Deckard Cain

Deckard Cain returns in Diablo III, and reprises his role as an advisor and lore-master for the player. How could he not? Cain is the essential NPC 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. This old, classic Diablo character will definitely ask you to stay a while and listen.

Cain in Diablo III

Diablo Character [e]

Deckard Cain Horadrim Descendant Main Character
Gender:	Male
Race:	Human
Status:	Alive
Occupation:	Scholar
Affilliation:	The Horadrim
Friends:	Leah
Foes:	Prime Evils
Location:	Tristram (presumed)

Cain in-game.

Cain appears as an NPC, but it's not known if he'll pick up where he left off in Diablo II; following your character from town to town and offering item identifications and quest/plot info. He did not appear in the BlizzCon 2008 demo. He was seen previous to that, in the gameplay video from WWI 2008. In that video the Barbarian and Witch Doctor rescue Cain from a horde of monsters in the dungeons beneath the Tristram cathedral, and return him safely to town where Leah is worried about him.

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.

More information from (but not about) Deckard Cain can be seen in the Deckard Cain's Journal. It functions as a cheat sheet to events in the Diablo series, covering all the background information from the previous games including time retcons to make the universe more streamlined.

Cain's Voice

Michael Gough, the voice actor who has played Deckard Cain in all three Diablo games, was interviewed.

Cain's Personality

Jay Wilson spoke about Cain's personality in an interview from BlizzCon 2008 [1]. According to Jay, Deckard is darker and more somber this time. It's been twenty years since the events in Diablo II, and Cain's spent that time questing for more ancient knowledge, and trying to warn his fellow citizens that the danger is not past. No one listens, people don't want to believe or think about such things, and Cain's grown increasingly desperate. He's now a tragic, reclusive figure.

Cain's Background

Cain is the last in a long line of the Horadrim brotherhood, and he was told the stories of the brave Horadrim by his mother [2]. He is not a warrior mage, but is more of an archivist and loremaster, who does what he can to fight against evil by sharing the knowledge he's accumulated over a lifetime of researching the demons that menace the land of Sanctuary. Cain is well known to the forces of Heaven, and has interacted with the Archangel Tyrael on numerous occasions.

Previous Appearances

Read about Cain's character, the quests he gives, and see all of his dialogue in the earlier games in the series.

Media

You can find pictures in the Diablo 3 screenshot and picture gallery:

Concept art of the ageing Cain.
In-game representation of Deckard.
Concept artwork for the cinematic.

Trivia

Back in Diablo II, a special rap was made by the voice actor, Michael Gough. It is actually made by Blizzard.

Deckard Cain Rap

References

Deckard Cain's Journal