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After reading Diablo: Demonsbane, I decided to start reading through Diablo: The Kingdom of Shadow. You can find both books in the Diablo Archive released a few days ago. I will be honest. My grammar is horrible, but hopefully you can find something that may catch your interest as to wish to read the book by yourself.

There was a specific reason I wanted to skip the first two books, and jump ahead to the Kingdom of Shadow. That is because this book talks about the ancient ruins of Ureh located at the jungles of the Necromancers, the guardians of balance. Why is all this important? Richard A. Knaak hinted back on October 2006 that Blizzard had great plans for Zayl the Necromancer. This was the same interview where he confirmed that the storyline of Diablo: The Sin War trilogy would impact the storyline of any future Diablo projects made by Blizzard -- coughs, Diablo 3.

Why am I reading about Ureh? Well, Atrumentis and Daemon had observed and speculated that what we see in the Diablo III cinematic teaser shown on June 28 at the Blizzard Worldwide Invitationals in Paris could very well be the ruins of Ureh. After both images comparing the cinematic teaser's building with the front cover artwork of Diablo: The Kingdom of Shadow (by Richard A. Knaak), one could debate whether both are similar. At the bottom, I wrote a small spoiler summary of what Ureh is and the story of the first few pages. This might encourage some fans to get their hands on the Diablo Archive (752 pages) which contains: Diablo: Legacy of Blood, Diablo: The Black Road, Diablo: The Kingdom of Shadow and Diablo: Demonsbane. The spoiler summary at the bottom of the page after both images:





SPOILER SUMMARY

This summary might be inaccurate, as I wrote it from what I remember. I did not summarize the entire book however. Merely the first 40 pages, and skipping a lot of stuff. Mostly summarized the most important details about Ureh.

The lost city of Ureh was once a central battleground for the war between Heaven and Hell in Sanctuary during the hundreds of years of the Sin War era. Ureh was a fount of light to those who followed and chose the path of the Archangels. This called the attention of the Prime Evils who sought to take Ureh. Diablo had overseen Ureh from his domain in Hell, and sought to destroy the city and its inhabitants for it offended him greatly its glorius existence. The people of Ureh were so pious they would not have fear. Something the Lord of Terror found intolerable and couldn't stand. Diablo grew determined to bring down the city and make its inhabitants the slaves of Hell.

Ureh was cut off from outside travelers and supply wagons, as the surrounding areas were overtaken by demons rallying toward Ureh. Juris Khan, lord of the city of Ureh, and his priests and mages attempted to save their people from the Prime Evils and their legions of demons. Juris Khan had a vision of an archangel who informed him the High Heaven had wished to grant them a haven from the incoming onslaught to protect them, the safety of Heaven.

The archangel opened the gates of Heaven to the mortals of Ureh, where the Prime Evils could not touch them. The archangel told Juris Khan in two more visions how to accomplish this. However, the archangel was not allowed to intervene or offer much help. It was up to Ureh to do the task. And thus the Mages of Ureh opened a way into the gates of Heaven. Gregus Mazi was the only inhabitant of Ureh who did not enter Heaven. Gregus Mazi was one of the mages at the service of Lord Juris Khan who performed the spellcasting to open the way. A crimson aura enshrouded the city of Ureh. Gregus Mazi faltered in his faith at that moment, and was left behind. He witnessed how the whole city of Ureh split into a twin ethereal city floating above the original one. To Gregus Mazi it was as if he had seen the soul of the city of Ureh leave the mortal plane. All inhabitants of Ureh becoming decaying corpses.

Gregus Mazi was found by followers of Rathma, the necromancers. They healed his broken mind and tended his needs for a time. However, the mage left to roam the world in search of something. He was one of the circle of mages to cast the spell that enabled the people of Ureh to ascend into Heaven, but he didn't know all of it. He became obsessed with joining his friends and family. Twelve years later, Gregus Mazi returned to Ureh with all the knowledge he needed to perform the spellcasting to ascend to Heaven, and he was never seen again.

Scrolls and books of his studies are all what remained. The mercenary who accompanied Gregus Mazi long ago to Ureh witnessed how Gregus Mazi chanted a spell that made the ruins of Ureh change, glowing golden as if the ruins had come to live. Humbart Wessel and his mercenaries did not follow Gregus Mazi into the ruins. That was the last they saw of him. In the morning, the ruins were no longer vivid. All was gone. Humbart wrote a scroll of what happened and delivered it to Lord Hyram of the Zakarum.

Hundreds of years later, a Vizjerei mage named Quov Tsin became obsessed with reading and analyzing Gregus Mazi's studies. Collecting all of his remaining scrolls, as well as the mercenary who witnessed his disappearance.

Vizjerei Quov Tsin hired a band of mercenaries led by Captain Kentril Dumon to ensure his safety through the jungle and his arrival to the city of Ureh with promises of gold and treasure bigger than that of Kings. Once every certain amount of time, the ruins of Ureh were said to come alive once more. Briefly. A faint echo of that day centuries ago when the spell to ascend to Heaven was casted by its people. The spellwork should be casted when the shadow of the mighty mountain Nymyr rested upon the ruins of Ureh. That time according to Quov Tsin would be the next day. Once at the ruins of Ureh, Quov Tsin began the chanting of the spellwork he had analyzed from the scrolls of Gregus Mazi right at the time when the shadow of Nymyr's mountain was covering Ureh. As he was about to end the spellwork, Zayl the Necromancer approached to warn them. To stop what could mean their deaths. The greedy mage put no mind to the intruder, and continued chanting the last words of the spellwork.

The shadow of mountain Nymyr covered all of the ruins of Ureh. Even with the sun on the sky, a dreadful darkness encompassed Ureh. The towers started to glitter, and slowly all of Ureh began to glow and radiate becoming alive, as it was hundreds of years ago. The ancient city was reborn again. The necromancer Zayl accompanied the Vizjerei Quov Tsin, Captain Kentril and his mercenaries into the city of Ureh. Voices, laughter and a non-stopping flute music were heard everywhere. After certain dangers experienced within, the mercenaries no longer wished to be in the ruins and headed toward the exit ... just to find the gates closed and guarded by two angels.

They could now see the people of Ureh. Suddenly, a plaza that wasn't there before was found, and the people of Ureh led them to a copy of mountain Nymyr at the center of the plaza. After walking a very long stairway, they found a gate guarded by two gargoyles. They allowed all but the Vizjerei to enter the gates unharmed. It took a lot of wit to get the mage inside as the gargoyles would come to life to stop him. Inside ... all of them met one who was thought disappeared many centuries ago: Lord Juris Khan.

Update: I have resumed reading through page 512. Seems the people of Ureh didn't reach Heaven afterall. The legends and scrolls concerning Ureh and Gregus Mazi's studies were false. Gregus Mazi betrayed them. During the casting of the spell to make the way to Heaven, was reversed by Mazi, who hoped to send Ureh into the Burning Hell realm. Lord Juris Khan attempted to counter the betrayal. The end result was, Ureh did not reach Heaven. And it did not reach the Burning Hells. It is floating in nothingness. A limbo. A place in-between. As far as I have read, with the help of Zayl, Tsin and the mercenaries they wish to find a gem that would allow them to remake the original spell to send the ethereal Ureh to its former destination: Heaven. More tomorrow.

Update: I am merely 70 pages from finishing the book. I can say this story is a heck of a rollercoaster ride. Things that might have seem the truth, turn out to be deceit. So anything I may have said in the summary could or not have a bit of truth. Things go from bad to worse. Worth of a tale of terror. And behind everything seems to be someone who lords it, one we all know well ... Diablo.

Update: Done reading the book. At the end some of the buildings crumble to dust, and the gem to light is destroyed. This could be seen by any reader as a hint that we won't be able to see Ureh again. However, the gem had been lost before and the city was still coming to life every certain time. Attana remains within the ethereal Ureh. That means Ureh might be able to return. Specially, if she manages to reanimate Vizjerei Quov Tsin with immortality. It could be up to debate. The city shown in the Cinematic could be Ureh, or not. We will have to hear from Blizzard what exactly they are showing in the cinematic. Regardless, I do know some who have read Kingdom of Shadow would like to visit Ureh in Diablo 3.

Diablo Archive available now, click the image to order it:

Robert B. Marks (Diablo: Demonsbane author) informed us he posted on his blog the first script he pitched at Blizzard Entertainment and Pocket Books eight years ago, which got him the e-book contract to publish Diablo: Demonsbane digitally. The script was titled: A Kingdom for a Sword.

It is a privilege and it is not common to get to read an original script, so I hope you guys take the opportunity and special gift to read through the three parts linked below.

Robert posted them in three parts at his blog, so click all the links below for the full story:
- Part 1
- Part 2
- Part 3

Robert B. Marks said: A Kingdom for a Sword was the story that impressed an editor at Pocket Books so much that he handed me an e-book contract. It is a story from my transitional period - it began as Diablo fanfiction, and then, as I decided to go professional writer, was revamped to take place in my Road of Legends universe (a wonderful place that, if all goes well with the current book submission, everybody will be able to explore and enjoy in the next few years). However, you can certainly see Diablo in it. And, if you take this story and Demonsbane and put them side by side, there are more than a few similarities.

The big problem with this story, however, is the ending. I'm not sure if it was just written when I was in the rationalization phase of a massive rebound (if there is such a phase of a rebound), but when I look back at it now, eight years later, I find the last paragraph absolutely asinine. It certainly lacks the emotional maturity I have today. I have kept it intact, though, because of its historical significance (well, I changed one capitalization, but otherwise it is intact).

But, otherwise, it is quite a good story, and after close to a decade, people should be able to enjoy it, particularly since everybody is now able to enjoy the e-book it made possible.

By the way, for those fanfiction writers who like this story, I'm afraid I have bad news. I don't want any fanfiction coming out of the Road of Legends, aka "The Great Road." Please respect my wishes on this - I am sharing this story so that those who are curious about where Demonsbane came from can read this for themselves. I am not opening up my pet universe to other writers. There are two full-length novels set in that world already written, and fanfiction for this showing up could cause complications in getting them published at last, particularly since they are already under consideration by a publisher.

11:49pm / 8:49pm
Two months ago, on May Activision and Vivendi Games/Blizzard had announced their membership cancellation from the ESA, basically pulling off E3 as well. Suddenly, in recent hours it was announced a ActivisionBlizzard press conference would take place today in the evening. As Gamespot, IGN and Kotaku's auto-updated blogs said, the press conference just ended with the Neversoft Band playing onstage. It is quietly disappointing to not have seen Blizzard up there to promote Wrath of the Lich King and Starcraft 2, or at least play the Diablo III Teaser. The ActivisionBlizzard press conference has wrapped up without any Blizzard game.

11:28pm EST / 8:28pm PDT
Gotta love how Gamespot and IGN are updating the live blog every two minutes. Right now ex-Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker to play out the drums kit for Guitar Hero World Tour. I can imagine Blizzard will come to stage at some point. ActivisionBlizzard is stealing the freaking E3 show Press and attention big time!

11:00pm EST / 8:00pm PDT
Gamespot has a reporter at E3 streaming a Live blog that auto-updates your page with new info from the floor at a restaurant near E3 where ActivisionBlizzard is holding a press conference with a massive screen. A lot of Activision games have been showcased already. We are awaiting any news from Blizzard Entertainment games. Specially Diablo 3 or the unannounced Next-Gen MMO. It is unknown whether the unannounced game might be revealed here however.

We will update anything new that is reported by Gamespot and other websites. For now, if you wish to stand alert, visit the Live Gamespot E3 Watch blog. Your page will auto-reload showing new updates every few minutes.

Thus far they have shown the latest Wolverine Film game, Guitar Hero's latest game,
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2: Fusion, a simultaneous James Bond game/film release, and Spiderman: Web of Shadows trailers. With ActivisionBlizzard'a merger complete last week, this being their first Press Conference, and Blizzard Entertainment being the main jewel in said merger, that means there is a great chance a Blizzard game video or press panel could roll there at the end of the press conference.

I am speechless. After my recent review of Diablo: Demonsbane, early this morning I visited Robert B. Marks blog to see any new updates and there I find out he read my review. I had said I would like to read new adventures of Siggard, the main character in Demonsbane, to which he answers he did wrote a continuation in Garwulf's Corner# 43 back on 2002.

Robert B. Marks also responds to my wish of reading more books from him. He already has the title and topic of possible Diablo novels he could pitch to Blizzard Entertainment if they wanted him to write new Diablo books.

The title of any new Diablo novels he gets to write would be ... Diablo: Angels of Darkness, Soldiers of Light

The joy. You really should read Diablo: Demonsbane from the Diablo Archive to experience what others who have read it feel now after hearing he is interested in writing new stories based on the Diablo universe.

Read Robert B. Marks blog here.

Have you read Diablo: Demonsbane? Please share your very own review. Make sure to add SPOILER tags where needed. I will make sure to let Robert B. Marks read your reviews.

Garwulf's Corner# 43 : The Fate of Siggard by Robert B. Marks

Call it a need for closure, if you will. You see, way back when, I wrote this little e-book titled Demonsbane. It inaugurated the Diablo fiction line, and went on to become a bestseller in its own right (which, for e-books, means it sold more than five hundred copies). The hero was this tragic character, a man named Siggard who had so much vitality that death literally could not touch him. Stab him, burn him, decapitate him, he would come back for more. The only way he would finally find some rest is if his soul found peace, which is about as likely as a computer showing up and asking for a convenience store in the Diablo world.

Siggard was a really interesting character. I had hoped to do much more with him in future books, but it didn't end up that way. I can't say what Pocket books is going to do after the third Diablo novel is out (my editor threatened to do nasty things involving Barney the Dinosaur to me if I told anybody), but I've been assured that, barring some major change in the author pool at Pocket Books, I'm not writing anything for the next set. So, rather than leave Siggard to linger in the back of my mind, I've decided to tell you all what was going to happen next to our intrepid hero.

Before I start, though, I have to stress one thing: the only thing in this that counts as official continuity is Demonsbane. Everything else is my own warped imagination at work in the Diablo world. Essentially, these are little outlines of stories I had hoped to tell, and may even get to someday, assuming that when I do have the opportunity to pitch them, Blizzard doesn't have a heart attack from sheer terror...

So, we start at the end of Demonsbane. Siggard is standing in the ruins of Brennor, having just dispatched the Archdemon Assur (which, for those who missed the reference when reading the book, is the name of the home city of the Assyrians). The Archangel Tyrael, who has been showing up in disguise every now and then (it's the Sin War, for crying out loud...the angels are supposed to be subtle...that's my story, and I'm sticking to it), informs Siggard that his suspicions are correct; Siggard is one of a rare breed, who has so much vitality death cannot touch him. After an epilogue that has Siggard walking off into the sunset in search of the next battle, his sword Guthbreoht (forged by the legendary Velund the Smith) at his side, the e-book ends.

The next story was going to be another e-book. I had this wonderful idea that would play on some things I wanted to do to...er...with the Diablo world. After all, Tyrael went through all of Demonsbane cloaked, didn't he? What if the angels held themselves in such secrecy that no mortal was ever allowed to see an angel uncloaked and live?

So, story number two, which I never did work out a title for, begins with a murder. This fellow is running through the streets of Kurast, being chased by some shadowy thing. Suddenly, the Archangel Tyrael corners him, uncloaked. The man has just enough time to say "You're too late, they already know" before Tyrael kills him.

Flash over to a tavern in the east, where Siggard is drinking some mead. Tyrael steps over to him, and informs him that somehow, somebody has discovered the name of the Lord of Terror, meaning that one of the Prime Evils can now be summoned to the mortal realm. Siggard tracks down an evil wizard and confronts him in his tower, but he is too late. Diablo has been summoned. The Lord of Terror tempts Siggard with the idea of restoring his family (killed by Assur a few centuries past in Demonsbane), and suggests that the angels have been lying to mankind all along; the Sin War was never a conflict between good and evil. At the last minute Siggard resists the temptation, slays the evil wizard, and sends Diablo back to the Burning Hells. Tyrael appears and states that it is just the beginning, but Siggard will have nothing of it. The experience has shaken him to his core, and he needs some time alone. So, the story closes with our hero wandering northwards, hoping that the northmen/barbarians will be able to sooth his soul.

The third story was going to be a full-length novel, titled Angels of Darkness, Soldiers of Light. It opens around twenty years after the events in Demonsbane. Sarnakyle, Siggard's companion in the e-book and later the wizard who turns the Vizjerei clans back to elemental magic, is asked to perform an exorcism. The exorcism goes poorly; one of the wizards is killed, but just before the demon is sent back to Hell, it tells Sarnakyle that great evils are coming. Sarnakyle is shaken, as it is impossible to tell what was a truth and what was a lie, and he leaves the Mage clans once again to seek the truth. He never returns, and his name becomes legend (as told in the epilogue of Demonsbane).

Flash forward about seven hundred years. Two of the Prime Evils have been captured in soul stones, and the final Prime Evil, Diablo, is about to be confronted by the Horadrim army led by Jared Cain. A massive battle ensues, where Diablo barely escapes with his rearguard. After seeing to their losses, the Horadrim begin to pursue.

Up in the barbarian lands, Siggard is living in peace amongst the Northmen. A sage comes to him and leads to him to a barrow, where the remains of Sarnakyle have lain buried for over six centuries. Siggard goes to the barrow, where a projection of Sarnakyle informs him of what the wizard was able to learn in his final wanderings, including a great secret that the angels will kill to protect. He leaves to contemplate this, but Tyrael appears before him and says that his services are once again needed to capture Diablo. Reluctantly, Siggard heads south.

In Westmarch, Jared Cain and his forces are pursuing Diablo and the remnants of his army. After the trail grows cold, the Horadrim are given shelter at the Monastery of the Sightless Eye, the home of a female order of healers and mystics. There, the Abbess informs Cain that there are rumblings of something evil to the north, and he takes a small group of Horadrim to investigate.

It turns out that what he has found is the rearguard of what is left of Diablo's army. The Horadrim are ambushed, but at the last minute they are saved by Siggard, wielding Guthbreoht like a demon. Siggard explains who he is, and that he has seen the main force nearby. Cain gathers the rest of his army, and they find Diablo and fight a pitched battle. Once again Diablo escapes, but not before fighting Siggard. During the melee, Siggard discovers that Diablo's sword has been enchanted with a glyph of unbinding, as the demonic blade shatters Guthbreoht. Siggard leaves the Horadrim, inconsolable.

After Cain and his army have left in pursuit of Diablo, Tyrael appears to Siggard. Siggard holds up the shards of Guthbreoht and says that he is finished. Tyrael reveals that the only other person he has ever known who had Siggard's type of immortality was Velund the Smith, and sends Siggard off to find him. Siggard finds Velund on an island, where the smith agrees to remake Guthbreoht with even stronger enchantments. Guthbreoht is reforged and renamed, and Siggard goes off with his new sword to find the Horadrim.

As Guthbreoht is being reforged, Cain and the Horadrim come across the burnt out ruins of the Monastery of the Sightless Eye, which has been razed by Diablo. The Abbess, along with the handful of survivors, pledge themselves to become a military order, and join the Horadrim in their fight against the demonic forces. This time, the trail is fresh, and allows the Horadrim to pass Diablo's army and fortify themselves ahead in the town of Tristram.

Siggard, guided by Tyrael, arrives at Tristram and rejoins the army. While they are waiting for Diablo to appear, he begins to fall for a local woman, who has lost her husband in a recent epidemic. And then, as the friendship begins to turn to a romance, Diablo appears.

To the horror of the defenders, Diablo has managed to reinforce his army. A brutal siege begins, where the Lord of Terror vows to destroy all of the Horadrim for the capture of his brothers. As the situation becomes desperate, Siggard and Cain lead a foray out during the night, where they capture Diablo in the soulstone. Without the power of Diablo to keep them in the mortal realm, the remainder of the demonic army vanishes.

As the leaders of the Horadrim celebrate the defeat of the last Prime Evil in the house of the mayor of Tristram, Tyrael appears, and Siggard states that the cost of the angels' secret has been too high. Despite Tyrael's warnings, Siggard reveals the truth: the angels and demons are of the same blood. In the distant past, some angels settled in Heaven while others settled in the Burnings Hells, fascinated by the chaos of the place. Those who settled in the Heavens became ethereal, creatures of the noblest aspects of their nature, while those who settled in Hell were overcome by the basest aspects of their nature, and were warped in both spirit and physical appearance by the place.

As soon as the secret is out, Tyrael uncloaks himself and uses his power to subdue the entire room. As the Archangel's sword is raised to kill all who have heard the secret, Siggard manages to convince him that the Horadrim are necessary, and without them the Prime Evils will escape their prisons and reign unopposed. The Horadrim promise that the secret will remain within their order, and Siggard, feeling a bit unwell but not understanding why, goes to visit his new love.

On the way, Tyrael appears and tells him that his life is ebbing. Siggard has finally found love, which is the only thing that can bring peace to his tormented soul, and death can finally claim him. Siggard protests that he now has a reason to stay, but Tyrael points out that Siggard's family has waited for him in the afterlife for seven centuries, and it is now time to join them. Siggard sees his wife and daughter again, and reaches out to them, breathing his last breath as he does.

Cain comes out to discover Siggard is dead, and Tyrael explains what has happened, instructing that the warrior should be buried like a hero, his sword with him, until the blade chooses a new master. Siggard is laid to rest in the old Tristram church, while the foundation stones for a new cathedral to house the soulstone containing Diablo are placed by the Horadrim and Sisters of the Sightless Eye.

And that is the end of the Siggard story arc. Perhaps one day I will be allowed to write it in full. But, at least for now, the story is told (and to the fanfic writers out there, no, I don't want to see any renditions of the story arc...Siggard is my character, and I'd like to be the only one to write his stories).

After receiving the Diablo Archive, boasting 752 pages, just recently, I decided to read through it backwards starting with Diablo: Demonsbane by Robert B. Marks (of Garwulf's Corner fame).

I am sure the Diablo Archive will be a jewel among my Blizzard novels collection. Better to have four Diablo novels on a single tome, than have individual books all around the place unable to find them at times. There is one thing I disapprove from the Diablo Archive however. For such a big tome, and quiet heavy in weight, the cover designer Richard Yoo or whoever chose the cover material should have gone for thick cardboard material. This huge archive is no pocket book. It is about two inches thick. The cover material is made of the same material as any other pocket book with the same thin thickness. The result is a jellyfish-effect when you handle the heavy book around. I usually read on my bed. At times when I am uncomfortable, I usually lie on my back and rise the book above me in the air. The weight is almost unbearable after 20 minutes, but the material doesn't help. Enough with the material rant.

What can be found inside is worth the nuisance. For years, I have heard of Diablo: Demonsbane. A lecture painted in myth. Something I knew existed, but couldn't reach. It was a few years ago, when I first heard of its existence. It was released on 2000 in ebook format. I have a lot of Warcraft RPG books in ebook format, and even purchased Warcraft: Of Blood and Honor as an ebook. But for some odd reason I never got around reading Diablo: Demonsbane, even when I craved it more than any other book. Curiosity compels one's craving. I have never read a review of Demonsbane, or heard what it was about. I just knew it was the first of the Diablo stories ever released.

I reported about the first printing of Diablo: Demonsbane on paper two years ago on July 2, 2006. It was titled Blizzard Legends Vol. 1. It contained a printed version of three ebooks from each game franchise: Warcraft: Of Blood and Honor (by Chris Metzen), Starcraft: Uprising (by Micky Neilson), and Diablo: Demonsbane (by Robert B. Marks).

However, it is now with the release of Diablo Archive that fans have the opportunity to get this craved story more broadly as it comes bundled along with Diablo: Kingdom of Shadow, Diablo: The Black Road, and Diablo: Legacy of Blood.

Personally, I was expecting something different in Diablo: Demonsbane. More of a dark fantasy meets Lord of the Rings with some fancy Shakespearian old-english language accent. Part of the myth I envisioned for lack of any knowledge of a Demonsbane's summary.

I started reading on Sunday evening and couldn't stop reading. It caught my attention. It is a short novella spanning through page 685-738. According to the epilogue, these events take place on year 302 and seem to happen during the Sin War. Right at the end when I read the epilogue, it made me wonder. Did Diablo: The Sin War somehow retconned Demonsbane? I have no idea. What I do know is that none of the events of the Sin War trilogy seem to be mentioned in it. Nor did the main character in Demonsbane show up in the Sin War trilogy.

Which book comes first in the timeline is also a mystery to me. One thing does gets mentioned that might help those who have better knowledge of the time line than me. Sarnakyle the Kejistan mage of the Spirit Mage Clan mentioned he was among the party of mages that killed Bartuc the Warlord of Blood at Viz-jun two years earlier.

The story is centered around Siggard, a warrior who fought at Blackmarch with the Entsteig's army. They had fought demons there led by the favored archdemon of the Lord of Terror: Lord Assur. This archdemon has a peculiar glyph of invincibility that makes him feared by the Vizjerei Mage clans. There is however one thing that may kill him, and that would be spoiling it. I did see it coming when I read what could kill him, but was unsure as the requirements for it to happen were not clear at sight, specially with the interaction of Siggard with the other characters.

Ever since the Night of Souls through the events in Brennor, it kept bouncing around my mind why Siggard can't remember anything about Blackmarch until certain point as if he had magically forgotten. As I was reaching the last pages of the story, it was more evident my suspicions were right, but the idea resulted contradictory. Making me doubt. Robert B. Marks wrote here a very nice story, and wrapped up with a surprise few could have seen coming. It keeps a fast pace, while adding elements of suspense. I enjoyed the read and don't regret it. One well-known character appears a couple of times, but heavily weights on the outcome of the story: Tyrael.

I will be reading through the Diablo Archive in upcoming days. One thing I am glad of doing, however, is to have started backwards, reading Diablo: Demonsbane first. It is a pity this story was brought as an ebook and as a short novella. As an ebook, it didn't get the attention it deserved in 2000. And as a novella, it was too short. The story was worth an entire book of 378 pages. I hope the author writes a continuation of Siggard's adventures. Otherwise, I would like to read a new story from him again. Take note Blizzard. Cheers, Robert B. Marks.

Go grab your copy of the Diablo Archive.

For those wondering, Diablo 3 will only support a certain amount of players per Game. That disqualifies it as an MMO which consists of thousands of players in a persistent world on a single server. The amount of players per game in Battle.net 2.0 has not yet been determined, but Diablo 3 Community Manager Bashiok explains a few things about this topic:

Bashiok: MMO's are generally categorized as being able to support hundreds of thousands of simultaneous players in a persistent world.

While Battle.net can certainly support that many players at one time, the lack of a persistent world and restrictions on how many players can be within each "world" (game) would keep Diablo III from being categorized as an MMO.

One of the larger things to think about when balancing game sizes is that with mechanics that encourage players to stick together, only so many players can be doing these huge over-the-top type abilities without it turning into a visual mess.

We'll settle on a group size that allows for the most amount of players while still keeping the games fun, and sane.

Mike Huang, an ex-Blizzard North Developer, recently posted in his personal blog a few thoughts about Diablo III, from similarities to what they had done in the early concept stages of Diablo III prior to their departure, to the complete change of direction in certain areas of the game.

Mike Huang: When I left Blizzard in '03, Blizzard North had done quite a bit of pre-production work on Diablo III, as well as some protoyping on the 3d-game engine. Today at the Blizzard Invitational in Paris, they announced the release of Diablo III. Since much of the work we had done on Diablo III was concept and prototype work, seeing the development they've done over the last 5 years was very interesting; while some of the concepts we were developing definitely looks like it made it through to the version of the game they displayed, some of the design choices they appear to have made seem counter to the decisions the original Diablo team members would have made had they remained on development of the title -- the most apparent change that I can point to is the appearance of "floating numbers" as seen in the gameplay video -- this was a feature that Blizzard Irvine continually "suggested" during development on Diablo II, which Blizzard North refused to implement -- with development now located within Irvine, the decision to add floating numbers to the game isn't one which surprises me.

One of the design choices which again shows Blizzard Irvine's hand in the changes made is the re-appearance of the Barbarian character class -- the original design documents for Diablo III included a set of all new character classes, with no reappearance of old character classes (our reasons for this was simple -- since we were enhancing and improving the skill system, we didn't want to try and adapt old skills into a new system -- we'd rather create all new skills for the new character classes. The return of the Barbarian class feels like a change that was made after development of the title was moved to Irvine 3 years ago. -- this is an excerpt only. Read the full article at Mike Huang's blog

Thanks, Lyquid.

Diablo III Community Manager Bashiok offers more insight on the Loot mechanics. At the gameplay video panel the developers had mentioned that each player will have a random loot table that only each individual can see. However, there is a work around this when you don't want a specific loot, and wish your party to see the item. (Jump to Post)

Omnicide @ USEast: Say you pick up said item that only you can see and you don't need it. If you drop it, can your teammates then see it?

Bashiok: Yeah, so right now in a multiplayer game I'll see my items drop, if I don't want it or can't use it I'll need to pick it up and then drop it at which time everyone can see it. Then I can of course ask in chat if anyone wants it. It's fairly straight forward, and by no means final, obviously.

To clarify "can't use" we don't plan nor have any armor items at the moment that are class specific - although the bonuses and stats may be better suited to a certain class - anyone can pick up any chest/shoulder/leg/etc item and wear it. However, there are some weapons/off-hand items that are class specific.

Yeah, as others have said the current intent to encourage cooperative play (in regards to health globes) is to ensure that they heal everyone in the party when picked up.

But in any case, why wouldn't the witch doctor be using any of his abilities? Mass confuse, and while everything is busy wailing on each other or attacking your mongrels you sneak in. Or horrify, and while they're scattered you snag some health.

The witch doctor is a little sneakier though, a little more frail, a little more of a "I'm gonna make you die or kill your friend while I'm all the way over here". You should probably be doing everything you can to avoid being hit, and you have the tools to do so.

Q u o t e:
Bosses do not drop health globes while you are fighting them right?

Bashiok: Maybe? Maybe not. Maybe there are other situational/environmental mechanics that would, or would provide assistance in healing up?

Q u o t e:
Not only will they be forcing players to run in circles like mindless chickens, but they will make hardcore and softcore gameplay harder, slow paced, and over all less attractive.

Bashiok: That's a lot of conclusions to jump to in a single sentence. Classes will have abilities to help them work through groups of monsters. Obviously health globes are going to be necessary to pick up, and obviously class abilities will exist to help you do so.

And, come on :), I realize there's a lot of room for hyperbole since we just announced and a lot of details aren't out there or just don't exist, but at least have the ground before you call it a mountain. Rational concerns, complaints, issues, questions, are going to go over way better.

Q u o t e:
the fact remains that it only takes up space if it's added onto monster loot tables

Bashiok: Well, it's not like there's a hard cap on what a loot table can contain being forced upon us, or that health globes are even associated with loot drops. It can be balanced any way we see fit.

Bottom line, is that we're simply not going to release a game that is irritating, slow, aggravating, boring, or any of the other adjectives you used. If that means ripping out the health globe system and going a different direction, so be it, but at current it plays and feels fun and engaging. -- (Jump to post)

TheCutScene (Variety) has word that Mike Morhaime and the Blizzard Team have acquired a renewed 5-years contract with the ActivisionBlizzard merger. Read the full article.

CEO Bobby Kotick confirmed for me that the top folks at Blizzard have all signed new five year deals. "We realized it would be impossible to compete [with 'World of Warcraft'] and so ultimately my only issue was making sure they were committed for at least five years. They are committed to the franchise in a way we rarely see, since it's something they created from scratch and is their life and livelihood. It didn't take a lot to get them to make that commitment."

Blizzard CEO Mike Morhaime also confirmed that his executive team is under new contracts now.

An interesting conversation about Diablo III BOE item exchange and currency took place today between fans and the Diablo III Community Manager Bashiok. Here is hoping Blizzard comes up with good ideas to make trade successful in this new game.

Azrabaine @ Maelstrom: Everyone seems to be worried Blizzard won't give us a currency or that they'll make sure there isn't any trading with BoE/BoP.

What's the problem with the way Diablo II did it? I'm not just saying my opinion, I'm asking the question: what were the problems with Diablo II's player-run economy and what do you want Blizzard to do?

So in my opinion, I like the idea of a player-run system. It seems much more fun to me. Sure, having a set currency like in WoW is simple, but I feel like it sucks the fun out of bartering (which is a reason I loved Diablo II). In WoW you can simply have a lot of gold but in Diablo II you can be your own self-sufficient merchant, peddling your wares across the Diablo world. I remember getting a +1 Summoning Skill Level charm and trading it up to three Ist runes and a Ber. Fun! With a set currency I'm afraid trading isn't going to exist like this and it will merely be a matter of picking the future cow level clean of items and then buying something off of someone

Bashiok: One of the largest issues with a bartering system is that it prevents any ease of entry into the system for players. I have an item and I think it's probably worth something, but I have no idea what its worth and no easy way to find out. You have an item I want, but I have no idea what you may want for it or if I'm going to get a fair trade for it. You may throw a bunch of acronyms at me, get frustrated I don't know what I'm doing, and then leave. That's not going to be a positive experience for either of us, and neither of us get what we want out of it. With a stable economy and currency, there's at least a common language that anyone can understand regardless of their game knowledge.

Cheque @ Dethecus: So, can you speak on whether gold going to be worth something in Diablo 3, or if the developers are planning to continue the item-based currency method?

Bashiok: We want gold to be worth something in Diablo III, yes.

branderic @ USWest: How would you react if D3 had item binding?

Bashiok: Diablo is a trading game, and we have no plans to change that. We don't have any inclination to make items bind to a character, or otherwise remove trading opportunities.

Will there be absolutely no items that will be bound to a character? It isn't possible to say with any certainty at this point, there might be.

Source: Diablo III Forums and Battle.net

G4TV released a video in honor of the Diablo III announcement, X-Play takes a look back at the history of Blizzard's popular dungeon-crawler franchise. The video starts by giving fans a tour through the Diablo 1 and Diablo II gameplay that redefined dungeon crawlers for a generation of PC gamers. G4TV X-Play mentioned DiabloFans when we had the Diablo 3 Countdown back on May 1 at the very end of their video, and even mentioned Mockery and the new home to the former diablo3.com community. This time around we return the goodwill shouts to X-Play.

Diablo Retrospective Video

This is not official, but an interpretation by Diablofans forum members Atrumentis and Daemaro based on the description of Angel Imperius from the Diablo: The Sin War Trilogy pocket book by Richard A. Knaak. The Diablo III artwork that may be found at the official Diablo III website shows an angel with a peculiar bright sword on his chest.

Here is an excerpt from Book three: The Veiled Prophet:

"THERE IS NO NEED FOR THIS DEBATE TO CONTINUE ... OR TO HAVE EVEN BEGUN, declared a majestic angel with robes of royal red and a shining breastplate upon which the image of an upturned sword blazed.



It is not known who the angel in the image above is, but we do have clues that Diablo: The Sin War trilogy is canon lore that serves as ground for the development of the Diablo III Single Player. Angel Imperius is one of the five members of the Angiris Council in the High Heavens.

Share your thoughts in our forums.

Is there anything from the Gameplay video, the Barbarian and Witch Doctor classes, or from the official website media you are dying to get answered by the Diablo III Team?

The Diablo III Community Manager Bashiok has invited DiabloFans.com and other fansites to gather questions for the upcoming BlizzCast Episode 5. Only a very few questions will be chosen. Make sure to throw your best shot. Submit your question as clear as possible.

The best questions will be forwarded to Blizzard next week. Good luck!

Make sure to watch BlizzCast Episode 4 when it is available. In the meantime, check out previous episodes of the Blizzard in-house podcast and transcripts at the BlizzCast website.

Diablo III Community Manager Bashiok offered a slight comment on Talent Tree respec possibilities in Diablo III, health globes functionality, and Loot mechanics. There aren't plans for a Tank and Healer Classes according to Bashiok. Although Talent Respec won't be as flexible as in World of Warcraft, it may offer an alternative. How this will be implemented, is still unknown. It may change throughout development cycles. Regardless, it sounds like a good idea.

Talent Respec

Bashiok: There will almost definitely be some sort of system to respec; however, it isn't likely to be as liberal as World of Warcraft. We don't want to lock a player into a system that punishes them for mistakes, experimenting, or lack of knowledge early on in the game. We also don't think a system that allows immediate, complete, and at-a-whim changes to a character spec matches the feel of Diablo. It's likely to be somewhere in between.

That said we still feel like the desire to play the same class again that you may have played before is still a part of the game, and with some ability to respec could potentially require other incentives.

Health Globes

Bashiok: The health globes are actually, in my opinion, really cool. Playing the game and actually seeing what types of strategy they encourage, you can start to see what they add and how they make the combat more interesting.

I'll set the scene. You're a barbarian, you're in the wilderness and after fighting wave after wave of ghouls, skeletons, demons, what have you, you're low on health. You're out of potions, and after using a strategic leap out of the fray you turn around and seismic slam the skeletons charging you. Two of them drop health globes, but the globes dropped behind the skeletons that are still advancing. If they reach you, you're not going to survive. Are you able to leap safely to snag the globes before they can tear into you? Can you throw out another slam and try to remove the remaining enemies? How can you survive? You have a fraction of a second to decide.

The health globes help to create situations just like this, where you're not just sitting there spamming potions, you're using your abilities and strategy to stay alive. Possibly most importantly, you're encouraged to keep fighting, and not just run away.

With random spawns, random drops, and of course the randomness of combat, the health globes add to creating situations that are just more... interesting, and in my opinion, fun.

On the side of potions, they still exist, but they're likely to be on a cooldown of some type. They'll also likely restore health based on a percentage that's relative to your character. They may heal an instant amount, they may be the old over time type system. They're probably going to be filling an emergency-heal role more than anything though. -- post

No Tank and Healer Classes?

Fan said: They have literally said Diablo 3 will be "first and foremost a cooperative game". Which leads me to believe it's possible they add a talent tree for dedicated healers to one or several classes.

Bashiok: No. Not that classes won't benefit from each other in various ways, Barbarian shouts being good party buffs, etc. but every class is essentially a demon-killing DPS class. We have no intentions to create a tank, or healer, etc. Every class will play their own way, and while some may take direct hits easier than others, it certainly wouldn't define their role within a party. Everyone should be kicking in heads at the same time.

Diablo III having a strong emphasis on cooperative play is really building upon one of the best parts of Diablo II, and that's charging through dungeons with other people. Our focus is on removing the frustrations that existed with grouping, and adding new features that encourage everyone to stick together and fight as a party.

Random Loot Mechanic

Currently - while in a party each player will see their own drops from each kill.

This could mean that after killing a zombie I see a sword drop, and you may see a shoulder slot item drop. Or I see nothing drop, while you got an axe.

Obviously while in a group you're killing faster, and this could translate to an exponentially increasing number of drops with each additional player in your party. However, it's balanced in such a way that the drop % is pulled back a bit with each additional player (I'm simplifying it, but that's what it boils down to). This keeps it from being almost detrimental to not play with a full party, while still giving a nice increase to the amount of drops if you do.

From this system it seems quite a few people got the impression that you'll never see items drop that you can't use. For instance, a Barbarian will never see a dagger that only a Witch Doctor can use. This isn't true. There is no effect, or at least no currently intended effect, to restrict which items which classes can or can't see for their respective drops. It's still intended that you could see an item that your class can't use. It's easy enough to drop the item, ask if anyone can use it, or just sell it off of course. -- post

Blizzard Entertainment and Pocket Books released Diablo Archive to bookstores. The 752-pages book gathers four of the novels based on the Diablo universe by authors Richard A. Knaak, Mel Odon, and Robert B. Marks: Legacy of Blood, The Black Road, The Kingdom of Shadow, and the rare-to-find Demonsbane. Last week, the Diablo II: Battle Chest reached # 1 on the US PC Sale Charts and #4 on UK PC Sale Charts. At the bottom please read a statement from Robert B. Marks, Mel Oldom and Richard A. Knaak as an exclusive to all Diablo fans.

With the recent announcement of Diablo III at the 2008 Paris Blizzard Worldwide Invitationals, Diablo Archive will also be highly sought by fans of Blizzard's RPG/hack'n slash as a resource and lore reference to the Diablo III single-player. Do you want to buff up your Diablo lore now that Diablo III was announced? This book will perfectly suit you. Order it online here.


DIABLO ARCHIVE

Description

Since the beginning of time, the angelic hosts of the High Heavens and the demonic hordes of the Burning Hells have been locked in a struggle for the fate of all Creation. That war has now come to the mortal realm...and neither Man nor Demon nor Angel will be left unscathed....


LEGACY OF BLOOD: Norrec Vizharan has become a living nightmare. While on a quest for magical treasure, he discovers an artifact beyond his wildest dreams: the ancient armor of Bartuc, the legendary Warrior of Blood. But the mysterious armor is cursed, channeling a malevolent power into Norrec's tortured soul. Pursued by demons who covet the dark armor for their own purposes, Norrec must overcome a bloodlust he can scarcely control and learn the truth about his terrifying curse before he is lost to darkness forever.

THE BLACK ROAD: Darrick Lang is coming home. Years ago he left the town of Bramwell to walk the wide world as a champion of the realm. But Bramwell is not as he left it. Something dark and terrifying has ensnared the townsfolk, something very old and very patient, tangling innocents in a web of malice and profaning the very earth itself. Now that same power calls to Darrick...and his only hope may be to walk the same perilous path of damnation.

THE KINGDOM OF SHADOW: Legend speaks of a long-dead city known as Ureh, thought by many to have been a gateway to the High Heavens. It is said that every two thousand years, Ureh is reborn -- and all its lost riches are revealed to those brave enough to seek them out. Now the Vizjerai sorcerer Quov Tsin has come to witness Ureh's rebirth for himself with Kentril Dumon and his band of mercenaries in tow. But what awaits them is like nothing they imagined.

DEMONSBANE: What was to have been a victorious last stand against a demonic invasion of Blackmarch has instead become a massacre. Only Siggard remains, a warrior unable to remember the final hours of the battle. As he hunts the demon lord who butchered everything dear to him, Siggard pieces together the truth of that terrible battle...and finds that his nightmare is only beginning.

Find out more: Read an excerpt.

Product Details
Pocket, July 2008
Trade Paperback, 752 pages
ISBN-10: 1-4165-7699-1
ISBN-13: 978-1-4165-7699-0

Below you can read their exclusive statements made to us today with the release of Diablo Archive:

Robert B. Marks: "I would like to add just one thing - I am very grateful to Marco Palmieri for having given me the chance to write Demonsbane. If it hadn't been for him, Demonsbane, my column Garwulf's Corner, my book The EverQuest Companion, and much of my writing career would never have gotten off the ground as well as it did. It was a blast to work for him, and I owe him more than I could ever express or repay.

Demonsbane was the first book published set in the Diablo world. It was published on Halloween 2000, and it was part of the first e-book "revolution." Unfortunately, as history has shown, the market for e-books was quite small at the time, and so while Demonsbane was advertised for some months on Battle.net, the sales were in the hundreds, rather than the thousands, and it ended up being more or less a "lost gem." I am delighted beyond words that Demonsbane can now be enjoyed by the public as I had always hoped it would be.

Demonsbane is, of the entire collection, the story that is set earliest in the Diablo story line - it's set right after the defeat of the Warlord of Blood in the Sin War, and tells in part the story of Sarnakyle, the Vizjerei Lord who brought his people back to elemental magic. It also introduces Siggard, a character I am very, very fond of, and one of the little known but vital battles that kept the demonic powers from taking Sanctuary and using it as a base against the Angelic hosts.

Because it was the first piece of Diablo professional fiction (and my first book sale, for that matter), and because we really did expect e-books to be a lot bigger than they turned out to be, it felt like I had to set the tone for the series, and help establish Sanctuary not only as a living and breathing game world, but also as a living and breathing world in literature. So, I did a lot of world building using flavour quotes at the beginning of each chapter - in effect, I built up a body of literature written by people from the world of Sanctuary like Godfrey of Westmarch, Gesinius of Kehjistan, and even King Leoric himself. This was a bit of a necessity, as since Demonsbane was an e-book, it was limited to being only about a quarter of the size of one of the print books, and there wasn't a really good way to do massive world building otherwise. In the here and now, I hope those quotes are something that Diablo fans will be able to sink their teeth into, and imagine how the rest of the Lay of Arkaine might have gone, or what else King Leoric would have written about the art of war.

(Personally, I knew that I had gotten the story, characters, and world building right when Chris Metzen read the finished draft and replied with "I f---ing love it!")

So it is my greatest pleasure that the story that began the Diablo fiction line is now available in this way to Diablo fans - I hope that they have as much fun reading it as I had writing it. Writing Demonsbane was an absolute blast, and while I am not lined up at this point in time to write another Diablo book, if I was offered one I would do it in a heartbeat."

Today at Robert B. Marks blog he said: "Well, the author's copies of Diablo Archive have arrived, and they made my day. The book looks lovely, and the neat things I had put into Demonsbane, like a quote from an epic poem about Arkaine in Beowulf-style verse, came out just as I had hoped they would.

My story is the last in the book, starting at page 681 and ending on page 738 (it's a novella- it's going to be shorter than the full length books).

It feels good - I've waited eight years to hold Demonsbane in my hands like this...it's a great feeling."

Richard A. Knaak: "Well, Diablo 3 is at last revealed! I'm glad to finally be able to at least talk about its existence, if little about the upcoming details of it. However, just in time and at Blizzard's special insistence, the DIABLO ARCHIVE is now available! As with the WARCRAFT ARCHIVE, this trade paperback includes the original three novels set in Sanctuary, including two of my own, LEGACY OF BLOOD and KINGDOM OF SHADOW! In the first, a treasure hunt goes terribly awry as the monstrous curse of the Warlord of Blood's armor forces Norrec Vizharan to murder his companions and begin a deadly quest, all the while pursued by demons, sorceresses, revenants, necromancers and an ambitious general. His only hope is to survive the armor's evil intent as it searches for one who escaped it centuries ago...

The second of my novels brings together the necromancer, Zayl, the mercenary Kentril Dumon, the sorcerer Quov Tsin, and others as their destinies lead them to the lost city of Ureh --- once called the Gateway to the High Heavens, so pious was it. But there is a shadow over the city that stretches into evil and what is a ruin is not necessarily empty, for Ureh is said in legend to come back to life...

In addition, the archive also includes not only Mel Odom's BLACK ROAD, but also, as a special bonus, Robert B. Marks' tale, DEMONSBANE! The DIABLO ARCHIVE is the largest of the Blizzard collections yet, and I'm excited to be a part of it...and a part of the shadowy world of Sanctuary itself. From the beginning, I've enjoyed delving into it and adding to its history, even when many wondered if there would ever be another game in the series.

I'd like to thank many people for their part in this, also, including Chris Metzen at Blizzard, Marco Palmieri at Pocket Books, Medievaldragon at Blizzplanet, Tanith at Gamersvault, and all those who believed that we had not seen the last of Sanctuary! I hope that those of you who try the archive enjoy these first tales!"

Best

Richard A. Knaak

Richard A. Knaak is planning to write a new Diablo novel after World of Warcraft: Night of the Dragon. Other Diablo novels by new authors was hinted on our October 2007 video interview.