With all that has happened with new Diablo 3 revelations about the world of Sanctuary and its denizens, specifically with regards to the playable classes, its not hard to imagine the numerous ideas that have floated around the forums about possible ideas for character classes. What I'd like to do, however, is NOT to focus on the unnanounced fifth class or speculate on what it possibly is or is not, but focus on ideas for classes that may be introduced after the game's initial release. Let us assume, for the purpose of this post, that Blizzard will follow the typical pattern of initial class creations like in Diablo 2 and that the fifth class is the stereotypical ranged class. Call it whatever you wish to call it in this assumption, but call it just that in the end - "stereotypical ranged class".
What I'm proposing to let everyone express their ideas of classes that could theoretically be created, or re-created, in the realm of Sanctuary. I would ask that you keep the idea creations to just one, but, in doing so, be very detailed and imaginative about what this class is, why it's here in Sanctuary and to give it some lore or history pertaining to why this class of people exist and its purpose or motivation is to fight the hellish minions of Diablo and his ilk. Get creative with it! I'm not too well versed in Diablo lore in comparison to some others here, so I'm hoping for some awesome concepts! Allow me to set the example...
Someone in another post mentioned the idea of "geomancers" and, as such, should be, at the very least, be given a good deal of credit for this thread's existance. However, this person did not go into explicit detail as to what this class could do or what purpose it served on Sanctuary. I very much liked this idea, however, my experience with "geomancers" was limited to Final Fantasy Tactics, ergo, I had to combine it with a Diablo 2 class to help make this as realistic as I possibly could. So, to give this person's idea some justice and credibility for possible creation, here's my take on the Geomancer:
Background:
Geomancers, as it pertains to the realm of Diablo, are simply Druids that have attuned themselves more to the natural energies surrounding them and that have either lost or given up the ability to shapeshift and call upon their animal friends. Like their Druid brothers, they hold the delicate balance of nature to be all-important. Their motivation for fighting Diablo is also very similar to the Druid's - to rid Sanctuary of the perverse power that is Diablo and the minions of hell and to prevent the upset of the balance of power nature has over all creation.
To combat this threat, Geomancers are capable of incredible feats. They aren't the physically intimidating warriors like their cousins, the Barbarians, or the magically destructive spellcasters like the arcane Wizards, but what they lack in mastery of either fighting method, their versatility makes them ferocious and unpredictable combatants. They can bend the elemental powers of nature to their will, summon elementals to do their bidding and even incorporate the elements into some of the most impressive melee combat techniques to be witnessed in Sanctuary!
Powers and Abilities:
Armaments - As stated before, Geomancers are not hardened warriors. They aren't used to wearing heavy armor and choose light armor like clothing, if they choose to wear any armor at all. Shields are also non-existant for Geomancers for protective measures. As far as weapons, Geomancers commonly wield one-handed melee weapons like axes or maces/clubs and sometimes their two-handed melee counterparts.
"Natural" Spellcasting - Like Wizards, Geomancers use the energies available them to project deadly force at their targets. However, that's where all similarities end. Where Wizards use arcane methods to attack foes, the Geomancers use a completely different form of energy to project at enemies - the invisible natural energy of the surrounding environment. They are capable of shooting fireballs, geode crystal missiles, bolts of lightning, slicing blades of wind, blizzards and shards of ice, jutting blade-like rocks that shoot up from underground, and even incorporating night and day into their attacks - namely, the powerful "Solar Flare" and, its lunar opposite, the "Shadow Flare" techniques. Both of which are non-elemental attacks and amongst the most powerful techniques at the Geomancer's disposal.
Summoning - Geomancers are uniquely powerful because of their attunement to the natural energy around them. Those who are attuned high enough can create, or "summon", physical manifestations of the elements. The most common forms of elemental creations that the Geomancers "summon" are earthen and rock golems, devilish-looking fire elementals, globulous water or frozen ice minions, and vaporous air elementals. The number of summonable minions, like the Druid, would depend on the power of the creature summoned. Also, the Geomancer can keep different elemental minions at his side at one time, like the Necromancer and his skeletal minions. Should a Geomancer reach the pinnacle of elemental attunement, they can create the ultimate minion, itself being a reference from old-school M:TG, (Magic: The Gathering for all of you non-card collecting nerds out there) the Force of Nature.
Here's a further explanation of the Geomancer's minions - All summoned minions have elemental resistances and weaknesses much like what you'd expect from nature. Also, they have different attributes and abilities according to what element they are:
Earth would be slow, yet incredibily durable and able to regenerate itself slowly while attacks have a chance to knockback and stun.
Fire would be able to do decent damage, but it would not be very durable. However, it would consume corpses to heal itself and attacks would have a chance to reduce melee accuracy from opponents it hits.
Air would be very speedy, both in movement and in attack speed. It would be just as durable as its fiery counterpart, but its melee damage would be significantly less. However, its attacks have a chance to launch charged bolts or even lightning bolts of varying strength!
Water/Ice would be well rounded and fairly durable with attacks having a slowing effect while attacks against it having a chance to freeze the offender. Also, ranged attacks would be significantly ineffective against this type of minion.
Finally, the Force of Nature would have some of the best defensive abilities of the other minions' while possessing none of their elemental weaknesses. It would also employ any of the offensive attack abilities of the other elemental minions at random on a successful attack.
Enhanced Combat - To say "WoW Enhance Shammy" would not be too far off; yet, it would be enough of a misrepresentation of what the Geomancer does with the elements that it warrants a more detailed explanation. For starters, the Geomancer only needs to will the elements to his side. They need no physical item (*cough* totem) to sustain the effect that the element provides. However, it does fade over time, requiring the Geomancer to re-will the element in question back to his being, much like a Barbarian's shout empowers them for a brief time before they need to shout again. Each of the elements lends its assistance to the Geomancer and, depending on the element, gives them different boosts. For instance, summoning the element of earth renders the Geomancer more durable and enables him to regenerate his life force by absorbing the very life energy underneath him. Willing the element of fire to his being imbues the Geomancer's weapon with the ability to penetrate his enemies' defenses and allow for more damage to be dealt. With the elements of wind and lightning, the Geomancer's combat speed is increased as well as their casting speed. Finally, the elements of water and ice give the Geomancer increased resistance to the other elements as well as a furthered increase in defensive potential. As the Geomancers become more adept at using the elements in this fashion, they become more able to protect themselves from any conceivable attack all the while being able to combat any foe they may encounter. On a side note, it would probably be conceivable to give the Geomancer attack, damage, critical strike chance and defensive bonuses as they use the choice weapons and armor (to receive said defensive bonuses, perhaps the requirement should be that the armor worn has to be at or below a certain max durability level - the theory being that heavier armor is more durable) that Geomancers would use in the form of whatever equivalent of a talent point system they will make in D3.
These powers and abilities are based on the thought that the crew at Blizzard still plan to incorporate different skill sets for the different classes. Also, if you add in the possibilities with synergy effects, the versatility and the power of the Geomancer becomes something that could potentially be frightening. Hopefully, with what I have done, I have given a clear outline for the purpose of this thread. With that, I hope you've enjoyed my take on the concept of the "Geomancer".
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Avast ye! Scyberdragon be te thank for the sig, arr!
Just a quick question: Why call this class a geomancer (geo beiing latin for earth), when he is a elementalist who has power over all elements?
P.S.: I like your ideas, it would be nice to see a elementalist in D3 however it seems a bit too similar to the Wizard gameplaywise.
For the first question - It's actually due in part of the literal translation of "Geomancer" that I called it as such. As the earth controls all of the elements, the Geomancer is a human extension of this power. In any case, for me it was just a more fitting term to use. Both Geomancer and Elementalist are correct terminologies for this class, but Geomancer stood as the better name because of their beliefs in "nature's balance". Elementalist, to me, would not have been fitting to portray said belief.
For the P.S. comment - Part of the Geomancer idea is somewhat similar to the Wizard; however, I wanted to give this class a physical offensive capability, with elemental effects, that the Wizard does not possess. Also, I enjoyed playing the Necromancer class in Diablo 2 and wanted to fit in here as to contrast the Witch Doctor. Like how the Druid was the opposite of the Necromancer, in terms of summoning, the Geomancer would be the opposite of the Witch Doctor - "Natural" summoning versus "Supernatural" summoning.
Thanks for asking!
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[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
Avast ye! Scyberdragon be te thank for the sig, arr!
Cool concept! A kind of Amazon/Assassin mix of combat with a touch of "summoning" in the form of invention/creation. I could just imagine this class creating a Hwacha and watching a hail of arrows rain death on opponents.
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[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
Avast ye! Scyberdragon be te thank for the sig, arr!
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What I'm proposing to let everyone express their ideas of classes that could theoretically be created, or re-created, in the realm of Sanctuary. I would ask that you keep the idea creations to just one, but, in doing so, be very detailed and imaginative about what this class is, why it's here in Sanctuary and to give it some lore or history pertaining to why this class of people exist and its purpose or motivation is to fight the hellish minions of Diablo and his ilk. Get creative with it! I'm not too well versed in Diablo lore in comparison to some others here, so I'm hoping for some awesome concepts! Allow me to set the example...
Someone in another post mentioned the idea of "geomancers" and, as such, should be, at the very least, be given a good deal of credit for this thread's existance. However, this person did not go into explicit detail as to what this class could do or what purpose it served on Sanctuary. I very much liked this idea, however, my experience with "geomancers" was limited to Final Fantasy Tactics, ergo, I had to combine it with a Diablo 2 class to help make this as realistic as I possibly could. So, to give this person's idea some justice and credibility for possible creation, here's my take on the Geomancer:
Background:
Geomancers, as it pertains to the realm of Diablo, are simply Druids that have attuned themselves more to the natural energies surrounding them and that have either lost or given up the ability to shapeshift and call upon their animal friends. Like their Druid brothers, they hold the delicate balance of nature to be all-important. Their motivation for fighting Diablo is also very similar to the Druid's - to rid Sanctuary of the perverse power that is Diablo and the minions of hell and to prevent the upset of the balance of power nature has over all creation.
To combat this threat, Geomancers are capable of incredible feats. They aren't the physically intimidating warriors like their cousins, the Barbarians, or the magically destructive spellcasters like the arcane Wizards, but what they lack in mastery of either fighting method, their versatility makes them ferocious and unpredictable combatants. They can bend the elemental powers of nature to their will, summon elementals to do their bidding and even incorporate the elements into some of the most impressive melee combat techniques to be witnessed in Sanctuary!
Powers and Abilities:
Armaments - As stated before, Geomancers are not hardened warriors. They aren't used to wearing heavy armor and choose light armor like clothing, if they choose to wear any armor at all. Shields are also non-existant for Geomancers for protective measures. As far as weapons, Geomancers commonly wield one-handed melee weapons like axes or maces/clubs and sometimes their two-handed melee counterparts.
"Natural" Spellcasting - Like Wizards, Geomancers use the energies available them to project deadly force at their targets. However, that's where all similarities end. Where Wizards use arcane methods to attack foes, the Geomancers use a completely different form of energy to project at enemies - the invisible natural energy of the surrounding environment. They are capable of shooting fireballs, geode crystal missiles, bolts of lightning, slicing blades of wind, blizzards and shards of ice, jutting blade-like rocks that shoot up from underground, and even incorporating night and day into their attacks - namely, the powerful "Solar Flare" and, its lunar opposite, the "Shadow Flare" techniques. Both of which are non-elemental attacks and amongst the most powerful techniques at the Geomancer's disposal.
Summoning - Geomancers are uniquely powerful because of their attunement to the natural energy around them. Those who are attuned high enough can create, or "summon", physical manifestations of the elements. The most common forms of elemental creations that the Geomancers "summon" are earthen and rock golems, devilish-looking fire elementals, globulous water or frozen ice minions, and vaporous air elementals. The number of summonable minions, like the Druid, would depend on the power of the creature summoned. Also, the Geomancer can keep different elemental minions at his side at one time, like the Necromancer and his skeletal minions. Should a Geomancer reach the pinnacle of elemental attunement, they can create the ultimate minion, itself being a reference from old-school M:TG, (Magic: The Gathering for all of you non-card collecting nerds out there) the Force of Nature.
Here's a further explanation of the Geomancer's minions - All summoned minions have elemental resistances and weaknesses much like what you'd expect from nature. Also, they have different attributes and abilities according to what element they are:
Earth would be slow, yet incredibily durable and able to regenerate itself slowly while attacks have a chance to knockback and stun.
Fire would be able to do decent damage, but it would not be very durable. However, it would consume corpses to heal itself and attacks would have a chance to reduce melee accuracy from opponents it hits.
Air would be very speedy, both in movement and in attack speed. It would be just as durable as its fiery counterpart, but its melee damage would be significantly less. However, its attacks have a chance to launch charged bolts or even lightning bolts of varying strength!
Water/Ice would be well rounded and fairly durable with attacks having a slowing effect while attacks against it having a chance to freeze the offender. Also, ranged attacks would be significantly ineffective against this type of minion.
Finally, the Force of Nature would have some of the best defensive abilities of the other minions' while possessing none of their elemental weaknesses. It would also employ any of the offensive attack abilities of the other elemental minions at random on a successful attack.
Enhanced Combat - To say "WoW Enhance Shammy" would not be too far off; yet, it would be enough of a misrepresentation of what the Geomancer does with the elements that it warrants a more detailed explanation. For starters, the Geomancer only needs to will the elements to his side. They need no physical item (*cough* totem) to sustain the effect that the element provides. However, it does fade over time, requiring the Geomancer to re-will the element in question back to his being, much like a Barbarian's shout empowers them for a brief time before they need to shout again. Each of the elements lends its assistance to the Geomancer and, depending on the element, gives them different boosts. For instance, summoning the element of earth renders the Geomancer more durable and enables him to regenerate his life force by absorbing the very life energy underneath him. Willing the element of fire to his being imbues the Geomancer's weapon with the ability to penetrate his enemies' defenses and allow for more damage to be dealt. With the elements of wind and lightning, the Geomancer's combat speed is increased as well as their casting speed. Finally, the elements of water and ice give the Geomancer increased resistance to the other elements as well as a furthered increase in defensive potential. As the Geomancers become more adept at using the elements in this fashion, they become more able to protect themselves from any conceivable attack all the while being able to combat any foe they may encounter. On a side note, it would probably be conceivable to give the Geomancer attack, damage, critical strike chance and defensive bonuses as they use the choice weapons and armor (to receive said defensive bonuses, perhaps the requirement should be that the armor worn has to be at or below a certain max durability level - the theory being that heavier armor is more durable) that Geomancers would use in the form of whatever equivalent of a talent point system they will make in D3.
These powers and abilities are based on the thought that the crew at Blizzard still plan to incorporate different skill sets for the different classes. Also, if you add in the possibilities with synergy effects, the versatility and the power of the Geomancer becomes something that could potentially be frightening. Hopefully, with what I have done, I have given a clear outline for the purpose of this thread. With that, I hope you've enjoyed my take on the concept of the "Geomancer".
Avast ye! Scyberdragon be te thank for the sig, arr!
For the first question - It's actually due in part of the literal translation of "Geomancer" that I called it as such. As the earth controls all of the elements, the Geomancer is a human extension of this power. In any case, for me it was just a more fitting term to use. Both Geomancer and Elementalist are correct terminologies for this class, but Geomancer stood as the better name because of their beliefs in "nature's balance". Elementalist, to me, would not have been fitting to portray said belief.
For the P.S. comment - Part of the Geomancer idea is somewhat similar to the Wizard; however, I wanted to give this class a physical offensive capability, with elemental effects, that the Wizard does not possess. Also, I enjoyed playing the Necromancer class in Diablo 2 and wanted to fit in here as to contrast the Witch Doctor. Like how the Druid was the opposite of the Necromancer, in terms of summoning, the Geomancer would be the opposite of the Witch Doctor - "Natural" summoning versus "Supernatural" summoning.
Thanks for asking!
Avast ye! Scyberdragon be te thank for the sig, arr!
Avast ye! Scyberdragon be te thank for the sig, arr!