Avernum...the Movie/Series

[Tirien]

The plotline was lost the moment the first polar bear showed up.

[Arch-Mage Solberg]

Originally Posted By: Dantius

Nonono, they have to be reluctant badasses with a tormented past, possibly involving an overly simplistic backstory where the Empire killed their father/son/daughter/spouse. Sheesh, get your tropes right!

Originally Posted By: Lenar Labs™

Obviously, one is an assassin sent for crimes not committed, one is a reluctant badass who has been orphaned by the cruel Empire, one is the heretic who got what they deserved, and is repenting, and one just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Dantius, Lenar Labs...I have taken your views into account! Her is my story.

Originally Posted By: From Jerry Bush's Computer

This is the story of the group of adventurers commonly known as Hawthorne's Assassins!
They are a group of four people who through a series of bizarre circumstances, achieved great power and fame and changed the course of the young nation of Avernum. We begin our story by introducing the group.
These four (and two others named Jenneke and Frodue) were gathered up, taken to the portal, and thrown in. They arrive inside the walls of Fort Avernum. They are told by Andrew to visit Tor for meager supplies and Tharl for information. Tor gives them each a Stone Shortsword, crude helmets, poor leather shoes and 10 gold. Tharl just gives them the basic rundown of life in the caves, the nearest cities and forts, and the government.
After they have done this, they go over to the bar to await the next caravan to Silvar. They meet another group also waiting. They talk and decide that together they should be tough enough to make the trip to Silvar. So they head out.
Along the way, a band of goblins and Nephilim ambush them. The humans fight hard and win, all but four falls in battle. Here is their story.
Karkin was a young warrior who lived in the tiny village of Boluk located about 150 miles from Solaria (the capitol of The Empire). He was out hunting for food when bandits set upon Boluk. One survived to run to the next town to tell the news before succumbing to his injuries. When Karkin got back from the hunt, he found his village destroyed. He used his woodsman skills to find out which way the bandits had gone. You can say that he was in the wrong place at the wrong time because right when he found the bandits hideout, so did a local militia. The bandits knew they were outmanned and surrendered. Karkin tried to plead his case but to no avail. No one knew who he was and he was found right outside a bandit hideout. The bandits and Karkin were sent to the local magistrate for a trial. Banditry is punishable by death under Empire law. No evidence whatsoever was given to prove that Karkin belonged to the bandits. The magistrate, being unusually kind at the time, did not sentence Karkin to death. Instead, he was taken to Solaria to wait to be teleported into the underworld.
Bortha was an apprentice mage at the Imperius School of Magic at Imperius. She was given the task of categorizing the schools library. She had some talent in the art of magic and actually been able to learn a few spells. During her task, a jealous rival (name unknown), went behind her back and switched some of the books and scrolls around. Not enough to be noticed, but enough that when Icarcerous (one of the schools Triad) asked Bortha to find certain book, it could not be found. However, it was not lost, just not in the right place. Bortha was accused of light sabotage and lying to a member of the Triad. Her punishment was harsh. She was to be teleported to the vast caves beneath the surface.
Jeriko was a lowly acolyte with some alchemy skill in a new religion called Church of the Divine Lucre. They believed that magical might, political power and extreme wealth go hand in hand. Jeriko was sent to a village called Shadyvale, located about 50 miles north of Solaria, to convert the village and build a temple. The people of Shadyvale took him to be an evil priest and had him arrested under sedition. He was tried and sentenced to teleportation to the caves.
Stecklidge was your common variety petty thief. He lived in Solaria and stole a little here and there to survive. Along with being a thief, he was a fairly good bowman. One day, he was walking though town and went into a shop. A politician was in there shopping. Stecklidge went about his business and pocketed some apples when he thought no one was looking. The politician confronted him and asked him why he was stealing. Stecklidge, not one to hold his temper, told the politician to mind his own business. Stecklidge was arrested (not for stealing the apples, but for talking that way to the politician) and sentenced to be teleported into the caves.
The surviving four search the goblins and Nephilim along with the fallen humans to scavenge up some more supplies. They come away with 73 gold, a bronze Shortsword, a cavewood bow, seven pairs of poor leather shoes, four scrolls, 3 healing and 2 curing potions, and a Wand of Firebolt. They continue the trip to Silvar where they sell the stone weapons and poor leather shoes and buy better armor and weapons, train to better their skills, and buy other supplies to continue their journey.
They ask around town about odd jobs to do but with a regular flow of people coming through all the time, there are not any jobs at the time. They head off to the bar to wait a caravan to Mertis when the middle-aged bartender named Gary. He tells them that since they did all right on the way over to Silvar from Fort Avernum, that they should consider becoming adventurers. He even suggests that they travel north to Fort Duvno to offer their services to Commander Johnson. They thank him and discuss it. Adventuring is hard and potentially fatal, but it does have some advantages. They decide to give it a shot. They pack up their stuff and head towards Fort Duvno.
Along the way, they were caught in three ambushes of goblins and Nephilim and were also attacked by bandits. Having had fought before on their way to Silvar, they now have a kind of knack for fighting together. They laid waste to the goblins and Nephilim with better ease than before, but their challenge was with the bandits. Having been from the surface, they have a sickly feeling about attacking another human. But then again, it was the bandits or themselves and they did not want to die just yet. Once the bandits were dead and their corpses picked clean of anything of value, they continued to Fort Duvno.
When they arrived, they sold the stuff they didn't need from the ambushes, bought some better equipment, went to see Carol the Healer, and then headed toward the Inn to rest up a bit before seeing Commander Johnson.

I know that it's a bit long, but let me know how you like it, what improvements need to be made (if any ), or whatever!

[The Loquacious Lord Grimm]

Was my post not extreme enough to convey the sarcasm intended?

[Celtic Minstrel]

Doesn't the name of the capital of the Empire appear somewhere in the games? I don't think Solaria is a likely name, unless it actually does appear in the games.

[Dintiradan]

A lot of names like 'Solaria', 'Ermarian', 'the Ironclads', and so on don't come from the games themselves, but from other sources like Blades of Exile scenarios, old roleplays, and other assorted works of fanwankery.

 

Obligatory link.

[RCCCL]

Actually, I always thought that the name Ironclads, was sort of a play off of or hint/joke having to do with the old Ironclad ships from the civil war era.

[nikki.]

Originally Posted By: RCCCL

Actually, I always thought that the name Ironclads, was sort of a play off of or hint/joke having to do with the old Ironclad ships from the civil war era.

It might have been, but using it to reference something in the Avernum/Exile universe is all fan-led, which was the point Dintiradan was making. Jeff never included the word in the games.