Deckard Cain first shows up as "Cain the Elder" in Tristram in Diablo, where he is called a storyteller and can distinguish items for the player. Towards the end of the game, he reveals himself as Deckard Cain, the "last of the Horadrim", and gives critical information about the final trials awaiting the hero/heroine. It is uncovered in Cain's Journal that he is in fact not the "last of the Horadrim", but envisioned himself as one of them in his early days when told of the Horadrim's exploits by his mother.

Cain is also the only character known to have endured when Tristram was demolished by demons, as they decide to put him in a gibbet instead of tearing him limb from limb like the other erstwhile citizens of Tristram (potentially under orders from the three Brothers to keep him alive). In the first act of Diablo II, the player is finally required to travel to Tristram and free Cain. After this, he shows up in the Rogue encampment and afterward continues to follow the player character, remaining in town in each area, administering advice and naming items for free as a token of gratitude.

It is also possible to fail to save Cain before the end of Act I, though the quest is exhibited as obligatory by the other NPCs. In this case, he will be saved by the Rogues and only name items for a fee.

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"Stay a while, and listen!" is a distinctive greeting Cain gives to the player; this is ridiculed in Diablo III when the player character disrupts him and demands he talk plainly.

Deckard Cain returns in Diablo III. He tells the events of Diablo and Diablo II in an truncated form, while telling most if not all of the important points.

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The three character classes of Diablo are the warrior, rogue, and sorcerer. Each persona, following typical role-playing formulas, has his or her own specific traits. The warrior has physical strength, the rogue possesses high dexterity, and the sorcerer is oriented towards magic.

Warrior: The warrior is a mighty melee fighter, master of weapons of war and capable of dealing more harm than the other classes. They range from barbarians from the northern highlands to noble paladins.

Rogue: The rogues are the most adept archers in the world of Sanctuary. They can have a higher level of magic than warriors, though not nearly as high as sorcerers. The rogues belong to a group called the Sisterhood of the Sightless Eye.

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Sorcerer: A strong master of the arcane arts, the sorcerer is able to accomplish the greatest pinnacles of magic, so that he doesn't have need of physical arms. Sorcerers belong to the Vizjerei mage clan, and have come to Tristram searching for long-lost tomes of magic knowledge beneath the cathedral.

Contrary to other games that strictly distinguish between classes, a character's powers are not unique; a warrior can use the same spells as a sorcerer, while a sorcerer can use weapons such as axes. All three classes demand the same amount of experience to level up, and there are no class-based prerequisites for equipping items or using spells. All the same, different classes have various beginning attributes and different maximum potential levels for their attributes, and gain different quantities of life and mana per level.

Four numerical character attributes (Strength, Magic, Dexterity and Vitality) in Diablo affect the characters' battle statistics, which in turn ascertain how strong the character is. With each level up, the player may administer points amongst the four base attributes to permanently increase them. They may also be altered by elixirs and magical shrines found in the game. Various magical items improve character attributes while these items are being applied. Certain items may have minimum attribute prerequisites before they can be outfitted or used.

Characters can acquire spells from tomes found in the game, and add them to their spellbooks. Spells can later be cast repeatedly, if the character has adequate mana to do it. Spells can also be amended by learning higher levels of the same spell. Different spells, and various levels of the same spell, require variable amounts of mana to be cast. Each class also has a unique skill: Warriors can fix items (although not as well as the village blacksmith, Griswold), Rogues can unarm traps, and Sorcerers can reload magical staves that have a certain number of spell charges on them.

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The Druid specializes in nature-based magic, with direct harm spells and an assortment of minions. The Druid is voiced by Michael Bell.

The Elemental tree comprises of the magic of earth and sky. The 'storm' spells have effects like Cyclone Armor, which protects the Druid from the elements, and Tornado, a maelstrom of swirling winds that moves fairly randomly and can deal massive pain. The 'fire' spells are more earthly than the Sorceress's, with spells such as Fissure and Volcano. The ultimate Elemental spells are Hurricane and Armageddon; both produce a storm that follows the Druid, destroying all that come too close.

The Summoning tree regulates the calling of natural allies to the Druid. While the wolves and grizzly that the Druid can muster up are traditional melee summons, the additional summoning spells are a bit different. Ravens do bare damage, but can blind foes and cannot be targeted. Ravens vanish after they have attacked a certain amount of times. The Druid can summon sages that allow for Paladin-like Auras, like increasing attack or life. Druids also can summon one of three vines. These can poison opponents from below, or devour corpses to refill the Druid's life or mana.

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The Shape-Shifting tree gives the Druid the power to become a beast himself, with gigantic incentives to life. Druids may either become an agile Werewolf or a huge Werebear. Each form has its own particular attacks, like the Werewolf's Feral Rage, which causes the Druid to get faster and faster as he continues to attack opponents, and the Werebear's Maul, which makes the Druid swing heavier and harder as he assaults. It is worth mentioning that all of the Druid's equipment functions as normal when shifted, if at different speeds, but the druid is virtually unable to cast spells, except for Armageddon and summoning ones.

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The Assassin depends on an assortment of martial arts abilities and the ability to lay passive traps. She can also open bolted chests without the use of a key. Her Shadow Disciplines tree carries a mixture of passive bonuses (like Claw Mastery or Weapon Block) and buffs (like Burst of Speed or Venom), along with a couple of spells like Mind Blast which stun and confuse the opposition instead of causing direct harm. She also can summon a Shadow Warrior or Shadow Master, which are valuable summons that are also capable of administering significant harm themselves.

The Traps tree allows for a few direct attacks, and more importantly, a quantity of summonable traps. The traps are stationary devices that will assault any unfriendly target in range a certain amount of times before collapsing. Traps are either founded on fire or lightning, although the Death Sentry trap can detonate nearby corpses as well as shoot bolts of lightning. The blade trap skills are basically ranged projectiles that cause physical harm.

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The Martial Arts tree comprises of charge-up skills and finishing moves. Attacking with a charge-up skill increases the number of charges, up to three, then the finishing move ejects the charges in a single herculean blow. The charge-up skills include attacks like Blades of Ice and Fists of Fire, which add elemental harm to the finishing attack, and also abilities like Cobra Strike, which adds life and mana thieving to the finishing blow. The finishing attacks are, for the most part, kicks, like Dragon Talon, which releases a number of kicks in quick succession, and Dragon Flight, which teleports on to a foe and kicks them, expelling any charges.

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The Barbarian is a strong melee-oriented character, and the only character capable of dual-wielding weapons. The Barbarians hails from the northern steppes near Mount Arreat. His weapon masteries permit the Barbarian to specialize in various types of arms and to gain raw speed and resistances. His battle cries can heighten his and his party's powers in combat and reduce the enemy's powers. The Barbarian's combat skills are attacks that maximize brute strength, his biggest asset. The Barbarian is voiced by David Thomas.

The Sorceress comes from a rebellious coven of female witches who have wrested the mysteries of magic use from the male-dominated mage clans of the East. She can cast ice, lightning and fire spells. Her ice spells can freeze enemies, but do less harm than lightning or fire. The Sorceress's Teleport spell admits much faster mobility than any other character. The specialty of the Sorceress are potent damaging spells and casting speed; her weakness are her comparatively low hit points and defense. The Sorceress is voiced by Liana Young.

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The Paladin is a religious warrior from the Church of Zakarum in the east, crusading for the glory of light and goodness. To reflect this, the eager Paladin's combat abilities range from rabid attacks to heavenly thunderbolts. His abilities are split into combat abilities, defensive auras, and offensive auras. The Paladin's auras can heighten personal abilities, lower the amount of harm dealt by enemies or regain health. The Paladin is extremely adept in the use of a shield, and the best with defensive skills. Some of the Paladin's skills are exceedingly efficient at annihilating the undead. The Paladin is voiced by Larry B. Scott.

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The Amazon is a combatant who comes from a group of islands in the Twin Seas, near the border of the Great Ocean. The class is broadly based on the Amazons of mythology. The Amazon is most like to the Rogue of Diablo: both are chiefly associated with bows, and both make equal use of strength and magic. The Amazon is dissimilar in that she can also use javelins and spears adeptly. Her skills are founded around personal protective powers. The Amazon is voiced by Jessica Straus.

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The Necromancer is a versatile death-themed spell caster. Necromancers are the priests of the cult of Rathma from the far Eastern jungles. His Summoning abilities allow for him to form skeletal minions from corpses, to produce assorted types of golems, and to temporarily revive dead creatures to fight beside him. Poison and Bone skills include the Necromancer's direct-damage spells as well as some defensive powers. Curse skills serve a supportive role by inflicting status ailments upon foes in their area of effect. The Necromancer is voiced by Michael McConnohie.

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Diablo III is an action role-playing game in a hack and slash and "dungeon roaming" genre, presently in development as the third installment of Blizzard's Diablo franchise. It was revealed on June 28, 2008, at the 2008 Blizzard Entertainment Worldwide Invitational in Paris, France. The game happens in Sanctuary, the dark fantasy world of the Diablo series. This world was protected twenty years previous by a smattering of unnamed heroes in Diablo II. Warriors that endured the onslaught of the armies of the Burning Hells have gone insane from their trials and it is up to a new generation of heroes to face the forces of evil endangering the world of Sanctuary. Players will have the chance to explore familiar settings like Tristram.

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The only confirmed NPC is Deckard Cain, who has appeared in both of the prior games. Cain's journal on the official site gets players up to speed on the outcomes of the initial two games. Three of the five classes have been revealed so far: Barbarian, Witch Doctor and the Wizard. A faux class, the Archivist, a caricature of a well known character of Diablo, Deckard Cain, was demonstrated on April 1, 2009, by Blizzard as an April Fool's Day joke. Players may select the sex of each class, a alteration from the fixed class sexes in the prior two games. The Barbarian, previously featured in Diablo II, is the only class that Blizzard is planning to bring back for the initial release, but previous classes may show up in future expansions.

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Diablo II is a continuation to the game Diablo, a dark fantasy-themed action role-playing game in a hack and slash and "dungeon roaming" genre. It was published for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS in 2000 by Blizzard Entertainment, and was developed by Blizzard North. Diablo II was among the most popular games in 2000. Major factors that added to Diablo II's success include what fans found to be addictive hack and slash gameplay and free admittance to Battle.net. Diablo II may be played as a single player game, multi-player via a LAN, or multi-player via Battle.net. The game was conceived and designed by David Brevik and Erich Schaefer, with Blizzard North founders David Brevik, Max and Erich Schaefer acting as Project Leads for the additional disciplines (Engineering, Character Art and Environment Art, respectively). The primary production functions were handled by Matthew Householder and Bill Roper.

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An expansion to Diablo II, Diablo II: Lord of Destruction, was published in 2001, and is at present at version 1.12a. A sequel, Diablo III, was announced on June 28, 2008. The narrative of Diablo II happens after the end of the prior game, Diablo, in the lands of Sanctuary where Diablo, the Lord of Terror, was foiled by an unnamed warrior. The hero who slew Diablo drove the demon's soulstone into his forehead in an effort to imprison him, but Diablo's soul was too powerful and finally corrupted him. The player is an explorer who appears in the wake of the devastation caused by Diablo and tries to find out the cause of the destruction, commencing with the corrupted warrior. As the player carries on through each of the four acts, he faces off against the Prime Evils, superpowers of Hell, and learns of the truth behind the corruption. Diablo loosed Mephisto (Lord of Hatred) and Baal (Lord of Destruction) from their soulstones and they were instructed how to corrupt them by the fallen angel Izual. In the end, the player finally reaches and dispatches Mephisto and Diablo. The story persists in in the expansion to the game, where the player goes after the last of the Prime Evils; Baal (Lord of Destruction).

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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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