The Story of Luddite, a HC/No AH/No Twink Run

[Archon_Wing]

Prelude: I've stated in a few posts that 1.04/1.05 have changed the game enough that it is viable to not use the Auction House to get far into this game. It's time to stop theorizing and see how this really works. And it'll be in hardcore, because I'm that arrogant/stupid

Luddite was a simple man. He had no need for the excesses of life and the collection of currency seemed like a waste of time. Why bother working a dead end job and work to appease others when you could gather and create your own things for your own livelihood? When it comes to fighting, it feels much better to rely on one's own strength and fortune. So it was only natural that when the demons of Hell returned, that he had one solution to rid the world of this inconvenience. Slay each and every one of them so he could finally have a good night's sleep.

As he set off, his fellow Barbarians informed him of a powerful new technology known as the Auction House. With it, it could generate weapons and armor of incredible power provided he could pay. But that was not for him. What good is it to slay the enemy with equipment that has been tainted for others. He resolved to only use items that his loyal Blacksmith forged, items he found, and if he were to shop, to only shop local. Because that's just the way he was.

"Hah, might as well rename yourself to Hipster then!" the Barbarians scoffed, but their words had no effect on him. Luddite was a pretentious enough name anyways. And so he set off...

The previous owner, a kind Wizard, provided him with quite a fortune of 500,000 gold. But since Luddite knew that these proceeds were from the excesses of the Auction House, that he would have no need for it.



Restriction: I took this screenshot to note how much gold I had at time of creation. Thus, I must not let the bank fall below 514,758 gold

After killing a few zombies, Luddite managed to learn to summon a hammer out of nowhere. He assumed it was a gift from the gods for his determination. Then a bat dropped a much higher quality shield then he had. One wonders what logic there is there with that happening, but he did not care.



A pointed Javelin drops as well, but he preferred the extra experience.


As fortune would smile, he locates a club that has both damage and experience just before rescuing Cain.



There were a few close calls, and Luddite's potion stock was running low. Fortunately, his health problems would be solved for now with another weapon drop



Eventually Luddite would come across a wandering warrior, Kormac, that would join him. They both had a similar mindset of simplicity and got along promptly. Unfortunately, Kormac proved utterly worthless against the Skeleton King which almost nearly killed both of them had he not ran around waiting for his potions and rend to take effect. The Undead King drops a Crossbow that is of no use to Luddite, so he takes it to the blacksmith who forges a subtle essence. And some apprentice boots were forged for good use. Now he would be able to run from overwhelming hordes if need be, though it really shouldn't.



Note: Yes, I realize a problem is that the Blacksmith is account wide, but I simply won't be bothered to account for the gold it takes to level the BS. Rest assured, I'll only be crafting level appropriate things regardless.