Diablo® III

I don't think it's bad storytelling. Think about who we're talking about: Diablo - Lord of Terror. The Prime Evils hate each other as much as the Lesser Evils hate them, it's just that they know that in-fighting does no good. If one became aware of a way to consolidate all power unto themselves, they're going to exploit it to the best of their ability. That's just the nature of power: you always want more. Diablo has no qualms about back-stabbing the other Evils and he knows that if they found a way to usurp him, they'd do the same. If Big D knew of or located the Black Soulstone in ages past and has been creating a massive gambit since before the events of D1, it adds a very profound intelligence to a character that has been, thus far, just a hulking demon with the ability to coerce people.

I understand that it trivializes some of the events in D1/D2 but the fact of the matter is that Blizzard Devs likely weren't thinking ahead to D3 12 years ago when the plot of D2 was being created. You can only work on the game you have because a sequel may never materialize. While D2's ending hardly brings closure to the in-game universe, it is ambivalent enough that, if it were the last game, you could find a happy ending (or a bad one) in it. D3 comes along with D1/D2 as a backdrop and if you want to up the ante, you have to make the previous quests look smaller by comparison.

My guess is that there are elements we just don't know that are also playing huge roles in the plot, i.e. the angels and whatever it is the Black Soulstone portends.

We'll just have to see.

Leah-as-Diablo is enough of a twist as it is, I agree that having all of this be part of Diablo's Master Plan (tm) is silly and lousy storytelling.

Leah as "Plan C" is much better, and Diablo secretly protecting and guiding her opens all kinds of interesting scenarios. Maybe she figures out how to put a lid on demon invasion for good, so she's too important to kill even if it's known that she's hosting Most Wanted #1. Maybe Tyrael's in trouble for making such a mess in D2LOD that he's not allowed to intervene again, or is trapped here with no chance of reinforcements, and Diableah is our only defense against the next invasion. Maybe we're stuck in a tough bargain, Diablo wants to gain strength so he can go back to hell and knock some heads around to remind them who's in charge. Maybe Diablo's had a change of heart after being stuck in the mortal realm for so long, and just wants us to all get along.

I wouldn't go as far as Diablo having a change of heart, so much as Leah being some kind of bind for Diablo, he has to keep her alive, and that means stopping Azmodan by any means necessary.


As a side note, I hope Belial looks like a Balrog from the "Lord of the Rings" movie

10/31/2011 10:37 PMPosted by FiveTwelve

As a side note, I hope Belial looks like a Balrog from the "Lord of the Rings" movie

Belial concept art from Blizzcon 2011:

http://www.diablowiki.net/File:Belial-BC2011.jpg

11/01/2011 02:16 AMPosted by Kodachi

As a side note, I hope Belial looks like a Balrog from the "Lord of the Rings" movie

Belial concept art from Blizzcon 2011:

http://www.diablowiki.net/File:Belial-BC2011.jpg

Something about that image reminded me of Mephisto.

You know what would piss me off? If all of Diablo II was secretly a plot by Diablo to absorb Mephisto and Baal. That would honestly not make me a happy camper.

Me neither. I hope Leah isn't Diablo either. Because that would mean she's playing the whole damsel in distress thing, duping us into Helping Diablo.

I DO hope this is a set up, though for Diablo's "Kick the SOB" Moment on Azmodan. I think it's gonna be the case where Diablo Helps US Protect Leah from Azmodan. (Then we kill him).

Even if Leah does turn out to be Diablo's new host I don't think she is entirely aware of it, and will not be like the Dark Wanderer and be almost entirely overtaken by Diablo. Like most things any bad she unwittingly causes will be paved with good intentions. She might try to stop Azmodan using the Black Soulstone, and only make Diablo's return easier. But I don't think she will wittingly dupe us into helping her. I am fairly sure she will be a protagonist until the moment Diablo makes s/his move.

There is obviously a link between Leah and Diablo but i wonder...between D1-D2 there was....like a year? even less? and we know between D2-D2 theres minimum 20 years. My point is....how old is Leah? I give her a round 20-21 year, being such a cutie!(common you gotta admit it) We also know that Adria the D1 witch is her mother and that the hero of D1, Aiden?....sorry didnt got his name, is her father.

I would go has far to theorise that, the woo-hoo-ing act of our hero going doggy on Adria was AFTER the event of the cathedral, so he HAD the soulstone slammed into his forehead. Meaning that Diablo was "inside" him already so he could...have left a bit of himself into Adria and in succession, into Leah? It's logic thinking how clever and sly those demons are and for a plot twist it would....work?

P.S. Just something that always bugged me, Cain relate that it took weeks before the hero started his journey East and leave tristram. But in the meantime....NOBODY SAW THE OVERSIZED JEWEL RIGHT SMACK DAB IN THE MIDDLE OF HIS FOREHEAD!?....i mean black jesus! That's not a small diamond or opal, it's a god damn soulstone! It can litterally fill your hand while holding it!

Cain did see a faint red glow through the hood.

I'm getting the impression Leah is the result of a one night stand. I'm sure Medivh could relate.

except he also leads you into killing Andariel and Duriel.

Have you read Diablo lore? The soulstones were give to man by the angels as a means of trapping the demonic entities within them forever. If it were Diablo's plan to be bound to one it would have to be just about the stupidest in all time (since it binds them FOREVER).

Don't quote me on this, but I believe that the other seats were not all occupied as some of their previous occupants met up with some dificulty in maintaining their status. And later being killed by D2 heroes.

But what is really wrong here is that Diablo, Baal, and Mephisto were actually thrown out of Hell by Azmodan and Belial.

In all likelyhood the Black soulstone is nothing more than a soulstone created by Diablo before his downfall, since the others were made by the angels. Perhaps he created it with the specific intent of trapping his brothers or there is some essence of them that helped to create it. But the main point you're missing here is that Diablo was neither the creator of the soulstones or implimenting a plan to get them all in the mortal realm.

If the player thinks they outsmarted the forces of Hell and evil and they basically won, well, they are in for a big shock. Because what they are going to discover in Diablo 3 is that things have gone pretty exactly the way Hell wanted them to go all along.

From http://www.diablowiki.net/Belial

If the player thinks they outsmarted the forces of Hell and evil and they basically won, well, they are in for a big shock. Because what they are going to discover in Diablo 3 is that things have gone pretty exactly the way Hell wanted them to go all along.

What would be the popular sentiment when we make that discovery?

A. "What a brilliant plan!"

B. "The Heroes of D2 must have been really stupid"

C. "There is no F###ing way Diablo could have planed that!"

10/21/2011 04:59 PMPosted by mrfurious

A question of timing - I'm quite sure whatever part of Diablo that is in Leah is small

I lol'd :P

Two ideas as to why Leah has not yet merged with the stone and completed Diablo's master plan

You forgot that Andariel and Duriel are also in the black soulstone, so it means probably Diablo wants the power of all the evils, not just the prime ones, including Azmodan and Belial. He hasn't merged with the stone yet because his master plan has not been fullfilled - he needs to have the remaining evils killed and dragged in the black soulstone. For that, he'll use Leah.

Alexandre... don't buy the game then.

It's Diablo's trilogy, you'd prefer not fighting him in any games? Or Maybe that he win the ultimate fight?

IIRC, in Diablo 2, Diablo was still alive after you defeat him in the first game. Did it makes D2 a sucky game?

The only thing we know for sure from that cinematic:

The Black Soul Stone IS the KEY!

And we can guess that Leah is young and impetuous, and that she might make a big mistake in the course of the events. And Leah is definitly the Wanderer child.

The vision might not be because she's corrupted by Diablo, don't forget that her mother was a witch, so she might got some insight powers.

not to mention it deviates from the original feel of the 3. Mephisto went through all that trouble freeing Diablo who in turn freed Baal why not steal their stones and thus power then? Mephist refers to D and B as his Bros. I feel there is a dark bond and in no way have they ever hinted towards any of them wanting each others power. At most the hells have fought with primes on one side lessers on the other.

Personally, I really like the idea of Leah being Diablo in some way, and from the clips removed from the anniversary vid, it sure seems like something along these lines proposed is going to happen. How it will all transpire is the mystery now.

As far as it being bad story telling, I do see what you mean. And of any game fans out there, Diablo fans seem very protective over their lore and preserving the importance of past games. Even with the release of D3 coming there are still topics creating about D1, and even more about D2.

As a writer, I enjoy these kinds of twists and turns, it gives depth. But, when these kinds of things are "accidentally" revealed too early, like the leaked clip, and conclusions like these can be made, it sort of ruins it.

Imagine your surprise to find it out during the game, how truly shocking it could really be. But that can't happen now with all this speculation. So I can see why it would kinda suck to end up happening in the game.

However, that small little clip is not enough to really tell us much at all, and there are many things that could happen. Leah is definitely involved in some way, and from what I can gather there is no other explanation for that model of a female looking Diablo. Except for that one character that was sc!@*@d but then put back in as someone else, but idk much about who that was so its possible that doesn't fit at all.

Personally I'm really excited about the story of this game, it seems like it will be the most involved story, there's so much lore interspersed through the game, that it seems like we could find out quite a bit by gathering it all and piecing it together.

It could be Adria, not Leah, hosting diablo.