Maldar, the Magnificent
#1
This is the third character whose adventures I've written up for the Diablo II community. The idea is to create characters with unusual builds to see if those characters can be taken through 1.10s hell difficulty. The first character whose adventures I wrote up was Grizabella, the Realistic Fighter Mage, who showed that with the upgraded Enchant and new items in 1.10, it is possible to create a melee sorceress who uses reasonably findable equipment and complete hell difficulty, albeit only if the player has a lot of patience and uses a lot of tactics. The second character was Gunter, the Barbarian Mage, who used only barbarian War Cry skills and the Firewall spell given by the Trang-Oul's set to kill monsters. The popularity of the reports of the adventures of both Grizabella and Gunter surprised even me, and I highly recommend reading those reports if you have an interest in these types of characters.

As Gunter was nearing the completion of his adventures, I started thinking about what my next character would be. There were several times when Gunter would stun a monster boss pack and his mercenary would focus on and kill the boss while the minions sat there stunned and unable to do anything. That led me to think about the occasional times that I would help friends rush (I don't take rushes myself, but I'll sometimes give them to friends), and how my sorceress would teleport by all the monsters and kill the quest bosses. I laughingly wondered if it would be possible to only kill the quest bosses. At first, I considered various sorceress builds to do this (and I may make one later), but as I thought about how one would deal with certain areas, I realized that I kept arming my theoretical sorceress with charged wands with necromancer curses on them -- like wands of Terror and Dim Vision. I thought, "Why not just make a necromancer instead?" Once I switched to thinking about necromancers, the build fell into place.

The result is Maldar, the Magnificent, a.k.a. Maldar, the Pacifist Hero. He's 100% untwinked, and in a nod to those who balk at the use of cross-class skills, he will use only necromancer skills, except he will be allowed to use a staff of Teleport in the Maggot Lair where otherwise it would be impossible to travel very far without killing things. He's about to step into hell for the first time and I plan to keep everyone up to date on his progress like I did with Grizabella and Gunter. I'll detail his specific build and equipment in my next post, but first here is his story.


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MALDAR, THE MAGNIFICENT

Sanctuary has had many heroes, but no hero could ever match the legendary deeds of the necromancer Maldar.

[Image: Maldar_intro1.jpg]

Maldar traveled throughout the lands of Sanctuary and engaged in mortal battle with terrifying demons and horrifying monsters. Whenever a local population had a demon problem that they could not handle, they knew that they could send word to Maldar and he would come and clear the demon infestation for them.

[Image: Maldar_intro2.jpg]

As Maldar traveled further and performed ever more heroic deeds, all the people of Sanctuary began writing songs and telling stories of the adventures of Maldar. In time, the free peoples of Sanctuary began to refer to him as Maldar, the Magnificent.

[Image: Maldar_intro3.jpg]

But to demons, he became known simply as the "Demonslayer."

Maldar slaughtered thousands of demons and as he became more famous and as the cheering of the masses grew louder, an emptiness grew inside him. The pleasure he once felt while killing demon hordes began to fade. Doubts crept into his mind. Then, one pivotal event changed Maldar's life forever.

[Image: Maldar_intro4.jpg]

As he was clearing out an infestation of demons, he fired a series of bone spirits at a grotesque and killed it. But just before the grotesque died, it gave birth to a grotesque worm baby. The worm looked around, saw Maldar, and jumped into his arms. The worm thought Maldar was its mother.

That's when Maldar realized what had been troubling him. People kill demons, because they don't want to be slaughtered by them. But if people slaughter demons, he thought, then doesn't that make people just as bad as demons? Didn't his own actions make him no different than a demon?

Maldar gathered up the worm and walked out of the demon lair, leaving the remaining demons to their own devices. He traveled back to his solitary mountain home and began leading a monastic life, dedicated to the study and cultivation of life rather than the study of death. All requests for assistance were met with the same response, "Do your lands not have your own 'heroes?' I will not intentionally harm another being whether he be person or demon."

When rumors of the rise of the three Prime Evils first surfaced, Maldar dismissed them as idle fancy. As demons began proliferating in ever growing numbers, pleas for help came to Maldar from all over Sanctuary but still Maldar ignored them. Meanwhile, the heads of all of Sanctuary's guilds met in council to share all of the information they had gathered about the rise of the Three and to make plans for an appropriate response. In the end, they agreed that only one hero in all the land was capable of stopping the Three: Maldar, the Magnificent.

They traveled to Maldar's mountain retreat and presented him with the evidence they had gathered. The information was fragmentary, but there was no doubt that the Three had indeed returned. The council members told Maldar that only he in all the world had the power to stop the Three. They emphasized to him that if he stopped the Three, he would be preventing a catastrophe that would involve the slaughter of tens of thousands of innocent people. Maldar listened in silence and contemplated the information the council had given him for a long time. Finally, he spoke.

"Diablo and his brothers' plans will likely result in the deaths of both innocent people and innocent demons if those plans are allowed to come to fruition," he said. "I will help you, but only if you agree to do things my way. Only those demons and other assorted monsters who must be killed to stop the Three are to be killed. All others are to be left alone. They are innocent beings who have been riled up by the power and influence of the Three. Remove the Three and they will no longer threaten Sanctuary. Agreed?"

The council conferred for a long time. Many members of the council did not like the idea of leaving tens of thousands of demons alive, but in the end all agreed that without Maldar's help, all hope was lost. They finally agreed to Maldar's proposal.

So Maldar donned his armor, shield, and wand and once more traveled abroad to fight evil and save the world. Can Maldar stop the Three without any unnecessary monster deaths? Can Maldar, the Magnificent, -- Demonslayer -- become Maldar, the Pacifist Hero? Stay tuned.


(ed. I love that screenshot of Maldar fighting Diablo).
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Messages In This Thread
Maldar, the Magnificent - by MongoJerry - 09-13-2003, 03:56 AM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by MongoJerry - 09-13-2003, 03:58 AM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by MongoJerry - 09-13-2003, 04:13 AM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by Rageburst - 09-13-2003, 06:19 AM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by Crystalion - 09-13-2003, 06:42 AM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by MongoJerry - 09-13-2003, 08:10 AM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by whyBish - 09-13-2003, 09:00 AM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by MongoJerry - 09-13-2003, 06:25 PM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by Crystalion - 09-13-2003, 08:14 PM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by MongoJerry - 09-14-2003, 04:09 AM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by MongoJerry - 09-14-2003, 07:21 AM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by Crystalion - 09-14-2003, 11:20 AM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by MongoJerry - 09-14-2003, 10:47 PM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by MongoJerry - 09-14-2003, 10:49 PM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by MongoJerry - 09-15-2003, 03:20 AM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by MongoJerry - 09-15-2003, 03:22 AM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by MongoJerry - 09-15-2003, 04:31 AM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by Casperi - 09-15-2003, 12:29 PM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by Occhidiangela - 09-15-2003, 03:43 PM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by ildon - 09-15-2003, 04:12 PM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by MongoJerry - 09-15-2003, 05:34 PM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by MongoJerry - 09-17-2003, 07:04 AM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by MongoJerry - 09-17-2003, 07:06 AM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by jahcs - 09-17-2003, 03:13 PM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by MongoJerry - 09-17-2003, 05:51 PM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by MongoJerry - 09-18-2003, 01:39 AM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by MongoJerry - 09-19-2003, 12:26 AM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by MongoJerry - 09-19-2003, 02:55 AM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by MongoJerry - 09-19-2003, 02:59 AM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by MongoJerry - 09-20-2003, 05:36 AM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by MongoJerry - 09-21-2003, 12:32 AM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by MongoJerry - 09-21-2003, 12:34 AM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by MongoJerry - 09-21-2003, 11:14 PM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by MongoJerry - 09-22-2003, 04:18 AM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by MongoJerry - 09-22-2003, 05:47 AM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by MongoJerry - 09-22-2003, 07:32 AM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by MongoJerry - 09-22-2003, 07:35 AM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by Chaerophon - 09-22-2003, 09:07 AM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by MongoJerry - 09-22-2003, 05:32 PM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by MongoJerry - 09-23-2003, 12:00 AM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by MongoJerry - 09-23-2003, 04:34 AM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by MongoJerry - 09-23-2003, 04:37 AM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by Crystalion - 09-24-2003, 03:52 AM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by MongoJerry - 09-24-2003, 04:24 AM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by Crystalion - 09-24-2003, 05:35 AM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by Thecla - 09-24-2003, 07:50 AM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by MongoJerry - 09-27-2003, 12:44 AM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by MongoJerry - 09-27-2003, 06:59 AM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by MongoJerry - 09-27-2003, 07:01 AM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by MongoJerry - 09-29-2003, 02:43 AM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by MongoJerry - 09-29-2003, 02:46 AM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by MongoJerry - 09-29-2003, 05:42 AM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by MongoJerry - 09-29-2003, 08:35 AM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by MongoJerry - 09-29-2003, 08:36 AM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by MongoJerry - 09-30-2003, 12:18 AM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by MongoJerry - 09-30-2003, 12:20 AM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by MongoJerry - 09-30-2003, 06:15 AM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by MongoJerry - 09-30-2003, 06:16 AM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by ildon - 09-30-2003, 08:39 PM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by Bolty - 09-30-2003, 10:05 PM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by dudearonymus_32 - 10-01-2003, 08:36 PM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by MongoJerry - 10-01-2003, 11:34 PM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by Deadpan - 10-02-2003, 10:16 AM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by MongoJerry - 10-02-2003, 04:57 PM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by MongoJerry - 10-02-2003, 08:35 PM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by MongoJerry - 10-02-2003, 08:39 PM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by MongoJerry - 10-02-2003, 08:40 PM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by MongoJerry - 10-02-2003, 08:41 PM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by schizoidmime - 10-03-2003, 08:14 PM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by MongoJerry - 10-04-2003, 12:43 AM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by MongoJerry - 10-04-2003, 11:04 PM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by MongoJerry - 10-05-2003, 01:01 AM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by MongoJerry - 10-05-2003, 01:02 AM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by MongoJerry - 10-05-2003, 02:40 AM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by MongoJerry - 10-05-2003, 02:41 AM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by MongoJerry - 10-05-2003, 04:31 AM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by MongoJerry - 10-05-2003, 05:40 AM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by MongoJerry - 10-05-2003, 06:21 AM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by MongoJerry - 10-06-2003, 01:40 AM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by Deadpan - 10-06-2003, 09:16 AM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by MongoJerry - 10-06-2003, 10:19 PM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by MongoJerry - 10-06-2003, 10:21 PM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by MongoJerry - 10-06-2003, 10:23 PM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by MongoJerry - 10-06-2003, 10:24 PM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by MongoJerry - 10-06-2003, 10:26 PM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by dudearonymus_32 - 10-06-2003, 11:32 PM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by Chaerophon - 10-07-2003, 06:10 AM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by SevenMass - 10-07-2003, 05:20 PM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by MongoJerry - 10-08-2003, 01:16 PM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by Anuvii - 10-13-2003, 11:21 AM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by dudearonymus_32 - 10-13-2003, 01:47 PM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by schizoidmime - 10-14-2003, 05:15 AM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by Occhidiangela - 10-14-2003, 04:09 PM
Maldar, the Magnificent - by schizoidmime - 10-15-2003, 02:13 PM

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