Scripted events

Scripted events are small, quest-like actions in the game when the monsters or NPCs behave in an unusual fashion that's been programmed in advance. The player's conversation with Izual's ghost after his death in Diablo II is one such scripted event.

Known Scripted Events

Scripted events in Diablo III have been seen in gameplay movies or played through in demo versions of the game at public events. (Just BlizzCon 2008, so far.) See the scripted events category for a full listing, or click the links below.

There seems to be a scripted event attached to most quests in Diablo III, even if these are just a few seconds of dialogue from an NPC, or overheard between monsters. Additionally, characters often utter a line or two of dialogue upon completing a quest, as they did after many of the quests in Diablo I and Diablo II. ("Let there be light." after clearing the Den of Evil, for instance.)

Though the following events have been seen in action, that's not a guarantee they'll remain in the final game. These elements are just as much subject to editing or outright removal as anything else in the game, during the development process.

WWI 2008 Gameplay Movie

• Trapped Wraith Room. A room with a treasure chest turns into a trap, when four Ghostly Orbs appear and begin emitting Wraiths.

• Rescue Cain The Barbarian finds and rescues Deckard Cain in the dungeon, along with his two NPC archer protectors.

• Siegebreaker snatch. The huge monster called the Siegebreaker reaches through a wall and pulls an NPC to his doom.

• Thousand Pounder Summoned. Dancing vestal virgins are sacrificed to pull the Thousand Pounder forth from the hells.

• Goatman Shaman Freeze Attack. A Goatman Shaman uses a long-lasting freezing attack to immobilize a Barbarian and Witch Doctor.

Blizzcon 2008 Gameplay Movie

• Skeleton King Summoned The return of the Skeleton King's crown causes him to awake and arise. This event was playable in the BlizzCon demo.

BlizzCon 2008 Playable Demo

Players who got some hands-on time at BlizzCon 2008 encountered a variety of scripted events.

• Basement Grinder. A short but gruesome scripted event unfolds shortly after a new character enters New Tristram, when an NPC is yanked into a basement and messily devoured by some unseen demon.

• Despairing Ghost. The ghost of a woman can be seen wandering around the village, wailing and sobbing over her daughter's lost doll. This is part of the Little Girl Lost quest.

• Zombie Gnawed Villager. The player found a man lying near the entrance to the Tristram Cathedral, with three zombies gnawing on him. When the zombies were approached or attacked, many more of them came tunnelling up out of the ground. After killing them all, the dying villager became clickable, and he would gasp out a few words of warning about the returning Skeleton King. This event marks the start of the quest called The Skeleton King and is clearly an homage to the dying villager/Butcher Quest from Diablo I.

• Conversing Cultists. Once in the dungeons below Tristram, the player was able to see two cultists speaking about a lost item they were trying to find for some nefarious purpose. This was part of the quest The Skeleton King.

• Rescue the Captain. A mob of zombies was seen swarming over a fallen NPC. When the player killed the undead the NPC stood up, unharmed, and asked the player to help him find the rest of his patrol. This event marked the beginning of the Escort Mission quest.

• Four Ghost Towers. As the player approached the Skeleton King's throne, his spirit appeared in a room with four towers. He told the player not to come any further, then faded away through the floor, after causing the four towers to start emitting different skeletons at a terrifying rate. This was part of the Skeleton King Quest.

• Skeleton King Summoned. The return of the Skeleton King's crown causes him to awake and arise. This event was also shown in the BlizzCon 2008 gameplay movie. This was part of the quest The Skeleton King.