D1 NPCs

NPCs, Non-Player Characters, are found in town where they buy and sell items, and give out quests and quest rewards. They are also useful sources of information about the quests and the game plot, and can sometimes deliver up juicy tidbits of gossip.

Diablo NPCs

Adria the Witch

Adria the Witch is located on an island in the far upper right corner of town. She is the only NPC who sells books, mana potions, scrolls (Pepin sells healing and resurrection scrolls only), and staffs. (Griswold and Wirt sell staffs in Hellfire, but not in Diablo, and they do not sell or buy staffs with spell charges.) Adria also buys all of those items, none of which Griswold will purchase, as well as buying all types of potions, elixirs, and oils and runes in Hellfire.

She is involved in the single player-only Black Mushroom quest in Diablo.

Adria sells:

• Unlimited quantities of mana potions, full mana potions, and town portal scrolls. In addition to those she has 7-14 other items, which can be staffs, books, scrolls, mana potions (unlimited quantity), rejuvenation potions, and elixirs.
  • In Hellfire Adria only sells/buys staffs with spell charges. She also sells runes.

Read more about her and see all of her character dialogues.

Deckard Cain

Deckard Cain is found near the well in the center of town. He provides most of the game lore and plot info, gives a number of quests, and identifies items for 100 gold each.

Cain is the only NPC from Diablo to appear (as an NPC) in Diablo II.

Farnum the Drunk

Farnum, the town drunk, can be found to the far south of town, next to the last structure in that direction. He sits there and provides nothing but rambling and sometimes panicked gossips, none of which are required for any quests. From his alarming dialogues, Farnum was one of the men who ventured into the labyrinth to find the missing prince. He narrowily escaped death at the hands (cleaver) of the Butcher, and has retreated into the bottom of a jug of ale to try and forget his terror.

Griswold the Blacksmith

Griswold is located in the center of Tristram, facing Cain and the town well. He is the most useful NPC for most characters, thanks to his convenient location and the fact that he is the only NPC who buys weapons, armor, and jewelry. He is also the only NPC who handles repairs, and he sells a wide variety of normal and magical weapons and armor. Griswold also gives out a few single player quests and quest rewards.

Griswold returns in Diablo II, as a monster.

Griswold sells:

• Normal quality items: 10-19 items, with a different selection each time your character returns to town. The items are randomly-generated based on the deepest dungeon level you've reached that game (singleplayer) or your character's level (multiplayer).
  • Item types: helms, body armor, swords, blunts, bows. (Also staffs, in Hellfire.)
• Magical items: 6 items in Diablo or 15 in Hellfire. The items remain for the entire game unless you level up or buy something. Items increase in potential ilvl as they move down his list. Their Ilvl is determined by the Dlvl in singleplayer, or your Clvl in multiplayer.
  • Item types: helms, body armor, swords, blunts, bows. (Staffs in Hellfire. Jewelry only in singleplayer D1 or HF.)

Griswold buys all of these types of items, but does not buy potions, elixirs, runes, oils, or staffs (in Diablo) or staffs with magical charges (in Hellfire).

Griswold's Ilvl maxes out at 30, so he can not sell any items with mods higher then qlvl 30. This includes useful properties such as: of the mammal, of the whale, holy, godly, weird, strange, Champion's, of carnage, of slaughter, of osmosis, of burning, of thunder, or emerald. Wirt's Qlvl goes up to 60, so he can sell all of these, though price restrictions and other complications mean that some can never be found on the the same item (such as the mythical Godly Plate of the Whale).

Hellfire Inventory Strategy.

The Hellfire inventory trick.

In Hellfire, Griswold (and Wirt) will offer progressively better items of each type. Items your character has in their inventory when Griswold generates his items (when you start the game, level up, or buy something from him) are checked for sales price, and Griswold will try to offer items that sell for at least 80% as much as what you already have. This can be exploited by buying and saving more and more expensive items of each type, so that the gear Griswold offers continually increases in price and quality. One item of each type can be carried, as seen in the screenshot. Unique items generally sell for less than top magical ones, which is why this character has an obsidian/stars helm, along with her Royal Circlet and Thinking Cap.

The quantity and quality of items is clearly affected by this; if a character has a good quality item of every type except, for example, an axe, Griswold will offer 10 or 12 low quality axes out of his 15 total magical items. By the same token, if a character has a very good sword, armor, and shield, they will almost never see any items of those types, since Griswold's inventory will be clogged by low quality axes, blunts, bows, and helms. Characters are essentially forced to carry one of each item type, even item types they'll never use, if they want to ever see items of the types they do use.

As a result of this game feature, almost all Hellfire characters can acquire very high quality armor and weapons. Only jewelry remains a challenge, in multiplayer Hellfire, since Griswold and Wirt do not sell it. (They do in singleplayer, as shown in the image below.

Obsidian jewelry of the Zodiac is expensive, but well worth it. Single player Hellfire only.

Gillian the Barmaid

Gillian is found in front of a house just to the west of Ogden's Inn. She is not a merchant and does not give or reward any quests, and her only purpose in Diablo is to relate pointless and boring gossips about her sick mother.

In Hellfire she has a quest speech about the Cathedral Map, as part of the Grave Matters quest. It's not necessary to speak with her to complete the quest.

My grandmother often tells me stories about the strange forces that inhabit the graveyard outside of the church, and it may well interest you to hear one of them. She said that if you were to leave the proper offering in the cemetery, enter the cathedral to pray for the dead, and then return, the offering would be altered in some strange way. I don't know if this is just the talk of an old sick woman, but anything seems possible these days.

Ogden the Innkeeper

Ogden gives new characters his standard "thank goodness you've returned, my friend" speech, and then fades into irrelevance. He does not buy or sell anything, but gives a quest reward for one quest in singleplayer, Ogden's Sign. If the heroes in Diablo ever slept or ate, he'd be a lot more useful.

Pepin the Healer

Pepin is found to the lower left of town, across the square from Griswold. He is the healer, and will restore any character's health to full (if you click the option to do so in Diablo, or simply talk to him in Hellfire). Pepin has a variety of quest dialogues, but is an essential player in just one, The Black Mushroom, when he sends you to find a demon's brain and takes it in exchange for the spectral elixir.

Pepin sells:

• Unlimited quantities of healing potions, full healing potions, and resurrection scrolls (MP only). He also offers 7-14 other items, with a selection that resets each time you return from the dungeons. The items include scrolls of healing, elixirs, rejuvenation potions, and full rejuv potions.
• Elixirs: Pepin sells strength, dexterity, and magic elixirs (but never vitality), once characters satisfy some basic requirement.
  • Elixir availability. Pepin sells elixirs to in multiplayer games once a character reaches level 26. In singleplayer, he sells elixirs once a character has entered Hell (Dlvl 13), the Hive, or the Crypt. His selection of elixirs is random in multiplayer. In singleplayer it is focused; he only sells elixirs that boost attributes you have not yet maxed out.

Wirt the Peg-Legged Boy

Wirt is found to the far left of town, over a bridge and past the entrance to the Caves. It's a long, winding walk in Diablo, made much more bearable by the fast walk in Hellfire. Wirt sells items, but only one at a time, and he'll only show it to you after his infamous 50 gold fee. Wirt's graft engendered extreme hostility in most Diablo players, and his fate as a gold-popping corpse in Diablo II was a form of fan service.

Only possible from Wirt.

Despite his maddening cover charge, Wirt is a very useful resource, since he can sell items that are otherwise unobtainable in the game. Wirt's items can go up to Ilvl 60, which means any prefix or suffix can occur on them, including the dozen or so that Griswold will never sell. Despite his ability to sell any modifier, Wirt can not sell every potential item, due to the way prefixes, suffixes, and item types interact, and the hard cap placed on Wirt's top prices. For instance, the legendary GPoW, Godly Plate of the Whale, can not be found (no monster can drop Qlvl modifiers that high) but it can be purchased from Wirt. Only in lower quality base armor though, since on gothic plate or full plate mail the item would exceed the price cap.

Wirt sells:

• In Diablo:
  • Weapons: All types of weapons except staffs.
  • Armor: Body armor, helms, and shields. (Jewelry only in singleplayer.)
• In Hellfire: The item types he offers vary by character, and he will never sell some types of items to some characters. The items he does not sell are listed below:
  • Warrior: Bows and staffs.
  • Rogue:Axes, blunts, swords, staffs, and shields.
  • Sorcerer: Axes, blunts, bows, and staffs.
  • Monk: Blunts, bows, shields, and medium armor (chain and ring).
  • Bard: Axes, blunts, and staffs.
  • Barbarian: Bows and staffs.

It does exist! (Just not on gothic or FPM.) Offered in multiplayer Hellfire.

Hellfire NPCs

Hellfire added three NPCs, two of whom only appear once their quests are enabled with the command.txt. None of them are merchants.

Lester the Farmer

Lester the Farmer is found near the upper right corner of the pasture, near the cows and the northern bridge to Adria's island. He gives The Farmer's Orchard quest, in which he explains that he can't get his cows to the pasture over a bridge near town, since a strange swelling has appeared there in the ground. Once a character reaches level 15, or enters the Caves (Dlvl 9) Lester will drop a Rune Bomb when you speak with him. The bomb must be dropped on or near the ground swelling to blow open an entrance to the Hive.

After you've blown up the Hive opening, return to Lester. He will drop the Auric Amulet as a reward.

The Complete Nut

The Complete Nut is only enabled by adding the "cowtest" line in the command.txt document. He replaces Lester the Farmer, and can be found standing in Lester's spot amidst the cows, where he gives you The Jersey's Jersey quest. To complete this you must find the Nut's brown suit on level 4 of the Hive. Once you return it you're given the Auric Amulet, and the Bovine Plate Armor.

Celia

Celia is a little girl found on Adria's island after a character has entered the Hive. She gives a tearful speech about her missing friend "Theo" and the monster who took him. Theo turns out to be a teddy bear who is dropped by the Hork Demon, found on level 3 of the Hive. When you return Theo, Celia drops a magical amulet. If this quest is not enabled, the Hork Demon will drop a magical amulet when it is killed.

Monster NPCs

A few of the monsters have speaking roles as part of various quests, or just to add atmosphere to the storyline.

Gharbad the Weak

Gharbad is a deceptive goatman who is found on level 4 of the Church. He is found standing somewhere on the level, and can not be attacked initially. His speech is amusingly-accented, and in it he begs for his life and promises to reward you if you'll spare him. A character must leave the screen, then return after a moment to get the item, and receive more promises of better items if you'll spare Gharbad. He must be left alone, then returned to twice more, and on the final time Gharbad snaps and says the item is too good to give away. "This too good for you. You want? You take!" With that he attacks, but lives up to his name, and can be killed fairly easily. He drops the second magical item when he dies.

See the Gharbad the Weak quest page for full details. This quest only occurs in singleplayer games.

Snotspill

Snotspill is a Dark One, a blue type of Fallen. He is found in a special architectural area of level 4 of the Church, and is part of the Ogden's Sign quest. See that page for full details. This quest only occurs in single player games.

Zhar the Mad

Zhar the Mad is a mage-type quest monster found in one of the small library rooms on level 8. He can not be attacked initially, though he turns to watch the player while he talks in his crazy voice. Zhar will drop a random spellbook when first clicked on, and will not attack the player unless/until he is provoked by additional clicks, or by the character clicking on the bookshelf beside where Zhar is studying. At that point Zhar mutters madly, "Your curiosity will be the death of you." and attacks.

Zhar is a much-weakened Advocate, and can cast fireballs and teleport, just like the Advocates found on level 16. He drops a spellbook when killed.

Lachdanan

Lachdanan is one of King Leoric's knights, found on level 14 of the dungeon, and gives the Lachdanan quest. He speaks to you when clicked on, telling a sad tale of being betrayed and cursed by the mad king. Lachdanan requires a special golden elixir to free him from the curse he's been placed under. The elixir is found on level 15 of the dungeon.

When returned to Lachdanan, he vanishes in a flash of flame, dropping a random magical weapon, and the unique Veil of Steel helm. Singleplayer only.

Lazarus

Lazarus is the author of the various books found on dark altars throughout the dungeons. They tell the plot of the game, and speak of how he served his master by kidnapping Prince Albrecht and luring the villagers to their doom in the depths of the catacombs.

In singleplayer games, Lazarus has an additional cinematic and a speech when you find him in his special, custom level. In multiplayer he is found in a little room in the upper corner of level 15. He gives the same speech when activated, but can be killed before he finishes talking, if you're quick.

The Defiler

The Defiler is found on level 4 of the Hive, where she drops the Cathedral Map players require to enter the Crypt levels, initiating the Grave Matters quest.

The Defiler, AKA the Hive Queen, speaks in an annoying, buzzing voice when you first enter level 2 and 4 of the Hive, and has another speech when she's finally encountered face to face.

Na-Krul

Na-Krul gives a short, menacing speech when he's released from his prison on level 4 of the Crypt levels.

Ha, ha, ha...Free! Ha, ha, ha...Free to confront the one who banished me to the void, Diablo!

And free to reward you, little mortal with your death!

Na-Krul

Na-Krul also has an Easter Egg dialogue that's enabled by the command.txt option.

Hi! I'm free, free to confront the little man who banished me, Diablo.

Hi, Everybody, and I'm free to reward you, little mortal,

with these Aerosmith tickets.

You'll be getting backstage passes,

You'll get to meet Steven Tyler and the whole band.

This Friday at the Coliseum.

Thanks for getting me out of there.

By the way, I'm gonna have to kill you. (pause)

I'll be right back with the traffic and weather together.

His speech is the same whether you free him with the lever, or by reading the books in sequence to weaken him.

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Diablo and Hellfire Navigation -- Diablo Basics [e]
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