Book of the Dead

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Book of the Dead
Alias(es)	亡者之书; Li Shaolin's class item
Affiliation	Li Shaolin
Occupation/Role	Necromantic class artifact; summoning repository; source of class inheritance and death-energy control
Status	Active
First Appearance	2

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Class-item manifestation	2	Appears after Li Shaolin activates his Necromancer class. It records his attributes and skills, and stores his Skeleton Warriors.
Automatic defensive manifestation	108	Activates when Li Shaolin is near death from Onyxia's Dragon Breath, transforming him into a colossal black-armored figure wielding a curved greatsword.
Awakened soul	117	At Li Shaolin's level 20, the book's soul awakens as a blood-red skull guardian. Sentient undead recognize it as capable of destroying their souls.
Artifact integration	123 125 127	The Book of Ul and Moonfang Scythe enter Li Shaolin's spiritual sea alongside it. The resulting change coincides with Li Shaolin reaching level 40, adds numerous pages, and unlocks Diablo-derived inheritance identities.
Advanced artifact functions	135	Gains Material Amplification and Spell Storage; it can retrieve enlarged Bone Spirits after they consume souls.

Background

After Li Shaolin first raises a Skeleton Warrior, a voice within his consciousness declares that his class has been activated and instructs him to retrieve his class item. The Book of the Dead then materializes in his hand: a thick black volume marked by a grinning red skull. Its first pages display Li's status and Necromancer skills, while its summoning page records his Skeleton Warriors 2.

Li initially believes the book evolved from the portal spellbook of his Diablo II Necromancer. He quickly learns that it can dismiss, store, and resummon his undead through its pages, making it the foundation of his ability to conceal and deploy Skeleton Warriors 2.

The book later reveals functions beyond ordinary summoning. It stores Death Force for its servants' recovery, serves as a substitute for a Scourge Alchemy Stone during the brewing of Death Potions, and eventually channels a Blood Golem's stolen life force to Li Shaolin and his summoned creatures 53 54 83.

Its guardian soul awakens when Li reaches level 20. The blood-red skull detaches from the cover, and the Lich identifies the book as an artifact that can erase undead beings completely, including their souls 117. Following its integration with the Book of Ul and Moonfang Scythe, the artifact develops additional pages and inheritance systems linked to Diablo professions 123 125 127.

Appearance

The Book of the Dead is a thick, pitch-black book with a blood-red, grinning skull embossed on its cover. It is initially sparsely paged, but later expands into a volume containing more than ten additional pages of records and inheritance systems 2 125.

• The skull motif can detach from the cover as a floating blood-red guardian spirit 117.
• It emits red or bloody light when responding to powerful death energy or undergoing transformation 93 131.
• Its material is unaffected by water and fire 45.
• Its internal pages can display status panels, skills, summon totals, inheritance records, and confirmation prompts 2 84 125.

Abilities & Functions

Necromancer Interface

The book records Li Shaolin's attributes, class, skill points, equipment, and summon capacity. It provides skill descriptions and requires confirmation before points are invested into abilities such as Raise Skeleton 2.

• Tracks stored and active Skeleton Warriors through numerical summon counts 2.
• Records newly learned skills, including Detection and Clay Golem 7.
• Displays the levels and evolutions of Li Shaolin's undead servants 20 34 35.
• Expands to register inheritors other than Li Shaolin, beginning with Phili 84.

Summon Storage and Recovery

The book can instantly recall and resummon Li Shaolin's undead through white or black flashes of light. Stored summons gradually recover from injuries inside it 2 14.

• Allows Li to hide undead servants when traveling through populated areas 22 33.
• Restores damaged Skeleton Warriors over time; level-ups can fully repair them 8 14.
• Cannot absorb a completely destroyed summon, as shown when the White Skeleton's ruined body fails to respond 46.
• Recalling a Skeleton Warrior removes any externally equipped armor, leaving the gear behind 23.

Death Force Conduit

The Book of the Dead can contain, channel, and distribute Death Force. Li recognizes that this stored power lets Skeleton Warriors slowly heal and sustain themselves outside the book 53.

• Replaces a Scourge Alchemy Stone as the medium for Scourge Alchemy, producing Death Force-fueled alchemy fire 54.
• Channels life force stolen by the Blood Golem to Li Shaolin and his summoned creatures 83.
• Can bestow a portion of Li's Death Force upon the Lich, weakening Li in exchange 128.
• Its advancement explains Li's growth: vital essence, life force, and souls consumed by Li or his summons are absorbed by the book and fed back to him 135.

Class Inheritance

The book can detect and activate Diablo-derived class systems in compatible individuals.

• Detects Phili's latent Druid inheritance after she touches the book while holding Yogg-Saron's soul fragment 83.
• Records Phili's Druid statistics, skill points, and skill tree after activation 84.
• Later offers Phili the identity of a Wild Druid and grants the Lich a Frost Controller identity 125.
• Activating the Bow Amazon identity manifests a hostile female elf, demonstrating that inheritance activation can produce dangerous consequences 125.

Racial Transformation

The book allows Li Shaolin to switch between Human and Half-Undead forms after he drinks a Death Potion 54 55.

• Activating the Half-Undead entry halts his blood flow, stiffens his body, and changes his vision to black and white 54 55.
• Selecting the Human entry restores his heartbeat, circulation, and normal senses 55.
• After the book's later evolution, Li can transform into a full Undead without physically holding the book 132.

Guardian Soul and Command Authority

The book's awakened soul manifests as a blood-red skull that undead servants fear. The Lich describes the book as the ultimate authority over Li's summoned beings 117 124.

• The guardian skull can emerge from the artifact and float independently 117.
• It is regarded as capable of destroying undead bodies and souls outright 117.
• When Moonfang Scythe interference temporarily severs Li's spiritual link, the Lich can issue commands only through secondary authority granted by its crystal skull staff 124.

Material Amplification and Spell Storage

After its advancement, the book can enhance and retain necromantic materials and spells 135.

• Material Amplification — improves materials used for necromantic constructs; higher-quality bones can produce stronger Bone Spears and Bone Spirits 135.
• Spell Storage — can reclaim and store active Bone Spirits after they grow by devouring souls 135.

Automatic Defense

When Li Shaolin is engulfed by Onyxia's Dragon Breath and left near death, the book activates on its own 108.

• Transforms Li into a colossal figure clad in black armor.
• Arms the transformed figure with a curved greatsword.
• Activates without Li consciously invoking it.

Limitations

• The book can be sealed by anti-magic effects; Li is unable to summon Skeleton Warriors while trapped within Arugal's anti-magic barrier 79.
• Moonfang Scythe's starlight can temporarily sever Li's spiritual connection to his summoned beings 124.
• Its healing distribution depends on life force gathered through the Blood Golem rather than functioning as unrestricted restoration magic 83.
• Granting Death Force to the Lich significantly weakens Li Shaolin 128.

Relationships

• Li Shaolin — Owner and primary inheritor. The book records his Necromancer class, stores his summons, and serves as the core of his death-energy abilities 2 54 135.
• The Lich / Death Knight — Recognizes the book's soul as the ultimate master of Li's undead and fears its ability to destroy souls 117 124.
• Phili — First known non-owner inheritor registered by the book; receives Druid class activation and later access to the Wild Druid identity 83 84 125.
• Book of Ul — Enters Li's spiritual sea alongside the Book of the Dead and contributes to its later transformation 123 127.
• Moonfang Scythe — Integrates into Li's spiritual sea with the Book of Ul; its starlight temporarily disrupts the book's connection to summoned creatures 123 124.

Trivia

• Li initially compares the book to Diablo II's portal spellbook because of its ability to store and retrieve Skeleton Warriors 2.
• Li's spiritual sea ordinarily admits only the Book of the Dead; the Book of Ul and Moonfang Scythe entering it is an unprecedented event 123.
• The book's skull motif has repeatedly reacted to death energy, Old God-related phenomena, and imminent threats 66 93 108.