- The Curator(src)
The Curator is an ageless simulacrum[1] created by Zoltun Kulle, and the guardian of his library.
Biography[]
Origins[]
- The Curator on his predicament(src)
A simulacrum of Zoltun Kulle, the Curator was created at some point prior to the Wizard's death,[2] in what was apparently a moment of Kulle's egomania getting the better of him.[3] It was meant to be the receptacle of Kulle's consciousness in the event of his death.[1] The Curator was created through living sand, like a number of Kulle's other creations (e.g. golems),[4] and possesses its creator's wit and focus, but without the egomania he manifested in his later years.[1] The duplicate was assigned to act as the curator of Zoltun Kulle's Library,[2] and ensure its continuance,[5] by minimizing magical decay.[1] Like Kulle's other constructs, it was kept on a tight leash. However, according to the Curator, "that [being constrained] has never stopped me before."[4]
Over time, the library fell into disrepair.[6] Its central core shut down,[7] and as such, a pair of wards went up that prevented access to certain sections of the library,[8] including Kulle's secret archives.[6] Despite the Curator's efforts, he was unable to breach them,[8] much to his frustration. Additionally, he was unable to leave the library itself.[6]
New Arrivals[]
"What do you have in mind?"
First, I must regain my strength. And a myriad of monsters stand between us and the statue where that can happen. Considering my weakened state is your fault...I'll let you clear the way."
- The hero and the Curator meet(src)
The Curator is first encountered
In the year 1270, the duplicate barred entrance to the library to the Shard-seeker.[2] He believed the intruder(s) to be thieves, and despite their protests to the contrary, unleashed Phantoms upon them. After the Phantoms were destroyed, he engaged the intruder(s) directly.[9] He was defeated, and they explained that they weren't thieves, but rather, sought a way to destroy the Worldstone shards. The Curator stated that if Kulle knew of a way, he would have stored the information in his private archives. However, given his weakened state, he couldn't reach that location. He had to regain his strength, and ordered the hero(es) to clear the library of the creatures that infested it. Arriving at a statue that could restore his power, they found that its runes had been removed. He ordered the hero(es) to find them. With the runes restored, he led them to the library's central core, for to restore the library, they needed to bring the core back to life.[6] However, he couldn't reactivate the core, and ordered the hero(es) to obtain Kulle's journal, as it detailed the inner workings of the library.[5] Upon their return, the Curator studied the journal and concluded that the core was comprised of rock animated by living sand. As such, magic could not reactivate it. Unlike his master, bringing the spark of life to artificial creations was beyond his abilities. He ordered them to head to the Chaos Engine, which they could use to extract the essence of life from a golem, and use it to power the core.[4]
The Curator in the archives
The hero(es) returned with life essence, and the Curator used it to reactivate the core. With it, the wards that had thwarted the Curator for so long went down, much to his joy. He told the hero(es) to join him in the Archive of Secrets, where they would hopefully be able to discover how to destroy the Worldstone shards they carried. He presented to them a tome that recalled Kulle's experience in the Dark Exile, when he and Tal Rasha had defeated Baal. The tome contained Kulle's memories perfectly recorded, able to be experienced directly by any who read the work. They headed into the Forbidden Archive to read it. Along the way, the Curator questioned the wisdom of destroying the shards rather than utilizing them, but didn't press further. However, he hoped that the hero(es) would share their story with him.[8]
The hero(es) entered Kulle's memories in the tome, where they learnt that only the weapon of an archangel could damage the Worldstone.[10] The Curator explained that Kulle only knew of two such weapons—El'druin, which was beyond their reach, and Yl'nira, currently located in the Temple of Namari on Bilefen.[11] With the library now under his control, he modified a terminus to take the hero(es) to the island, near the temple. He gave them permission to come and go through the library as they pleased, and told them to "try not to die before our next meeting." But if they did choose to leave, to do so quickly—he hated long goodbyes.[12]
Afterwards, the Curator managed to regain control of a number of the library's Golems, but many remained wild and uncontrolled.[13]
The Fractured Plane[]
"It's a stone that your master once used to open the Fractured Plane."
"Ah yes, the Sumina Glass. it is a fount of unbound chaos and cyclical death. Even the master was wary of it. Count yourself fortunate that the magics it housed have faded."
- The Curator and the Shard-seeker(src)
The Shard-seeker returned to the library with the Sumina Glass. Like Kulle before them, they sought to enter the Fractured Plane.[14]
In-game[]
The Curator in-game
The Curator is encountered as an enemy at the start of the Library of Zoltun Kulle questline in Diablo Immortal. It starts by summoning Mysterious Phantoms in the quest "Unseen Guardian." Here, it goes under the moniker of "Mysterious Voice," using the same portrait as the Mirrored World monsters. He is later fought directly.
In this fight, he is immune to knockback, and can teleport. He has the following attacks:
- Sand Tornado: Sends a tornado out in a straight line.
- Sand Lines: Sends lines of sand outwards from his base, damaging the player if they're touched.
- Sand Projectiles: Sends out 'sand daggers' in a circular motion
- Summon Skeletal Guardian
After the boss fight, the Curator becomes an NPC, and will appear throughout the library at various points in its questline.
A Rift Guardian counterpart for the Curator exists via the Sand Shaper.
Personality and Traits[]
- The Curator(src)
The Curator
The Curator, in many ways, is similar to his creator—suspicious,[9] snide,[6] possessed of a dry wit, and possessing the need for both control[5] and knowledge.[4] Unlike his creator, he came to trust his companion(s), and even seemed to develop genuine affection for them.[12]
Also like Kulle, the Curator possesses powers of his own, such as sand-based magic abilities,[9] and the ability to teleport.[8] He is also capable of operating Kulle's technological devices.[12]
Trivia[]
The Curator as he appears on the loading screen
- Based on early information, the Curator was apparently simply called "Zoltun Kulle," though was still explicitly a duplicate of the original character. It was stated to believe that it was the real Zoltun Kulle.[2] In the final version however, the character is called "the Curator," and is aware that Kulle is its creator.
- When first encountered in the game's beta, the Curator states "he warned me you would come...and after a millennia, here you are." The timeframe of "millennia" however contradicted the timeline, where centuries passed between Kulle's death and the events of Immortal, not millennia. In the final version, this was changed to "centuries," fitting the timeline.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Horadric Bestiary
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2018-11-06, DIABLO IMMORTAL: CLASSES, ABILITIES, WORLD, AND Q&A AT BLIZZCON 2018. Blizzpro, accessed on 2018-11-13
- ↑ 2018-11-17, BlizzCon 2018 Diablo Immortal World and Q&A Panel Transcript. Blizzplanet, accessed on 2018-11-20
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Diablo Immortal, Well of Knowledge
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Diablo Immortal, At Its Core
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Diablo Immortal, Restoring Order
- ↑ Diablo Immortal, Lost Runes
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Diablo Immortal, Recalling the Past
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Diablo Immortal, Unseen Guardian
- ↑ Diablo Immortal, Destruction's End
- ↑ Diablo Immortal, The Dark Exile
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Diablo Immortal, Heart of the Unknown
- ↑ Diablo Immortal, Guardians of Stone
- ↑ Diablo Immortal, The Fractured Plane