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The Ashaba Heroes Campaign
Introduction
The Ashaba Heroes AD&D campaign set in the Forgotten Realms setting started back in 1992-1993. This was the first and only campaign I've ever DMed (DM = Dungeon Master). We did play some other adventures before this campaign, to learn the rules and such. When we were completely familiarized with them, I decided to start a campaign (a series of linked adventures where the players play an integral role in the campaign world). We've been using the Second Edition of the Advanced Dungeons and Dragons game since 1992. My only regrets about the start of our campaign was that the characters weren't fleshed out enough, they were just a bunch of statistics and numbers. The players later created background information for their characters but it was a little too late. That is a situation I intend to rectify once we start a new campaign with new characters in the Third Edition set of rules.
The Players
My brother David and our two friends, Mathieu #1 and Étienne (both brothers also) and Mathieu #2 (friend of Mathieu #1 and Étienne, joined later on during the campaign).
The Main Characters
Kiril Threndor (Ranger, played by David), Balrog (Fighter, played by Étienne), Jimmy (Invoker, played by Mathieu #1) and Mat (Fighter, played by Mathieu #2). Jimmy's records were destroyed in the aftermath of that infamous fight my brother had with the other players. Mathieu's new character is named Enzo.
Over these years, numerous other persons have joined the group for some sessions but the core group of players are those 4. So, far we have played 12 adventures (almost all of them designed by me) and I am currently writing the 13th adventure in my long-running campaign. Here are the titles of the adventures:
The Adventures
Adventure #1 ~ Under the Twisted Tower
Adventure #2 ~ Ring and Boots
Adventure #3 ~ Aghazstamn's Treasure
Adventure #4 ~ Return to Shadow Ridge
Adventure #5 ~ In Pursuit of Levior
Adventure #6 ~ Asbras' Quest
Auxiliary Adventure ~ Kiril's Lair
Adventure #7 ~ Old Memories
Adventure #8 ~ Felled Hopes (strongly based on a pre-written adventure module)
Adventure #9 ~ Towards the City of Splendors
Adventure #10 ~ Adventures in Undermountain
Adventure #11 ~ The Lost Level of Undermountain
Adventure #12 ~ The Black Falcons
Adventure #13 ~ The Last Road (currently being written, tentatively the last adventure in the campaign before we switch over to 3rd Edition Rules and create new characters).
The characters started their first adventure in the village of Shadowdale. There, they gained fame and fortune by stopping a covert invasion planned by the drow (dark elves). In fact, the first 4 adventures of the campaign took place in the vicinity of Shadowdale. The adventurers were dubbed 'The Ashaba Heroes' by the townsfolk of Shadowdale (Ashaba is a river that runs through the village). The main villainess the Heroes met during their first adventures was a drow priestess of Lloth named Levior. She was the one who had masterminded the invasion attempt on Shadowdale by building underground complexes under the Twisted Tower of Ashaba, the residence of the good Lord of Shadowdale, Mourngrym.
During their initial adventures, the Heroes also met a man named Berkley, a soldier of the Ashaba Tower. The Heroes actually rescued Berkley from an underground dungeon. He was being kept prisoner by the drows. After being rescued by the Heroes, Berkley accompanied them throughout their underground explorations in the tunnels below the Twisted Tower of Ashaba. During the 4th adventure, Berkley revealed himself to be a spy from an evil secret organization called the Zhentarim. He betrayed the players and became another one of the main villains in the campaign.
The Ashaba Heroes never did manage to catch up to Levior, the drow priestess. Her current whereabouts are unknown (except to me ). Anyway, eventually, the Heroes ended up very far away from Shadowdale and found themselves in the City of Splendors, Waterdeep. There, they explored the underground labyrinth located under the city called Undermountain. After having grown tired of exploring these tunnels, the Heroes decided to travel back to Shadowdale, where they plan to build their strongholds. They decided to escort a caravan that is heading towards the city of Berdusk. Their long-time arch-nemesis, Korolius, had planned an ambush for them along the Trade Way and the Ashaba Heroes were defeated. Thankfully, a group of Harper agents came through the area of the ambush soon after and revived them. The Heroes later caught up with Korolius in his fortress in the High Moor and they finally defeated him in a climatic battle with the Zhentarim forces. They made their way to Berdusk... and that's where we're at right now.
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