06-17-2004, 06:55 PM
There is a great difference between the Diablo 1 sorcerer and the Diablo 2 sorceress.
The Diablo 1 sorcerer is a generic Vizejerai sorcerer. A generalist though his tradition tends to have a focus on elemental magicks. He has not trouble supplementing his elemental core with a few choice necromantics (avoiding all the icky undead stuff), some displacement magic and even a few Zakarumite rites like Healing and the undead-smashing Holy Bolt.
The Diablo 2 sorceress is a member of the secretive Zan Esen order that besides their all-female composition is characterised by their very radical magical specialisation. Allegedly to avoid "demonic corruption" they have chosen to specialise completely in elemental magicks. Severing the links to all other magical disciplines or schools of thought, how useful or innocious they might ever seem. They even went lengths to bend elemental dweomers to simulate some essential spells like Mana Shield and Teleport, in the case of Teleport even improving upon the efficiency of the original.
Nevertheless, if a Sorceress ever had the chance to meet a mage from the Horadric brotherhood's heydays she would undoubtedly find him distastedly "pragmatic".
To say the the Diablo 1 warrior is a paladin is undoubtedly a bit of a stretch. Even though all knightly orders of the west are heavily influenced by the principles of the Zakarum faith not all of them are so singularily devout as to be called fully fledged paladins. Our warrior hero of Diablo 1 could be a fledgeling knight or more likely a freelancer with but a little formal training. He has some aptitude in the holy arts it is merely a scholary addition to a training that is based primarily on regular swordsmanship.
In contrast the Diablo 2 paladin has a training completely devoid of the secular. Every little breath he draws is completely devoted to the sacred principles of Zakarum. His training has more in common with a monk than a warrior and much of his time is spent in prayer and meditation to cleanse his mind of all worldly reminiscenses and let the holy doctrines penetrate his heart.
Even his combat training is not ordinary swordplay, but more like prayers in motion.
The Diablo 1 rogue is indeed a sister of the most enigmatic order of the Sightless Eye. A strange monastic order residing in their own little autonomous region sandwiched between Khanduras and the great Aranoch desert, though they have agents operating over the entire western world (maybe except the Barbarian Heartlands).
Theologically the Sisters of the Sightless Eye is probably a proto-Zakarumite order, based on the principles of Zakarumite faith before it crystalised into the present eastern and western school (of which the eastern were to be so terribly accursed). Even though their central tenets are largely the same they are worlds apart from the Paladins of the west and the Council Zakarumites of the east. Their faith is more introspective and mystical and considerably less dogmatic.
Also their political aims are different from the typical Zakarumites. The Sisters of the Sightless Eye value independency, eschewing all political ties fighting for the Light unfettered by all kings and borders.
All while the "mainstream" Zakarum seems to focus on claiming political power in the name of the Light.
As far as training goes, the Sisters are very pragmatic. Honing their skills in all "acceptable" mystical arts as well as a tradition for archery that probably predates the Rogue order. Indeed much of their training is remarkably similar to that of the Amazon warriors. Though the sisters attribute their mental focus to the mysteries of the true Light while the Amazons base their training on ancient polytheistic rites and legends.
The Diablo 1 sorcerer is a generic Vizejerai sorcerer. A generalist though his tradition tends to have a focus on elemental magicks. He has not trouble supplementing his elemental core with a few choice necromantics (avoiding all the icky undead stuff), some displacement magic and even a few Zakarumite rites like Healing and the undead-smashing Holy Bolt.
The Diablo 2 sorceress is a member of the secretive Zan Esen order that besides their all-female composition is characterised by their very radical magical specialisation. Allegedly to avoid "demonic corruption" they have chosen to specialise completely in elemental magicks. Severing the links to all other magical disciplines or schools of thought, how useful or innocious they might ever seem. They even went lengths to bend elemental dweomers to simulate some essential spells like Mana Shield and Teleport, in the case of Teleport even improving upon the efficiency of the original.
Nevertheless, if a Sorceress ever had the chance to meet a mage from the Horadric brotherhood's heydays she would undoubtedly find him distastedly "pragmatic".
To say the the Diablo 1 warrior is a paladin is undoubtedly a bit of a stretch. Even though all knightly orders of the west are heavily influenced by the principles of the Zakarum faith not all of them are so singularily devout as to be called fully fledged paladins. Our warrior hero of Diablo 1 could be a fledgeling knight or more likely a freelancer with but a little formal training. He has some aptitude in the holy arts it is merely a scholary addition to a training that is based primarily on regular swordsmanship.
In contrast the Diablo 2 paladin has a training completely devoid of the secular. Every little breath he draws is completely devoted to the sacred principles of Zakarum. His training has more in common with a monk than a warrior and much of his time is spent in prayer and meditation to cleanse his mind of all worldly reminiscenses and let the holy doctrines penetrate his heart.
Even his combat training is not ordinary swordplay, but more like prayers in motion.
The Diablo 1 rogue is indeed a sister of the most enigmatic order of the Sightless Eye. A strange monastic order residing in their own little autonomous region sandwiched between Khanduras and the great Aranoch desert, though they have agents operating over the entire western world (maybe except the Barbarian Heartlands).
Theologically the Sisters of the Sightless Eye is probably a proto-Zakarumite order, based on the principles of Zakarumite faith before it crystalised into the present eastern and western school (of which the eastern were to be so terribly accursed). Even though their central tenets are largely the same they are worlds apart from the Paladins of the west and the Council Zakarumites of the east. Their faith is more introspective and mystical and considerably less dogmatic.
Also their political aims are different from the typical Zakarumites. The Sisters of the Sightless Eye value independency, eschewing all political ties fighting for the Light unfettered by all kings and borders.
All while the "mainstream" Zakarum seems to focus on claiming political power in the name of the Light.
As far as training goes, the Sisters are very pragmatic. Honing their skills in all "acceptable" mystical arts as well as a tradition for archery that probably predates the Rogue order. Indeed much of their training is remarkably similar to that of the Amazon warriors. Though the sisters attribute their mental focus to the mysteries of the true Light while the Amazons base their training on ancient polytheistic rites and legends.