Diablo Wiki - User contributions [en]

D1 Lore

2009-04-18T22:25:32Z

Diak:

Diablo introduced the world of Sanctuary, the humans within it, and the powerful forces of Angels and Demons hovering forever just beyond the veil. The plot of the game of Diablo is revealed during the course of play, by NPC dialogues which are supplemented by the histories and legends related by various books and tomes found through the course of exploring the dungeons.

There are two types of stories told by the books and tomes.

# Histories left by the Horadrim mages. These are ancient tomes and they speak of historical and cosmological matters, introducing the reader to the cosmic struggle between the forces of the Heavens and the Hells.
# Diary style entries written by Archbishop Lazarus. These confessionals tell the story that led up to events in ''Diablo'', and supplement what the NPCs tell about the plot events of the game.

The dialogues presented in these books is quoted in full on this page. Further Diablo lore is available in the [[Diablo_I_Manual#Librarius_Ex_Horadrim_-_Book_One|Librarius Ex Horadrim - Book One]] section of the game manual transcript.

==Horadric Histories==

Books written by the ancient Horadrim mages, who built the catacombs beneath Tristram and buried the soulstone containing Diablo's essence deep within the labyrinth. There is some overlap between the books, as they describe the same events from slightly different perspectives or time frames.

These books can be found only on levels 4, 8 and 12 of the Crypt, Catacombs and Caves respectively.

===The Great Conflict===

::''Take heed and bear witness to the truths that lie herein, for they are the last legacy of the Horadrim. There is a war that rages on even now, beyond the fields that we know -- between the utopian kingdoms of the high Heavens and the chaotic pits of the burning Hells. This war is known as the Great Conflict, and it has raged and burned longer than any of the stars in the sky. Neither side ever gains sway for long as the forces of light and darkness constantly vie for control over all creation.''

===The Sin War===

::''Take heed and bear witness to the truths that lie herein, for they are the last legacy of the Horadrim. When the eternal conflict between the high heavens and the burning hells falls upon mortal soil, it is called the Sin War. Angels and Demons walk amongst humanity in disguise, fighting in secret, away from the prying eyes of mortals. Some daring, powerful mortals have even allied themselves with either side, and helped to dictate the course of the Sin War.

===The Prime Evils===

::''So it came to be that three prime evils were banished in spirit form to the mortal realm and after sewing chaos across the East for decades, they were hunted down by the cursed order of the mortal Horadrim. The Horadrim used artifacts called Soulstones to contain the essence of Mephisto, the Lord of Hatred, and his brother Baal, the Lord of Destruction. The younger brother –- Diablo, The lord of Terror -- escaped to the West.

::''Eventually the Horadrim captured Diablo with a Soulstone as well, and buried him under an ancient, forgotten cathedral. There, the Lord of Terror sleeps and awaits his time of rebirth. Know ye that he will seek a body of youth and power to possess -- one that is innocent and easily controlled. He will then arise to free his brothers and once more fan the flames of the Sin War...

==Lazarus' Grimoire==

Diary style entries left by the Archbishop, telling how Diablo was freed from the soulstone and returned to power in the body of Prince Albrecht. These books are found in random locations only on levels 4, 8 and 12 of the Crypt, Catacombs and Caves respectively.

===The Realms Beyond===

::''All praises to Diablo, Lord of Terror and survivor of the Dark Exile. When he awakened from his long slumber, my Lord and Master spoke to me of secrets that few mortals know. He told me that the kingdoms of the High Heavens and the Pits of the Burning Hells engage in an eternal war. He revealed the powers that have brought this discord to the realms of man. My lord has named the battle for this world and all who exist here the Sin War.

===Tale of the Three===

::''Glory and approbation to Diablo, the Lord of Terror and leader of The Three. My lord spoke to me of his two brothers, Mephisto and Baal, who were banished to this world long ago. My lord wishes to bide his time and harness his awesome power so that he may free his captive brothers from their tombs beneath the sands of the East. Once my lord releases his brothers, the Sin War will once again know the fury of The Three.

===The Black King===
::''"Hail and sacrifice to Diablo, Lord of Terror and Destroyer of Souls. When I awoke my master from his sleep, he attempted to possess a mortal's form. Diablo attempted to claim the body of King Leoric, but my master was too weak from his imprisonment. My lord required a simple and innocent anchor to this world, and so found the boy Albrecht perfect for the task. While the good King Leoric was left maddened from my lord's unsuccessful possession, I kidnapped his son Albrecht. I now await Diablo's call and pray that I will be rewarded when he at last emerges as the lord of this world.

==Hellfire Lore==

There is a bit of lore in Hellfire, enough to establish the game's plot and give some background to the one official character, the [[D1 Monk|Monk]]. There are also some books to be found in the [[Diablo Levels#Crypt|Crypt levels]] that add to the game's story. These are all worth reading on their own, but they are considered non-canon, since they are exclusive to this expansion pack, which was produced by Sierra in conjuction with Blizzard. Hellfire makes no additions to the lore revealed or story told in Diablo.

The Hellfire tomes relate entirely to the plot of Hellfire, which revolves around a powerful mage summoning the demon [[Na-Krul]]. The demon was too powerful for the mage to control, and as the mage felt himself losing control, he took the time to write long, grammatically correct journal entries, which he left on huge book stands spread throughout his dungeon.

===The Dark Mage===

This is the official Hellfire world fiction, transcribed from the game manual.

::''Not long ago, before the betrayal of Arch-Bishop Lazarus and the freeing of Diablo, a Dark Made was seen on the outskirts of Tristram. Many claimed that he often lurked near the cemetery at night. As this skulking figure did not appear to harm the graves, the townspeople left him alone. One evening smoke came driving from the soil, as from a smoldering fire. An orange glow from below lit up the tombstones, and someone saw the Dark mage descent into the earth itself. The smoke dissipated, the glow faded, and the cemetery was still. Whispers of evil sorcery and necromancy filled the tavern's gossip for a while, but were soon forgotten as King Leoric grew maddened and other troubles plagued the town.

::''Shortly before the Hero came and descended into the depths below the Monastery, the ground began smoldering again in the cemetery. A passing traveler told of spying a cloaked figure fleeing from the smoky site. Splattered with a thick, glowing substance, the Dark mage ran to the river and crossed the bridge, where he collapsed. The the traveler's unbelieving eyes, the stained, glowing body of the mage seemed to dissolve and melt into the earth, the soil greedily soaking up the remains.

::''Alarmed, the townspeople investigated the area by the river. To their dismay, they found an unclean, alien growth near the spot where the Dark Mage fell. A hard, dome-like shell, impenetrable and bizarre, sat in the center of the long atrocity. Since a small meteorite had fallen and exploded at this same location years earlier, it was now a place not only to be avoided, but also to be feared. The people pitied the poor Farmer whose land was affected, and many were concerned for his sanity, as he had taken to talking to his cattle for hours.

::''Disturbed and filled with dread, the people of Tristram have lately had many tragedies befall them. Signs of evil and chaos are everywhere, and the odd events by the river and in the graveyard are only a few of the many horrors that they have to contemplate. It is their hope that the Hero can unravel these mysteries, as well as defeat the Lord of Terror, Diablo.

===The Monk===

::''Monks of the Brotherhood of the Bough are a rare sight. It is said that they come from a desolate wilderness, where their people were forced to flee after being conquered by an invading horde. Because of their great defeat, these people vowed to master the arts of combat. Lacking resources such as iron, they learned to use their bare hands and simple wooden staves as deadly weapons, and do not depend on metal armor to provide protection in battle. Instead, they rely upon speed and concentration. In their harsh native clime, they have been forced to find food and other essentials in the most unlikely of places. Over time, this careful searching has honed their visual perception to an almost supernatural level.

::''It is rumored that a dark sickness has fallen upon the homeland of the Monks, and many of their people have died. The Brotherhood of the Bough has sought to unearth the foulness, to no avail. Desperate for answers, lone Monks have ventured to distant lands, searching for regions suffering a similar affliction. Tales of the evils besetting Tristram will have already attracted the attention of the Brotherhood.

::''The Monk is extremely skilled in hand-to-hand combat, and is a master of the staff, which he can use to strike many opponents with a single blow. However, he is not well trained with bladed or projectile weapons, and is not used to wearing heavy armor. Foes of weak or moderate ability tend to fail easily before him, but tougher enemies may provide him with a considerable challenge. All Monks have the ability to find items easily because of their exceptional eyesight.

===Cornerstone of the World===

This object is found on the first level of the Crypt. Its function is to transfer items between single player Hellfire characters, but it has some lore attached to it as well. See the [[Cornerstone of the World]] page for more details about how to use it. Here's the lore revealed by dropping an item on the active square itself.

::''And in the year of the golden light, it was so decreed that a great cathedral be raised. The cornerstone of this holy place was to be carved from the translucent stone Antyrael, named for the angel who shared his power with the Horadrim. In the year of drawing shadows, the ground shook and the cathedral shattered and fell. As the building of catacombs and castles began and man stood against the ravages of the Sin War, the ruins were scavenged for their stones. And so it was that the cornerstone vanished from the eyes of man.

::''The stone was of this world - and of all worlds - as the light is both within things and beyond all things. Light and unity are the products of this holy foundation, a unity of purpose and a unity of possession.

===Reconstructed Note===

Assembling the three parts of this note isn't exactly a quest, but [[Reconstructed_Note|this wiki hosts a quest page]] that covers it. The note is found in three scraps, one each on levels 1, 2, and 3 of the Crypt. Once all three parts have been found they automatically combine into the reassembled note, which can be read to learn more information about Na-Krul and how to weaken him before releasing him.

:''Whoever finds this scroll is charged with stopping the demonic creature that lies within these walls. My time is over. Even now, its hellish minions claw at the frail door behind which I hide.

:''I have hobbled the demon with arcane magic and encased it within great walls, but I fear that will not be enough.

:''The spells found in my three grimoires will provide you protected entrance to this domain, but only if cast in their proper sequence. The levers at the entryway will remove the barriers and free the demon; touch them not! Use only these spells to gain entry or his power may be too great for you to defeat.

:''To weaken Na-Krul, read the books in front of his chamber in this order: 
::''in spiritu sanctum 
::''praedictum otium 
::''efficio obitus ut inimicus

[[Category: Diablo I]]
[[Category: D1 Basics]]
[[Category: D1 Lore]]
[[Category: Lore]]

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Sorcerer

2009-04-18T20:12:08Z

Diak: /* Getting Started */

{{Class navbox}}These mages are weak at the start, but become devastatingly powerful once they've learned high levels in their combat spells. Unmatched in their killing speed in Diablo, Sorcerers are a bit more balanced in Hellfire, at least in the Crypt levels, where monsters are found in wider varieties, and plenty of them are immune to both Fire and Lightning. In the hell levels though, Sorcerers are peerless in their killing speed and skill, with only the triple immune Soul Burners and Advocates giving them any pause at all.

[[Image:Sorcerer.jpg|right|thumb|210px|Sorcerer from the [[Diablo I Manual]].]]

==Inherent Skill==
[[Image:D1-icon-staff-recharge.gif|left|frame]]
Sorcerers can recharge the charges on a staff, though the maximum number of charges will always decrease slightly, usually by 1 or 2. For example, a staff with 20 charges would go from 0/20 to 19/19 or 18/18.

Unlike durability (Hidden Shrines in Diablo plus oils in Hellfire) there is no way to raise the maximum charges on a staff, so this skill should never be used on a staff you are using long term. However, if you find a staff of Fireball or Guardian or some other useful spell, and just want to have some fun with it and cast a lot of spells without using any mana, knock yourself out.

The formula for determining the recharge, from Jarulf's Guide:
# if current charges is equal to max charges or max charges is equal to 0, exit
# x = Rnd[clvl/qlvl(book)] + 1
# decrease MaxChrg by 1
# add x to CurChrg
# if CurChrg < MaxChrg, goto 3.
# CurChrg = MaxChrg

==Stats and Attributes==

A collection of useful stats and figures for the Sorcerer. Refer to the [[Diablo Characters]] page to see these figures, and others, in tables for easy comparison between the six character classes of Diablo and Hellfire.

{|
! Start Values
! Max Values (Naked)
! Max Values (Equipped) * Diablo / Hellfire **
! Increases
|-
| valign="top" | '''Life:''' 30 '''Mana:''' 70 '''Strength:''' 15 '''Magic: '''35 '''Dexterity:''' 15 '''Vitality:''' 20
| valign="top" | '''Life:''' 138 '''Mana:''' 596 '''Strength:''' 45 '''Magic:''' 250 '''Dexterity:''' 85 '''Vitality:''' 80
| valign="top" | '''Life:''' 618 / 618 '''Mana:''' 1196 / 1216 '''Strength:''' 220 / 280 '''Magic: '''425 / 485 '''Dexterity:''' 250 / 310 '''Vitality: '''245 / 305 '''Armor Class:''' 405 '''To/Hit:''' 350 / 390
| valign="top" |
Per Level Up: ***
* Life: + 1
* Mana: + 2
* Per Attribute Point:
** 1 Vitality = 1 life
** 1 Magic = 2 mana
|}
* * Not all maximum values can be achieved at once. Each value is only attainable by devoting all of your equipment to that particular attribute or statistic.
* ** Hellfire maximum values are higher for the Rogue, Warrior, and Sorcerer since new uniques added in Hellfire make possible much higher attribute levels. The values for mana and life do not include the unique jewelry that transfers life to mana, or vice versa.
* *** No life or mana increases are granted at level 50.

==Sorcerer Tactics==

Sorcerers are all about casting spells. They can equip weapons, and aren't that bad melee, with a fast sword and high defense, but it's never their strength. They have low damage, low to/hit, and very low hit points. What they do have is a ton of magic and mana, and the ability to cast spells very quickly. Use that to your advantage.

===Getting Started===

A low level Sorcerer is wise to stick most or all of his points into magic, raising his mana and ability to read books as quickly as possible. Once he gets to Mana Shield, his low hit points are no longer an issue. Use the low level spells liberally, and learn to aim your projectiles; just like shooting a bow, firebolt and holy bolt and other such spells are far more accurate when fired in straight lines. Start to use your four hotkeys early on and adjust your spellcasting according to what the immediate targets are. Similar to warriors who often use maces rather than swords against skeletons, casting holy bolt on undead will almost always be more effective than casting firebolt.

Lightning is the first powerful spell for most Sorcerers, though Holy Bolt can be quite useful for Undead enemies since its damage scales up very quickly, and it can stun enemy targets. Lightning's listed damage isn't that impressive, but each bolt hits multiple times, and since it passes through monsters, a single Lightning Bolt can hit multiple enemies. Fire Wall can be obtained fairly early as well, and it boasts huge damage and can also be used as a sort of barrier, since monsters will not walk into it if they are not fire immune. Cast one Fire Wall, and then cast a second one a space back, when monsters line up just behind the wall.

Once a Sorcerer gets Fireball his progress becomes exponentially faster, since the spell does far higher damage than anything else of a comparable level, and the splash damage allows it to damage multiple monsters at once, if they are tightly-packed. Chain Lightning has a similar effect, once its been raised several levels and the number of bolts is beginning to grow impressive.

===Melee Combat===
Sorcerers may engage in some melee early in the game when spells and mana are scarce, but it's not something they spend much time at. When melee combat is useful is in the very late game, when triple immune monsters are encountered. These should be hit with a stone curse, and then beaten to rubble. A good old KSoH (King's Sword of Haste) is quite effective for that purpose, though the easier to find and deceptively powerful [[D1_Unique_Blunts#Civerb.27s_Cudgel|Civerb's Cudgel]] works even better, on stoned Demons. Which both Soul Burners and Advocates are. Using a Golem on those levels is a wise choice, since at high levels the stone men do as much (or more) damage as the Sorcerer himself. Typical behavior on level 16 is to teleport through the quadrants of the level, luring all of the Blood Knights out to be incinerated by Fireballs. With them cleared out, Sorcerers can head in with a golem, their best melee weapon, and Stone Curse at the ready, to deal with the triple immune Advocates. (Or just use Apocalypse, if it's available.)

Sorcerers aren't much good melee against non-stone cursed enemies, since even with a haste sword, a Sorcerer swings slowly and has a very slow hit recovery animation. Sorcerers can cast several spells in the time it takes to swing a sword one time, and unless the target is immune, a spell is almost always a better solution. Hitting things with pointy objects is for the stupid, slower, lesser characters.

===Bow Strategy===
Sorcerers are not well suited to using bows. They fire very slowly, they have terrible damage and to/hit, and they have spells for ranged attacks.

==Battle vs. Artillery==
The core debate about Sorcerer play style is Artillery vs. Battle.

===Battle Mages ===
Battle Mages play almost the same way as Arty mages, but they wear heavy plate armor and use one handed weapons and shields. This means their +spell equipment is generally limited to a Dreamflange, and perhaps a [[D1_Unique_Helms#Thinking_Cap|Thinking Cap]], if they choose that instead of a [[D1_Unique_Helms#Royal_Circlet|Royal Circlet]], giving them, at most, +3 to all spells. They might use a KSoH or Civerb's Cudgel instead of a Dreamflange, especially on levels with triple immune monsters.

The play differences come from the equipment. Battle mages can take hits and let monsters get very close to them, since they can block some attacks, and other attacks will miss, especially if they have high AC on their armor and shield. This lets them play much more aggressively, blasting spells at point blank range, in situations no Arty Mage would dare risk. However, they will often need to cast more spells thanks to their lower spell level, and they likely have less mana and must therefore drink more potions.

===Arty Mages===
Artillery mages generally eschew heavy plate armor and shields, and prefer to go with [[D1_Unique_Armor#Naj.27s_Light_Plate|Naj's Light Plate]] and AA staves (Arch Angel's = +2 to spell levels). Those items give them +3 to spells, and if they go with a [[D1_Unique_Helms#Thinking_Cap|Thinking Cap]] as well, they're at the maximum +5 to skills and capable of devastating any non-fireproof enemy with their massive level 20 Fireballs. Other equipment usually focuses on very high mana, turning these characters into the prototypical "glass cannons."

Arty mages are capable of dealing enormous damage very quickly, but with their negligible Armor Class and lack of a shield, anything that gets near them will hit them. They can be stun locked very easily, and death is always possible from a couple of fast hitting enemies. They are also weak against triple immunes, since staffs do poor melee damage.

====Naked Mages====

A subset of the artillery mages are naked mages. In a concession to how overpowered the character is in Diablo, players looking for a greater challenge started playing mages without wearing any equipment at all. There's nothing that says such a mage must play in artillery style, but it's foolish and inefficient not to, since without any armor on, every monster that gets off a swing will land a hit. Naked mages pick up items and sell them in town, since they need gold to buy potions, and they might [[mule]] items to other characters as well, but they don't use anything they find.

Naked mages never equip any items; some players make an allowance for "reading glasses", items equipped solely to increase the magic to allow books to be read, but purists frown upon this practice. There is one exception; it's convenient to equip some sort of weapon simply to keep the sorcerer from picking up and equipping every item you click on. One trick to this is to put on a ring or amulet that raises your strength enough to equip a weapon you could not otherwise use. Then when you remove the jewelry the weapon will stay in your equipment slot; unusable, but preventing you from picking anything else up.

=====Beyond Naked Mages=====

The most fanatical players go for this variant. BNMs use equipment, but only equipment with negative stats. Plenty of items in Diablo and Hellfire have -stats, lowering attributes, mana, hit points, etc, and these are what BNMs use. Whether your character must equip every such item found, or just one or two, varies depending on how purist a rule set you follow. In any event, the end result of using cursed equipment is lower mana, since there are no mods in Diablo or Hellfire that change casting speed, lower spell levels, etc, so all a BNM is doing to himself is lowering his attributes, mana, and hit points.

* See the [[Beyond Naked Mage 101]] page for lots of tips and advice about playing in this challenging style.

==Higher Level Tactics==
A high level Sorcerer will have maxed out his Fireball skill, and is willing to deploy appropriate magics on a hair trigger. Sorcerers have very high mana and very little patience, and are known to teleport more than they walk. They also know that overkill with spell use is safer and actually mana-cheaper than being stingy with the spells and taking hits because of it, so they tend to spam their Fireballs and Chain Lightning until they're quite sure monsters are dead. Expert Sorcerers dart through the Hell levels, teleporting from room to room, hugging the walls to optimize the performance of their Chain Lightning, making daring teleporting runs through large areas to draw all the monsters into killing zones, playing never more than an inch or two out of reach of the enemies, and drinking blue pots like water.

There's an amazing speed and fluidity and precision to play at that level, where players measure their success and skill by how quickly they can clear levels.

* See [[Flux's Expert Mage Guide]] for much more information on advanced mage tactics.

Hellfire changed nothing about Sorcerer performance in the Hell levels. The Hive is quite easy as well, but the Crypt is a very different kettle of fish. Nothing in Diablo is Immune to Fire/Lightning and resistant to Magic, and since Fireball and Chain Lightning are by far the most effective killing spells, and none of the magic-based spells were very effective ([[D1_Spellbooks#Flash|Flash]] lists quite high damage, but it's bugged and does much less in actuality.), most Sorcerers never deviated from those spells. In Hellfire's Crypt, numerous monsters are immune to Fire and Lightning, while vulnerable to Magic. These beasts can simply be treated like triple immunes and Stoned and clubbed to rubble, but this is not the most efficient or speedy way to clear the levels. Blood Star, Bone Spirit, and Flash are effective magic type spells, but the fact that only 4 hotkeys are allowed makes it hard to keep a full assortment of attack spells at the ready, along with Teleport, Stone Curse, and perhaps Golem. On the whole, the Crypt is much more of a challenge to a Mage than any of the levels in Hell.

[[Image:D1-sorc-16.gif|center|frame|Run in, teleport around to attract the Blood Knights, then pop over a wall and wait for the Blood Knights to come around the corner as the Advocates' Fireballs crash harmless into the barrier.]]

==Sorcerer Lore==
[[Image:D1-sorcerer-concept.jpg|thumb|Sorcerer concept art.]]
Sorcerers are mysterious mages from distant Eastern lands. Apprentices to their craft, they've come to test their might and seek out rare books of arcane knowledge in the demon-infested crypts beneath Tristram.

:''Although practitioners of the mystic arts are scarce within the often superstitious and religious lands of the West, many magi have made the pilgrimage from the Far East to see for themselves what horrors lie beneath the ruined Cathedral of Khanduras. The veiled Brotherhood of the Vizjerei, one of the eldest and most dominant mage-clans of the East, has sent many of its acolytes to observe the dark events unfolding in Khanduras first hand.

:''The Vizjerei, known for their brightly colored Turinash, or spirit-robes, have taken a keen interest in both gathering knowledge of demons and seeing them slain. The Vizjerei elders hope that their acolytes will learn the secrets of the dark evil that they sense growing in the West and can destroy it. The possibility of discovering long-lost tomes of magical knowledge within the confines of the labyrinth has also captured the interest of many wandering Sorcerers.

:''Most magic in Khanduras is in the form of enchanted items and elixirs. The Eastern Sorcerers have developed a greater understanding of spellcasting than the other classes, and while a Vizjerei neonate knows only the simplest of spells to start, he can expect to rapidly grow in power as he discovers new incantations. All Sorcerers possess the ability to recharge spell staves by drawing power from their surroundings and channeling them through the staff.

The Sorcerer was replaced by the Sorceress as a playable character in Diablo II, though the Iron Wolf [[mercenaries]] of Act Three were clearly modeled after Diablo I's Sorcerer. The game lore went on to say that the Sorcerer character from Diablo became [[the Summoner]], the boss monster found in the Arcane Sanctuary in Act Two.

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[[Category: Diablo I Characters]]
[[Category: Characters]]
[[category: Diablo I]]
[[category: D1 Strategy]]

User:Diak

2009-04-18T19:56:02Z

Diak:

Diak is http://forums.diii.net/member.php?u=130306

I am a long time fan of Diablo 1 and also play Diablo 2/World of Warcraft.