History Characters / DiabloBurningHells

* EnemyMine: [[spoiler:He helps the main character of ''Diablo IV'', because he's not yet reconstituted himself fully, and Lilith intends to consume his essence before he can. Mephisto is very forward about how the partnership between himself and the Wanderer is entirely through shared opposition to Lilith, and that they remain enemies. However, Mephisto also knows that [[EvilVersusOblivion it's either work with a Prime Evil or humanity dies]], so the Wanderer has no choice but to accept Mephisto's help.]]
-->'''Mephisto:''' Look where we stand. I saved you in this dismal little cave because I sensed you could end Lilith. And it's all I want. I won't lie. There will come a time when we are enemies. But like it or not, right now we need each other to defeat her.

* TheChessmaster: He's a genius, full stop. Diablo manipulates the entire kingdom of Tristram to secure a host body, twists his defeat to his advantage and then sets his own brothers up, along with his own revival, to become the Prime Evil. Even his elder brothers, Mephisto and Baal, who were his so-called "leaders" end up as pawns in his game.

* ArchEnemy: Primarily to Imperius, but being the BigBad, he's this to a whole lot more as well.

* AnIcePerson: Loves to inflict the Frozen status on you, which slows down your movement and your attacks (which can be ''lethal'' in Diablo II). And his version doesn't give two shits about Cold Resistance, so any melee characters are in for serious aggravation.

* BellyMouth: Sports a vertical one in ''IV''.

* GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere: You fight him in the second game, but all of the information about him is revealed only in the first and third games, so within the context of the second game, he qualifies as this. [[spoiler:In the fourth game he shows up unannounced, the wanderer wonders what he even is. Once defeated no one mentions him again. He's mentioned once earlier when Lorath mentions Lesser Evils Elias might summon, though making it even odder is the fact that Andariel's summoning required a lengthy, complex ritual and a human host, whereas Duriel just kind of... appears]].

* OvershadowedByAwesome: Like his sister Andariel, he's considered the least of the Great Evils. While he's more powerful than her, his simple-minded nature and preoccupation with causing physical pain severely limits his value to his more intelligent siblings. While Andariel was trusted to subvert the Rogue Amazons to her service before ''Diablo II'', Duriel was ordered to act as a glorified guard dog for the Tomb of Tal'Rasha. In ''IV'', he returns to his role as a henchman for more dangerous demon and attacks the heroes under the orders of Lilith.

* WakeUpCallBoss: He's a nasty surprise to the player, seeing as nearly everything leading up to him has been a breeze.

* MindRape: Andariel's schtick as the Maiden of Anguish is to inflict mental and emotional suffering on her victims until they either break or pledge loyalty to her. This is in contrast to her brother who deals in physical torment. The best example of this shown was her corrupting the heroic Rogue from ''Diablo 1'' into the monstrous undead Blood Raven.

* OvershadowedByAwesome: Like his sister Andariel, he's considered the least of the Great Evils. While he's more powerful than her, his simple-minded nature and preoccupation with causing physical pain severely limits his value to his more intelligent siblings. While Andariel was trusted to subvert the Rogue Amazons to her service before ''Diablo II'', Duriel was ordered to act as a glorified guard dog for the Tomb of Tal'Rasha. In ''IV'', he returns to his as a henchman for more dangerous demon and attacks the heroes under the orders of Lilith.

* LoopholeAbuse: They agreed to a non-aggression pact with the forces of Heaven to never invade Sanctuary. To get around this, the three manipulated the four Lesser Evils to "depose" and "exile" them to from the Burning Hells to Sanctuary in spirit form. Since this "Dark Exile" didn't technically violate the terms of the pact, [[ObstructiveCodeOfConduct Heaven refused to intervene]], and left Sanctuary to its fate. Had it to been for Tyrael [[ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight ignoring the pact and aiding the mortals]] they would have claimed the Worldstone with no resistance.

* SpellMyNamewithAThe: Always referred to in every game appearance as "The" Butcher, though somewhat ironically game lore implies there have been multiple Butchers, though there are some hints, such as a side quest in IV, that the Cleaver is the actual Butcher and the hulking monster just happens to be whatever poor soul or souls it is possessing.

%%* TheMentor: To Belial, according to Tyrael.%%How?

* AlmightyJanitor: Lilith is technically considered a just a high-ranking subordinate to her father, but as the direct spawn of a Prime Evil, she's one of the most powerful and dangerous beings in existence. She's powerful enough on her own to compel some of the Lesser Evils into her service, as shown in ''Diablo IV''.

* PaperThinDisguise: It's almost insulting how obvious it is that the creepy little ruler is Belial in ''Diablo 3.'' The heroes only play along because they know what Belial will unleash untold destruction on Caldeum when he realizes his deceptions have failed.

* NearVillainVictory: Every time their names plans have been stopped has required great sacrifice and only happened when they were on the cusp of victory.

* TransformationOfThePossessed: Every time they have been seen in-game has been possessing a human host. In each case, the host's body is heavily mutated into an approximation of the demon's "natural" body.
* WalkingWasteland: Wherever the Primes go, minor demons appear and the landscape becomes gradually corrupted.

* EvilIsPetty: He could have simply [[spoiler:entered the asylum, killed Marius, and claimed the soulstone. Instead he made Marius recount his traumatic past, tricked him into giving him the stone, and then revealed himself to salt the wound, allowing Marius to cross the DespairEventHorizon before finally putting the broken man out of his misery.]]

* LeakingCanOfEvil: Unfortunately for the mortals of Sanctuary, the Soulstones were far from perfect containers. Even when sealed, the Prime Evils influence and corrupt the world around them from within the stones.
* LoopholeAbuse: They agreed to a non-aggression pact with the forces of Heaven to never invade Sanctuary. To get around this, the three manipulated the four Lesser Evils to "depose" and "exile" them to from the Burning Hells to Sanctuary in spirit form. This let them take a shot at the claiming the Worldstone without the forces of Heaven opposing them directly as their "Dark Exile" technically hadn't violated the terms of pact.

* ResurrectiveImmortality: Because they are aspects of the [[BigBad ultimate Evil]], the Great Evils will always return after death. However, doing so is a long process that can take many years as they slowly regain their power in the Hells. [[DemonicPossession Possessing the bodies of powerful mortals]], as they scheme to do in the games, greatly speeds up the process.

* CharacterDevelopment: A lot of people make disparaging remarks about Baal's intelligence, and he's seen as a rather dim monster who smashes first and asks questions later. The audience, however, sees a rather different side of the Lord Of Destruction; presumably as a result of his imprisonment by Tal'Rasha, Baal seems to have managed to pick up a wickedly intelligent and manipulative side, one that allows him to cunningly think up schemes and string people along, much like his brother Mephisto, and carry them out effectively enough for him to nearly succeed in dooming Sanctuary all (well, ''mostly'') by himself.

* CharacterDevelopment: A lot of people make disparaging remarks about Baal's intelligence, and he's seen as a rather dim monster who smashes first and asks questions later. The audience, however, sees a rather different side of Baal; presumably as a result of his imprisonment by Tal'Rasha, Baal seems to have managed to pick up a wickedly intelligent and manipulative side, one that allows him to cunningly think up schemes and string people along, much like his brother Mephisto, and carry them out effectively enough for him to nearly succeed in dooming Sanctuary all (well, ''mostly'') by himself.

* EvilIsPetty: He could have simply [[spoiler:entered the asylum, killed Marius, and claimed the soulstone. Instead he made Marius recount his traumatic past, politely asked for the stone and then revealed himself to salt the wound, allowing Marius to cross the DespairEventHorizon before finally putting the broken man out of his misery.]]

* CharacterDevelopment: A lot of people make disparaging remarks about Baal's intelligence, and he's seen as a rather dim monster who smashes first and asks questions later. The audience, however, sees a rather different side of Baal; presumably as a result of his imprisonment by Tal'Rasha, Baal seems to have managed to pick up a wickedly intelligent and manipulative side, one that allows him to cunningly think up schemes and string people along, much like his brother Mephisto, and carry them out effectively enough for him to nearly succeed in dooming Sanctuary.

** [[spoiler:While her plans would destroy Sanctuary and twist humanity into a far darker species, she was correct that as things stand, what's left of humanity is far too weak to hope to survive the coming Prime Evils on its own. For as horrible as a world run by her may be, it would be infinitely preferable to the horrors that her father and uncles plan on unleashing when they inevitably restore themselves.]]

* CharacterDevelopment: A lot of people make disparaging remarks about Baal's intelligence, and he's seen as a rather dim monster who smashes first and asks questions later. However, the audience sees a rather different side of Baal; presumably as a result of his imprisonment by Tal'Rasha, Baal seems to have managed to pick up a wickedly intelligent and manipulative side, one that allows him to cunningly think up schemes and string people along, much like his brother Mephisto, and carry them out effectively enough for him to nearly succeed in dooming Sanctuary.

* CharacterDevelopment: A lot of people make disparaging remarks about Baal's intelligence, and he's seen as a rather dim monster who smashes first and asks questions later. However, the audience sees a rather different side of Baal; presumably as a result of his imprisonment by Tal'Rasha, Baal seems to have managed to pick up a wickedly intelligent and manipulative side, one that allows him to string people along much like his brother Mephisto and carry out schemes cunningly enough for him to nearly succeed in dooming Sanctuary.

* CharacterDevelopment: A lot of people make disparaging remarks about Baal's intelligence, and he's seen as a rather dim monster who smashes first and asks questions later. However, the audience sees a rather different side of Baal.

* {{Mephistopheles}}: He's loosely based on the manipulative Faustian demon. Fittingly, he's described as the weakest of the Prime Evils, but also the most cunning and strategic.

** According to lore, Mephisto is speculated to be the weakest amongst the three. However he is a de facto leader and sort of a unifier due to his brilliant intelligence and strategic skills. Pretty much entire plan that lead to the plot in the first and second installment of the trilogy was organized by him. Mephisto's talent with corruption is also supreme and he's just as dangerous as a demon lord should be. Note that "weakest of the Prime Evils" is still "more than powerful enough to slaughter just about anything in existence".
** Throughout ''Diablo IV'', [[spoiler:he orchestrates Lilith's defeat while not fully reconstituted in ''IV'' and with most of his essence vulnerable. He was essentially helpless to fight his daughter at all, let alone his brothers]].

* OvershadowedByAwesome: Like his sister Andariel, he's considered the least of the Great Evils. While he's more powerful than her, his simple-minded nature and preoccupation with causing physical pain severely limits his value to his more intelligent siblings. While Andariel was trusted to subvert the Rogue Amazons to her service before ''Diablo II'', Duriel was ordered to act as a glorified guard dog for the Tomb of Tal Rasha. In ''IV'', he returns to his usual role and attacks the heroes to delay their progress under the orders of Lilith.

** [[spoiler:While her plans would destroy Sanctuary and twist humanity into a far darker species, she was correct that as things stand, what's left of humanity is far too weak to hope to survive the Prime Evils. For as horrible as a world run by her may be, it would be infinitely preferable to the horrors that her father and uncles plan on unleashing when they inevitably restore themselves.]]

* LeanAndMean: Both his design when possessing a host and the official arts of his true form portray him as leaner than his two brothers. His later art portrays his body as a hollowed out corpse with a few scraps of flesh still on it.

* AlasPoorVillain: [[spoiler:Like Inarius, her death is treated with quite a bit of pathos, with her seeming more worried about the future of humanity and their inevitable destruction by the resurgent Prime Evils than she does the fact that she is defeated and dying, and using her last words to reprimand the Wanderer for squandering [[ImmuneToFate their free will]] as a human being for the sake of those who would seek to control or destroy them and warn them that humanity has no hope of survival without her, in a way not unlike a mother's scolding. She conveys all of this with cold wrath, but also an undertone of sorrow similar to her mourning of Rathma, and by the end, [[TearsOfBlood blood is even leaking from her eyes like tears]].]]

* ManipulativeBastard: Lilith is an expert on convincing nearly anyone to do her bidding, regardless of what said bidding would entail for them.

* PokeInTheThirdEye: She's aware of the Wanderer spying on her throughout the game with the Sightless Eye, but ignores it as irrelevant to her plans. [[spoiler:When they prove themselves to be potential threat, she takes exception and imprisons them within their own mind. Had it not been for the intervention of her father, they Wanderer would have been dealt with there and then.]]

* TranquilFury: Appropriate for an embodiment of Hatred, she carries a lot of resentment and rarely shows it. [[spoiler: During the final battle, she unleashes all of her anger after the Wanderer denies her Mephisto's power.]]

* VillainousBreakdown: [[spoiler:She noticeably loses her cool when she finally realizes Mephisto is helping the Wanderer, repeatedly asking them what her father offered the Wanderer to make them accept. But it's when Lilith turns up in the Cathedral of Hatred and finds that Mephisto's Essence is now gone that Lilith is ''furious'', which starts the FinalBoss battle of the main campaign against her.]]
* VisionaryVillain: Sanctuary really did not work out in the long term for Demons or Angels, much less her own plans, and what's left of humanity is ramshackle at best after multiple failed incursions by her family. So she'll [[spoiler:try again to make a new world from the ruins of Sanctuary, and bring those she sees fit to stand alongside her for a second chance.]]

* TheAntiGod: The dragon is the embodiment of the evils that the original Anu removed. The dragon immediately tried to destroy its other half to claim reality for itself and proved to be equal to what remained of Anu.

* MadeOfEvil: He was all the evil Anu cast off.
* MutualKill: One of the earliest recorded events in history is a duel between Tathamet and Anu that ended in each of them slaying the other. Their corpses would eventually reform themselves into Heaven and Hell.
* PosthumousCharacter: Tathamet died at the dawn of time, but his legacy has haunted all of reality ever since.

* OvershadowedByAwesome: She's the weakest of all the Great Evils, but still powerful enough to be a ruler of one of the Hells.

* NiceJobFixingItVillain: Had [[spoiler:"Hakan" not started to use ''magic'' to stay in contact with the party (magic is, in universe, only usable after ''years'' of training and study),]] Belial likely would have been able to keep the party fooled.

* PaperThinDisguise: It's almost insulting how obvious it is that the creepy little ruler is Belial in ''Diablo 3.''

* NiceJobFixingItVillain: A lot of his brillant strategies would have worked a lot better had he not been nice enough to ''warn'' you about them in his tauntings. Then again, he's the Lord of Sin; [[FridgeBrilliance Pride goeth before the fall, after all.]]

* PokeInTheThirdEye: She's aware of the Wanderer spying on her throughout the game with the Sightless Eye. [[spoiler:Eventually, she takes exception and imprisons them within their own mind.]]