Diablo Plot Overview

 

 

The narrative of Diablo is founded on the idea of a war between Heaven and Hell. The township of Tristram has come under fire by demons, and the player must save the townsfolk and, in effect, the world, by freeing it of the Lord of Terror. Also as cited in a Warcraft 2 preview of Diablo, the hero is also there to avenge his family who died at the hand of Diablo. As the player delves into the underworld, some of the history behind the war between Heaven and Hell, in addition to information about Diablo himself, are uncovered through large tomes that are discovered throughout the stages.
Diablo is the Lord of Terror and one of the Three Prime Evils of Hell, the most powerful lords of demonkind. Long before the events of the game, he was imprisoned by a secretive order of human magi called the Horadrim. The Horadrim captured two of the Prime Evils in a Soulstone; Diablo's red stone was entombed in caverns far beneath the town of Tristram, and as the generations went by, was forgotten. Although his captivity was supposed to be everlasting, the power of the Soulstone diminished over centuries, eventually allowing for Diablo to use limited power from inside the stone. He telepathically turned an inhabitant of Tristram, the Archbishop Lazarus, into his pawn. In order for Diablo to actually depart the Soulstone, Diablo needed to have a host. Through his minion Lazarus, he first tried to gain command of King Leoric, the local ruler, but Diablo, in his weakened state, was unable to overpower Leoric. Deserting the idea, he caused Lazarus to abduct King Leoric's son, Prince Albrecht. He prompted such terror in the child that the boundaries between the realms were shattered and parts of Hell appeared in the mortal world, settling in the labyrinth below Tristram. Diablo then decided to bide his time and wait for the opportune moment to attack.

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Soon afterwards King Leoric was forced to madness by the loss of his son. With Lazarus murmuring in his ear, he ordered a reckless attack on a far stronger neighboring realm - a campaign to which Lazarus made a point to send all of the King's most loyal and good-hearted heroes. The crusade turned out to be a suicide mission, and soon the King had only the lies of Lazarus for advice. Leoric began savagely executing the subjects he once protected, suspecting everyone of the kidnapping of his son. Lazarus led groups of townspeople into the labyrinth in a supposed pursuit of the missing prince - but Lazarus's only intent was to deliver the innocents up to death at the hands of the demons. At length, the few survivors of the army went back home, led by the noble Sir Lachdanan. Leoric at once ordered their execution, and, seeing the King for the anguished soul he was, Lachdanan killed his King with a mercy stroke. Upon his dying breath, Leoric damned those who were close to him that they should serve him in the underworld for all of eternity, producing the horrific undead knights of the labyrinth.
Shortly after, the time period of the game commences as the player's character arrives. He or she has to battle through sixteen levels to face Diablo, coming across various monsters and quests along the way. The labyrinth descends from a bare dungeon to dark caves and catacombs and at last the fiery pits of Hell. The player encounters a portal to Archbishop Lazarus' lair, slays him, and battles through to Diablo. At the end of the game, the player's character has killed Diablo's human form, and left Diablo once again with just a soulstone to inhabit. Now in hopes of retaining the Lord of Terror, the hero pierces his head with the soulstone, trying to contain the Lord of Terror inside his or herself. This was just what Diablo had planned all along, as the hero would be a much more dependable host than the prince. Diablo II later corroborates that Diablo indeed possessed the hero who slew him.

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