Ishmael Ashur, known as Lord Ashur to The Pitt's inhabitants, is the lord of The Pitt and leader of the Pitt raiders in 2277.
Background
Beginnings
Ashur was born on the west coast of America, as he grew up he became a loyal member of the Brotherhood of Steel, and like most of the Brotherhood he vowed to recover any and all advanced technology.
Going East
In 2254 the Brotherhood's ruling council decided to send a contingent of soldiers to the East Coast, with three important objectives. First, to scour the ruins of Washington, D.C., once the nation's capital, and recover any and all advanced technology. Second, to investigate the reports of super mutant activity in the area. Third, to re-establish contact with the Midwestern Brotherhood of Steel and return them under Lost Hills command. The Midwestern Brotherhood of Steel was formed when a large Brotherhood airship crashed in the area surround Chicago, IL. Ashur was part of this team of soldiers, under the leadership of one Owyn Lyons, other members of the party included Rothchild, Henry Casdin and Knight Paladin Tristan.
The Scourge
Not being able to contact the Midwestern Brotherhood, the Brotherhood pressed on towards Washington. During their travels, the Brotherhood came across a disturbingly vile town known as The Pitt. The town was lawless; rape gangs, raiders, slavers, and many other kinds of horrors all freely wandered, terrorizing the few innocent survivors, most of which were either sick or dying. Anarchy ruled the streets. The Brotherhood then led the Scourge, a large-scale military action that wiped out nearly the entire population of The Pitt. In a single night, the Brotherhood swept through the city, eliminating any resident who put up a fight. Although the intent of the Scourge remains unclear, several non-mutated children, such as Paladin Kodiak were easily taken from The Pitt by the Brotherhood and placed into initiate training.
During the Scourge, Paladin Ashur was caught in an explosion and was presumed to be their only casualty, so the Brotherhood left him within the mill and moved forward towards Washington, D.C.. Ashur lay there for hours, but soon he was pulled out of the rubble by scavengers trying to steal his armor, Ashur impressed them, with some even considering him a god. He then brought the scavengers in the area together, starting the city.
Lord of The Pitt
He chose to start the city in The Pitt because he was touched by the tenacious locals, and the fact that it contained the only operational steel mill the Brotherhood had ever run into. So he recruited everyone in the area, killed raider leaders and made the rest follow him. It wasn't long before Ashur realized that simple raider gangs would not be enough, to his discretion he soon started to use slaves (whom he insists on calling "workers" to remind them that they all have a chance at freedom, no matter how slim); he admits he hates to do this, but claims "it has to be done" since citizens of The Pitt are unable to have children due to the Troglodyte Degeneration Contagion.
The Pitt began to slowly rebuild, the slaves made great progress in making things operational in the Pitt again, Ashur occupied Haven as his temple, overseeing the Pitt from its highest peak. At some point during his time at the Pitt, Ahsur married Sandra Kundanika, she was a Pitt raider scientist and then moved into Haven along with Ashur.
A New Hope
A year or two before 2277 Sandra had become pregnant. The baby she was carrying was a girl. When the baby was delivered she was named Marie. Marie had a special ability that the rest of the Wasteland lacked; she was immune to mutation. Ashur and Sandra quickly set to work on developing a cure for their fellow Pitt inhabitants, hoping that they could finally have a cure.
Daily schedule
Ashur is found in his office at the top of Haven, and gives speeches to the slaves of The Pitt every once in a while. He also runs The Pitt's radio station.
Interactions with the player character
Interactions overview
| Interactions | ||
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This character is essential. Essential characters cannot be killed. | |
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This character is a permanent companion. | |
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This character is a temporary companion. | |
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This character starts quests. | |
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This character is involved in quests. | |
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This character is a doctor. |
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This character is a merchant. |  -Sells: - |
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This character can repair items. | Max Repair condition: - |
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This character rents beds. | -.
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This character drops an ear upon death (Contract Killer). | |
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This character drops a finger upon death (Lawbringer). | |
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This character can be enslaved with the Mesmetron. | |
Quests
- Unsafe Working Conditions: The Lone Wanderer's first interaction with Ashur is when he gives a speech to the slaves to pick a fighter for The Hole.
- Free Labor: After the Lone Wanderer is done fighting in the Hole, Ashur will ask to meet with them to decide on whether they should become a Pitt raider. The player can then choose to side with him or Wernher. If the player sides with Ashur, they must fight to stop the slaves' revolt, whereas if the player sides with Wernher, they must kill Ashur or leave him to be killed by trogs near the end of the quest.
Ashur Market Speech
Inventory
| Apparel | Weapon | Other items | On death |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ashur's power armor Recon helmet |
Combat shotgun Frag grenade |
Ashur's key Shotgun shells |
- |
Notes
- Despite his insistence that the residents of Downtown be called "workers", he still refers to them as "slaves" a few times in dialogue.
- If the player lets Ashur live at the conclusion of the Free Labor quest, the player can come back and kill Ashur and loot his body for negative Karma. Sandra and The Pitt raiders inside Haven (assuming they're alive) will attack the player, but the Pitt raiders outside of Haven will not.
Notable quotes
- "I understand. We've all got a past, and damn few of us have reason to be proud of it."
- "Ever since the city was scourged, we've done what everyone does: whatever's necessary to survive. I know my city seems barbaric to you, but it's the only way we can carve out a home in this hellhole, and it's kept these people alive. But that's enough stalling for time. So, do you know Wernher?"
- "Now that Marie's back, we have a chance at curing the disease that's been ravaging The Pitt since the bombs. Without it killing our kids, we can grow like a real city. No more bringing in slaves. No more forced labor. Things can get better. It's taken me a lot of work to rebuild this city. With your help, it's finally going to have a chance."
- "That's what I wanted to hear! You've got a bright future ahead of you in The Pitt, new blood. In fact, I'd like to let you in on a little secret, and show you the amazing advance that'll secure our place in the Wasteland. Now, I think, would be a good time for you to meet the cure for yourself. Let's take a trip back to the lab, where Sandra can explain..."
- "Right now, nothing. Until we can reproduce a treatment from Marie, they'll have to keep working. Otherwise, this city falls apart. But once we do have a cure, things will be different. We won't need to kidnap people for our city. We'll be able to grow naturally. Until then, this is the way it has to be. It's just what has to be done."
Appearances
Ashur appears only in the Fallout 3 add-on The Pitt.
Bugs
- Sometimes after the initial meeting dialog with Ashur he will repeat the words "Don't let me keep you" a few times to before leaving. This appears to be a bug, supposedly caused by speaking to others in Haven before speaking to Ashur or by skipping through too much of Ashur's dialog.[verified]
- After accessing the computer in the room with Marie, Ashur's corpse is very likely to disappear if you have killed him, so be sure to loot his body before using it.[verified]
- Ashur's speech prior to entering the arena is bugged. In the PC version of the game, he will skip every other text block, causing the speech to be much shorter (the skipped portions of the speech can be heard in the background playing at the same time as the heard portions). The full speech plays in the Xbox and PlayStation version of the game. [verified]
- After completing the main quest in The Pitt and returning to Haven, Ashur will fall to floor as if killed and player will be able to loot his body (appears as "Talk Ashur") before he stands back up. [verification overdue]
- Ashur may pause during his speech and just stand on his platform not saying anything. He cannot be shot or talked to making the rest of the story unavailable until fixed. It is unknown how this is caused, but if you attempt to talk to Matilda she will tell you to wait until Ashur's speech is over. The best way to fix this is to reload a save before he started his speech and not attempt to talk to anybody, or even move within interaction distance, for the duration. [verification overdue]
Gallery
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