Diablo 3 class stories told ahead of game’s release

As Diablo 3's release draws near, Blizzard is revealing more information about the heroes of the Sanctuary – skills, videos, and background information.  Included in that information are short stories for each of the playable characters in Diablo 3.

To help players catch up to speed before the game's May 15th release, Blizzard has compiled four of the five class short stores: Monk, Barbarian, Demon Hunter, and Witch Doctor.

Monk – Unyielding by Matt Burns

"When the ill wind blows, the tree that bends will break."

Zhota could not silence Akyev's parting words. They had dogged his every step for the past weeks. By day, the memory of his master's voice was only a whisper, but when night came, it reached a fever pitch.

Tonight was the same… Tonight he knew he would be tested again.

Barbarian – Wayfarer by Cameron Dayton

His dead sister came at sundown. Always at sundown.

As the sky bruised and the shadows grew long into night, he stood to watch the sun disappear behind the mountains. This was when the whispered sound of the evening breeze would crumble into the slow, shuffling rasp of feet. Her feet… cold and white, frayed tendon and cracked bone worn bare over countless miles of frost-rimmed rock. It did not matter how far Kehr had traveled that day, how many rivers he had forded or cliffs he had scaled. She came at sundown.

Demon Hunter – Hatred and Discipline by Micky Nielson

Valla smelled the rotting dead from a mile away.

The air was warm despite the clouds that blanketed Khanduras as the demon hunter arrived in what was left of Holbrook—once a tiny, struggling farm community, now a deserted ghost town. Or so it seemed; the heavy stench of putrification suggested that the residents were still present, just not among the living.

Witch Doctor – Doubtwalker by Matt Burns

The war began at sunrise, as it always did.

Benu and ten other witch doctors from the Clan of the Seven Stones stalked into the heart of the Teganze as swift and silent as panthers. Only the faint rattle of bone and iron charms dangling from their tribal masks warned of their presence. Striped in white, yellow, and red paint and decorated in bright bokai feathers, their bodies blended with the vibrant jungle around them.

With four stories told, all that remains is the story for Wizard.  I strongly recommend reading each one if you enjoy the Diablo lore.  Each one is a quick read consisting of about seven pages and fans seem to be pretty impressed with the writing.

In other Diablo 3 news, Blizzard recently announced the global launch events.  Only one official launch event will be hosted in the U.S. at a GameStop in Irvine, California.