Ammon Jerro

Ammon Jerro is a powerful warlock of the Sword Coast best known for his position as the chief enemy of the King of Shadows prior to the rise of the Kalach-Cha.

Description
Bald and aged, Ammon Jerro is nonetheless a physically impressive man made all the more powerful seeming by his considerable charisma, commanding voice, and determined manner. Ammon is reputed to never look relaxed or at ease, though he might flash an amused smile or sneer. The effects of his chosen profession are apparent on his own body. Covering his face and forehead are a latticework of glowing tattoos, likely magical in nature and possibly Thayan in origin. Other effects included Ammon's eyes, which are tinted and glowed with gold-red luminescence and the smell of smoke and blood that arose from him when angered. Ammon's hair is reddish in hue.

Typically, Ammon is dressed in a leather suit covered in what appear to be alchemical ingredients, though during his confrontation with the King of Shadows he also wore a black cape and hood.

Personality
Ammon Jerro has no tolerance for fools and little patience for politics. (He stated the latter specifically in a conversation with the Kalach-Cha, regarding Zhjaeve's unwillingness to call for githzerai reinforcements, as it would cause the githyanki to divert their attention from the King of Shadows.) A Machiavellian character, he is willing to do whatever it takes to achieve his goals.

History
Ammon was born in Neverwinter into the noble Jerro family. He showed a talent for magic at an early age—especially for that pertaining to the Lower Planes. He was eventually employed as the court wizard of Neverwinter, and grew very powerful, but did not reveal this fact, and was considered a humble, yet eccentric man. In reality, Ammon merely took the position to gain access to all libraries and documents in Neverwinter, and because he hoped to have a say in times of trouble for the city state. He learned from several teachers during this time, including Waterdhavians, the Arcane Brotherhood of Luskan, and the Academy of Shapers and Binders in Thay. Even devils and demons were among Ammon's teachers.

After his education, Ammon Jerro managed to obtain a position within Neverwinter's court as a jester mage, a role he overplayed in order to deflect attention from himself and his considerable abilities. In return for this lowly position, Ammon obtained access to the Neverwinter Archives as well as access into the decision-making process in the Jewel of the North.

War Against the King of Shadows
Jerro's research into arcane secrets eventually made him aware of an ancient threat known as the King of Shadows. He attempted to warn the rulers of Neverwinter, but they were too busy fighting among themselves to heed his warnings. Frustrated, Ammon Jerro sought out other allies in devils, demons, and the githyanki. He learned from an enemy of the King of Shadows, Nolaloth, that only silver swords of the githyanki could hope to harm the King of Shadows, most particularly the legendary and famed Silver Sword of Gith, once wielded by the hero of the githyanki against the King of Shadows in battle.

In order to obtain the Sword of Gith, Jerro descended into the depths of the Nine Hells, where last Gith was seen. There he consulted the archfiend Levistus, also known as the Still Lord. Levistus pointed Jerro in the right direction and in return for a pact granted Jerro the pit fiend Mephasm as a servant. After retrieving the Silver Sword, but finding no trace of the legendary Gith herself, Jerro returned to the Prime in order to prepare for war. There he convinced the Lord of Neverwinter to aid him in his battle at long last.

Under Ammon's command, one or more decades before the 1370s DR the forces of Neverwinter marched into the King of Shadows' stronghold in the Mere of Dead Men, where Jerro confronted the King himself outside the village of West Harbor. Jerro fought the King to a standstill, until he was distracted by the cry of a baby, the future Kalach-Cha, which gave the King of Shadows the edge, though only for a moment. The Sword of Gith was subsequently shattered, banishing the King of Shadows back to the Plane of Shadow but also wounding Jerro and devastating both sides of the battle.

Imprisonment and Subsequent Return to Power
Ultimately, Jerro was one of the few survivors of the battle, though he was not able to enjoy his survival for long. Immediately thereafter the pacts forged by the warlock caught up with him and he was dragged into the Nine Hells where he was imprisoned for over a decade. As such, Jerro was presumed dead by the few who knew his role in the battle. Ironically, Jerro became mistaken for the King of Shadows in later years due to his association with fiends, an association that would haunt him for many years afterward. Jerro would remain trapped until he was summoned by Black Garius, a wizard of the Arcane Brotherhood. Garius sought information about the King of Shadows, but Ammon easily escaped him and began rebuilding his powers. He enslaved the powerful demons Baalbisan, Blooden and Zaxis, along with the devils Hezebel, Koraboros and Mephasm, within his haven in the Sword Mountains, and through them gained enormous power.

Ammon started searching for the pieces of Gith's broken sword, but faced competition from both githyanki forces and the aforementioned adventurer known as the Kalach-Cha. Ammon killed four noblemen who were in possession of a piece of the sword, righting past "injustices," and causing the Blacklake District of Neverwinter to be locked down for some time. During this time Jerro also worked to learn the Ritual of Unbinding, a powerful rite created by the Illefarn that could undo the King of Shadows, or at the very least severely weaken him.

Despite Jerro's efforts neither he nor the Kalach-Cha were able to fulfill either task completely and were inevitably drawn towards each other in their search for a way to defeat the King of Shadows. Eventually, the Kalach-Cha found his way to Jerro's Haven. There, the two fought, with the Kalach-Cha mistaking Jerro for the King of Shadows like many others had.

Though Jerro proved at first insurmountable the Kalach-Cha's companion and Jerro's own granddaughter, Shandra Jerro, released all of the imprisoned fiends that fueled Jerro's power through the sacrifice of her own blood. This broke the back of Jerro's power, allowing the Kalach-Cha to win. In his fury Jerro struck down the mortally weakened Shandra, realizing only too late that she was the last remnant of his beloved family. Overwrought by guilt for what he had done, Jerro gave himself in service to the Kalach-Cha, helping the adventurer to defeat the King of Shadows.

Ammon Jerro subsequently followed the Kalach-Cha into battle against the King of Shadows and, during the final confrontation resisted the temptations of power offered by Garius. Using the truename scrolls acquired by the party from Sydney Natale, Jerro helped destroy the shadow reavers serving the King of Shadows, then used the Ritual of Unbinding to weaken the King of Shadows to the point that the Kalach-Cha could kill him.

During his travels with the Kalach-Cha, Ammon Jerro would continue to advocate the extreme methods that he had himself used decades earlier. It is possible he would eventually be dissuaded by these views, based upon the successes of the Kalach-Cha as well as the hero's relationship with his granddaughter, Shandra Jerro, revealed to him during a confrontation with the devil Koraboros.

Imprisonment in Thay
After the battle with the King of Shadows the structure in which the Kalach-Cha's party resided began to collapse. During the chaos gargoyles in the service of the Red Wizard Nefris kidnapped the Kalach-Cha, taking the hero to the Plane of Shadow. Out of loyalty, Jerro followed the Kalach-Cha's abductors only to be captured himself by Nefris, who remembered him from his studies at the Academy of Shapers and Binders.

Ammon was taken to the Academy and bound, where his soul was removed and entrusted to two pit fiends in the service of the Academy. Ammon was then rescued by the Kalach-Cha during the hero's quest to uncover the meaning of the spirit eater curse that haunted them. Ammon then agreed in return to help the spirit eater during their later assault on the City of Judgment.

Appendix
Ammon Jerro was played in Neverwinter Nights 2 by Murphy Guyer. In Mask of the Betrayer his lines are all non-voiced, however.

Like many characters, Ammon Jerro suffered slightly from cut content in the initial release of the game. One such scene included a return to West Harbor by the player character (the Kalach-Cha) after Ammon passed through the village in an earlier cutscene. The cutscene made it clear that Ammon had not destroyed the village (which is unclear in the released version, where it is impossible to return to West Harbor after Ammon's arrival there) and various characters refer to dreams with the common theme of a smell of "fire and brimstone." It is likely then that Ammon's arrival was merely to access the Song of Portals located near the village.

Appearances

 * Video Games
 * Neverwinter Nights 2 • Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer