History DiabloIII / TropesAToE

* DropTheHammer: The angelic troopers carry large warhammers.

* {{Crossover}}: The UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch port comes with exclusive content based on Nintendo's ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' series, including a costume based on Ganondorf's appearance from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'', a Cucco pet, and a cosmetic Triforce icon.

* AChildShallLeadThem: The Emperor of Caldeum, Hakan II, is only a boy. Written histories of Caldeum explain that, following the death of the previous Emperor Hakan, the priests of Zakarum declared an impoverished infant from the north to be Hakan's "spiritual successor" and had the Iron Wolves bring him to the palace. [[spoiler:By the time you meet him, however, he's been replaced by Belial in disguise.]]

** There is a barbarian skill named Call of the Ancients which summons three ancestral spirits to fight alongside the barbarian. [[spoiler:Veteran ''Diablo II'' players will recognize these ancients as the same ones that had to be fought before gaining entrance to the Worldstone Chamber that housed Baal in Act V. This particular act revolved around the barbarians and their homeland.]]

* DistressedDamsel: Inverted in the first act. It's the young and female Leah who wants you to rescue the elderly and male Deckard Cain. She does get captured along with her uncle later in Act 1...[[OncePerEpisode and again by Belial's minions in Act 2]]. Both times, she gets out of her own mess by unleashing the hidden power that she holds within her on the mooks surrounding her. She isn't nearly so successful at this in Act 3 due to [[spoiler:her own mother being the bad guy this time and the strain from holding the Black Soulstone together throughout the act having weakened her]].

* DaylightHorror: Many of your foes are faced in broad daylight, in all four acts, including much of Act II, the siege of Bastion's Keep in Act III, and [[spoiler:the battle in the High Heavens]] in Act IV. Kormac the Templar, one of your followers who has a serious case of BlackAndWhiteMorality, is definitely troubled by this.
-->'''Kormac:''' I do not understand how evil walks in the day. Should it not fear the light?\\
'''PC:''' [''some statement contradicting this line of thought''].\\
'''Kormac:''' But the light is both a literal and figurative enemy of evil!

* DoesNotLikeShoes: The Monk and Witch Doctor classes (regardless of gender) have several shoe and boot options which leave them barefoot. The Witch Doctor's default appearance in particular is barefoot. By applying the vanishing dye, any shoe or boot options can leave them barefoot. The Monk in particular voluntarily lives in BarefootPoverty as part of his/her training...at least, before the game starts.

* DickDastardlyStopsToCheat: According to Tyrial, the Great Evils have come very close to destroying the High Heavens once and claiming all of Creation. But because those MadeOfEvil are inherently selfish, the demon lords turned on each other before securing their victory to fight over the potential spoils. This gave the angels time to rally and drive back the Burning Hells.

** The end of Act I sets the tone in this regard. [[spoiler:Not only does Deckard Cain die at the end of the ''very first act'', but Leah, arguably the ''main heroine of the game'', dies in one of the most gut-wrenching [[FateWorseThanDeath deaths in]] [[AndIMustScream the entire series]].]]

* BareYourMidriff:
** Leah's outfit, although it's only really noticeable in the cinematics.
** The Enchantress, until she gets to a high enough level.
** All of the female Witch Doctor's outfits.

* AmbiguousGender: Diablo's true form in this game is much more effeminate than his previous incarnations, possibly due to the influence of his host, [[spoiler:Leah]]. It makes for a very {{Squick}}y moment when s/he {{Sexy Walk}}s past the camera in a cinematic.

*** The Templar (that is, a VideoGame/StarCraft [[NamesTheSame one]]) skin for Li-Ming has the Backstory of "Li-Ming may be strong-willed, but the will of Templar Li-Ming is stronger." to reference a popular line from Diablo's [[LargeHam Kormac]].

* AnAxeToGrind:
** Every class can wield one.
** The Templar can wield one-handed axes, while the Enchantress can use one- or two-handed axes.
** Many enemies use axes. Skeletal Executioners carry axes so large they have to drag them.

* AbsoluteCleavage: Although it's not as revealing as her outfit in ''VideoGame/DiabloII'', Asheara's outfit looks like it could've come out of Music/JenniferLopez' closet.

* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: In past games this was already true because the Demon Lords were PhysicalGods and the personification of primal aspects (can you truly kill Terror?). Now it's even [[UpToEleven more applicable]] as [[spoiler:Diablo's master plan to manifest as the physical incarnation of all Evil succeeds. As the Prime Evil he is able to turn back the angelic host and breach Heaven's walls for the first time in history. But he's still vulnerable to a good right hook.]] [[AscendedMeme You even get an achievement for physically punching him!]] It's {{justified|Trope}} since [[spoiler:the Worldstone's destruction triggered the return of humanity's original power, which is supposed to be greater than the power of the angels and demons. The heroes are the first of the new Nephalem. ''Reaper of Souls'' takes things further: You don't just punch out the Demon Lord. You punch out the Angel Lord too (Malthael) who even absorbs the Prime Evil for a power boost near the end.]]

** Invulnerable Minions is far beyond UpToEleven. Not only ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin, those minions feel similar to a AdvancingWallOfDoom with what you need to kill just behind it. Quitting the game to change up the elite pack spawn might be necessary to get rid of it. This mod has been expunged in 1.0.4.

* AbusivePrecursors: Humanity is born from the union of an Angel and a Demon. Unfortunately, Demons only see humans as a tool to use for their war, while many of the Angels are disgusted with Humanity's demon heritage and want them eradicated before they can become a threat to the High Heavens.

%%* BaldBlackLeaderGuy: [[spoiler:[[BigGood Tyrael]]]] is one after [[spoiler:he voluntarily fell from grace to help humanity]].

** Squirt the Peddler from Act II is a little girl selling gears (though most likely you'll use her to dump your VendorTrash). But there's a [[http://diablo.wikia.com/wiki/Squirt%27s_Necklace Legendary Amulet]] named after her, and it's described as having the name of an ancient god of thieves, Kantwirt, etched on its back.

* AnyoneCanDie: [[spoiler:Not only does Deckard Cain die at the end of the ''very first act'', but Leah, arguably the ''main heroine of the game'', not only dies, but has the most [[TearJerker gut wrenching]] [[FateWorseThanDeath death in]] [[AndIMustScream the entire series]].]]

* AbsurdlyHighLevelCap: In a normal playthrough, you might reach level 30 or so out of 60 (70 with Reaper of Souls) by the time you reach the final boss. After that cap, there are Paragon Levels that are uncapped, but all those do is supply minor stat boosts.

* BaldBlackLeaderGuy: [[spoiler:[[BigGood Tyrael]]]] is one after [[spoiler:he voluntarily fell from grace to help humanity]].
* BaldOfAwesome: The Stranger (Including once his memories are restored!), and also the male Monk and Witch Doctor.
* BaldOfEvil / BeardOfEvil: [[EvilSorcerer Zoltun Kulle]].

* BladderOfSteel: The game is not paused while online and there's a significant delay to Town Portaling to a safe zone. You must stand still for 5 seconds without getting hit. You also can't leave the game immediately due to a 10 second timer for that. To make matters even worse, some boss fights don't let you escape at all, so if you're in the middle of a boss fight and something comes up, you're in deep trouble.

* BatmanGambit: [[spoiler:Let's face it, Diablo was pulling a [[VideoGame/EarthBound Gigyas-level]] one throughout all three games.]] While some events could be of the GambitRoulette sort, the fact that [[spoiler:Diablo was willing to wait ''millennia'' for everything to come together arguably excuses that]].

* BadassBeard: The male Barbarian and the Monk sport these.

* ArbitraryHeadcountLimit: You are only allowed four players per party in multiplayer. Never mind that you are literally fighting the best Heaven, Hell and Sanctuary have to offer and would need all the help you can get. The same logic applies to when playing single player. Outside of gameplay balance, there is no reason to only bring one of your three followers when logically you should bring all of them with you.

* AbstractApotheosis: The [[OurAngelsAreDifferent Archangels of the Angiris Council]] represent and act as embodiments of Valor, Justice, Wisdom, Fate, and Hope. [[spoiler:At the end of the game, Tyrael, formerly the Archangel of Justice, takes on the mantle of Wisdom, as its previous holder, Malthael, is out wandering the void.]]

* ArbitraryHeadcountLimit: Zigzagged. Any number of [=NPCs=] can follow you on certain quests, but you can only take one hireling with you; only the Templar, Scoundrel, or Enchantress can follow you at any given time. There's not even a HandWave as to why your character couldn't have more than one hireling following them at a time. You just can't do it.

** [[MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic Nightmarity]], [[ShoutOut Generosity in Death]].

* DarkFantasy