The following was written by Dauroth-
Okay, before I start with this, I'd like you to read this excerpt from Kingdom of Shadow:
Ichor dripped from a scaly, barely fleshed skull that almost appeared to have been stretched long. Two wicked, scaled horns rose high above bat-winged ears. Over the deathly crevices that were all that formed a nose, the thick-browed orbs of the demon lord glared at the impudent human, the hatred and evil within them matching exactly that which the horrified mercenary had noted in the image of the false archangel Mirakodus.
This is the description of Diablo's appearance, as he appeared to Kentril Dumon. Now look at this picture:
The description matches perfectly, especially the part about "two wicked, scaled horns that rise above bat-winged ears".
Now take a look at this picture:
Now, the first thing you should notice is, that the horns are scaled, just as they are in the description and on the first picture. There is also one extra pair of horns. If we compare the two pics, it looks like those are not the same monsters/demons. But, take a look at the details. The bat-winged ears are nowhere to be seen in the second pic! However, the extensions of the demon's horns could be interpreted as wings (not literally). If you take a look at the animation, you can see that those things are moving simultaneously with the demon's mouth. When they stretch, the skin between the bones stretches in a similar manner just like bat wings.
Now, to the second and smaller pair of extensions that are located at the base of his cheeks (they are actually closer to his mouth than to his cheeks). You can see those in both the first and the second pic, and if you look at the animation, you can see that those things are moving in the same manner as their larger counterpart. If we take another look at the first pic, we can notice small, claw-like things that are located right by the horns. Now, let's take a look at this picture:
Notice those small sharp endings right by the side of his horns? I know, it's not the same, but they are conveniently placed at the same position.
Horns aside, there is something else I want to show you. This is the last thing, I promise!
If we take another look at the first picture, we can see a sign, some kind of a seal or even a rune, on the demon's forehead.
Now if we look at any of the remaining pictures, we can see a bright spot on the demon's/Diablo's forehead. Many people claimed that this is a hole where his Soulstone used to be. But, the Wanderer's body was destroyed in Diablo II, which means that this can't be the before mentioned hole!
The first picture is the artistic representation of Diablo's true form. Pay attention to the word "artistic"! I would like to compare this picture to a group of images that can be found in Collin de Plancy's "Dictionnaire Infernal", a book on demonology. Kingdom of Shadow tells us that Diablo has bat-winged ears, and the first picture is showing this perfectly. If we look at the other pictures, there are clearly no bat-winged ears, but the extensions I mentioned before could represent them, since the first pic is an "artistic" representation. After all, what do we know about demonic anatomy! Also, the excerpt from Kingdom of Shadow shouldn't be taken literally, since you can never know what the writer wanted to say. The best example for this is J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. To this day, there are some fans that doubt that the Balrog was indeed a fiery 20-foot tall horned demon or that Sauron literally took a form of a great fire eye. They think that those are just a bunch of metaphors. I think we can say that the bat-winged ears in our case is just another metaphor.
The sign/seal/rune on the demon's forehead is probably telling us that there is something of great importance located here. It is also an artistic representation of what we see as a bright spot on Diablo's forehead. What could it be, it's open to debate, but the artist clearly wanted us to know that there is something going on there.
Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it!
Great article! This is the stuff I love to read here.
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"I want to say something but I'll keep it to myself I guess and leave this useless post behind to make you aware that there WAS something... "
-Equinox
"We're like the downtown of the Diablo related internet lol"
-Winged
Poor diablo. I always hated him for being such a pedo-demon in D1. But now I feel a bit sorry for him. Imagine how much he must have been bullied at school with those bat ears?
Anyway about the symbol- that's a cool find! :thumbsup:
As for understanding...me can't read hieroglyphs...alas... :sad:
Maybe Voldemort cursed the shit out of him. Rumor goes that the guy has a thing for foreheads.
I just cannot be serious today...ate too much pizza. Yes these two are linked!
Duh, Diablo loves to nom on pizza! I know an Italian when I see it.
But seriously though, thats a GREAT find about the artistic rendering. I have all the original manuals and I always wondered what that was and simply assumed it to be some random demon.
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"I want to say something but I'll keep it to myself I guess and leave this useless post behind to make you aware that there WAS something... "
-Equinox
"We're like the downtown of the Diablo related internet lol"
-Winged
I'm thinking the rune in the first picture on D's forehead has little to do with the soulstones. It's an old picture, and it's doubtful that Samwise had any idea where D3 would head when he drew that picture.
Still, something remains on the D3 trailer. What that is I do not know.
PlugY for Diablo II allows you to reset skills and stats, transfer items between characters in singleplayer, obtain all ladder runewords and do all Uberquests while offline. It is the only way to do all of the above. Please use it.
Supporting big shoulderpads and flashy armor since 2004.
great article dauroth, very nice to read It gave me some joy to find something new about diablo... aside from phrozendragon's atounding cosmology that is !
It's a new take on the character! Besides, there a plenty lore suggestions that could back up his new appearance! The most famous of all is the fact that the Soulstones are gone, so he doesn't need a human body to manifest in Sanctuary! This would be his true form, not the one that he assumes in the Enter Hell Cinematic! And the other thing is, we don't know his posture, so we can't claim that he looks like bikini model until we see the real thing!
Really if you want to look at it this way. We only destroyed Mephestos soulstone there are 2 more Baals and Diablos. Of course Tyrael destroyed the worldstone. And another note to me that girl looking thing kinda looked like Mephesto. Remember he only was a spirit he never came as his real form. but remember its only my opinion.
Nice read over all tho
we had a long discussion about that video and the demon it shows, we got to the conclusion that the body might be just a placeholder for the real body, as it is just a preview model, it's plausible that designers used a random body to place the head and do their work easier...
so, it might not be the actual model for Big D, wich makes dauroth's idea still possible
Give, expecting nothing thereof. ------------ BoD - Come have some fun! Folks will always come and go, so enjoy them while they're meant to be in your life.
Well done Dauroth!! I really enjoyed reading this, and they are all very logical conclusions to come to.
Did anyone notice at the link to Dictionnaire Infernal that the image for "Bael" looks like an artistic approach to what our Baal looks like?
Spider legs, a long face and nose. The frog and cat heads on his shoulders aren't exactly in the game, but I would assume that Blizz thinks that the heads of a cat and a frog aren't exactly scary. I think it is safe to assume that the LOD design team may have been somewhat influenced by this book.
Which leads me to believe that there might be other demons in this book that Blizz has or will take reference from. Azmodeus is noted as one of the 7 princes of Hell, and is the lord of Lust, one of the 7 sins. Azmodan Lord of Sin?
It is really an interesting subject when you take "artistic freedom" into account.
This was a really interesting read, I'm thinking the symbol on Diablo's forehead is just a symbol of power, or a symbol of the Three. Good job with the article.
aaand who confirmed, that the demon in the cinematics is diablo? i think Septar is right. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUphab6C0mQ&feature=related pay attention to this video at 2:36 - 2:54. u can clearly see that the creature there is the same from the trailer, aaand...hmm... i just dont think, that diablo has 4 arms, and is that skinny. and it looks like it is female...so...it isn't Diablo. (in my opinion)
not definitive evidence and arrogant conclusion based on said "evidence"
You guys don't have a facepalm emoticon so just imagine one in place of all this text.
I read this when it first hit front page news, it is a great read. I don't think those are bat wing ears, but something like a bony protrusion that he would use to ram us and gore us with, kind of like what an angry bull would do. Look at your signature picture, Dauroth, and modify the horns on the sides of his face to look more like the picture you've shown us to see what I am getting at. The symbol on his forehead (which I can't see) would make sense if it was the name of the Soulstone (It could have a name that wasn't mentioned in lore, kind of like the sword that Kabraxis had to be killed with, it had a name that only one person destined to use it knew.) that was embedded into his skull.
I may be wrong about the protrusions since he may have looked like that due to Kentril's fears. If you ask me, Blizzard should make Diablo look different according to the character you are using to reflect this fear thing.
And, Septar, is this what you were looking for?
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Okay, before I start with this, I'd like you to read this excerpt from Kingdom of Shadow:
This is the description of Diablo's appearance, as he appeared to Kentril Dumon. Now look at this picture:
The description matches perfectly, especially the part about "two wicked, scaled horns that rise above bat-winged ears".
Now take a look at this picture:
Now, to the second and smaller pair of extensions that are located at the base of his cheeks (they are actually closer to his mouth than to his cheeks). You can see those in both the first and the second pic, and if you look at the animation, you can see that those things are moving in the same manner as their larger counterpart. If we take another look at the first pic, we can notice small, claw-like things that are located right by the horns. Now, let's take a look at this picture:
Notice those small sharp endings right by the side of his horns? I know, it's not the same, but they are conveniently placed at the same position.
Horns aside, there is something else I want to show you. This is the last thing, I promise!
If we take another look at the first picture, we can see a sign, some kind of a seal or even a rune, on the demon's forehead.
Now if we look at any of the remaining pictures, we can see a bright spot on the demon's/Diablo's forehead. Many people claimed that this is a hole where his Soulstone used to be. But, the Wanderer's body was destroyed in Diablo II, which means that this can't be the before mentioned hole!
The first picture is the artistic representation of Diablo's true form. Pay attention to the word "artistic"! I would like to compare this picture to a group of images that can be found in Collin de Plancy's "Dictionnaire Infernal", a book on demonology. Kingdom of Shadow tells us that Diablo has bat-winged ears, and the first picture is showing this perfectly. If we look at the other pictures, there are clearly no bat-winged ears, but the extensions I mentioned before could represent them, since the first pic is an "artistic" representation. After all, what do we know about demonic anatomy! Also, the excerpt from Kingdom of Shadow shouldn't be taken literally, since you can never know what the writer wanted to say. The best example for this is J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. To this day, there are some fans that doubt that the Balrog was indeed a fiery 20-foot tall horned demon or that Sauron literally took a form of a great fire eye. They think that those are just a bunch of metaphors. I think we can say that the bat-winged ears in our case is just another metaphor.
The sign/seal/rune on the demon's forehead is probably telling us that there is something of great importance located here. It is also an artistic representation of what we see as a bright spot on Diablo's forehead. What could it be, it's open to debate, but the artist clearly wanted us to know that there is something going on there.
Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it!
-Dauroth
-Equinox
"We're like the downtown of the Diablo related internet lol"
-Winged
Anyway about the symbol- that's a cool find! :thumbsup:
As for understanding...me can't read hieroglyphs...alas... :sad:
Maybe Voldemort cursed the shit out of him. Rumor goes that the guy has a thing for foreheads.
I just cannot be serious today...ate too much pizza. Yes these two are linked!
But seriously though, thats a GREAT find about the artistic rendering. I have all the original manuals and I always wondered what that was and simply assumed it to be some random demon.
-Equinox
"We're like the downtown of the Diablo related internet lol"
-Winged
You forgot to tell us what you think it is though... :turned:
Still, something remains on the D3 trailer. What that is I do not know.
You can call the "main" boss of the game Diablo if you want but lore wise that's not the lord of terror.
Nice read over all tho
Thanks
~Mike~
so, it might not be the actual model for Big D, wich makes dauroth's idea still possible
Folks will always come and go, so enjoy them while they're meant to be in your life.
Did anyone notice at the link to Dictionnaire Infernal that the image for "Bael" looks like an artistic approach to what our Baal looks like?
Spider legs, a long face and nose. The frog and cat heads on his shoulders aren't exactly in the game, but I would assume that Blizz thinks that the heads of a cat and a frog aren't exactly scary. I think it is safe to assume that the LOD design team may have been somewhat influenced by this book.
Which leads me to believe that there might be other demons in this book that Blizz has or will take reference from. Azmodeus is noted as one of the 7 princes of Hell, and is the lord of Lust, one of the 7 sins. Azmodan Lord of Sin?
It is really an interesting subject when you take "artistic freedom" into account.
In Dante's Divine Comedy, Lucifer (Satan, Diablo) has 3 mouths, which he uses to chew Judas and 2 other guys. Our new Diablo also has 3 mouths.
Just another example.
I may be wrong about the protrusions since he may have looked like that due to Kentril's fears. If you ask me, Blizzard should make Diablo look different according to the character you are using to reflect this fear thing.
And, Septar, is this what you were looking for?