Scavenger (Diablo III)
From Diablo Wiki
Scavengers are Animals. The scavenger returns from Diablo I, and it has taken on some properties of the Leapers from Diablo II.
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[edit] Lore
Unlike the other Lore entries, the Scavenger received its entry a few weeks after its initial appearance in the gameplay video. This entry is a continuation from the entry on Dune Thresher.
"I began to fall, Burroughs grabbed me by the scruff of my collar and shook me violently. "You really want to feed some Thresher, don't you, al-Hazir?" he asked. "What, haven't you seen Scavengers before?" I had indeed seen Scavengers: small, burrowing creatures that feed upon carrion. Unlike most animals of this type, however, they are extremely aggressive and will not hesitate to attack those unfortunate enough to encounter them. Scavengers have powerful legs which they use for swift springing attacks, striking at vulnerable faces and throats. Their anatomy bears a striking resemblance to that of the Leapers of the Aranoch desert, and thus, many researchers classify the two groups as part of the same family of creatures. An ensorcelled (some say demonic) variant is known to have plagued adventurers in the Tristram region twenty-odd years ago as well. Scavengers were also the cause of an extremely distressing episode during my youth, which I need not relate at this juncture. "Yep. Burrowers to catch a Burrower," he said. He then took the lengths of rope hanging from the cage and impaled them on the ground using a heavy pike. He also attached what looked like long knives to the sides of his heavy, scarred boots, and drove the blades into the ground. "You'd better get out of the way." And with that, while holding onto the ropes, he undid the latching mechanism on the side of the cage. He then threw it out onto the sand. The cage exploded outward with the Scavengers' frantic attempts to escape their confines. I barely had time to wonder how Burroughs had been able to get the collars (that the ropes were attached to) around the Scavengers' necks before the vicious beasts had burrowed into the soft ground.I was extremely tense by this point. I felt naked and exposed. What insanity had convinced me that coming out here was a good idea?I looked out over the wastes in the fading light, trying to detect the tell-tale horned fins of the Thresher cutting through the surface of the sand. With absolutely no warning, the Dune Thresher violently broke the surface, all three Scavengers caught in his horrifying maw. There was a massive explosion of sand as the Thresher dove back into the ground with its prize. The ropes immediately snapped taut, and I thought Burroughs would be pulled to his death. I didn't understand how he thought he could reel in a monster that huge, but he wasn't even trying – just holding on. After several tense seconds that stretched towards eternity, the rope began making weird jerking motions. "Ah. The little buggers are doing their work." He smiled a ghastly smile. "Shouldn't be long now." A few more moments of this strangeness passed, and the thrashing of the ropes became less and less. Finally, he began to haul his catch in. When it was partially on the rocks, I could see what had happened. The Thresher had swallowed the Scavengers whole, and they, in turn, had begun eating their way out of the Thresher's stomach before the beast's digestive juices had killed them. One Scavenger still clung to life, but barely. It had actually dug itself halfway out of the Thresher, clawing at the air as its skin was slowly eaten away. I vomited. Burroughs, laughing at me once again as he cut off the beast's triangular head, began lecturing me on the amazing Dune Thresher: the dynamics of its jutting, angular lower jaw, which cuts a path through the soil; the way this jaw design enables the Thresher to swim effortlessly beneath the sand with unimaginable swiftness; and much more that I didn't care to hear just then. I nodded my head weakly and wondered how long it would be before I could politely get myself home and crawl into bed." - Abd al-Hazir
[edit] Appearance
Scavengers look like a hybrid between a horse, a hyena and a rabbit, three very unrelated animals which when combined give rise to a monstrosity like the Scavenger. From the concept artwork, we can say either of two things-
- that there are four variants of the Scavenger and this confirms that Blizzard is using the tried-and-tested method of using the same base monster model and creating new variants by changing their pallete.
- that all four Scavengers are only different forms of a single monster called the Scavenger, with forms changing in each game, like the armor and weapons of Skeletons from Diablo II.
They have a black mane from their heads to their mid-backs and their rear ends have a short and hairy tail like that of a horse. But their most striking, albeit disproportioned, feature are their limbs, which are actually as long as their torsos. Their hands are lean but have palms as large as their heads complete with long nails that are used for burrowing beneath the ground. These can also be used to great effect as weapons against what they think as potential competition to their meal. Even though they rely on carrion for their food, they will not hesitate to create carrion using their sharp claws.
Like their lore entry suggests, they may be related to the Leapers from Diablo II, and this fact is made apparent by their short but muscular legs, which allow them to leap long distances away from damage or towards potential prey.
Unlike the other monsters released with an artwork, the artwork of the Scavengers did not contain any comments from the artist, so we do not know if at all they possess any other abilities along with leaping and burrowing.
[edit] In game
A great mob of scavengers are seen in the WWI 2008 gameplay movie, and they are tricky beasts. They seem to be burrowers, and as the Witch Doctor runs along, the scavengers wait until he is in their midst before they dig out of the ground and attack all at once, a dozen or more of them leaping in from all different directions.They are still small and rather weak beasts though, and die quickly once the Witch Doctor fights back.
[edit] Trivia
- This section contains facts and trivia relevant to this article
- Scavengers were certainly present in Diablo I, as a type of monster with several variants, and very similar characteristics, aside from being unable to burrow. These primitive scavengers were mentioned in the Diablo III lore as a bewitched variant of the creature from Diablo III.
[edit] Gallery
 Scavenger artwork |
 Scavenger head designs |
 Scavenger pallet shifts |
 A pack of Scavengers |
 Scavengers attack a Barbarian |
