The Creatures
The dungeons of Diablo are populated by a variety of vicious fiends. These creatures range from the diabolical to the undead. At this time, only the pre-release demo of Diablo is available, so the number of species is rather limited.
In the Diablo pre-release demo, the creatures come in five basic physical archetypes. Each physical type is subdivided into several castes, designated by color, or small variances in physique or equipment. Below is a table of the types that I have found.
| Creature Types | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fiends | Scavengers | Skeletons | Corpses | Goblins | ||
| Caste | Fiend | Scavenger | Skeleton | Zombie | Fallen One (spear) | Fallen One (sword) |
| Corpse Axe | Ghoul | Carver (spear) | Carver (sword) |
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| Skeleton Captain | ||||||
There are also tougher champion creatures, as well as the overlord of the first level, The Butcher.
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These itty bitty flying demons can be a real annoyance, especially when they attack in numbers. Due to their small size and their agility, they are pretty hard to hit. You'll probably want a fast weapon to dispatch them quickly. Their tough hide and demon blood give them 4-8 hitpoints apiece. |
| Sort of a cross between a scorpion and a rottweiler, these nasties can do significant amounts of damage. Try not to let them surround you, or you won't be able to hit back. Luckily, the little creeps can usually be taken out with one hit. Once you do kill them, they let out a satisfying screech and wave their legs in the air. |
Skeletons seem to be by far the most common monster in the demo version of Diablo. They are the only class of creature that has different named subclasses. They also have the most subclasses of any type of creature.
Skeleton
| These walking piles of bones make up the 'body' of the skeletal regulars. They are armed with twin axes, but are not as handy with them as the corpse axes. They are quick on their feet, but with only 2-4 hit points, they are quick to die too. |
Corpse Axe
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This one's a swift fighter armed with two axes (the bones of a fallen comrade, perhaps?) They often pop up in groups, so watch out. |
Skeleton Captain
| The skeleton captain is the toughest of the skeletal troops. He wields a short sword and a small shield. This is the most likely skeleton to pop out of a sarcophagus. |
Throughout the dungeon, you will find animated corpses. They are driven by dark, necromantic energies. They are simple-minded and slow-witted. Beware, though, these creatures of the night, for their strength comes from beyond the grave.
Ghouls
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The fearsome ghouls are rumored to be the animated corpses of those buried alive. Hypothermia has turned their blood blue, and open wounds gape pink upon their backs. These mindless servants of darkness shamble towards you slowly. They more than make up for their slowness, however, with a devastatingly strong attack. Because of their speed, or lack thereof, ghouls are easy to run away from, as well as easy targets for ranged spells and weapons. |
Zombies
| Zombies are very much like ghouls. Their bodies are older, and most of the blood has left them, leaving them a sickly yellow color. They stagger around aimlessly, and attack any living being that is unlucky enough to fall in their midst. Zombies seem to be very afraid of fire (i.e. fire-bolt spell.) They each have 5-8 hit points, so they usually take a couple of hits before they collapse. |
The Fallen Ones
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The Fallen Ones are the weaker goblin race, a yellow bunch of sniveling idiots. Most of them carry a nasty curved brush-hook of a sword, and a small round shield. Sometimes, though, they are armed with spears, similar to their stronger brethren, the carvers. They are about half as tall as a human being. In fact, they are so short that they have to jump to hit their opponent. Like all goblins, they are hopeless cowards, and will promptly run away when one of their number is slain. They will, after a time, regroup and come back at you, but a lot of time is spent milling around. |
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The blue skinned goblin race is probably the tougher one. The Carvers seem to come in two varieties. One carries the standard goblin fare of cutlass and buckler. The second variety has a long spear, taller than its wielder. Carvers are hardy cave creatures, with 6-10 hitpoints. |
Each class of monster has its own Champion. So far I have seen champions for skeletons, both goblin races, and zombies. Sometimes you will encounter this champion in the dungeon. It will be a named creature, and will be MUCH tougher to kill than a normal creature of their race. Also, Champion creatures carry a light source, similar to that of the player, but dimmer. So, without further ado, here are the champions.
Boneripper
| Jason and his Argonauts thought they got him, but.. He's back! It's Boneripper. Destroying lives is not just his job, it's his hobby too. He'll put his axe into you and tear your flesh from off your bones, so beware. |
Martin L. Miles contributed the sentence about the argonauts. The part about the hobby, as well as B.K.'s stepping loudly, came from Krago.
Bonehead Kneeaxe
| Bonehead Kneeaxe, the leader of the bloodthirsty Corpse Axes, is not one to be trifled with. When death comes walking, he steps loudly, so you'll not only hear him, you'll see him reach out his hand and grasp your throat. Have a mace ready to smash in the skulls of B.K. and his troupe of minions. |
Eyepuke the Hungry
| This guy is the champion of the Zombies. As for the skeleton dude, I will give credit in my page to anyone who can make up a cool blurb for this champion. (Also, on the odd chance that someone from Blizzard might ever read this; If you feel that any of the cool little stories I have made up about the monsters don't fit with your concept, please feel free to set me straight: mail me YOUR version of the story, and I'll replace mine with it :) |
Pukerat the Unclean
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Pukerat, champion of the Carvers, is certainly not the most pleasant company. You can smell him from the opposite end of the dungeon. He looks like a spear-toting Carver with a reddish cast to his skin. |
Bladeskin the Slasher
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Bladeskin is a brutal leader of the Fallen Ones, always jumping around and waving his sword at his lackeys. He is just like any other Fallen One, except for his increased strength and toughness (and maybe armor, too.) |
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The Butcher is a brutal minor demon who has chosen to inhabit the basement of the abandoned church. The Butcher has a meat fetish.. he just can't get enough of the sensation of torturing and chopping up innocent, helpless humans. His personal chamber is decorated with every manner of grisly death imaginable. He stands eight foot three, and always carries a huge meat cleaver, just in case he should run into any live meat. He's one tough son of a Demon-Lord, so you'd better have some nifty hardware and a bunch of health potions before going up against him. |