

dr.cello
2009-06-28, 09:09 AM
Oh, goodness, I wasn't planning on anything serious. Though the idea of running the same campaign three times at various difficulty levels does strike me as hilarious enough to consider. (Anyway, what is WoW but Diablo watered down?)

I think in terms of mechanics 4e duplicates the gameplay of Diablo better; I think it's the attack powers (and the minion monsters) that do it. It's not just about left-clicking; it's left-clicking and right-clicking, and sometimes hitting some of the F-keys to switch powers. 3e is very left-click-only for martial classes.

(3.5, in contrast, is excellent at duplicating Nethack; 4e would play nothing like Nethack.)

Grynning
2009-06-28, 11:53 AM
Hrm...it's difficult to truly capture the Diablo mass slaughter feel in a table top game because the pacing is very different. However, the world of Sanctuary is a very cool setting with nice thematic elements. Remember too that there's a lot more folks running around there than just the classes from Diablo II (look at Diablo III's class set for instance).

Here are some ideas you could use to replicate some things though:

Assassin: The Monk preview is very close to the Diablo Assassin in feel, with built in "combos" in the form of full disciplines. Since we don't have the whole class yet though, Rogue or two-weapon ranger is probably your best bet. Trap Assassins seem like Artificer would be a good fit, but I haven't had enough time to familiarize myself with the 4th ed artificer yet so it's hard to say for sure.

Amazon: In addition to Archer Ranger, look at the new Bard kit from Arcane Power. It has a lot of Arcane ranged attacks that capture a lot of the Zon's flavor. A multi-class or Hybrid class with Artificer from Eberron PG wouldn't be bad either, as they have a lot of ranged-weapon boosting powers as well. Spear and Javazons are best represented by Warlord and Fighter IMO, as both have polearm themed paragon paths, maybe with some Arcane multi-classing as well.

Barbarian: Obviously, the Barbarian class from D&D has a lot in common with a two-hander type Barbarian. However, Dual-Wield Barbs from D2 would actually best be represented by a two-weapon Ranger with Bastard Swords or other high damage one-handers.

Druid: Well, Shifter Druids are pretty straightforward to directly translate over. Elemental Druids, on the other hand, may be better represented by the Sorcerer or Wizard. Just pick wind, cold and fire themed powers (there is a rolling boulder o fire wizard power, which is very appropriate).

Necromancer: For a horde Necro, Summoner Wizard with some flavor alteration could work. For a Poison Necro, Dark Pact Warlock is the way to go. Bone Necros are probably best done as Invokers or Wizards with lots of wall-type conjurations.

Paladin: Diablo Paladins aren't really very Tanky, and would actually be better represented by the D&D 4th ed Cleric IMO. You could mix and match to get the feel you want regardless.

Sorceress: This one's pretty obvious. Just build your AoE blaster of choice. Sorcerer fits best for Lightning builds (with thematic paragon paths in Arcane Power), Fire & Cold can be done with Wizard or Sorceror.

Encounters: Tanking and Healing are really not a part of Diablo at all. You'd really have to design encounters to allow players to just go wild with damage and not have to worry about 4th ed style tactics as much. Make Potions plentiful and maybe make them not cost a healing surge, and maybe reduce the damage of monster attacks by half or so, allowing even the squishiest party members to eat hits and not have to worry as much about marking and defending.

Indon
2009-06-28, 08:37 PM
Silly dr.cello! It's 3E that pastiches Diablo (item slots, ability paths, [argle] [bargle] [item] of [foo]); 4E models WoW. :smallwink:

I get the impression you say this in jest, but you are more correct than you know (http://www.amazon.com/Diablo-II-Awakening-Advanced-Roleplaying/dp/0786916125/ref=sr_1_24?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1246239534&sr=8-24).

Edit: On a serious note, Diablo II probably wouldn't work for 4ed - the Diablo class selection is very Striker-heavy.

Amazon-Striker
Assassin-Striker
Sorceress-Striker w/slight controller options
Necromancer-Striker w/slight leader options
Barbarian-Striker/Defender
Paladin-Striker/Leader
Druid-Defender/Leader