This is my open letter to the Blizzard design team. I dislike that sort of backstory. You awake in the middle of the night with a feeling of dread and despair.
Evil power washes over the land.
You have a vision of Theopolis, the Hierarch of the Monastic Dreads. You feel twistings of magic and curses warping through you. The world has changed and not for the better. This sort of backstory allows new characters to be used or old ones imported without having any negative impact on flavor or gameplay, and with some added flavor. The concept of hot keys should be expanded.