The Nephalem

"Your strength rivals that of our greatest champions. What now do you think you are?"

- Alaric to the Nephalem

"The Nephalem" is a title awarded to the nephalem hero(es) active during the End of Days. They serve as the main protagonist(s) of Diablo III.

The Nephalem is/are one of the most powerful nephalem who have ever lived, their powers only equaled by Uldyssian.

The End of Days
Witnessing a falling star, the Nephalem traveled to Tristram where they confronted and defeated an awakened evil.

Together with new allies, the Nephalem then moved towards Caldeum, reviving (and defeating) Zoltun Kulle, retrieving his Black Soulstone, and vanquishing Belial.

At Bastion's Keep, the Nephalem fought the Army of Sin, but after trapping Azmodan, the last of the Evils, in the Soulstone, was betrayed by Adria. Thus, Diablo walked the earth again.

Pursuing the Lord of Terror, the Nephalem finally defeated him in the High Heavens, preventing the Prime Evil from destroying the angelic civilization and the Crystal Arch. Recognized by Angiris Council for the feat, the Nephalem left the Heavens and returned to Sanctuary. An unintended consequence of this battle was the creation of the Realms of Fate.

Aftermath
After the defeat of Diablo, the Nephalem entered the lands east of Westmarch to search for Adria.

Reaper of Souls
In Westmarch, the Nephalem encountered Lorath Nahr, a Horadrim member sent by Tyrael, who told them of the Reapers' attack on the city. The Nephalem then took the fight to the Reapers and managed to save the remaining survivors in time. Afterwards, the Nephalem entered the Blood Marsh in pursuit of Adria. As the Nephalem passed through, the ruins of the lost city of Corvus reacted to the Nephalem's presence, proving that the Nephalem had embraced the birthright due. The Nephalem found Adria and defeated her, avenging Leah.

After a long intense battle, the Nephalem eventually defeated Malthael. Tyrael, however, feared that one day the Nephalem would be tempted into corruption, and wondered whether the Nephalem, who had defeated the champions of Heaven and Hell, could resist it: depending on this, the Nephalem could be mankind's hope, or their doom.

Further Adventures
"Our journey has been long, my friend. I can see the toll it has taken on you&mdash;the weight you carry. I never imagined this burden when we first met in New Tristram. But how could any of us have known where our paths would lead? You have conquered many foes, but there are always more waiting in the shadows. It is clear to me that your duty is without end."

- Tyrael to the Nephalem.

Now feared by angels and demons alike, the Nephalem turned attention to the remaining servants of chaos on Sanctuary, protecting those in need.

''Note: The following events take place in Adventure Mode. Their occurrence is entirely optional, as is their order. They have been presented in their order of release.''

Kanai's Cube
"Yes, I live once more. I'm very hard to kill and really, you did a sloppy job. But enough small talk. I need your help."

- Zoltun Kulle to the Nephalem Several months after Malthael's defeat, Zoltun Kulle managed to return to the Nephalem in spirit form. He told the shocked hero(es) that not even they could have killed the undying Horadrim, and that he now required their help. The artifact hidden beneath the Ruins of Sescheron could only be retrieved by someone who its guardians would deem worthy. The Nephalem agreed.

Sescheron, the site of the last stand of civilization, now a mass grave, met the Nephalem with hordes of savage beasts, remnants of the Army of Destruction, and worst of all, The Unclean, a cannibal tribe of Barbarians. In this city, the Nephalem rescued Abd al-Hazir himself, and honored memory of King Kanai, recovering Kanai's Cube in the process, together with the deranged mage's spirit.

As a token of his gratitude, Kulle unlocked the Cube's power, remaining at the Nephalem's side in their journey afterwards.

Greyhollow Island
"I did not believe the legends—all true! This island, it rots you from within. We never should have come here..."

- Quentin Sharpe's last words to the Nephalem In their travels, the Nephalem eventually found the lost Greyhollow Island inhabited by Crazed Man alone, but infested with creatures of the cursed forest and sea demons and littered with hundreds of ships that ran aground here over decades. Exploring the island, the Nephalem discovered its true story, the fate of demonic deity Nereza, and lifted the curse from the hermit.

The Darkening of Tristram
The Nephalem hunted down a group of cultists that recreated Tristram as it existed in Adria's memories. The Nephalem entered a portal and became enmeshed in a simulacrum of the town as it had existed prior to its fall.

The Temple of the Firstborn
"I've seen so many heroes like you. It's always more fun to fight alongside a friend, don't you think?"

- "Davlin" to the Nephalem The Nephalem entered the Shrouded Moors, where they encountered a man who called himself "Davlin." The two traveled together to the Temple of the Firstborn, where Davlin was apparently killed by one of the cultists who had taken up residence in the structure. The Nephalem traveled down to the temple's depths, where Davlin was found waiting, alive and well. It was revealed that "Davlin" was nothing more than a facade for the demon Vidian, who had lured the Nephalem down to die. As they did battle, however, it was Vidian who perished.

The Realms of Fate
Tyrael bid that the Nephalem investigate the Realms of Fate, recognizing the threat that these pockets of reality presented to Sanctuary. By this point, Tyrael still had faith in the skills of the Nephalem, even as he doubted the heart.

Ethereals
As the Nephalem reflected on Sanctuary's history, instruments of power from a bygone era resurfaced. They were left to decide how to best use these gifts before they returned to myth.

In-game
"In my day no one would believe you if you said nephalem were real...and yet, here they are...and six of them no less! Rather excessive...isn't it?"

- Xul

"The Nephalem" is representative of the player character(s) of Diablo III ("The) Nephalem" is often used to address the player character, as per game mechanics and bypassing gender, name, class and number of players.

According to Storm of Light and Book of Tyrael, storywise, a single nephalem hero is active. This matches the in-game cinematics of Diablo III and Reaper of Souls where "the Nephalem" is mentioned/seen as being a single hero. According to The Story of Diablo, however, not only are all the classes of Diablo III nephalem, but all of them take part in the same overall story. Likewise, in a preview for Patch 2.6.0, the Nephalem is referred to in the plural, and the website for Diablo Immortal likewise uses plural terminology. A tenth anniversary patch refers to multiple nephalem taking part in the Diablo III storyline.

This article and related pages are written to reflect this ambiguity.

Various individuals have appeared in Heroes of the Storm and expanded universe material that are named versions of the game's classes. These include:


 * Johanna (female Crusader)
 * Kharazim (male Monk)
 * Li-Ming (female Wizard)
 * Nazeebo (male Witch Doctor)
 * Sonya (female Barbarian)
 * "The Chosen" (female Necromancer)
 * Valla (female Demon Hunter)

Even before a named character had been provided for a Monk, the Monk had been portrayed as male as the default class gender option. Default class genders for the Barbarian, Crusader, Demon Hunter, Witch Doctor, Wizard, and Necromancer, are male, male, female, male female, and male.