ADVENTURES IN AVERNUM

Chapter 0: Foreword

I'd like to start off by giving you, the reader, a huge 'thank you' for choosing to read this fanfiction. It is a project that has been in my head for over a decade now and I'm finally getting it down on paper so to speak. So from the bottom of my heart, thanks a bunch.

Adventures in Avernum is based off of a video game series by Spiderweb Software. The premise of these games was an RPG in which you play a party of characters who are exiled and imprisoned into a deep system of underground caverns and caves to live among other exiles for the rest of their lives. Together, the exiles formed their own society and kingdom in which they name Avernum. As the story progresses within the series, the players are divulged into a series of engaging encounters. There are wars waged, monsters around every corner anxious to eat you up, and various races and characters that make this adventure anything but ordinary. The storylines of the original trilogy of games seemed to have a way of pulling the player into the games unique environment. Never thought I'd enjoy playing an RPG that takes place in a set of mystical caves, but yet, here I am writing a fanfiction based on it.

Speaking of the fanfiction, I am following the history of the original trilogy and throwing my own twist on it. I do realize that parts of the story aren't in real canon with the full history of the series, but I never played the fourth and fifth and sixth installments as they were not out when the story first came to mind. Only the original Exile series was out at the time, so please keep that in mind as you read. The story will be told by a modern American man who is accidently teleported to Avernum when an Avernite portal is discovered in an ancient dig site. The time period takes place several years after the third game has ended. Several important events have happened between the third game and our protagonist's arrival. Our hero will begin a quest to find a way back to the surface, similar to the plot of the first game. In tradition with classic RPG's, our protagonist will be joined by a party of other characters, each with their own set of skills, traits, and specialties. As you can imagine, the road back home will be littered with twists, turns, and terrible monsters to keep our party on its toes.

Now for those who are scratching your head as to why I'd incorporate a character from our world and time into the ancient world of Avernum as it might ruin the feel of the original games or not make any sense, well I have a few reasons as to why I'm doing this. Firstly, a lot of people have already done a lot of retelling of the game's plot, storylines, and characters. I didn't want to do that. I truly wanted to do something more original and something that might want fans to keep reading to find out where this story is heading and what will happen next. Secondly, the protagonist is pretty much me and how I was when starting the game the first time. I wanted to relive those feelings of being a stranger in a strange environment through a character who is smart in his own world, but clueless within this new world. I wanted the hero to be the living embodiment of the classic question gamers ask themselves sometimes; "how would I do in this scenario?"

I'd really like to take a little time to thank a few people. First off, thanks Jeff Vogel and Spiderweb Software for creating a wonderful and original game to write a fanfiction to. I also want to thank my mate, my family, my friends for supporting me and cheering me on back into writing. I especially want to thank my friend Vine who has been kicking my butt to write this and has been my editor on this project. Also, Zecon, another wonderful friend, has done some artwork to keep me inspired and to keep dreaming.

With all of the pleasantries now in place there is nothing more than to invite you to continue on and read the first official chapter of the story. Thanks again.

STORY BEGINS ON CHAPTER 1