7. Shrines

Shrines are found on levels 1-8 (church and catacombs), cauldrons on levels 13-15 (hell), fountains, pools and springs on levels 1-8 and also on levels 13-16. Rarely you will also see fountains, pools and springs on level 9-12 (caves). Goat shrines are possible on any level that has Goat Men or Goat Archers (level 4-9).

Shrines in both Diablo and Hellfire
Name of Shrine Shrine Message Effects
Abandoned Shrine "The hands of men may be guided by fate" +2 dexterity.
Creepy Shrine "Strength is bolstered by heavenly faith" +2 strength.
Cryptic Shrine "Arcane power brings destruction" Casts a Nova spell and restores mana5.
Divine Shrine "Drink and be refreshed" Restores health and mana. On dlvl 1-3 it gives one Potion of Full Mana and one Potion of Full Life. On other dlvl it gives two Potions of Full Rejuvenation.
Eerie Shrine "Knowledge and wisdom at the cost of self" +2 magic.
Eldritch Shrine "Crimson and Azure become as the sun" All potions become rejuvenation potions.
Enchanted Shrine1 "Magic is not always what it seems to be" Lose 1 slvl for one spell (2 if it is at level 15). All other known spells gain 1 slvl.
Fascinating Shrine "Intensity comes at the cost of wisdom" Lose 10% of base mana and increases Firebolt 2 slvl.
Glimmering Shrine "Mysteries are revealed in the light of reason" Identifies all items in your inventory.
Gloomy Shrine2,3 "Those who defend seldom attack" +2 AC to all armor and -1 max damage to all weapons.
Hidden Shrine "New strength is forged through destruction" -10 durability to one item equipped. +10 durability to all others equipped (never destroys an item).
Holy Shrine "Wherever you go, there you are" Casts a Phasing spell5.
Magical Shrine "While the spirit is vigilant the body thrives" Casts a Mana Shield spell5.
Mysterious Shrine "Some are weakened as one grows strong" +5 to one attribute, -1 to all others.
Ornate Shrine "Salvation comes at the cost of wisdom" Lose 10% of base mana and increases Holy Bolt 2 slvl.
Quiet Shrine "The essence of life flows from within" +2 vitality.
Religious Shrine "Time cannot diminish the power of steel" Restores all items to full durability.
Sacred Shrine "Energy comes at the cost of wisdom" Lose 10% of base mana and increases Charged Bolt 2 slvl.
Secluded Shrine "The way is made clear when viewed from above" Gives complete map of current level.
Spiritual Shrine "Riches abound when least expected" Gives a small amount of gold to each empty slot in your inventory.
The amount given is:
Church:Rnd[10] + 5(5 - 14)
Catacombs: Rnd[20] + 10 (10 - 29)
Caves:Rnd[30] + 15(15 - 44)
Hell:Rnd[40] + 20(20 - 59)
Spooky Shrine4 "Where avarice fails, patience gains reward" (user),
"Blessed by a benevolent companion!" (others)
All other players get life and mana restored.
Stone Shrine "The powers of mana refocused renews" Restores charges in all staves.
Tainted4 "Those who are last may yet be first" (user),
"Generosity brings its own reward" (others)
Does not affect user but other players get +1 to one attribute and -1 to all other attributes.
Thaumaturgic Shrine3,5 "What once was opened now is closed" Refills chests on current level.
Weird Shrine2,3 "The sword of justice is swift and sharp" +1 max damage to all weapons in inventory.
1Enchanted shrines will never appear in Caves or Hell, not even as a Cauldron or Goat Shrine.
2Effect only lasts for current game.
3Only available in single player.
4Only available in multi player.
5All spells cast from a shrine will have an slvl of 2 in church, 4 in catacombs, 6 in caves and 8 in hell.

Fountains, Pools, Cauldrons and other similar objects in both Diablo and Hellfire
Name of Object Message Effects
Blood Fountain1 [No message] Restores 1 life each time it is used.
Cauldron [Message related to the effect] Random effect (of true Shrines only)2.
Fountain of Tears1 [No message] +1 to one attribute, -1 to another attribute
Goat Shrine [Message related to the effect] Random effect (of true Shrines only)2.
Murky Pool1 [No message] Casts an Infravision spell3.
Purifying Spring1 [No message] Restores 1 mana each time it is used.
1There will never be more than one of this type on any dungeon level.
2Thaumaturgic Shrine will never appear as a Cauldron or Goat Shrine.
3All spells cast from a shrine will have an slvl of 2 in church, 4 in catacombs, 6 in caves and 8 in hell.

New Shrines in Hellfire
Name of Shrine Shrine Message Effects
Glowing Shrine "Knowledge is power" If current experience is equal to or below 5000, set it to 0 and you get +[exp/1000] Magic. If current experience is above 5000 you get +5 Magic and -5% experience
Mendicant's Shrine "Give and you shall receive" Half of money turns into experience.
Murphy's Shrine "That which can break will" For each non indestructible item you have equipped, there is a 1/3 chance it will lose 50% of its durability. It will always start with the helm and then proceed with left weapon slot, right weapon slot and finally the armor. As soon as an item has lost durability it will exit. If no item lost durability or no non indestructible items are equipped it takes 1/3 of your gold instead.
Oily Shrine "That which does not kill you…"
Warrior:+2 Strength
Rogue:+1 Magic, +1 Dexterity
Sorcerer:+2 Magic
Monk:+1 Strength, +1 Dexterity
Bard:+1 Magic, +1 Dexterity
Barbarian: +2 Vitality
It also casts a Fire Wall like spell.
Shimmering Shrine "Spiritual energy is restored" Restore mana.
Solar Shrine
"You feel stronger"
"You feel wiser"
"You feel refreshed"
"You feel more agile"
12.00 to 18.00: +2 Strength
18.00 to 20.00:+2 Magic
20.00 to 04.00:+2 Vitality
04.00 to 12.00:+2 Dexterity
Sparkling Shrine "Some experience is gained by touch" +1000·dlvl experience points and casts a Flash spell (part 1 only).
Town Shrine "There's no place like home" Casts Town Portal.

All shrines can occur on any dungeon level with the exception of the Enchanted shrine which will only occur on level 1-8. All shrines also have the same probability to occur on any dungeon level. Similarly all shrines have the same probability to be selected when you hit a Goat Shrine or a Cauldron (with the exception of Enchanted shrine mentioned above and the fact that Thaumaturgic Shrines will never appear as a Goat Shrine or a Cauldron).

To make it easier finding out what shrine you have hit when you try your luck at a goat shrine or a cauldron, the table below lists the messages (in alphabetical order) as well as what shrine they correspond to.

Shrine Message Name of Shrine
"Arcane power brings.." Cryptic Shrine
"Blessed by a benevolent.." Spooky Shrine1
"Crimson and Azure become.." Eldritch Shrine
"Drink and be refreshed" Divine Shrine
"Energy comes at the cost of.." Sacred Shrine
"Generosity brings its own.." Tainted Shrine1
"Give and you shall receive" Mendicant's Shrine2
"Intensity comes at the cost of.." Fascinating Shrine
"Knowledge and wisdom at.." Eerie Shrine
"Knowledge is power" Glowing Shrine2
"Magic is not always what it.." Enchanted Shrine
"Mysteries are revealed in the.." Glimmering Shrine
"New strength is forged.." Hidden Shrine
"Riches abound when least.." Spiritual Shrine
"Salvation comes at the cost of.." Ornate Shrine
"Some are weakened as one.." Mysterious Shrine
"Some experience is gained by.." Sparkling Shrine
"Spiritual energy is restored" Shimmering Shrine2
"Strength is bolstered by.." Creepy Shrine
"That which can break will" Murphy's Shrine2
"That which does not kill you…" Oily Shrine2
"The essence of life flows from.." Quiet Shrine
"The hands of men may be.." Abandoned Shrine
"The powers of mana.." Stone Shrine
"The sword of justice is swift.." Weird Shrine
"The way is made clear when.." Secluded Shrine
"There's no place like home" Town Shrine2
"Those who are last may yet.." Tainted Shrine
"Those who defend seldom.." Gloomy Shrine
"Time cannot diminish the.." Religious Shrine
"What once was opened now.." Thaumaturgic Shrine
"Where avarice fails, patience.." Spooky Shrine
"Wherever you go, there you.." Holy Shrine
"While the spirit is vigilant the.." Magical Shrine
"You feel more agile" Solar Shrine2
"You feel refreshed" Solar Shrine2
"You feel stronger" Solar Shrine2
"You feel wiser" Solar Shrine2
1Message got when someone else uses the shrine.
2Only available in Hellfire.

There exist a bug that will cause any shrine with a random effect to at times not be random and instead have a specific result. This bug is most noticeable in the first games you play without exiting Diablo completely (decreasing in probability for each dungeon level you enter, including reentering of a level). For the most time, the shrines will be random however. The end effect of the bug is that the randomness of those shrines favor a certain result. The favored results are summarized in the table below.

Name of shrine Favored result
Enchanted Shrine Chain Lightning losing slvl
Hidden Shrine Shield losing durability
Mysterious Shrine Dexterity increased
Spiritual Shrine Irrelevant1
Tainted Shrine Dexterity increased
Murphy's Shrine2 Second item lose durability
1As the shrine typically fills many slots with gold, the end effect will still be quite random depending on number of free slots.
2Only available in Hellfire.

Due to the way the game work, it may also have some slight impact on random events that are not pre determined by the game (example of pre determined effects are item drops and result of shrines) occurring after the shrine is used. Cauldrons and Goat shrines are not affected by this bug.