Easter Egg

Easter eggs are hidden jokes and messages in-game that have references in pop culture, other video games or development surrounding Diablo III.

NPCs and Monsters

• In Act II - the Ruined Cistern - a group of elite Berserkers can spawn, all of whom are named after players on the New York Giants American Football team. Including: Jacobs the Gigantic, Bradshaw the Behemoth, and Manning the Monstrous.
• In Act II, a rare mob will spawn named Nine Toads (Terror of The Borderlands). This is a reference to the video game "Borderlands" in which players fight an enemy called "Nine Toes". When killed, "Nine Toads" drops a weapon called "The Clipper" - A weapon with the same name drops in borderlands by "Nine Toes"
• After defeating Ezek during the quest The Broken Blade, you’ll meet three skeleton guardians; Brother Larel, Brother Karel, and Brother Moek. The three are a silly homage to Larry, Curly, and Moe — better known as The Three Stooges. Killing all three tough enemies in one blow will unlock the “Nyuck, Nyuck, Nyuck” achievement, which is a monosyllabic noise famously uttered by Curly.

Quotes

When the player travels through Act IV and the Templar accompanies him/her, he sometimes states: "The sanctity of this place has been fouled". This is the player characters' quote from Diablo I upon entering Level 1 of the Dungeon.

Voices

Paul Eiding's voice performance for New Tristram's Mayor Holus in Act I highly resembles his previous voice acting for Pepin the Healer in Diablo I.

Items and Objects

• Schaefers' Hammer pays homage to Max Schaefer, the Lead Game Director for Diablo II and Diablo II: Lord of Destruction.
• Beckon Sail, a fairly elusive reference to Kate Beckinsale the actress.
• In Act 2 there lies a dead body in the desert named "Stilgar", upon loot there will spawn 3 worms. This is a reference to the Fremen Stilgar from the Dune Universe.
• The Anvil of Fury can be found in the Old Tristram Ruins next to Griswold's old Blacksmith Shop and refers to Griswold who first appeared in Diablo I and sent you on a quest to find the anvil.
• The Ancient Bonesaber of Zumakalis is a reference to the "Universal Remonster" episode of the Television Show [/u]Aqua Teen Hunger Force[/u] where it is stated to be the only way of slaying the eponymous monster.
• Hammer Jammers are a reference to the pants worn by MC Hammer and naturally they can't be touched.

Wirt's Original Leg

Wirt's Original Leg can be dropped from a body in one of the first act's caves. This is a reference to Wirt, a merchant in the first Diablo who allowed players to gamble. Wirt had tragically lost one of his legs when demons first began appearing in the Tristram Cathedral. His peg leg could be found as Wirt's Leg (Diablo II), an item which could have up to three sockets and was required in order to open the Secret Cow Level in Diablo II. Wirt's Original Leg would then be a reference to his remaining, skeletal leg, the "original".

The Lich King's Helm

The helm of the Lich King can be found in any icy tileset, such as the Caverns of Frost or Icefall Caves. It is a reference to the Lich King character from the Warcraft franchise.

The Black Rock Ledger

In the Stinging Winds (Act II), there is a broken down ship in the middle of the desert. If you're lucky enough to find it, you'll also encounter very short event that will give you one of 6 special pages:

• The Black Rock Ledger, page 4
• The Black Rock Ledger, page 8
• The Black Rock Ledger, page 15
• The Black Rock Ledger, page 16
• The Black Rock Ledger, page 23
• The Black Rock Ledger, page 42

The page numbers are a reference to the ever-famous "magic numbers" in Lost. The Black Rock is also the name of the ship from Lost that was stranded on the island in the fashion described in the found ledger pages.

Areas

Whimsyshire

Main article: Whimsyshire

Probably the most well-known and obvious Easter egg in Diablo III, Whimsyshire is a secret level accessible in each difficulty after crafting the Staff of Herding. A nod to the Cow Level from Diablo II, the secret level was discovered a single day after the game's release. The music from this area is an 8 bit version of Ravel - Gaspard de la Nuit, but played in reverse. "Gaspard de la Nuit" is an old French expression for the Devil. When this was discovered many people believed this to be the start of a hidden ARG in Diablo III but this was not found to be true..

Development Hell

Development Hell is a dungeon that spawns in the Cemetery of the Forsaken in place of a Defiled Crypt location. In it you will find that every enemy is named after a Diablo 3 game developer. For example, one elite mob that spawns is Jay Wilson, the lead game director for Diablo III. It will spawn in Normal, Nightmare, Hell, or Inferno difficulty. You even get a Feat of Strength for killing him.

Quality Well

Quality Well is a small dungeon that can spawn in The Old Ruins. Inside, each monster is named after a different member of the QA team that worked on Diablo III. It can appear on Nightmare, Hell, or Inferno difficulty.

The Fowl Lair

The Fowl Lair is a small dungeon that can spawn in Desolate Sands. Inside, there are many chickens, and a single Greasy Pig. It will drop loot similar to a chest.

Skills

• Wizard
  • The rune for Blizzard "Stark Winter" is reference to Eddard Stark and his "Winter is coming"
• Barbarian
  • The flavor text of the Barbarian's passive skill Berserker Rage references The Hulk's Bruce Banner: "You wouldn't like me when I'm angry." - Bannar the Berserker
• Witch Doctor
  • The rune for Soul Harvest "Swallow Your Soul" is a reference to the Evil Dead franchise, in which "I'll swallow your soul!" is a common phrase used by the deadite zombies.

Achievements

• The Monk's achievement 'Be water' named after a quote by Bruce Lee.
• Witch Doctor Hell achievement 'Speaker for the Dead' named after Orson Scott Card's Sci-fi quadrilogy Ender's Game.
• Enchantress achievement 'Me, Myself & Eirena' is a reference to Jim Carrey comedy movie 'Me, Myself & Irene'.
• Maghda challenge achievement 'Lord of the Flies' is a reference to William Golding's novel 'Lord of the Flies'.
• 'Bejeweled' achievement is a reference to PopCap's game.
• 'Shut Up and Take My Money' came from Futurama, and was a popular meme on forums during Beta.