Shrines

One of the most difficult things for me to learn about when playing Diablo was what all these different places did. They all had interesting names and some of them gave me interesting messages, but at first I felt like I was wandering blind through the wilderness pressing things at random. When I decided to make this web site I started to look at more detail as to the effects of these strange objects. These are the effects to the best of my knowledge. There is no other way to determine these effects other than through experimentation in the game. If I have missed something, or botched an effect please let me know.
Shrines are found mainly on the first eight levels of the game, the Dungeon and the Catacombs. They offer the most numerous variations and are in my opinion the best objects in the game in this category. That's because I don't like random effects so much and many of the other items give you those.

Name	Message	Effect
Abandoned Shrine	The hands of men may be guided by fate	Dexterity is increased by 2
Creepy Shrine	Strength is bolstered by heavenly faith	Strength is increased by 2
Cryptic Shrine	Arcane power brings distraction	A ring of lightning is emitted from shrine and continues until it encounters a wall. Similar to Nova spell. User gets full mana and takes no damage, therefore use this when you are alone in the room.
Divine Shrine	Drink and be refreshed	Gives you 2 Full potions
Eerie Shrine	Knowledge and wisdom at the cost of self	Magic is increased by 2. In the character menu, your name appears backwards.
Eldritch Shrine	Crimson and azure become as the sun	All potions become Rejuvenation potions of the same type.
Enchanted Shrine	Magic is not always what it seems to be	Lose one level on a spell in spellbook. Adds one level to all other spells learned so far.
Fascinating Shrine	Intensity comes at the cost of wisdom	Gain two levels of Firebolt Spell. Lose up to 10 in mana.
Glimmering Shrine	Mysteries are revealed in the light of wisdom	Identifies all magic items you are carrying.
Goat Shrine	Random message from another shrine	Random effect from one of the shrines. The messages and effects do stay together though.
Gloomy Shrine	Those who defend seldom attack. A message from Warcraft 2 :)	Adds +2 to Armor Class for all armor you have. Reduces damage by 1 for all weapons you have.
Hidden Shrine (Type 1)	Energy passes through your equipment	Affects durability. This shrine is rather random. One item loses 10 durability while all others gain 10. If the item that loses durability has less than 10, it vanishes.
Hidden Shrine (Type 2)	Your skills increase, but at a price	That price is all your gold but 1. Your stats increase a random amount.
Hidden Shrine (Type 3)	New strength is forged through destruction	Strength increases by 1. Durability of weapon decreases by 1
Holy Shrine	Wherever you go, there you are	You get teleported, usually right outside the room
Imposing Shrine	A surge of blood interrupts your thoughts	Moves about 25% of your mana to life
Magic Shrine	While the spirit is vigilant, the body thrives	You get a free Mana Shield Spell cast on you
Mysterious Shrine	Some are weakened as one grows strong	Randomly decided, one of your attributes rises by 5 and all others drop by 1
Mystic Shrine	Your skills increase, but at a price	That price is all gold but 1. You gain 700 experience points
Ornate Shrine	Salvation comes at the cost of wisdom	Gain 2 levels for the Holy Bolt Spell
Quiet Shrine	The essence of life flows from within	Adds 2 to Vitality
Religious Shrine	Time has no effect on the strength of steel	All items are fully repaired
Sacred Shrine	Energy comes at the cost of wisdom	Gain 2 levels for the Charged Bolt Spell. Lose up to 10 mana.
Secluded Shrine	The way is made clear when viewed from above	Fills out the automap of the current level.
Spiritual Shrine	Riches around when least expected	Each free box you have in your backpack is filled with a random amount of gold, increasing as you go deeper in the dungeons.
Spooky Shrine	Energy comes at the cost of wisdom	All other players with you are fully healed.
Stone Shrine	The power of mana refocused renews	Staffs are recharged.
Supernatural Shrine	You hear a strange cry from the distance	Not sure, but through replaying several games it appears to make the boss on the current level stronger (more HP)
Tainted Shrine	Those that are least may yet be first	Produces a random shrine effect on one of the other players in your party, also chosen at random. Be careful with this one
Thaumaturgic Shrine	You hear a series of creaks and thumps	Any chests in the dungeon are refilled and closed. Use this after you have already cleared the chests once
Weird Shrine	The sword of justice is swift and sharp	Maximum damage for all weapons increases by 1

Cauldrons are found in Hell (levels 13-16). They simply produce random messages and random effects just as the Goat Shrines do.