![[The War Slough.jpg]]
# ⛓️ Chains of Asmodeus
> *"The first layer of Hell is not fire and brimstone. It is bureaucracy, ambition, and the slow realization that every bargain has already been paid for."*
Welcome to the **Chains of Asmodeus** campaign wiki — a DM reference hub for the ongoing descent into **Avernus**, first layer of the Nine Hells. The party, currently at **Level 11**, navigates infernal politics, demonic incursions, and the desperate search for a lost phylactery.
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## 🗺️ The Campaign
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## 📜 Session Notes
> Every published session page opens with original, spoiler-safe artwork inspired by that session's events.
| Date | Session | Status |
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------ | ---------- |
| [[2026-07-29 — The Whispering Mace & the Horn Thief\|2026-07-29]] | The Whispering Mace & the Horn Thief | ✅ Complete |
| [[2026-07-22 — Blood and Oozes in the War-Slough\|2026-07-22]] | Blood and Oozes in the War-Slough | ✅ Complete |
| [[2026-07-15 — The Devil's Disguise at the Sentry Tower\|2026-07-15]] | The Devil's Disguise at the Sentry Tower | ✅ Complete |
| [[2026-07-08 — The Devil's Bargain at the War-Slough Gate\|2026-07-08]] | The Devil's Bargain at the War-Slough Gate | ✅ Complete |
| [[2026-07-01 — The Great Distraction & the River Styx\|2026-07-01]] | The Great Distraction & the River Styx | ✅ Complete |
| [[2026-06-24 — Avernus & the Phylacteries\|2026-06-24]] | Avernus & the Phylacteries | ✅ Complete |
| [[2026-06-18 — Nine Hells Ambush & the Shattered Soul Coin\|2026-06-18]] | Nine Hells Ambush & the Shattered Soul Coin | ✅ Complete |
| [[2026-06-04 — Soul Coins, Infernal Hazards & the Green Abishai\|2026-06-04]] | Soul Coins, Infernal Hazards & the Green Abishai | ✅ Complete |
| [[2026-05-27 — Parley with Baphomet & the Infernal Train Depot\|2026-05-27]] | Parley with Baphomet & the Infernal Train Depot | ✅ Complete |
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## 🧙 Player Characters
| Character | Player | Class | Race | Soul Objective |
| ----------------------------------------------------------- | ------ | ---------------------------------- | ---------- | ----------------------------- |
| [[Reference/Campaign/Characters/Tahara Rahma\|Tahara Rahma]] | Timmy | Grave Cleric 11 | Dhampir | Mother — Malbolge (6) |
| [[Reference/Campaign/Characters/Ara-Ara Avannatto\|Ara-Ara Avannatto]] | Faith | Life Cleric 11 | Satyr | Brother Oruo — Avernus (1) |
| [[Reference/Campaign/Characters/Casanova Frankenstein\|Casanova Frankenstein]] | Connor | Alchemist Artificer 11 | Kobold | Mentor — Malbolge (6) |
| [[Reference/Campaign/Characters/Celeste Valentin\|Celeste Valentin]] | Gabe | Champion Fighter 11 | Centaur | Student — Cania (8) |
| [[Reference/Campaign/Characters/Unit-NULL\|Unit-NULL]] | Jess | Oath of Redemption Paladin 11 | Warforged | TBD |
| [[Reference/Campaign/Characters/Lilly Pallywally\|Lilly Pallywally]] | Lee | Watchers Paladin 11 / Warlock/Sorc | Deep Gnome | Oathbreaker — Stygia (5) |
| [[Reference/Campaign/Characters/Dr. Herbert Who\|Dr. Herbert Who]] | Tommy | Transmutation Wizard 11 | Owlin | Business Partner — Stygia (5) |
| [[Reference/Campaign/Characters/Damon Charles\|Damon Charles]] | Micky | Devotion Paladin 11 | Goliath | Tiamat (Takasis) — Unknown |
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## 🔥 Current Arc — The War-Slough
> *The War-Slough is a festering wound in Avernus — a battlefield so soaked in demonic ichor that the land itself has become diseased. Somewhere beneath the Heart at W3E lies the phylactery of Brother. The clock is ticking.*
The goristro guards are dead and the prisoners are free. After a long rest on the River Styx, the party struck a bargain with a devil named Rex at the Slough's border: retrieve a demon-thought-listening horn from the Canyon Trove (W4) in exchange for ten soul coins, safe passage, and vials of condensed order. Rex marked the map with W2, W3, and W4. The party bluffed and disguised their way past the last sentry tower without a fight — Dr. Herbert Who polymorphed Celeste into a horned devil, who then talked the sentries into standing down entirely — and stepped fully into the War-Slough. A demon swarm, a nest of oozes, and two corpse worms guarding the cleared ground near the sentry tower were wiped out without a single party member dropping, and the fight cleansed the area enough for Tahara's Infernal Map to fully reactivate.
The party has now reached the **Canyon Trove (W4)** itself — a valley of Blood War dead patrolled by wailing worms they wisely left alone. Divination magic doesn't work here, so two hours of digging by hand turned up a sentient blood-formed mace that Ara-Ara claimed and nicknamed **Bob**, and finally the horn itself, wedged in a crevice. A nalfeshnee the party named **Lurr** took it before anyone could touch it and has held it through an unfinished fight. The horn is not yet in hand, the Demon Nest (W3) and Oruo's phylactery still wait on the way out, and Lurr has let slip that a *"stupid sword"* once whispered in his head and tried to take the horn the same way.
### Locations
| Code | Location |
| ------ | ----------------------- |
| **W1** | Sentry Tower |
| **W2** | Ruined Tower |
| **W3** | Ichor Lake & Demon Nest |
| **W4** | Canyon Trove |
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## 📚 Handouts
### 🧑🤝🧑 Campaign Resources
| Resource | Description |
| --------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| [[The Party]] | Who's in the party — names, classes & character snippets |
| [[Party Soul Contracts]] | Who each party member is fighting to recover — souls & locations |
| [[Session Loot]] | Found loot by player, all sessions |
| [[Lost Souls — Choose Your Soul]] | Pick your soul — locations, sins & benefits |
| [[Ramius — Conclave Contact]] | Your Conclave supply contact — visits, healing & magic item trade |
| [[Bronze Citadel.base\|Bronze Citadel]] | Images of the Bronze Citadel -- Need to move these into their own location page |
| [[The Party — Group Portrait (Prompt)\|The Party — Group Portrait]] | Current seven-member party portrait and canon-locked art prompt (as of 2026-07-29) |
### ⚔️ Custom Items
| Item | Description |
| --------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------- |
| [[Claw of the Abysal Tide]] | Demonic crab-claw longsword found in the Guzzoline Wasteland |
### 🧪 Alchemy
| Resource | Description |
| -------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------- |
| [[Random Potion Table\|Random Potion Table]] | d100 potion table — roll and drink at your own risk |
| [[Potion Mixing Table]] | Mix two potions — roll for chaos (d100) |
| [[Potion Crafting in the Nine Hells]] | How to brew potions while descending the Hells |
### 🗺️ Maps
| Map | Description |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------- |
| [[War Slough — Infernal Map Player Handout\|War Slough Infernal Map]] | Player-facing infernal map with the party's current route |
| [[War Slough — Infernal Map (Interactive)\|War Slough Interactive Map]] | Illustrated infernal map with roll tables — dice buttons work on the live site |
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## 🌑 World Reference
### Factions & Powers
- **Zariel** — Fallen angel, Archduchess of Avernus. The iron fist over the layer.
- **Baphomet** — Demon lord of the labyrinth. The party has already parleyed.
- **Asmodeus** — The chains binding everything. His influence is felt but not yet seen.
### Key NPCs
| NPC | Role | Last Seen |
| ------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------ |
| **Koh Tam** | Guide & barge captain — priest of Kelemvor | Session 2026-07-08 |
| **Tiax** | First mate aboard Koh Tam's barge — put rescued prisoners to work | Session 2026-07-08 |
| **Rex** (also introduced himself as Delius) | Devil broker at the War-Slough border — traded safe passage and soul coins for a horn from the Canyon Trove (W4) | Session 2026-07-08 |
| **Two horned devil sentries** | Sole survivors of a wiped-out unit guarding the War-Slough's sentry tower; fooled by the party's disguise gambit and left expecting reinforcements that won't arrive | Session 2026-07-15 |
| **Jack** | Devil casualty; a severed devil leg surfaced from a corpse worm and is believed to be his — served alongside Celeste during her own time as a devil | Session 2026-07-22 |
| **Two watching devils** | Watched the party clear a demon swarm, oozes, and corpse worms from a distance and chose not to engage | Session 2026-07-22 |
| **Lurr** | Nalfeshnee squatting in the Canyon Trove (W4) — took Rex's horn out from under the party and still has it. Teleports at will, resists fire, refuses both threats and offers of alliance. Says a *"stupid sword"* once whispered in his head and tried the same thing | Session 2026-07-29 |
| **The blood mace ("Bob")** | Sentient artifact weapon found calling telepathically from a femur in the Canyon Trove boneyard; offers the power of rage and claims no cost. True name unknown. Claimed by Ara-Ara Avannatto, not yet attuned | Session 2026-07-29 |
| **Baphomet** | Demon lord — conscripted the party as citadel bait; ongoing threat | Session 2026-05-27 |
| **Damon Charles** | Paladin of Bahamut — swept down the River Styx; missing | Session 2026-07-01 |
| **Goristro Guards ×2** | Baphomet's prisoner-cage guards — killed | Session 2026-07-08 |
| **Fhet'Ahla** | Lost soul (child) — glimpsed via devil illusion; still missing | Session 2026-06-18 |
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