Ashardalon

[Obergnom]

I recently sat back and analysed the campaigns I ran during the last couple of years with my current gaming group. I noticed, that I do not use Dragons much.

They are sometimes used as semi random encounters or helpers, but never as the true masterminds or threats.

I guess that is, because I do not like Tiamat. Looking through the 4e Draconomicon, I stumbled upon Ashardalon. I realize he was kind of the BBEG of the indtroductory adventure series of 3rd Ed., but I only ever played The Forge of Fury out of those.

I would really love to run a campaign based on Ashardalon, but I do not know much more about him than what is written in the Draconomicon. There is the Sunless Citadel and Nightfang Spire and Gulthias.

How would you build a campaign around him? What are required locations and enemies/enemy types? And as I failed to find a synopsis, what was the plot of the original 3rd adventures? No one in my group played those, I guess I could recycle that.

I don't want to use the old adventures, because as far as I know they are only loosly connected, similar to the new introductory series.

 

[crazy_monkey1956]

I ran through the entire 3.0 Ashardalon series back in 2002 and am currently running them again.

SPOILERS!!!

The Sunless Citadel finds the group exploring a ruined citadel once operated by a cult dedicated to Ashardalon. In the lower levels, they encounter an insane druid who has discovered a twisted and malignant tree, called the Gulthias tree, that radiates evil.

The PCs, being the stalwart heroes that they are, cut down said tree to rid the world of its evil...

The tree grew from the still green stake used to pierce the heart of the vampire, Gulthias, the leader of the cult dedicated to Ashardalon. With the destruction of the tree, Gulthias is able to return.

Heart of Nightfang Spire sees Gulthias returning to one of his old haunts wear Ashardalon's still beating heart is secured. The PCs face loads of undead as the hunt the vampire down and destroy the heart.

Lord of the Iron Fortress features one of the half-dragon offspring of Ashardalon in a bid to gain power on the plane of Acheron.

Finally, Bastion of Broken Souls involves Ashardalon himself, currently camped out on the positive energy plane. Ashardalon has replaced his heart with a living demon and is feasting on the unborn souls generated by the positive energy plane. Turns out one of the PCs is the descendant of Dydd, the druid who defeated Ashardalon the first time around, piercing his heart (thus necessitating the demon-heart).

The other adventures in the series (The Forge of Fury, The Speaker in Dreams, The Standing Stone, and Deep Horizon) are the looser connections of the series and aren't strictly necessary.

 

[Alzrius]

Dragon Magic states that Ashardalon became a vestige (a la pact magic in the Tome of Magic) after being defeated in The Bastion of Broken Souls.

 

[Obergnom]

Thanks! So, if you would to a return to, what are the essential moments of the series? Parts one should not miss?

Sofar, I think there is the Gulthias Tree, Nightfang SPire and a fight with Ashardalon on another plane. I just can not see a lot of plot there. What is actually happening?

The PCs release Gulthias, kill him, kill Ashardalon later on, but what are Gulthias and Ashardalons motivations and plans?

 

[Matrix Sorcica]

At work - I'll get back to you with my take and some info on how I'm using big A for my ongoing 4E campaign.

 

[crazy_monkey1956]

The underlying plot actually involves Demogorgon and the secret battle between his two heads.

The demon-heart that Ashardalon possesses would allow one of Demogorgon's heads to take full control of the demon lord, effectively eliminating the other personality. In order to get the demon-heart, Demogorgon would have to slay Ashardalon, a half-fiend great wyrm red dragon...no mean feat, even for a demon lord. Thus, he has his agents in the material plane seek out the descendant of Dydd and manipulate him/her into confronting Ashardalon.

Ashardalon himself has become reliant on the pre-incarnate souls in the Bastion and has reached the point where he can't leave. Thus, when he learns of Gulthias' re-awakening, he sends the vampire to Nightfang spire to retrieve his true heart and starts creating half-dragon minions to do his bidding on the material plane and various other planes of existence.

 

[Obergnom]

At work - I'll get back to you with my take and some info on how I'm using big A for my ongoing 4E campaign.

That would be fantastic. I'm beginning to get the impression tough, that an Ashardalon based campaign is not necessarily a dragon themed campaign...

 

[crazy_monkey1956]

No, the Big Ash tends to have heavy demonic and undead influences for being a big bad dragon.

 

[Obergnom]

Which is actually why I like him... Tiamat adventures (Well, Red Hand of Doom is the only one I know) seem to be about dragons and draconic Creatures only... and Hobgoblins...

 

[coyote6]

Ashardalon has plenty of half-dragon and full-dragon progeny, though, which increases the dragon-content of adventures.