The ancient red dragon Ashardalon, when struck a mortal blow by a human druid, replaced his wounded heart with a living demon: a balor of enormous power named Ammet, the Eater of Souls. Inspired by this example, disciples of Ashardalon bind fiendish spirits to their own hearts, eventually taking on the characteristics of demonic spawn themselves. Disciples of Ashardalon do not really worship the ancient dragon, nor do they literally learn directly from him as the word “disciple” implies, but they regard Ashardalon as the great exemplar of their path and seek to emulate him in every way possible.
Disciples of Ashardalon are members of an organization, loose-knit and secretive though it may be. Of necessity, they have some contact with other members of the order, but their overwhelming personal ambition means they rarely cooperate with one another in pursuit of their various evil schemes. They are likely to make use of various minions, particularly those of a fiendish character, in pursuit of their plans, rather than rely on the cooperation of equals. Like their evil exemplar, they are often served by deluded cults made up of evil humanoids or even undead. Both they and their cultists contemplate plans of sweeping evil grandeur—seizing power, leveling kingdoms, reclaiming or destroying ancient artifacts, and the like.
