Beta Key Contest #4
Welcome to week four of the DiabloFans Beta Key Contest! This week is going to be slightly different than the previous three weeks: this time we're doing a mini-writing contest. If any of you haven't seen already, there is an NPC in Diablo III named Binkles the Frog and we're dying to find out more about him! We want you to come up with his backstory, fit him into the Lore of the Diablo Universe, and simply tell us what in the world he is doing around Sanctuary.
We'll choose the best one or two entries week and they'll be granted a Diablo III Beta Key. In addition, the winning piece(s) will be placed on his wiki page permanently as his "fan lore." Submissions should be posted in this thread and you are allowed more than one entry if you'd like! You have until October 31st at midnight to get your submissions in.
Congratulations to Arvron for winning the third Beta Key caption contest.
"Wh-Whats Going On?"
ding ding Bem De Dem ding ding da da
Binkles the frog is created by the overseer of the entire 3 worlds (Hell, Heaven, Sanctuary) - Jay Wilson. His power is mysterious but yet, very powerful. For example, if it gain an "affix" such as "If you talk to it 1000 times it will increase your MF." It will cause 100,000,000 D3 players to click it. He is the biggest troll in the world of Sanctuary. Constantly taunting people that wants to know more about the world of diablo, similar to the "chat-gem" in D2.
*I know this isn't really a "story lore" but enjoy.
I never understood how his gambling yielded items but I helped him drink his mead.
He always had some mighty fine mead.
Gamble do the world...
All the necros and druids now,
Gamble does Diablo in the Chaos Sanctuary
and gamble do you and me.
And if i were the king of the Rogue Encampment, i tell you what i would do.
Id throw away the rings and amulets in the world and id make sweet gambled items for you.
Sing it now :
Gamble do the world...
All the amazons and paladins now,
Gamble does Diablo in the Chaos Sanctuary
and gamble do you and me.
Yah know I love the magical drops, love to get rare items ...
Im a hard knock maker and a cross bow dropper ... a strait shootin son of a frog,
I create all of Sanctuary's drops.
Gamble do the world...
all the paladins and assassins now,
Gamble does Diablo in the Chaos Sanctuary
and gamble do you and me.
[JUSTIFY]When a new adventurer came into town they would touch everything. They turned over rocks, played with the bucket at the well, kicked piles of dirt around and especially poked around the vendors wares looking for some rare combination of magical properties.
What made it worse was that if the tourist did happen to find something under a rock that a child had forgotten about after it had broken... they came straight to the vendors and complained that they were not being offered enough for the treasure they had found.
It generally just irritated everyone. It had become so bad that many of the vendors and local townspeople had closed their shops and left only the very few that you can see today when you visit. Something had to be done.
One after noon, the local children were playing by the stream and had caught several frogs. One of the kids found a rather odd looking frog and decided to take it home to be his pet. As he came through the middle of the town the slippery frog escaped and began hopping around the town.
Before the youngster could catch it one of the tourist had scooped it up and was kissing it! The little one was shocked and screamed for his father, "Hey that guy is kissing my frog!" Of course everyone in the town square was surprised at the absurdity and many rolled on the ground laughing at the fool.
From that day on they kept Binkles the frog in the town square on a small red pillow and when a new adventure arrived and inevitably found the frog and kissed it everyone enjoyed laughing at them. Best of all the embarrassment kept most of the adventures from poking around much. At least while they were in town. They still complained about the prices of the useless trinkets they brought for sale though.[/JUSTIFY]
Whe n a new adventurer came into town they would touch everything. They turned over rocks, played with the bucket at the well, kicked piles of dirt around and especially poked around the vendors wares looking for some rare combination of magical properties.
What made it worse was that if the tourist did happen to find something under a rock that a child had forgotten about after it had broken... they came straight to the vendors and complained that they were not being offered enough for the treasure they had found.
It generally just irritated everyone. It had become so bad that many of the vendors and local townspeople had closed their shops and left only the very few that you can see today when you visit. Something had to be done.
One after noon, the local children were playing by the stream and had caught several frogs. One of the kids found a rather odd looking frog and decided to take it home to be his pet. As he came through the middle of the town the slippery frog escaped and began hopping around the town.
Before the youngster could catch it one of the tourist had scooped it up and was kissing it! The little one was shocked and screamed for his father, "Hey that guy is kissing my frog!" Of course everyone in the town square was surprised at the absurdity and many rolled on the ground laughing at the fool.
From that day on they kept Binkles the frog in the town square on a small red pillow and when a new adventure arrived and inevitably found the frog and kissed it everyone enjoyed laughing at them. Best of all the embarrassment kept most of the adventures from poking around much. At least while they were in town. They still complained about the prices of the useless trinkets they brought for sale though.
When a new adventurer came into town they would touch everything. They turned over rocks, played with the bucket at the well, kicked piles of dirt around and especially poked around the vendors wares looking for some rare combination of magical properties.
What made it worse was that if the tourist did happen to find something under a rock that a child had forgotten about after it had broken... they came straight to the vendors and complained that they were not being offered enough for the treasure they had found.
It generally just irritated everyone. It had become so bad that many of the vendors and local townspeople had closed their shops and left only the very few that you can see today when you visit. Something had to be done.
One after noon, the local children were playing by the stream and had caught several frogs. One of the kids found a rather odd looking frog and decided to take it home to be his pet. As he came through the middle of the town the slippery frog escaped and began hopping around the town.
Before the youngster could catch it one of the tourist had scooped it up and was kissing it! The little one was shocked and screamed for his father, "Hey that guy is kissing my frog!" Of course everyone in the town square was surprised at the absurdity and many rolled on the ground laughing at the fool.
From that day on they kept Binkles the frog in the town square on a small red pillow and when a new adventure arrived and inevitably found the frog and kissed it everyone enjoyed laughing at them. Best of all the embarrassment kept most of the adventures from poking around much. At least while they were in town. They still complained about the prices of the useless trinkets they brought for sale though.
Binkles, son of Berhearth, came from a dynasty of Witch Doctors that inhabited Caldeum, which were rich and well known for crafting and experimenting with Runestones. Living in the biggest trade city in the world certainly helped the family business prosper and expand their vision of being the sole family which holds the knowledge of crafting Runestones.
Aratu, being the youngest son of another family of Witch Doctors, the Coldbane family, foresaw the volcano eruption and decided to start selling Runestones as well after seeing the amount of business that came flowing to the Weaver's family shop due to people being afraid and wanting to strengthen and hone their skills to prepare for the invasion. So he went out on a quest to find Runestones outside of Caldeum. Binkles knew his family can lose the monopoly and power that came along with being the only Runestone dealers, decided to dispose of the Coldbane family, sending Aratu a clear message to stay away from everything Runestone related.
The Weaver's family's latest discovery was the Obsidian rune. After experimenting and practicing with the rune, he made his Firebats carry a plague that strengthens over time. Using this on the Coldbane's family would make it seem like a natural death, unrelated to the Weaver's family.
Tyrael, being the Archangel of Justice has spotted the event and decided to intervene. He consulted Itherael, the Archangel of Fate about what course should be taken. Considering the possibilities Itherael has decided that Tyreal must engage Aratu, the sole survivor of the Coldbane's family and grant him the possibility to give avenge his family using the same means of which Binkles used to slaughter his family: The Obsidian Runestone. But before that, he must plant a shard of a Soulstone into Binkles, making him immortal, so he could witness the horror of his family perishing, and forever be haunted by his family's spirits after the deed is done. And so did Tyrael.
At moonrise, Aratu came to Binkles' family house and called forth a Plague of Toads while equipping an Obsidian rune. to his surprise, it was no plague at all. A large toad was risen and ravaged the Weaver's family house, devouring everyone inside, including Binkles.
Being swallowed while imbuted with a fragment of a Soulstone, the toad was able to live forever due to being constantly fed by Binkles's immortal body. Binkles was forever trapped inside. Being consumed made the toad shrink until only Binkles' soul remained inside, making it look like an ordinary toad. The embarrassment and shame has driven him to go to a far away place, New Tristram, where he was not known, to live eternally without anyone knowing who he is, or what his greed has led him to forever be.
Binkles, son of Berhearth, came from a dynasty of Witch Doctors that inhabited Caldeum, which were rich and well known for crafting and experimenting with Runestones. Living in the biggest trade city in the world certainly helped the family business prosper and expand, while having the vision of being the sole family which holds the knowledge of crafting Runestones.
Aratu, being the youngest son of another family of Witch Doctors, the Coldbane family, foresaw the volcano eruption and decided to start selling Runestones as well after seeing the amount of business that came flowing to the Weavers' family shop due to people being afraid and wanting to strengthen and hone their skills to prepare for the invasion. So he went out on a quest to find Runestones outside of Caldeum. Binkles knew his family can lose the monopoly and power that came along with being the only Runestone dealers, decided to dispose of the Coldbane family, sending Aratu a clear message to stay away from everything Runestone related.
Binkles' latest discovery was the Obsidian rune. After experimenting and practicing with it, he made his Firebats carry a plague that strengthens over time. Using this on the Coldbane's family would make it seem like a natural death, unrelated to the Weaver's family.
Tyrael, spotted the event. Being the Archangel of Justice, he decided to intervene. He consulted Itherael, the Archangel of Fate, about what course should be taken. Considering the possibilities Itherael has decided that Tyreal must engage Aratu, the sole survivor of the Coldbane's family and grant him the possibility to avenge his family using the same means of which Binkles used to slaughter his family: The Obsidian Runestone. But before that, he must plant a shard of a Soulstone into Binkles, making him immortal, so he could witness the horror of his family perishing, and forever be haunted by his family's spirits after the deed is done. And so did Tyrael.
At moonrise, Aratu came to Binkles' family house and called forth a Plague of Toads while equipping an Obsidian rune. to his surprise, it was no plague at all. A large toad was risen and ravaged the Weavers' family house, devouring everyone inside, including Binkles.
Being swallowed while imbuted with a fragment of a Soulstone, the toad was able to live forever due to being constantly fed by Binkles's immortal body. Binkles was forever trapped inside. Being consumed made the toad shrink until only Binkles' soul remained inside, making it look like an ordinary toad. The embarrassment and shame has driven him to go to a far away place, New Tristram, where he was not known, to live eternally without anyone knowing who he is, or what his greed has led him to forever be.
-Binkles the Frog
Sanctuary, world of wonders and unimaginable terrors. Its in this setting that our story takes place. So please, stay a while and listen...
The best of intentions is sometimes not enough. As archangel Tyrael discovered, his plan to capture and subdue the prime evils evolved into catastrophe of epic proportions. However, in all this chaos, a shinning beacon of humanity almost prevented the perversion of the realm by evil. This is the story of Lord Keagan Cordel.
Keagan was raised as a farm hand in the town of Trekan. Orphaned as a young boy, he was delivered to the farmhouse door on a rainy night. Keagan was a bright man and possessed superior physique that made him the perfect soldier. One day a group of knights passed through Trekan and stayed for the night. Keagan couldn't help himself but to seek out the lords and listen to their stories of stoic heroism. After learning of the world and the king, he decided that he would follow the knights and join the ranks of king Leoric's armies.
They marched east and arrived at a town called Tristram. Within it, stood a gargantuan cathedral that dwarfed any other structure. From this town, Keagan helped King Leoric expand his empire. His feats of heroism and bravery grabbed the attention of the king and after years of service, Keagan was granted a knighthood and he was appointed to the kings council. As the years passed, Keagan gained the trust of his king and became good friends with the king's son Albrecht. As time passed strange things began to occur around Tristram and the cathedral. Voices were being heard from the dark, apparitions were being sighted and Kegan began to doubt archbishop Lazarus' loyalty.
One faithful day, Keagan was summoned urgently by the king. Once he arrived he was advised that the king's son, and his best friend, has disappeared. Fearing the worst, Keagan rode out to the far corners of the continent to try and find Albrecht. He returned home empty handed and dejected. By this time the King had slipped into madness and would no longer listen to reasoning. Beset by grief, Keagan set out to find anyone that could help. In Stories and legends he had heard of once powerful mages called the Horadrim and set out to find them or their descendants. His search yielded a woman called Orelya that had unexplained mystical abilities. Unbeknownst to him, the woman was hired by Lazarus to slay Keagan as he was the only one who could one day figure out what had happened to Albrecht and foil the archbishop's plan.
Orelya, however, fell in love with Keagan and told him of Lazarus' plan. Together they rode back to the cathedral but it was to late. The townsfolk had been deceived and sent to their deaths. As they descended into the bowels of the ancient temple, they were met by hordes of demon spawn. Eventually, they found Lazarus and a great battle ensued. Augmented by demonic powers, Lazarus was nigh unstoppable and defeated the pair. As he prepared to dispatch Orelya, Keagan jumped in front of the energy blast and was morphed into a frog. Orelya continued to battle Lazarus but was ultimately defeated.
Keagan managed to escape the cathedral and return to the farm where he had been raised.
There, a young boy catches a frog and names it Binkles. Binkles now roams sanctuary in an effort to find a cure to his condition and try to tell the story of what happened all those years ago.
once a young Witch doctor attending the world renowned school for wzards and witch Doctors, Frogwarts. Young Binkles gets caught up in a power struggle between 2 rival gangs and is inadvertantly hit with a hex turning him permanently into a frog. Binkles wanders the ralm to this day hoping to find a way to return to human form and return to his studies.
Locked away in the deepest recesses of Blizzard HQ, a designer toiled in obscurity. Seven long years had passed, and the purpose of his efforts had long been forgotten. Wanting to leave a permanent mark in the world of Sanctuary, before the inevitable release of the game and his long servitude, the designer birthed the creature. Binkles the Frog as he was to be known, is a terrible creature of darkness, fuelled by red bulls and one too many episodes of MLP. Binkles crossed the Rubicon from the asset manager, and spawned for the first time in the current build. Sanctuary would never be the same again.
Always with her was this strange, abnormally large frog. Some believe it was simply a pet. Others believe that it was something more sinister.
Barnaby Kinkle, a good drinking buddy of ol' Farnham, disappeared suddenly from Tristram without a trace; never to be heard from again. Barnaby was a good man, always lightened everyone's mood at the Tavern of the Rising Sun. Ogden told me once that Barnaby was the only thing that kept Tristram cheerful in those dark days. At first, most believed that Barnaby simply wised up and left town before things turned for the worse. However...
The story goes, as coincidence would have it, the very next day after Barnaby's disappearance; Adria set up her hut just outside town. Of course, along with Adria was that strange and peculiar frog. Now here's where things get a bit interesting. Barnaby always wore red and yellow. It was an idiosyncrasy of his that many joked about at the pub. The frog just happened to be a red frog with yellow spots. A strange looking frog around these parts for sure, but the coincidences don't stop there.
When Adria first appeared, I welcomed her to Tristram. During our conversations, I asked her about the frog. What can I say, curiosity has always been a weakness of mine. With a sly look that I couldn't help but notice, she told me that 'Binkles' was her treasured companion. Aside from it's strange looks, it's name shares a semblance to Barnaby Kinkle. However, no matter how much I tried to uncover some hidden truth about this strange animal, beyond it's appearance it was simply an ordinary frog.
As you have likely guessed, the rumors spread throughout Tristram. Many believe that Binkles is in fact Barnaby Kinkle; transformed by the witch Adria, and that it was no coincidence that his disappearance coincided with Adria's arrival. Now I can't say for sure if I believe these rumors or not, but I will say this. I do believe there was something special about that frog beyond it's odd looks. A secret Adria never shared. As to what that secret could have been, we will likely never know.
After Adria died and I took Leah in, I never saw another trace of that frog. It disappeared as effortlessly as Barnaby himself. Something tells me though that the tale of Binkles, The Frog remains unfinished. Unfortunately, I don't believe I'll be around long enough to find out how that tale ends."
-Deckard Cain
named Mr. Binkles.
Knowing that he would eventually meet his demise during the War, he decided to recollect on his lifetime
accomplishments down by his favorite swamp.
As he was deep in thought a wizard's magic missile misfired and bounced off a swamp frog's
head, then struck Mr. Binkles right between the eyes.
The magic missiles properties had changed however, as it struck the frog, ultimately altering Mr.
Binkles.
Mr. Binkles peered into the reflection of the swamp and realized that he had been turned into
a frog!
With this being more than he could bear he jumped into the swamp never to live again...that is
until the day the Fallen Star had come to re-awaken him.
Binkles the Frog
The Witch Doctors of Sanctuary scoured the marshes and jungles in search of the lost graves of grotesque creatures to reanimate for their own bidding against the greater evils arising in Sanctuary.
Found in the swamps of Tristram Wood were legions of amphibians and their extinct ancestors, undisturbed. With the toads and frogs of Sanctuary under the Witch Doctor’s control, the spirits of the swamp are reluctantly reawakened to familiar evils.
After the fall of the mysterious Fallen Star, a newfound intelligence has swathed over several of these living descendents. Many attempted to flee to find new peaceful waters, only to be greeted by death.
Only one amphibian influenced by the Fallen Star is known to have escaped the forces of Hell and the Witch Doctor’s summoning. The elusive amphibian, given the nickname Binkles the Frog by the denizens of Sanctuary *for he bears the scars of a demon's mouth*, is said to be in search of something to help rid the land of Hell, and to release his kin from the Witch Doctor’s disposal...