A Shattered Crown

A Shattered Crown is the third quest of Act I in Diablo III.

Notes

• If the crown is brought back to town and sold before talking to Eamon the checked box in quest progress will become unchecked
  • this causes a new one automatically generated in the Chancellor's Tomb but Chancellor Eamon will not respawn to defend the crown if his ghost has already been defeated.
  • if the player buys back a sold crown from the vendor, it does not re-check the box. They must go and touch the tomb altar a 2nd time, but the crown will not actually drop on the ground if they already have it.
• even if the player uses the town portal to get back to town after getting the crown, since this quest progress checkbox happens AFTER getting the crown, it will remain unchecked. The portal remains open to help the player get down to the tomb and touch the altar, but then disappears, forcing them to take the long way back, or exit+reenter game
  • it is possible to just skip checking the town portal box though: talking to Eamon will complete the quest regardless of whether the portal is used
• Eamon's repairs to the crown don't seem to actually change it's stats

Script

Core

• Deckard Cain: The Skeleton King was once our beloved lord, Leoric. He was driven mad by Diablo's evil. He lost both of his sons — and his very soul — before he was finally defeated. Now it seems he’s risen to plague this land once again.

• Class
  • Necromancer: I'll find a way to lay him to rest.

• Deckard Cain: The key to defeating him lies in his old crown. Seek out our blacksmith, Haedrig; he knows of its whereabouts.

• Deckard: Leah, you should not dismiss the signs so lightly. Do you not believe the evidence of your own eyes?

• Leah: Horrors have visited Tristram before, and it endured.

• Deckard: But what of the texts? The Zakarum tomes warn of a falling star. The Horadric scrolls spoke of the dead rising and the Lord of Lies. The Prophecy of the End Days says that at the end of all things, the first sign shall appear in the Heavens!

• Leah: Yes, you've been telling me about the texts since I was eight years old, Uncle. I just don’t think we should read too much into them.

• Class
  • Necromancer: You are the blacksmith, aren't you? I have a request.

• Haedrig Eamon: Not now. It’s my wife...She's locked in the cellar, like all those who’ve been bitten. I'm to put them all down. But how can I kill my own wife?

• Class
  • Necromancer: Death is a path all must tread. Allow me to help.

• Haedrig Eamon: Thank you. Follow me.

• Follower
  • Templar: We must be ready to finish this work if he cannot.

• Haedrig Eamon: My friends...I'm sorry.

• Follower
  • Templar: Apologies will not lay them to rest, blacksmith! Swing your bloody hammer!

• Class
  • Necromancer: Do not apologize. You grant them peace.

• Haedrig Eamon: Mira, my love, forgive me...

• Mira: Ahhh! Haedrig, help me!

• Follower
  • Templar: Love is the surest road to a tragic end. That is why I have foresworn it.

• Haedrig Eamon: I couldn’t have done this without you. I'm in your debt. My name is Haedrig Eamon.

• Class:
  • Necromancer: There is a way you could repay me. I seek the crown of King Leoric.

• Haedrig Eamon: I can help you there. It’s buried with his chancellor...my grandfather. You’ll find his tomb in a cemetery in the Weeping Hollow.

• Haedrig Eamon: And if you see my fool apprentice out there, tell him to get back to town.

• Class
  • Necromancer: The blacksmith’s apprentice has fallen. Another disruption in the Balance.

• Follower
  • Templar: This will be rough.

• Follower
  • Templar: Do you believe in the afterlife, my friend?

• Class
  • Necromancer: I know the truth of it...but you are not ready.

• Follower
  • Templar: We are very different, aren't we?

• Class
  • Necromancer: The crown is not in this crypt. I'll search elsewhere.

• Follower
  • Templar: All this pomp and grandeur, for what? A sinful monarch who laid waste to his kingdom.

• Class
  • Necromancer: I think the crown is nearby.

• Follower
  • Templar: The chancellor kept it safe for many years. A noble act.

• Chancellor Eamon: No! I will not allow you to bring that monster Leoric back to this world!

• Haedrig Eamon: You found the crown? Truth be told, I didn't think you'd make it back alive.

Haedrig Eamon: Ahh, it needs a repair. Should be no problem...It’s good to work again. There. New as the day it was placed upon the Black King’s head. I need something more than making spades to occupy my mind. I want my life to mean something.

• Class
  • Necromancer: There is no higher calling than serving the Balance. The Priests of Rathma would welcome your aid. But I should tell you...during my travels, I found the body of your apprentice. It was a quick death.

• Haedrig Eamon: Fool boy. Hope for the worst, and you will not be disappointed. Thank you for the news.

Optional

• Deckard Cain: I am the last of the Horadrim. I couldn’t always claim this. In fact, if I had turned to the Horadric teachings sooner, Diablo could have been stopped before his reign of terror began.

• Class
  • Necromancer: That seems unlikely.

• Deckard Cain: When the first signs appeared, I did nothing. I had shrugged the old tales off like they were so much fantasy, and Tristram — no, the world — has paid dearly for my arrogance. I have tried to make up for my failings. Leah and I have spent her lifetime scouring the world, collecting pieces of the Prophecy of the End Days. If I can decipher it, we will have the key to defeating the Lords of Hell.

• Class
  • Necromancer: You and Leah depend on each other.

• Deckard Cain: I do not know what my life would have been like had I not raised her. Oh, it must have been difficult for Leah, following an old man on a mad search for the secrets to defeating the Lords of the Burning Hells. Heh. But though she has seen her share of mysterious things, she is still unsure of my quest. I can understand; she has never seen anything like Diablo and his brothers.

• Deckard Cain: The Prophecy of the End Days is contained within the Horadric tomes I inherited from my ancestor Jered Cain. It is a warning to those who could interpret it regarding Hell's ultimate invasion of our world, written by many different people throughout history in many different lands. All known versions of the Prophecy are incomplete. I have spent a good part of the past twenty years trying to complete it. I am certain it holds the answers to defeating the Lords of Hell.

• Class
  • Necromancer: What happened to Tristram's king?

• Deckard Cain: Leoric resisted Diablo's attempts to possess him, but the effort left him weak and confused. When his son Albrecht was kidnapped to be a vessel for Diablo, it destroyed any sanity Leoric had left.

• Class
  • Necromancer: And so he became the Skeleton King.

• Deckard Cain: He commanded an army of the dead deep within the cathedral, finally serving the Lord of Terror he had resisted while alive. Many adventurers tried and failed to slay the Skeleton King. It was left to Leoric's eldest son, Aidan, to finally kill the monster his father had become.

• Townsfolk: You’re the one who saved Cain! You must help us survive the Skeleton King, too!

• Townsfolk: Every scholar of demonic lore has heard of Deckard Cain. Thanks to you, I got to see him in the flesh!

• Captain Rumford: These dark events tax us. I worry for Haedrig, our blacksmith, most of all. His wife has been injured, and he is tasked with seeing to those who may turn. His family has suffered under this curse before. His grandfather, the chancellor to King Leoric, was killed when the evil first spread over Tristram twenty years ago.

• Villager: Bless you for saving Deckard Cain. I don't know what Leah would do, what any of us would do, if Cain were truly lost.

• Villager: Did you know that King Leoric had his own wife executed? Terrible, terrible things happened when he went mad...

• Villager: Will Leoric's spirit never rest? Why was he cursed so?

• Villager: Wasn’t the Skeleton King meant to be dead? Well, I mean, I know he was dead, but wasn’t he supposed to be really dead? He should have the decency to stay dead. Again.

• Bron the Barkeep: See, the problem is they never should have named this place New "Tristram." We wouldn’t be getting attacked all the tiem if we were called, oh, I don’t know, New Wellington, would we?

Villager: You think you’re some type of hero here to save us all? The dead will feast on your bones as easily as they will ours!

• Class
  • Necromancer: I would like to hear more about your grandfather, the chancellor.

• Haedrig Eamon: Not much to tell. I lived with my father in Caldeum at the time. We heard that my grandfather stayed in Tristram until the end, trying to save lives. Don’t know if he succeeded, but there it is. When the Skeleton King fell, my grandfather was dying from a sword wound. He had the crown sealed with him to keep it safe.

• Class
  • Necromancer: He made his choice, then.

• Class
  • Necromancer: Back at your forge already?

• Haedrig Eamon: Work needs doing. No one is going to do it for me.

• Class
  • Necromancer: You were quite upset about Mira...

• Haedrig Eamon: I don’t want to talk about my wife. Dead is dead and gone is gone. Do you want work done or not?

• Villager: Cleared out the old town and rescued Deckard Cain? I'm never betting against you again.

• Myriam: The world is constantly renewing itself, eternally playing out the same events, over and over again. We can merely play our parts.

• Class
  • Necromancer: What are you trying to say?

• Myriam: I speak clearly. Do not blame me for the state of your mind.

Quest Journal

• Part 1
  • Barbarian: The Skeleton King has returned, and he controls the dead. His crown is the key to entering his stronghold and defeating him. The blacksmith knows where this crown is hidden.
  • Crusader: Apparently this fellow the Skeleton King is behind the troubles of New Tristram. I'd like to have words with him, but to do that I first have to find his crown, and so I need the help of the local blacksmith.
  • Demon Hunter: It makes sense that Leoric's twisted form, the Skeleton King, would be revived along with his many victims, but it certainly is an inconvenience. Hopefully this Haedrig fellow will help me find Leoric's crown so I can confront this monster before he causes any more damage.
  • Monk: Leah is filled with joy that her uncle is alive and safe, but I must turn to other matters. The Skeleton King, who was raised by the fallen star, bars my path. Deckard Cain told me that the village blacksmith, Haedrig, knows the location of Leoric’s crown, witch is vitally important if I am to confront him.
  • Wizard: The Skeleton King was destroyed twenty years ago, but he has risen once again and holds the dead in thrall. I need his crown to reach him and bind him to his corporeal form. The town blacksmith knows where the artifact is. I must find him.

• Part 2
  • Barbarian: The blacksmith stands guard over a cellar holding the wounded. His wife is among them. They will all soon join the walking dead. I must help him put them down. The blacksmith cannot do it alone.'
  • Crusader: The blacksmith's wife is infected and will turn soon. He must be the one to put her down, but I will remain by his side.
  • Demon Hunter: Haedrig has found himself in a difficult situation. I of all people know just how hard it is to kill a loved one when there is no other choice. I have seen it happen time and time again. But that doesn’t make his grief any less genuine or his duty any more bearable. I will help him.
  • Monk: The villagers locked those who are afflicted by the curse of the risen dead within the cellar beneath the blacksmith’s house. Haedrig’s wife is one of them. When no one else would take up the task of putting their neighbors to rest, Haedrig volunteered, but he cannot bring himself to do it. I will help him, for the gods have given me the strength to see such things done.
  • Wizard: The blacksmith stands watch over his cellar, paralyzed with grief. His wife and many others will soon die and raise again as the hungry dead. I don't relish the task of killing them, but I don't think the blacksmith can handle this on his own.

• Part 3
  • Barbarian: My grim work is done. The blacksmith's wife and friends are dead. I must now ask him to help me find the crown of the Skeleton King.
  • Crusader: It is done, the blacksmith's wife has found rest. These are dark times, and a cleansed Zakarum faith is needed more than ever.
  • Demon Hunter: The blacksmith’s wife and friends are dead. Though I do not wish to intrude on Haedrig’s grief, I must know the location of the Skeleton King’s crown, and quickly.
  • Monk: The gods have granted the afflicted villagers rest. Haedrig’s and my grim work is done. Haedrig is filled with grief, but I must ask him to help me. My task cannot wait for his heart.
  • Wizard: It is done. I have helped the blacksmith kill his wife and friends. Though it is not the best time to ask, I must know where the crown of the Skeleton King is.

• Part 4
  • Barbarian: The Skeleton King's crown is in the tomb of his chancellor. I will use it to force Leoric into this world and tear him apart.
  • Crusader: Well I suppose it would be too easy if the blacksmith had the crown in his workshop, wouldn't it? Apparently it's in the tomb of the Skeleton King's chancellor.
  • Demon Hunter: The blacksmith is a descendant of one of Leoric's courtiers. Haedrig must have quite a few stories to tell about how he returned to Tristram...But those can wait. I must find the chancellor’s tomb and the crown within it. It’s the only way I’ll be able to confront the Skeleton King.
  • Monk: Haedrig has told me that the crown of the Skeleton King is buried with his grandfather, who was Leoric’s chancellor. What creatures lurk in the darkness of the forest?
  • Wizard: The Skeleton King's crown lies buried in the tomb of his chancellor. I must find it so that Leoric can be bound to this realm and defeated.

• Part 5
  • Barbarian: I have recovered the crown of Leoric, but it is rent into several pieces. The blacksmith must reforge it that I may face the Skeleton King.
  • Crusader: I've recovered the crown, but it is broken. I imagine that blacksmith fellow can manage the repairs. Maybe the work will do him good.
  • Demon Hunter: I have obtained the crown, but it is broken. I wonder if Chancellor Eamon did this intentionally to prevent anyone from abusing it. I’ll speak with Haedrig; maybe he can repair the damage.'
  • Monk: Leoric's crown is broken. It is of no use to me in this state. I hope that Haedrig will be able to repair it, or this search will have been for nothing.
  • Wizard: The crown is broken, and its power shattered. Once the blacksmith reforges it, I will be able to confront the Skeleton King in his lair.