Change my view: binding Nihlathak

I'm going to present my case for why I feel Bind Demon should work on Nihlathak.

First point: Dark rogues, Blood Raven, etc are all 'demon' type creatures. They were formerly human, but were corrupted by Andariel, becoming demons.

Second point: Mephisto and the council. After being imprisoned beneath Travincal, Mephisto corrupted the Zakarum high priests, with the exception of Khalim (you know, the guy whose body parts you chase around Act III). After the other priests killed Khalim, Sankekur became Que-Hegan of the council, and later was so corrupted by Mephisto that he literally became Mephisto. This is another example of a human becoming a demon under the influence of one of the Evils, though it's unclear the exact role the soulstone played in this. Likewise, the other council members are demon types, and bear twisted forms to make this even more evident.

Third point: The Wanderer and Tal Rasha. Both of these former heroes were also corrupted by Prime Evils, this time through the influence of the soulstones. When you finally fight them, they are capital-D Demons.

Fourth point: Nihlathak was corrupted by Baal, a Prime Evil. After his Death, Qual-Kehk describes him as a 'vile demon' that shall find his home 'among the tortured minions of Hell'.

Fifth point: If you consider Diablo III Lore as canon (I'm not sure I do, since the creative team was entirely different), then all humans are half demon, half angel, and should be bindable. Bind Malah and have her churn out scrolls of resistance, bind Larzuk for unlimited sockets, and bind Gheed for unlimited free gambles- but that's just silly, so let's not consider D3 canon.

Sixth point: The Warlock is severely underpowered, and needs a minion that can summon exploding minions and then explode their corpses to kill things within a three-screen radius. Yes, this last point is sarcasm, but it would still be funny to see. I mean, in for a penny, in for a pound, right?

I suppose it should be bindable because even Hephasto is and its a quest creature aswell as Nihlathak.

But about your fifth point, suppose the bind only works in FULL demons, imagine if we could bind another player and make them lose control and "AI" take over.

To OP, based on ingame story , nith is not a demon. He isnt corrupted by baals like the others you have stated, he is however influenced by Baal and to his people, he believes his actions are justified - very different than what you mentioned dark rogue etc, those were actual corrupted humans who turned demons, totally different than what Nith is.

Nith, after all a human necromancer.

So no, he shouldnt be bindable. Thr “vile demon”, that is a figure of speech , not really meant to say he IS a demon. Same thig when people say to a murderer “ you are a demon”… you get my point.

Won't pretend like I ever really got deep into Lore but from what I recall, Nihlathak simply didn't have the balls to stand up to Baal, cut a deal instead, got him and his family kicked out of Harrogath for it and..well, long story short, he's not a demon, he's just an ass.

If he's an ass then he should be joinable to druid's wandering menagerie.

d2rppa69 wrote: 4 months ago

To OP, based on ingame story , nith is not a demon. He isnt corrupted by baals like the others you have stated, he is however influenced by Baal and to his people, he believes his actions are justified - very different than what you mentioned dark rogue etc, those were actual corrupted humans who turned demons, totally different than what Nith is.

Well, Tal Rasha's intentions were good as well. He was trying to save the world from Baal, but embraced corruption nonetheless. Likewise with The Wanderer. At the end of the first Diablo game, he decides that a sane course of action is to slam the soulstone into his own forehead. Presumably he thought this would 'contain the demon', despite all evidence to the contrary. By the time he neared the heart of the labyrinth, he was already lost, likewise with many of the Rogues who returned from Tristram, notably Blood Raven.

Since a random human, like Nihlathak, who approached Baal would normally be killed on sight by the minions of Hell, we must assume that Baal targeted him, exerted his corrupting influence over a distance (just as Diablo did with Lazarus, Leoric, and the hero from the first game), and- only after Nihlathak's mind and soul were twisted- was this so-called deal struck. It is likely why Nihlathak did not die with the other elders in erecting The Ward around Harrogath; Baal needed him for another purpose.

Of course Nihlathak would believe he was 'doing the right thing', just as Tal Rasha and The Wanderer did, but his actions prove otherwise. Why, after giving the relic to Baal, did he continue to fight the hero? Why did he not free Anya at that point? After all, his side of the agreement- giving the relic to Baal- was already complete. He could have freed Anya, come back to Harrogath, and faced his Death with whatever Honor he had left, but he did not. Whether he knew it or not, he was thoroughly a minion of Hell at this point.

Note also that despite Baal ready having the relic, and thus not needing Nihlathak any longer, the plentiful demons in the Halls of Vaught make no effort to attack him. It's almost like he's one of them, or something.

d2rppa69 wrote: 4 months ago

Nith, after all a human necromancer.

This raises another point. Why does Nihlathak possess secret Necromancer knowledge? He's not a Priest of Rathma, whose sect is the sole practitioner of Death magic outside the Burning Hells, according to canon. Either the Cult of Rathma taught jealously-guarded knowledge (why?) to an outsider from a distant land, or Nihlathak gained his ability through his bargain with the Burning Hells.

Even if he had been taught by the Cult of Rathma, which is exceedingly unlikely, they did not know (and thus could not teach) Nihlathak how to summon his Ice spawn minions, nor how to Teleport. Both of these point to arcane knowledge acquired through dealings with the Burning Hells. Perhaps Nihlathak wanted power more than he wanted to 'save' Harrogath.

Remember his Death animation. When the barbarians in the Bloody Foothills die, they grunt and fall over. When Nihlathak dies, his soul is sucked down to the Burning Hells in a dramatic display. This isn't the Death of a regular human; this is the Death of someone who has made an infernal pact, and whose soul is forfeit as a result.

d2rppa69 wrote: 4 months ago

So no, he shouldnt be bindable. Thr “vile demon”, that is a figure of speech , not really meant to say he IS a demon. Same thig when people say to a murderer “ you are a demon”… you get my point.

Nah, I get what you're saying. I'm not actually expecting them to make Nihlathak bindable; the warlock needs nerfs, not buffs. I just thought the whole thing would be a fun (and funny) thought experiment.