Ammon Jerro

Ammon Jerro (male neutral evil warlock) is a joinable NPC in the official campaign. He plays a major role in orchestrating various events in the campaign.

"'This old man's eyes glow with a gold-red luminescence, as does the latticework of tattoos covering his forehead and face. Bald and weathered by the years, Ammon Jerro's booming voice is commanding and determined, one comfortable giving orders to captains, generals, kings - and demons. While he occasionally displays a wry smile or frustrated sneer, his face is never relaxed and his brow often furrowed in thought. Power radiates from Ammon's body, and when he's angered (a common occurrence) the air around him smells of smoke and blood.'"

Official Campaign
Ammon Jerro is one of the major orchestrates of the events that happen in the official campaign. The Jerro family was once the highest of nobility in Neverwinter and at a very young age Ammon showed a remarkable talent for tapping into the powers of the Lower Planes, thus indicating that his powers were not the result of devil/demonic pacts, but rather something within his heritage. He traveled the realms studying under many masters, including Waterdeep, the Arcane Brotherhood of Luskan and powers from the Lower Planes. Later, he managed to gain office within Neverwinter as their jester mage, often downplaying his true abilities to avoid attracting unwanted attention. He did this in order to gain access to the Neverwinter Archives and to hopefully have some say during state decisions.

During his research, he learned of an imminent threat called the King of Shadows. He warned the council of the threat but many of the nobles were too busy squabbling with each other to pay any attention, so he sought allies elsewhere among the devils, demons and even the Githyanki. He eventually learned from the Wyrm Nonaloth that Githyanki Silver Swords are capable of harming the King of Shadows. He traveled to the Lower Planes, where Gith was last seen, and sought the aid of the Still Lord of Baator, Prince Levistus, in locating the Sword of Gith. Through Levistus he also gained an ally in Mephasm, one of the Still Lord's servants. He was able to retrieve the Silver Sword but found no trace of Gith herself. With the devils and demons to aid him in his fight against the King of Shadows, he managed to convince the Lords of Neverwinter to join him in the war. He made his last stand at West Harbor where he engaged the King of Shadow's avatar and fought him to a standstill, each unable to land a killing blow until Ammon was distracted by the cries of an infant (the PC) which caused him to lose his concentration and allowed the avatar to shatter Gith's Sword. One of the pieces from the shattered silver sword plunged through the PC's mother who was protecting the infant and became embedded in the chest of the PC, thus setting into motion the events that would later send the PC on his/her quest. The shockwave from the sword banished the King of Shadows back into the Shadow Weave. Even though Ammon had survived the battle, he was immediately claimed by the Lower Planes and spent the next 15-20 years being tortured in the Hells, perhaps as a part of a contract he made with the Lower Planes. Many of his friends assumed he died at the battle of West Harbor and his surviving family moved to High Cliff and lived as simple farmers. Ironically, because of Ammon's association with demons and the lack of records of what transpired at West Harbor, his deeds were forgotten and those that do remember him mistook Ammon as being the King of Shadows.

Years later when Black Garius was researching on how to harness and gain the powers of the King of Shadows for himself, he summoned Ammon back from the Hells in order to learn more. It is unknown what Ammon did after that but it is assumed that he somehow left/escaped from Black Garius and returned to Neverwinter. He hunted for the silver shards in an attempt to restore the sword and along the way rectified some injustices in Neverwinter (not fully explained). He was responsible for the murders within the Blacklack District in his quest for the shards. The PC later learns from the sage Aldalon, a friend of Ammon who still thinks that Ammon is dead, that Ammon Jerro once possessed a Silver Sword and his research located in his haven might prove useful to the PC. Unfortunately, no knows where Ammon's haven was and their only lead was Ammon's last living descendent, Shandra Jerro (whom they had met earlier). Ammon later summons a horde of demons and launches an attack on the Githyanki stronghold to claim the silver shards from their leader Zeearie. Unfortunately, he was beaten to the shards by the PC who was there to rescue Shandra Jerro, Ammon's granddaughter, although unknown to him at the time because he had assumed that all his kin had been killed in the first war with the King of Shadows.

Ammon then sets out to complete the Ritual of Purification, a ritual that was was created by the Illfarn Empire as a way of undoing the King of Shadows. One of the ruins that housed the statue of purification was located near West Harbor, where he and his demons razed the entire village and killed many of the inhabitants searching for the ruins. Ammon was able to complete 1 out of the 5 of steps in the ritual (The Web of Purity), and the PC was able to complete the other 4 steps but not the step Ammon completed before Garius and his Shadow Reavers destroyed the other statues.

The PC later locates Ammon's haven, but it requires Jerro blood to gain access, thus they were forced to bring Shandra along. However, upon entering the Haven, Shandra was seperated from the PC and his/her group. As they explored the haven they discovered that a number of Baatezu (devils, lawful evil) and Tanar'ri (demons, chaotic evil) were bound to summoning circles which granted the master of the haven great powers. When the PC and his/her party meets Ammon, they mistook Ammon for being the King of Shadows and attacked him, but Ammon quickly gained the upper hand. Shandra, who was psychically linked to the haven saw that her friends were about to be killed. She then learned from one of the demons trapped there that the warlock they were fighting was not the King of Shadows, but her grandfather. The demon told her that if she wanted to save her friends she would need to weaken Ammon, and in order to do so she had to set the trapped demons free by spilling her own blood. Shortly after, Ammon is greatly weakened and furious at who had set the demons he bounded loose. He managed to track down Shandra and started assaulting her with a barrage of spells, until one of the demons teleported in and mocking told Ammon that Shandra was his own flesh and blood. Unfortunately, from the amount of blood Shandra had lost and the injuries inflicted upon her by Ammon, Shandra died shortly after. In order to make amends, Ammon used the last of his power to teleport the PC and his/her companions to safety as the haven collapsed around them.

Back in Crossroad Keep, Ammon is a bitter broken man, realizing that he had just killed what he had tried to protect when he first waged war with the King of Shadows. Having nothing left to lose, he decides to join the PC in fighting the King of Shadows. Later, he travels to Shandra's farm to look for something he left there many years ago, but before he could find it, Koraboros (one of the demons Ammon trapped in his haven) attacked him but is quickly defeated by Ammon and the PC. If the PC had high influence with Shandra and decides to tell Ammon of the adventures they shared, Ammon eventually breaks down and shows remorse for killing Shandra begging her for a sign of forgiveness, and at that moment a ray of sunlight illuminates Shandra's pendant that was among the debris of her ruined home. If the PC had low influence with Shandra, Ammon would just casually unlock a box that he had hidden at the Jerro farm and take out a dire mace that he had hidden there years ago. In the end, if the PC decides to side with the King of Shadows, Ammon is killed and corrupted into servitude. If the PC decides to fight against the King of Shadows, Ammon stands by him/her and goes MIA along with PC upon defeating the King of Shadows.

Devils and Demons in his Service

 * Mephasm (Baatezu) - a polymorphed Pit-Fiend that the PC encounters numerous times through the quest and seems to show a special interest in Neeshka. He seems to be the most helpful of all the demons and devils trapped in Ammon's haven.
 * Baalbisan (Tanar'ri) - a Balor demon that has a strong disdain for females, possibly due to his issues he has with his own mother. He also has a certain dislike for the Baatezu, eveident when he first meets Neeshka.  It was he who convinced Shandra to set them free and thus weakening Ammon.
 * Hezebel (Baatezu) - an Erinyes (female fallen angels) that is currently at war with Baalbisan. She is trying to upset the balance of power within the haven so she can have an advantage over Baalbisan.
 * Zaxis (Tanar'ri) - a Hezrou demon and Baalbisan's Matron. It has been noted that Zarxis was once a Marilith that got demoted due to her incompetence, and is apparently a great source of shame for her.  Her true name is Bethshiva, which indicates that she is a lower level demon.  Higher level demons have much longer true names.
 * Koraboros (Baatezu) - a Pit-Fiend and also known as the "One who sees plots within plots". He has an imp in his service whom he treats like a gopher boy.  After being freed, he later appears to Ammon at Shandra's farm taunting and mocking Ammon for killing his very own granddaughter.
 * Blooden (Tanar'ri) - a Succubus and mistress of the Deep Crest, the breeding grounds of the Abyss. She seems to have an infatuation with Koraboros.  She has stated that she has mated with many mortal men, even those of Celestial descent, but non have survived her rather violent mating habits.

Tidbits

 * It is mentioned even at the end of the game that he is still bound by contract to the Lower Realms.