The truest of Heroes are those who combine bravery with skill. The Warrior is highly trained and prepared to descend to the depths of Hell in search of fame or perhaps honour. Often the Warrior will take on Quests of charity to free innocent folk from the hazards that haunt humanity in these times of dark magic. The Warrior is the strongest of the three classes as he excels at the art of close combat. His primary weakness is that his extensive physical training has left little time to develop more than a rudimentary knowledge of magic. The extended periods of time that most Warriors spend away from their homes and civilisation requires that they learn to repair their own weapons and armour, although their skill is no match for the talent of a true Blacksmith. Nonetheless the Warrior can restore a weapons durability at small cost to the overall life of the item. When times are harsh and funds are low, this trade-off is far preferable to the possible expensive choice of a Blacksmith's repair, especially for magical items and armour.
Sleek with beauty or the bow is the Rogue. Also known as the Sisters of the Sightless Eye, these are a loosely organized guild shrouded in mystery among the peoples of the West. Those in Tristram have been seeing much more of elusive Rogue since the death of King Laoric and the rumours of wealth in the dungeon began to surface. These highly skilled archers employ ancient Eastern philosophies that develop an "inner-sight" that they use both in combat and to circumvent dangerous traps that they may encounter. Known only as wandering Rogues in the West, the Sisters conceal their secret affiliation by posing as simple travelers. Many pompous fools have made the mistake of underestimating these steel nerved women in combat and paid a terrible price for their vanity. Although not as powerful in close combat as the Warrior, the Rogue is the master of the bow. A killed Sister can cut down a horde of rushing demons before they even reach arm's length. The Rogue is the choice of the thoughtful player.
The Sorcerer has always been a controversial character choice for the realms of battle. While neither possessing great strength nor prowess of weapon the Sorcerer is the only class that can destroy entire maps of Hellish denizens from a single standing location. When used wisely the combination of spells and traps set by the Sorcerer can spell death for lurking creatures far away. This is often achieved by sending Golems, Guardians, and other minions of Light to do the bidding of the Sorcerer themselves. The possibility of discovering long lost tomes of unknown magic has attracted magicians of both youth and age to descend into the dungeon in search of enlightenment and reward. If you choose to travel as the Sorcerer be wary that the true nature of magic does not fully bloom until very high levels of skill indeed nearing the 20s or 30s.
Cain is the local elder and is more knowledgeable than anyone else in Tristram. As a result of his extensive and mysterious experiences, Cain can identify nearly anything you will find in the dungeon. His humble fee of 100 gold pieces is nothing next to the added value an identified item will command as opposed to the same in its unidentified state.
Pepin is Tristram's cleric and will heal without charge. He also provides potions of healing, rejuvenation, and elixirs of various descriptions as well.
This beautiful character is Gillian, the barmaid to Ogden's Tavern. She can help uncover additional clues and information found throughout the game but mostly is simply a kind person to talk to and a soothing change from the carnage and evil of the Dungeon.
Farnham is the town drunk. More often than not he will mumble nonsense. However, there are times when he will offer valuable information within his almost senseless babble. Strangely enough, conversations with Farnham seem to imply he has had extended experiences with Griswold. It also seems evident that those experiences have led to crumble to the drunken state in which he now exists.
Griswold is a great Blacksmith with an ear for opportunity. If he ever hears of great weapons, or magic artifacts which could be used to make the same, he will voluntarily tell you of them so that you may seek and retrieve these items for Griswold to work into a metal masterpiece. He is always keen to make any of the classes as he himself once entered the dungeon and knows of the struggles taken on by the brave heroes he meets.
This character is found to the top West of town, across the river. If you donate 50 coins to him he will offer to sell you whatever he has available. Of course it is not really a donation since you must pay before you can peek.
Ogden is the tavern proprietor who can aid you on your quest by giving you tips and informing you as to what to do next. Often he will point you in the right direction in the way of a referral to someone more informed.
This character reveals your first quest. After talking to him you will discover the tale of the Butcher who killed his family. Your quest is to avenge their deaths and remove the Butcher from the Cathedral forever.
The Witch can help you throughout your quest by providing potions and spells but her most useful purpose is in the rare addition of books to her selling wares. Books of magic add a spell to your character or increase the potency of an already memorised spell. Spells with increased potency also require fewer units of Mana making it possible to actually cast more of them, doing more damage, at a small cost to Mana. The Witch also knows of Griswold and trusts his advice as well.