What triggered the war between the Nephalem, resulting in the end of their species?

Question

In the middle of Act 1, to get access to the sunken temple, you have to go in the field where the Nephalem, if I understand it well, killed each other until there was not enough to continue the race. Their ghosts were still fighting in that very field.

But what triggered that "Civil war" of the Nephalem? What happened to make them start to kill each other to a point where their species just disappeared from Sanctuary?

Asked by Fredy31

Answer

The Nephalem were the direct offspring of demons and angels, and had the potential to exceed both of their progenitors in power. Fearing this, Inarius manipulated the Worldstone so that the Nephalem would slowly lose their power over many generations, causing them to become the humans who populate the world today. The Nephalem didn't really disappear, they just lost their powers and became human.

The Sin War, as it is called, was merely a name for the extension of the Great Conflict between Light and Darkness into the mortal world of Sanctuary. Both sides manipulated the Nephalem to their own ends to try and gain the upper hand in the conflict. (Eventually both sides agreed to cease this practice, but the forces of Darkness had a plan...)

Answered by Brant

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Was Diablo's “resurrection” in Diablo 2 really unavoidable?

Question

At the end of the first Diablo game, the hero pushes Diablo's soulstone in his forehead. If I recall it correctly(many years have passed since I played Diablo) he did that "to contain its evilness".
Was it really necessary, especially given the fact that there is an effective way to destroy the soulstones? Or was it just a small part of Diablo's bigger plan?

Asked by Kappei

Answer

The Soulstones were created by Tyrael to contain each of the Prime Evils - Baal, Mephisto, and Diablo. It seems the original thought was to contain their souls in the Soulstones, so "the hero" was following the plan in Diablo I. You can tell, because of the lore regarding the Binding of Baal (from the Diablo II manual).

Weakened by his exertions, Baal let loose one final strike against Tal Rasha; yet, thankfully, the mage was left relatively unhurt. Unfortunately, the sacred Soulstone that he had been given by the Archangel Tyrael was shattered into several small pieces. Reeling in panic, we pressed our attack and succeeded in temporarily subduing the raging demon.

Knowing that the Soulstone's broken shards would not be enough to contain Baal's powerful essence, Tal Rasha quickly devised a reckless plan to contain the demon forever. With a feverish light in his eyes, he coldly walked over to Baal's writhing form and slit the creature's throat. As Baal's spirit fled the dying body, Tal Rasha chose the largest of the Soulstone's shards and jammed it into the open wound. Just as with Mephisto, Baal spirit was sucked into the golden shard's vacuous recesses and trapped. The shard pulsed and hummed as though unable to hold its terrible content in check. Though we questioned his judgement, Tal Rasha seemed confident that the shard would hold Baal until our task was complete.

So, you can see that Tal Rasha did the exact same thing with Baal, even with accomplices. The main differences being that the Baal's soulstone was damaged, and Tal Rasha's posse knew it wasn't going to hold him. "The hero" thought the Soulstone would hold Diablo. What he didn't know was that the three Prime Evils had been taught how to corrupt the Soulstones by a lesser evil. You learn this as the "new hero" in Diablo II. Per wikipedia:

The player learns of the truth behind the corruption and the story of the soulstones. Diablo released Mephisto (Lord of Hatred) and Baal (Lord of Destruction) from their soulstones, as they were taught long ago how to corrupt them by the fallen angel Izual...

Per the wikia:

The sacred Soulstones were given to the Horadrim by the Archangel Tyrael in order to imprison the Prime Evils that had been set loose upon the world. However, the fallen angel Izual had told the Prime Evils how to corrupt the sacred stones and bend their tremendous power to their will. By doing so the Soulstones no longer acted as a prison but instead strengthened the Evils beyond the boundaries of the realms and even functioned as an anchor into the mortal realm: if the corporeal forms of the Prime Evils were destroyed their spirits remained within the stones, making a rebirth into the world possible.

That sucks, doesn't it? So you can't really fault "the hero". It seems he was just playing from Tyrael's playbook and got the short end of the stick. It wasn't until Diablo II where the "new heroes" learned that the corrupted Soulstones could be destroyed at the HellForge.

Answered by EBongo

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Is there a god?

Question

In Diablo 3, we finally get to know Tyrael's buddies a bit more in-depth. Through books distributed around the high heavens, the lore behind the Angels is also a bit more expanded on.

Of course, there are also the hellish forces of evil, which we also learn a lot more about in this game.

With this two forces clashing against eachother (Heaven and Hell), is there some kind of overarching allmighty entity above it all?

In short: Is there a god in Diablo lore?

Asked by heishe

Answer

There are Anu and Tathamet.

Anu is said to have been the very first being to exist, predating the current Diablo Universe, and the closest thing to a God, lore-wise. It is said the clash (and aftermath) between Anu and Tathamet (remnants of Anu's imperfections), who's seven-heads each spawned one Seven Evils of Hell, was what created the Diablo Universe.

From the Book of Cain via DiabloWikia:

Before the beginning there was void. Nothing. No flesh. No rock. No air. No beat. No light. No dark.

Nothing, save a single, perfect pearl.

Within that pearl dreamed a mighty, unfathomable spirit—the One— Anu. Made of shining diamond. Anu was the sum of all things: good and evil, light and dark, physical and mystical, joy and sadness—all reflected across the crystalline facets of its form. And, within its eternal dream-state, Anu considered itself—all of its myriad facets. Seeking a state of total purity and perfection, Anu cast all evil from itself. All dissonance was gone. But what of the cast-off aspect of its being? The dark parts, the sharp, searing aspects of hate and pridefulness? Those could not remain in a state of separation, for all things are drawn to all things. All parts are drawn to the whole. Those discordant parts assembled into the Beast-the Dragon. Tathamet was his name-and he breathed unending death and darkness from his seven devouring heads. The Dragon was solely composed of Anu's cast-off aspects. The end sum of the whole became a singular Evil- the Prime Evil, from which all the vileness would eventually spread throughout existence.

Though separate beings, Anu and the Dragon were bound together within the Pearl's shadowed womb. There they warred against each other in an unending clash of light and shadow for ages uncounted.

The diamond warrior and the seven-headed dragon proved to be the equal of the other, neither ever gaining the upper hand in their fierce and unending combat-till at last, their energies nearly spent after countless millennia of battle, the two combatants delivered their final blows. The energies unleashed by their impossible fury ignited an explosion of light and matter so vast and terrible that it birthed the very universe all around us.

All of the stars above and the darkness that binds them. All that we touch. All that we feel. All that we know. All that is unknown.

All of it continues through the night and the day in the ebbing and flowing of the ocean tides and in the destruction of fire and the creation of the seed. Everything of which we are aware, and that of which we are utterly unaware, was created with the deaths of Anu and the Dragon, Tathamet.

In the epicenter of reality lies Pandemonium, the scar of the universe's violent birth. At its chaotic center lay the Heart of Creation, a massive jewel unlike any other: the Eye of Anu- the Worldstone. It is the foundation stone of all places and times, a nexus of realities and vast, untold possibility.

Anu and Tathamet are no more, yet their distinct essences permeated the nascent universe-and eventually became the bedrock of what we know to be the High Heavens and the Burning Hells.

Anu's shining spine spun out into the primordial darkness, where it slowed and cooled. Over countless ages it formed into the Crystal Arch, around which the High Heavens took shape and form.

Though Anu was gone, some resonance of it remained in the holy Arch. Spirits bled forth from it-shining angels of light and sound who embodied the virtuous aspects of what the One had been.

Yet, despite the grace and beauty of this shining realm, it lacked the perfection of Anu's spirit. Anu had passed into a benevolent place beyond this broken universe- a paradise of which nothing is known and yet represents perhaps the greatest-kept secret of Creation.

Longed for, but unimaginable.

Answered by Krazer

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How old is Deckard Cain?

Question

Searching in the Diablo Wiki I happened to stumble upon this timeline of Sanctuary's history.

When we first encounter Deckard Cain, in Tristram, he's already an old man. He claims to be the last of the Horadrim (even if this seems to be disproved in Diablo III), which seems unlikely, because more than 150 years have passed since the last known activities of the order. Anyway, in Diablo III, it will be more than 20 years since we first met him.

So my question is: what's his real age? Does he have a dark secret that keeps him alive? He managed to survive events that killed many other younger men, is he just lucky?

Asked by Kappei

Answer

It is unknown, along with the ages of most Diablo-series characters.

Deckard Cain's age is a popular question due to his renown in the series, but remember that the three-game timespan is only 27 years, a reasonable mortal timeframe. He notes that he is near the end of his life¹ in the foreword and afterword to his Book of Cain, which prefaces Diablo III. If Cain is mortal and about to die, consider that a "Middle Ages" setting's life expectancy is ~70 years max,² which puts him near ~40 at the beginning of Diablo I (1258).³

Cain and the Horadrim do not live extended lifespans. For the record, Jered is Deckard's ancestor, and not his father. As per the Book of Cain, there are many generations in-between Jered Cain of 1019 and Deckard Cain of 1285:

...from writings passed down through my family from my ancestor Jered Cain... (p. 88)

So chalk up his Sean Connery doddering voice to the "wise old man" trope sounding older than he looks. Blizzard consciously withholds Cain lore for the good of the series. If you want the truth, though, the real Deckard Cain Elder is 16.⁴

Answered by sean

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What's the age of Deckard Cain?

Question

Searching in the Diablo Wiki I happened to stumble upon this timeline of Sanctuary's history.

When we first encounter Deckard Cain, in Tristram, he's already an old man. He claims to be the last of the Horadrim (even if this seems to be disproved in Diablo III), which seems unlikely, because more than 150 years have passed since the last known activities of the order. Anyway, in Diablo III, it will be more than 20 years since we first met him.

So my question is: what's his real age? Does he have a dark secret that keeps him alive? He managed to survive events that killed many other younger men, is he just lucky?

Asked by Kappei

Answer

It is unknown, along with the ages of most Diablo-series characters.

Deckard Cain's age is a popular question due to his renown in the series, but remember that the three-game timespan is only 27 years, a reasonable mortal timeframe. He notes that he is near the end of his life¹ in the foreword and afterword to his Book of Cain, which prefaces Diablo III. If Cain is mortal and about to die, consider that a "Middle Ages" setting's life expectancy is ~70 years max, which puts him near ~40 at the beginning of Diablo I (1258).²

Cain and the Horadrim do not live extended lifespans. For the record, Jered is Deckard's ancestor, and not his father. As per the Book of Cain, there are many generations in-between Jered Cain of 1019 and Deckard Cain of 1285:

...from writings passed down through my family from my ancestor Jered Cain... (p. 88)

So chalk up his Sean Connery doddering voice to the "wise old man" trope sounding older than he looks. Blizzard consciously withholds Cain lore for the good of the series. If you want the truth, though, the real Deckard Cain Elder is 16.³

Answered by sean

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Was Diablo's “resurrection” really unavoidable?

Question

At the end of the first Diablo game, the hero pushes Diablo's soulstone in his forehead. If I recall it correctly(many years have passed since I played Diablo) he did that "to contain its evilness".
Was it really necessary, especially given the fact that there is an effective way to destroy the soulstones? Or was it just a small part of Diablo's bigger plan?

Asked by Kappei

Answer

The Soulstones were created by Tyrael to contain each of the Prime Evils - Baal, Mephisto, and Diablo. It seems the original thought was to contain their souls in the Soulstones, so "the hero" was following the plan in Diablo I. You can tell, because of the lore regarding the Binding of Baal (from the Diablo II manual).

Weakened by his exertions, Baal let loose one final strike against Tal Rasha; yet, thankfully, the mage was left relatively unhurt. Unfortunately, the sacred Soulstone that he had been given by the Archangel Tyrael was shattered into several small pieces. Reeling in panic, we pressed our attack and succeeded in temporarily subduing the raging demon.

Knowing that the Soulstone's broken shards would not be enough to contain Baal's powerful essence, Tal Rasha quickly devised a reckless plan to contain the demon forever. With a feverish light in his eyes, he coldly walked over to Baal's writhing form and slit the creature's throat. As Baal's spirit fled the dying body, Tal Rasha chose the largest of the Soulstone's shards and jammed it into the open wound. Just as with Mephisto, Baal spirit was sucked into the golden shard's vacuous recesses and trapped. The shard pulsed and hummed as though unable to hold its terrible content in check. Though we questioned his judgement, Tal Rasha seemed confident that the shard would hold Baal until our task was complete.

So, you can see that Tal Rasha did the exact same thing with Baal, even with accomplices. The main differences being that the Baal's soulstone was damaged, and Tal Rasha's posse knew it wasn't going to hold him. "The hero" thought the Soulstone would hold Diablo. What he didn't know was that the three Prime Evils had been taught how to corrupt the Soulstones by a lesser evil. You learn this as the "new hero" in Diablo II. Per wikipedia:

The player learns of the truth behind the corruption and the story of the soulstones. Diablo released Mephisto (Lord of Hatred) and Baal (Lord of Destruction) from their soulstones, as they were taught long ago how to corrupt them by the fallen angel Izual...

Per the wikia:

The sacred Soulstones were given to the Horadrim by the Archangel Tyrael in order to imprison the Prime Evils that had been set loose upon the world. However, the fallen angel Izual had told the Prime Evils how to corrupt the sacred stones and bend their tremendous power to their will. By doing so the Soulstones no longer acted as a prison but instead strengthened the Evils beyond the boundaries of the realms and even functioned as an anchor into the mortal realm: if the corporeal forms of the Prime Evils were destroyed their spirits remained within the stones, making a rebirth into the world possible.

That sucks, doesn't it? So you can't really fault "the hero". It seems he was just playing from Tyrael's playbook and got the short end of the stick. It wasn't until Diablo II where the "new heroes" learned that the corrupted Soulstones could be destroyed at the HellForge.

Answered by EBongo

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Who is the hero that “uses” the soulstone at the end of Diablo?

Question

Spoiler alert! Don't read if you haven't completed the original Diablo from 1996.

---

At the end of the original Diablo, the hero shoves Diablo's soulstone into his or her forehead. That ending is identical for any hero choice. Is there a canonical "which hero it was" fact in Diablo II? e.g. do we know that it was a warrior that used the soulstone, and subsequently became the host for Diablo's new form?

Asked by Oak

Answer

From what I remember, and this forum thread agrees with me is that

• The Rogue became Blood Raven, a minor super unique quest mob from Act 1 of Diablo 2
• The Sorcerer became The Summoner, Horizon's impersonator, a super unique quest mob from Act 2 of Diablo 2

This leaves the most likely outcome, the bulky Warrior became the cannon Diablo in Diablo 2.

Answered by Resorath

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Should I play Diablo 1 and / or Diablo 2 before playing Diablo 3?

Question

I plan on picking up Diablo 3 on the expected release day, but I am new to the franchise. I know in other games it is crucial to play the previous release to fully understand the story line. Does Diablo 2 have a cliff hanger I need to know about?

Should I play Diablo 1 and / or Diablo 2 before playing Diablo 3?

Asked by Foxtrot

Answer

No.

While the series' lore continues, the series was never known for its story. If you want to experience the series, you will most likely need to play alone or with friends as D2 online players rush through the game. While you can let experienced players run ahead, they will open and close quests for you before you can arrive, and spend little time looking at new items and listening to dialogue and cutscenes (which, undoubtedly, is why you're playing). Also the spam bots are awful. The only benefit to you now, pre-Diablo III, is whatever you happen to take away from that rushed experience. (Even the Easter eggs are obscure and most likely won't be things you remember from a normal playthrough.) And even after all this, D2 is a very long journey to undertake alone.

The game mechanics are also different between each game—many of the dog-eat-dog elements of D2 (stealing loot, final boss rushes, power leveling) are downplayed or simply removed in D3. Unless you would play the games anyway, you will benefit more from the time invested by watching a few D1/D2 gameplay videos for nostalgia and this lore video series instead:

Answered by sean

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What is the “Black Mushroom” item used for?

Question

I got it in the Cathedral. Its description:

The witch Adria seeks a black mushroom? I know as much about Black mushrooms as I do about red herrings! - Deckard Cain

Is there a meaning behind it?

Asked by Michel

Answer

There is no use for it in the beta (perhaps the full version, but that remains to be seen). Since "red herring" is mentioned, this item most likely serves no purpose.

It is considered an Easter egg dating back to a diablo cave quest where Adria asked the hero to find a Black Mushroom item. The D3 item's description comes verbatim from Deckard Cain's NPC response during that quest:

Finding the Black Mushroom in the Cathedral:

Answered by sean

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What genre of video game does Diablo belong to?

Question

I've recently played Diablo 1 and 2 and I'm totally hooked. Now I've been wondering what genre this game belongs to, so it would help me find similar games.

Asked by Sir Ksilem

Answer

The genre has a few popular names, including:

• Hack and slash
• Action RPG
• Dungeon crawl
• Diablo-like or Diablo-esque

And sometimes even the term "roguelike" is used - there is a vast difference between the roguelike genre and games like Diablo, but the latter are obviously influenced by the former.

The most common term I've encountered is "hack and slash". There are many, many games that belong to this genre, especially since the success of Diablo.

The excellent Moby Games site has a page about the genre, which briefly outlines what defines it as well as providing a list of all the games it considers to be "Diablo variants".

Answered by Oak

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