NPCs, Non-Player Characters, are the principle sources of information about the game's lore. They are also the usual sources for quests and quest rewards, and the NPC merchants are invaluable for equipping your hero for battle.
Contents
List of known NPCs
Here is the list of confirmed NPCs that are going to be in Diablo 3.
Deckard Cain
Deckard Cain is an essential character in the Diablo universe. As a wise sage and the last of the Horadrim, Cain has played an important part in both Diablo 1 and Diablo 2 games.
Deckard Cain is seen on the gameplay video[1] from the WWI 2008. In the gameplay video the player rescues Cain once again, apparently in the New Tristram Cathedral.
There is mention of Deckard Cain on the main page of the official page:
- "When Deckard Cain returns to the ruins of Tristram Cathedral seeking clues to defeat new stirrings of evil, a fiery harbinger of doom falls from the heavens, striking the very ground where Diablo once entered the world."
There is also a lore item, named Deckard Cain's journal, in the official Diablo 3 website. The main events of Diablo 1 and Diablo 2 are introduced in the journal.
By the looks of it, Deckard Cain will be a major NPC in Diablo 3.
Captain Rumford
This NPC was found in the small town area where new characters began the Blizzcon 2008 demo. He was a guard and nominal leader of the few surviving humans in the area, and had special dialogues for each of the 3 characters. During the dialogues he imparted information about a meteor had struck the Cathedral and awakened evil within, and either warned or encouraged the player to investigate.
Captain Rumford Dialogues
Like most key NPCs in Diablo III, Captain Rumford's dialogue differed greatly depending on whether he addressed a Wizard, Witch Doctor, or Barbarian.
- Barbarian: Rumford was afraid of the Barbarian, fearing he/she was a dangerous savage, but once the Barbarian spoke calmly Rumford become impressed and friendly and wished the Barbarian good luck.
- Witch Doctor: Rumford was contemptuous and dismissive of the scantily-clad, foreign-looking Witch Doctor, making comments about how he/she would surely be killed by the first monster encountered. The Witch Doctor made a few cryptic comments about not judging others by their appearance, but didn't say much.
- Wizard: Only the female wizard was playable in the Blizzcon build, and she was very saucy, sassy, headstrong, and brashly-confident. Her dialogue with Rumford was somewhat flirty, as she taunted him for being afraid to face the monsters himself, boasted that she would clear out the demonic infestation in nothing flat, and all but ordered Rumford to buy her a drink to toast her success when she returned. Rumford seemed somewhat overwhelmed by her arrogance and authority, and became rather meek and soft spoken before the Wizard's powerful presence.
List of possible NPCs
As of now, we don't have a lot information concerning the Non-Player Characters. Because of that here is a section dedicated to possible NPCs as well.
Leah
Leah is mentioned by name in the gameplay trailer. The barbarian says to Deckard Cain that Leah worries for him. (Leah was confirmed as her name when Blizzard called her that in an official wallpaper.) It seems that Leah gave the player the quest to rescue Deckard Cain in the catacombs below the old Tristram Monastery.
There is an interesting passage in the Gnarled Walkers lore entry in the official page, concerning the village of Wortham:
- "I likewise found it odd that there seemed to be only elderly people in the village, with the exception of one beautiful young woman whose father was quite insistent I keep my distance from her. Though he was rude on this point, I found him to be a rather sociable sort once convinced I was not interested in his daughter. He introduced himself as Pablo DeSoto"
There is speculation going about that Leah, the girl from the cinematic trailer, is actually the daughter of Pablo DeSoto mentioned in the lore. Other speculations include Leah being the new narrator, Cain's daughter or apprentice.
Be as it may, it is clear that there is some significance to the appearance on the cinematic trailer, as these take a substantial amount of time to prepare. Any random NPCs may be dropped out of the game as the development progresses but Leah was important enough to be put in the trailer which they had to begin working on months before the game announcement.
Pablo DeSoto
Pablo DeSoto is seen in the concept art and mentioned in the Gnarled Walkers lore entry, as quoted above. He is said to be knowledgeable of magic and mentioned to have some sort of grudge against necromancers, as it is revealed in the Gnarled Walkers lore entry.
There is writings on upper left corner of the concept art picture of DeSoto indicating that he is been around at least from December 2006. Pablo DeSoto was also the first person to be named in the lore section of the official page. This indicates that Pablo DeSoto is an important character, most probably a NPC. This would make sense if the speculation is proven right about Leah being the daugher of DeSoto.
Adria
Adria, the witch from Diablo 1, is mentioned in Deckard Cain's journal. On the top of that a concept art of Adria was seen at the BlizzCon 2008, thought it hasn't been officially revealed yet. Blizzard has done some background concept art, mainly the art of Skovos Isles, they aren't going to visualise in game, but it is a strong possibility that we will see Adria in Diablo III - possibly as a NPC or maybe even as a traitor-like character, like Nithalak was in Diablo II.
Other possible NPCs
It is indicated that multiple characters from previous games are returning. Jay Wilson says in an interview that they're "bringing back a lot of characters from the previous games." This is elaborated on another interview in which he says that "people can expect to see characters from Diablo I, more characters from Diablo II, and characters from some of the books. We're definitely going to bring a few of them in."
A list of potential NPCs for Diablo III:
- Abd al-Hazir - Travelling scribe, documenting lore.
- Franklin Burroughs - He's a Dune Thresher-hunter.