Diablo: Legacy of Blood

Diablo: Legacy of Blood is the first book in the Diablo novels. It was written by Richard A. Knaak and published in 2001.

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Diablo: Legacy of Blood is a Diablo novel, and may not be directly related to any of the games, but contains important lore information about the Diablo universe that is canon. SPOILER WARNING! This article contains spoilers about the Diablo universe and Diablo: Legacy of Blood!

Official Description

Norrec Vizharan has become a living nightmare. While on a quest to find magical treasure, the soldier of fortune discovers an artifact beyond his wildest dreams: the ancient armor of Bartuc, the legendary Warlord of Blood. But the mysterious armor is cursed, channeling a malevolent power into Norrec's tortured soul. Now, pursued by demons who covet the dark armor for their own devices, Norrec must overcome a bloodlust he can scarcely control and learn the truth about his terrifying curse before the is lost to darkness forever....

Story and Canon

The novel is a stand-alone piece, set in the Diablo universe but not directly tied to the main game storyline. The book is canon, but none of the events or characters have any part to play in the larger fiction of the universe.

Though this book is set the Land of Sanctuary, very little of the book actually seems taken from the Diablo world. Some of the names of the characters and locations are, but only just. One of the main characters is a Necromancer, but none of her abilities match those of Necromancers in Diablo II, and story events include battles with sea serpents on the open ocean, characters imprisoned within trees, and other things very unlike events in the games.

In debates about the Diablo Novels, Flux has suggested that the story was an unpublished fantasy novel Richard Knaak had on hand, which he revised to include enough Diablo elements to make it pass muster as a Diablo Novel. That's merely supposition, but it's inarguable that this novel has the least Diablo-y features of any of the books in the series.

  Although the above writer has stated the this book is the least "Diablo-y" book in the series of which it is a part of:

The general storyline is given cause by an item, the armour of Bartuc, the Legendary Warlord of Blood. Bartuc took part in the Sin War (there is a series based on the Sin War). Although there is no direct influence from any other books or games, it would be a mistake to say that the entire book is rather random and not at all tied to the Diablo universe.