Thay - Land of the Red Wizards

More than Just Red Wizards! Known to the wider Forgotten Realms® as a sinister land of Red Wizards, slavers, and marching undead armies, Thay is the distant—or uncomfortably close—menace that “may become our doom if Szass Tam turns his attention in our direction.” And Thay is that, but it is also so much more. A truly magical land (thanks to a secret that even the goddess Mystra helps to keep) of rich culture, a rising middle class, ambitious nobles and Red Wizards who fear Szass Tam more than they hate him, but may soon be forced to defy him, and wealth beyond the imaginings of even wealthy and proud realms elsewhere. This tome is your guide to the Thay of right now, a valuable resource for Dungeon Masters and players alike. It sets forth the people and places of the Land of Red Wizards, what life is like, and seeds, hints, and secrets sufficient to spur adventures for years of enjoyment at your gaming table. For use with the fifth edition ◆ Player’s Handbook®, Monster Manual®, and Dungeon Master’s Guide® ,this book provides the setting, character backgrounds, supporting lore, and even a full-fledged adventure to bring the Land of the Red Wizards fully to life in your D&D® game. BY ED GREENWOOD, ALEX KAMMER, & ALAN PATRICK T H AY LAND of the RED WIZARDS

BY ED GREENWOOD, ALEX KAMMER, & ALAN PATRICK T H AY LAND of the RED WIZARDS

Credits Writers: Ed Greenwood, Alex Kammer, and Alan Patrick Editor: Alex Kammer Art Direction: Casey Christofferson Graphic Designer and Layout Artist: Gordon McAlpin Cover Illustrator: Britt Martin Cartographers: Dyson Logos, Ian McGarty, Mike Schley Interior Illustrators: Brett Barkley, Adrian Landeros, Britt Martin, Thuan Pham, Hector Rodriguez, Artem Shukaev, Quentin Soubrouillard, Victor Tan Design (artstation.com/victortandesign) About the Authors Ed Greenwood is a Canadian writer, game designer, voice actor, and librarian best known for creating the Forgotten Realms fantasy world, starting at age six; he still works on the Realms every day, more than fifty years later. Ed’s 300-plus books have sold millions of copies worldwide in over three dozen languages. Ed was elected to the Academy of Adventure Gaming Art & Design Hall of Fame in 2003, and has won multiple ENNIE and Origins and other awards. He has judged the World Fantasy Awards and the Sunburst Awards, hosted radio shows, acted onstage, explored caves, jousted, appeared in comic books as himself, and been Santa Claus—but not all on the same day. Follow Ed on Twitter @TheEdVerse. Alex Kammer is a lawyer, game designer, freelance author, pub owner, and general reprobate who is otherwise known for being the Director/Owner of Gamehole Con, one of the largest tabletop gaming conventions in the United States. Alex has many RPG publishing credits to his name from a variety of publishers. Finally, Alex really likes D&D and has done so for a long time. He is known for having one of the largest and most complete collections of vintage D&D/ TSR gaming products that exist today. Follow Alex on Twitter @GHCandTacos. Alan Patrick is allegedly a human being who lives in central Michigan. He likes normal human things like writing and breathing and looking at trees and water. When not practicing the totally normal art of writing tabletop RPG materials, he can be found playing various video games or attempting to upgrade his house. He’s written for Dungeons & Dragons, Shadow of the Demon Lord, Star Trek Adventures, and other product lines over the years. Much of his work features horror themes—there’s a reason they say “write what you know!” On the Cover In the cover illustration by Britt Martin, we see a tense trade negotiation in the street foyer of an Eltabbar merchant. Red Wizards Bezunthyn Phrul, Lazurmrella Hlaree, and Harazulkh Orblaun are engaged in a tense negotiation with Thayan merchants Shelmazra Hornwyntur, Albrynd Mrethem, and Alamrund Draug. Watching the negotiations is the floating, purple skull of the Red Wizard lich Hauzrym, often sent to watch and listen for Szass Tam himself. If the ruler of Thay is taking a personal interest in Ang Harrad dealings, the Ang Harrad cabal may soon find itself used in some dark plan. On the far right, Orblaun has had enough of the contrary nature and curt refusals of important senior Ang Harrad merchant Alamrund Draug, and is now forcefully mingling not-so-veiled threats with trading details into Draug’s ear. Dungeons & Dragons, D&D, Wizards of the Coast, Forgotten Realms, Ravenloft, Eberron, the dragon ampersand, Ravnica and all other Wizards of the Coast product names, and their respective logos are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast in the USA and other countries. This work contains material that is copyright Wizards of the Coast and/or other authors. Such material is used with permission under the Community Content Agreement for Dungeon Masters Guild. All other original material in this work is copyright 2022 by Ed Greenwood, Alex Kammer, and Alan Patrick, and published under the Community Content Agreement for Dungeon Masters Guild.

Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Map of Thay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Part I: The Red Land Chapter 1: The People of Thay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Life in Thay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 The Red Wizards of Thay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Magical Training. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Non-Magical Training. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Chapter 2: Ruling Thay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Thay and the Realms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19 The Laraer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Civil, Cold War. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 The Zulkirs of Thay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 The Separatists of Thay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Thayan Military Might. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Chapter 3: Points of Interest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Alaor, the Docks of Thay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Delhumide, the Spirit of Thay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Eltabbar, the Wealth of Thay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Gauros, the Wilderness of Thay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Lapendrar, the Pulse of Thay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Priador, the Jewel of Thay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Pyarados, the Bright Heart of Thay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Surthay, the Absence of Thay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Thaymount, the Height of Thay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Thazalhar, the Future of Thay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Tyraturos, the Bounty of Thay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Shelmazra’s Tour. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Chapter 4: Heroes from Thay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 The Weavebound Paladin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 New Magic Option: Circle Magic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 Thayan Backgrounds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 Thayan Equipment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 Chapter 5: Creatures of the Plateau . . . . . . . . . . 77 Fey Creatures. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 Goblinoids. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 Monstrosities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 Star Spawn. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 Kyuss. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 Undead. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 Bogmaw. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 Many-hued Goat. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 Protodracolich. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 Poltergoat. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82 Part II: Intrigue in Eltabbar Adventure Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 Adventure Start. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 Gafna Bilton’s Tasks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 The Wedding. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .99 Epilogue. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103 Appendix A: Probity Corps Black Site Player Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104 Appendix B: Party Invitation Handout . . . . . . 106 Appendix C: Dark House of Tyranny Player Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107 The designers would like to assure and reassure every reader of these pages that every magical precaution has been taken to shield them from the attention of any Red Wizard, malicious or otherwise. We assume no responsibility for any use made of the information contained herein; you mess with Thay at your peril. Don’t mess with—oh, that's taken, never mind. Table of Contents

Foreword ell met, reader! Ye hold a tome both vitally necessary for those seeking to trade with the Land of the Red Wizards, and perilous to pen. Thayans of any era, from Thayd to the recent and all-roo-ruthless reign of that overreaching fool Szass Tam, are sensitive about anyone who reveals too much of their true nature and doings to outlanders. Fortunately, not only are the creative folk who’ve produced this book bold and inquisitive sorts, who’ve laid bare before ye more secrets of Thay than have ever before been assembled between any pair of covers, but I am also bold, inquisitive, and an overreaching fool to boot, so I will happily add to what they’ve written. So what shall I tell ye of Thay? Well, to begin, the average Thayan laborer and shopkeeper wants undamaged wares, and whole items; not for them the bolt of cloth from a distant land, to be cut and sewn, or a stack of tool-handles, for them to fit onto hammer-heads or pickheads or the like; they want to buy a whole and finished item. This same “everyday” Thayan likely hums tunes to themselves, short little melodies or harmonies playing on melodies they already know, and is likely to overhear other Thayans doing this as they work and travel—with the result that these little tunes sweep the land. So don’t go whistling or humming ditties to act nonchalant, or as code for traveling companions—or ye may attract attentive interest from nearby Thayans, when ye’d rather not have it. This same everyday Thayan may well have a habit of chewing a weed that grows everywhere in Thay for the plucking; most do. The weed is thulfraz, and it looks like a spider on its back: eight dark green, thin stems sprouting from a central root-knob. Lemony-minty and yet a little like parsley, too. Thayans often chew as they work, like a cow masticating its cud. And when they’re not chewing, they’re drinking. Not always something strong, more often during the working day (dawn to dusk for most, mind ye) it’ll be tea, hot or cold, and that tea will be elkammat. (Which is the standard drinking tea of the eastern Inner Sea, from Aglarond and Thay to the Vilhon; a brown, nutty tea brewed from the fibrous husks of groundnuts in Murghôm, Semphar, Mulhorand, Unther, and Chondath; woody and bitter, but usually sold “adorned” with subtle additions of spices like cinnamon and nutmeg, and the right mix of these can make it delightful.) And at meals, they need to drink something to cool the throat, as many of them drown their dishes in tart, fiery tamarind-dominated brown sauces, and marinade their fish and their fowl before cooking. Oh, and so used are Thayans to being spied upon by Red Wizards and their agents—and if not that, spies for local tharchions and tharchionesses—that everyone puts their heads together to share gossip, low-voiced. It’s just become habit, and generations ago, so now they do it from birth without thinking. And ye may hear them call on Kossuth, for they daily purify household things, like needles and metal dishes that have been used to mix herbal remedies, by holding them in flame as they murmur, “Antur daeya KOSSUTH” in Thorass (“Be here, to aid with your power, Kossuth”). And speaking of the gods, ye’ll search in vain for an in-use public temple or shrine to, say, Mystra, but there are plenty of hidden family chapels (that non-family-members will not be invited into, nor will anyone formally confirm their existence), to all deities, for Thayans venerate (even if only to ward off disfavor, in small daily ways, like “don’t let dinner be burned” or “let no crockery be broken in this move”) all the gods. In the cities of Thay, Thayans find comfort in shared rituals of devotion. The sparsely-populated frontier tharches have small, simple unstaffed wayside shrines here and there, used for personal worship of whoever matters most to a Thayan praying there. The city of Eltabbar is the heart of religious power in Thay, the place where powerful clerics indulge in intrigues and endlessly refine and debate policy. Decrees go out from the highest-ranking priests in Eltabbar to everywhere else in Thay, because Eltabbar is where they meet, and where most of them dwell (when they’re not living in their mansions in Thaymount, or elsewhere in Thay on holy business). Yet enough of the everyday; I’ve been told by the likes of Volo the Halfwit that readers thirst for adventure, so perhaps I’d best mention some of the thefts and treasure tales and unsolved mysteries of Thay that may yet spawn adventures. Some of which may even be survivable. So let it first be said that in the mountains that bound Thay to the east, that have variously been W 4 Foreword Foreword

called the Sunrise Mountains or the Sunset Mountains—very Thayan, that; in rulership, they can’t keep to one decision for long—there are many tombs full of long-hidden magic. Enchanted items, that dead mages of early Thay were interred wearing, and whose magics have often transformed the dead into undead— lich-like, spellwielding unique undead, many of them. These are small tombs of a few chambers gouged out of cave walls, not grand buildings. A good thing, too, for even Red Wizards aren’t quite so proudly unobservant and stupid as to not notice surface structures just sitting there. There’s also the Whispering Ghost, which is an undead spirit actually more akin to a vampiric mist than what we usually call a “ghost.” Or rather, scores of such spirits, not a lone entity. Once they decide ye will make a good means of helping them become more powerful than they are, they hound ye, whispering to ye in dreams and when ye’re alone, to try to goad ye into doing things that will aid them. They’ll feed on others, but not ye, unless ye repudiate or try determinedly to destroy them. Many a Thayan is the driven tool of such a spirit, but they seem to seize upon visiting outlanders with especial eagerness. It would be remiss of me not to mention a somewhat similar whisperer, this one a lone lady: Qulone Trythkul—that’s “koo-LOAN Trithh-KOOL”—who has passed into undeath. She was Szass Tam’s lover, or one of them, long ago, and he tired of her and tricked her to her doom by getting her to retrieve for him a magical scepter whose touch ate living flesh. She wasted away after delivering it to him, but Tam overreached once more, for he’d not realized the scepter’s magic would enmesh with the lady’s own worn enchanted items, dissolving them but making her undead in the process as their magic sank into her very bones. She exists now to get her revenge on Tam, and may whisper to the living not just to do things that may harm him or his schemes, but also to aid them in escaping his minions and vengeance. Qulone’s whispered counsel has rescued many outlanders and Thayan rebels alike from doom. And then there are the forgotten underways of Bezantur, where many of its magnificent temples were built atop the extensive cellars of grand noble mansions that were simply covered over with rubble— entombing all manner of creatures and wares, until inquisitive Underdark denizens tunneled up into them from beneath. Most of them still lie dark and waiting under the city’s cobbles, and their own thick layers of dust, holding fistfuls of gems and only long-dead Thayan servants know what else. Yet I’ll ramble for pages and pages, given the slightest opportunity, and it’s not me ye’ve come for! ’Tis the splendor of Thay. So read on, and until next we meet on some page or other, Yours in the service of Mystra, Elminster of S hadowdale Foreword 5

6 Map of Thay Map of Thay

PART I The Red Land Part I: The Red Land

CHAPTER 1 The People of Thay Chapter 1: The People of Thay hay. The name invokes images of an evil nation, bent on conquering the surrounding kingdoms and subjugating them to their will. It brings to mind vibrant imagery of massive undead armies, explosive magics, and demons shackled by profane rituals to perform the will of their vile masters. But this isn’t entirely correct. While Thay is led by a group of evil mages, it is also home to thousands of innocent, hard-working people. The nation is perceived to be evil, but as with all things, perception is based only upon what people are allowed to witness. Those who explore Thay often find that it is filled with gentle, peaceful people that are content to fill their days with crafting and family. However, these people are still bound to their leaders and labor under the ever-present risks associated with their vicious leaders. Life in Thay The people of Thay are primarily human, but other races find homes here as well. Even those races that are typically considered monstrous, such as goblins and bugbears, may be able to establish homes in some of the tharches (states) of Thay. They are a hardworking people, mainly focused on their daily tasks, and only rarely do they plan into the future beyond satisfying the needs of their children. Each of the tharches are given greater detail elsewhere in this supplement, but the general essence of Thay is that the people are honest and reliable, but labor under the oppressive yoke of a totalitarian arcane regime. The zulkirs that rule the nation place their desires and goals above those of the people, and while each of the rulers do desire to promote and protect Thay, nothing is as important as themselves. Unlike previous years, the worship of deities other than Mystra is now permitted in Thay. Each tharch claims influence from a small number of deities, with most people across the nation revering some mix of Chauntea, Gond, Mystra, and Waukeen. In a surprisingly supportive move by several of the tharches, the recognition and even the worship of the Mulhorandi pantheon has become commonplace. The Folk of Thay Nearly all of the citizens of Thay are of two main ethnic groups. The Mulani comprise the bulk of the bureaucracy and aristocracy. The Rashemi are the other primary group; they tend to be burlier and shorter than the Mulani. Mulani Thayans are raised to obey the laws of Thay, revere Red Wizards and especially the zulkirs and Szass Tam above all, and believe they are an integral part of the most powerful and advanced realm in the world. Thanks to their upbringing, many tend to be arrogant, especially towards non-humans. Many Mulani view such as elves and halflings as equivalent to children, while gnomes and dwarves are often despised or driven away under pain of death. Other races like orcs, half-orcs, and centaurs are tolerated so long as the Mulani believe that they can be employed as useful, strong-backed individuals. A typical Mulani is tall and thin with brown or hazel eyes, deep yellow through brown to, in very rare circumstances, almost slate-gray skin. They have very little natural black or dark brown body hair, which they are generally expected to keep closely shaved. As a result of a drought in Thay’s past, the people typically oil any remaining hair that they have and bathe in scented oils that are later scraped off the body along with any dirt. Many Thayans bear intricate tattoos whose patterns reflect their goals and accomplishments. Similarly, Red Wizards often have many tattoos signifying T 8 Chapter 1: The People of Thay

marks of mastery and prestige, but these are often far more detailed than those a Mulani Thayan might dare to acquire without truthfully earning them. While such intricate tattoos were almost always limited to men in the past, such a taboo is no longer present and all people are free to demonstrate their designs and accomplishments via tattoos. Typical Mulani attitudes include these beliefs: • We of Thay are the most advanced folk in the world. • Thay is strong because Thay is well ordered, and we steadfastly uphold what makes Thay great through our traditions. • We seek to master the Art (arcane magic), sending our children to be apprentices under veteran Red Wizards so that they may make Thay ever greater. • It is the innate right of Thay to be best and mightiest; we need no guidance from gods. Thayans hate and fear others of magical might, especially when those people come from the neighboring nations of Rashemen or Aglarond. Far-off locations such Halruaa and Calimshan are also viewed as opposition at least and vile enemies of Thay at worst. Thayans have been taught to view these people as foes to be thwarted and denigrated whenever possible, and ignored and not spoken of the rest of the time. Mulani Thayans make up most of the bureaucracy and upper class within Thay, and look down on Rashemi commoners. Zulkirs, tharchions and tharchionesses, and senior bureaucrats (sometimes referred to as Thaen) tend to be drawn from the ranks of the Mulani, first from the most financially successful, long-powerful, and haughty families like the houses of Cathyl, Iryleian, Thrond, and Valakkar, and secondly from individuals of outstanding personal drive and merit. As a result, there are very few lazy, corrupt, or incompetent administrators in Thay; those in power are efficient, insightful, and quick to act with precision. The bulk of Thay’s citizens, the shopkeepers and skilled laborers and overseers of most slave workteams in the realm, are of Rashemi stock: short, burly, muscular, hairy-bodied people with thick black hair, dark eyes, and light to dark brown skin. Unlike Rashemi in Rashemen and elsewhere, Thayan Rashemi shave their heads to emulate Mulani Thayans. Thayan Rashemi see themselves as the true heart and core of Thay’s greatness, carrying the realm upon their backs and doing the work that is truly necessary—for the Mulani lack the skills to properly feed themselves, build or make anything, or really function; all they know is how to decide and lead and boss others around, and so they are nothing without us to do the real work for them. This engenders not so much resentment of Mulani as a deep pride that we the workers are pulling Thay forward and ever upward, to brighter greatness. Thayan Society Historically, Thay was a magocracy. The nation was headed by a ruling Council of Zulkirs who pursued ever-greater mastery of the Art and left military matters—such as the frequent invasions of Aglarond, Rashemen, and other neighboring lands—and administration of the daily life of the country to the noble tharchions and tharchionesses of districts of Thay (tharches). Today, however, Thay has become a dictatorship that is ruled by the undead lich Szass Tam, a tyrant who largely dictated policy to the Council of Zulkirs and appointed Red Wizards to it who would obey him. Despite his increasingly erratic and failed attempts to achieve godhood or at least far greater power, the beliefs of High Regent Szass Tam—that the pursuit of greater mastery of the Art was the supreme aim in any existence, and that achieving undeath was the best way to do so, as it opened a personal portal to limitless power and opportunities—have over time come to permeate Thayan society and thinking. Those Thayan citizens who have the aptitude to wield arcane magic become Red Wizards, and ruthlessly vie for advancement and power through diligent service to the High Regent, often in intrigues and mercantile schemes all across Faerûn. Those who lack the Gift for wielding the Art see no reward for them in Thay. Lichdom is offered only to natural-born masters of the Art, so their only benefit is the privilege of being a citizen; while this enables them to have a chance to accumulate wealth or petty local power, it simply fails to satisfy the deep and ravenous appetites that most Thayans possess. Over the passing years, whether supreme authority rested in the hands of Szass Tam or the Council, the social order in Thay below the rank of Zulkir remained much the same, though the true authority of tharchions was steadily eroding. The Red Wizards are on top, with their own hierarchy descending from Zulkir and their spies and enforcers to senior mages of each school, then the rank-and-file experienced mages, down through the novices. Below the Red Wizards come the rest of the nobility: the Mulani tharchions, bureaucrats, sages, priests, and the richest merchant families, the houses who invest in the businesses of lesser merchants and are landlords to most Thayans dwelling in cities. Beneath these are the military commanders and veteran soldiers of Thay, who may or may not be Mulani nobles, for over time Thay has learned the hard way to reward merit and experience in their military. Then come the rest of the merchants, enjoying a status in society commensurate with their personal wealth, influence, and achievements. Engineers and owners of forges and construction materials Chapter 1: The People of Thay 9

and warehouses rank highly, mingled among the best artisans and craftworkers. Beneath them stand the most successful shopkeepers, more than a few of whom own chains of outlets, and proprietors of currently-popular city eateries. This middle class are Mulani, Rashemi, and mixed-lineage humans, and at the bottom of it are apprentices, skilled laborers, and crafters. Then come the lower class, semi-skilled workers and common laborers, bodyguards and shop and warehouse guards, and loaders and drovers, who might be of any Thayan-tolerated race, including obvious outlanders. Some are citizens but most are not. Finally, underpinning everything in Thay, are the many, many slaves. Some through long service have won some measure of trust and are allowed to work under light or no supervision—but slaves are never freed in Thay; they always belong to someone, and upon the death of an owner are inherited by someone else or seized by a creditor. In recent years it has become less acceptable to bring in new slaves, and even less palatable to have living slaves—the upkeep simply isn’t worth it in the minds of many of the eldest Thayans—and so the market for undead servitors has been on the rise. This, coupled with a younger populace that is becoming more and more impactfully vocal about the need to prove Thay’s value through direct action rather than on the backs of slaves may put the very concept of slave ownership in question. The Thayan View All Thayans seek more power in society, and more personal wealth. They also work towards personal fulfillment by attaining the skills and mastering the hobbies and pastimes that bring them the greatest personal pleasure. Painting, sculpting, and the making of fine jewelry are prestige crafting even among Thayan nobles and are considered personal expression as well as a source of enrichment. Paintings, statuettes, and jewelry are important Thayan exports. Slavery in Thay Although slavery is known and accepted by the aristocracy of Thay, it is not accepted elsewhere in the Forgotten Realms and beyond. If your games broach this topic in more than a passing manner, it should be made expressly clear that this is an evil act and one that should be rectified. Alongside that, no matter how “good” a Thayan may pretend to be, those that allow the continued practice of slavery are inherently evil. 10

Caring for others, and compassion—beyond the duty of rearing one’s own offspring and guiding them to their best chances for advancement, and loyalty to trusted trade allies and conspirators—is for weaker, lesser humans. Rather, be strong of will and clear of purpose, and seize what can be yours. Thayan Fashion In Thay, the foundation layer of underwear is a breechclout, consisting of a tight-fitting belt or sash, through which a strip of readily washable fabric is passed fore and aft, and between the legs between its foldover meetings with the belt. Also used in Mulhorand, Raurin, and Unther, this garment is known in Thay as a qadamra, and tends to be cotton, dyed a solid dark hue, and to contain a small “private carry-pouch” sometimes filled with a folded spare qadamra; sometimes with an armor or bone plate for protection of the wearer’s private areas; and sometimes for secret carriage of vials of poisons, healing potions, or contraband. Thayan Cuisine Traditional Thayan cooking makes abundant use of diced olives, leeks, lemons and lemon juice, and thaenen (a wild, tall grass that grows everywhere in Thay and the wilderlands to the east that isn’t too rocky or dry; it tastes a little like spring onions but more like lemongrass). Honey is the usual sweetener in Thayan dishes (even in places where no one “keeps” bees, rocky terrain in Thay is home to plenty of wild bees), onions make frequent appearances, and so, as fill-the-belly bases, do barley and what Thayans call quth (in our world, “broad beans” or “fava beans”). Common Thayan spices include garlic, nutmeg, and cloves. In northern Thay, morren (rhubarb), arrath (celery), persimmon, and quince join the kitchen staples. Along the Red Land’s southern coasts, wild rice makes its way into dishes but is seldom seen elsewhere. In Thay, grain—mainly barley and rye—is plentiful; rice is not. Most Thayan bread is flatbread, cooked on hearthheated stones. Fancy breads are sprinkled with nuts and honey, and heavier, heartier, coarser “field bread” for farm laborers and wayfarers often has diced leeks, onions, or garlic mixed into its flour. Thayan cookery makes use of spiced, fiery wine marinades for fish and fowl but not for meats, and the dishes outlanders all remember are those dominated by tart, hot tamarind sauces (“brown sauces” from their appearance to those who don’t know what’s in what they consume, but “rarthaek” to Thayans). Almost every Thayan cook has family recipes for rathaek that they swear by, but although these vary Chapter 1: The People of Thay 11

widely in heat, they tend to be similar in overall flavor profile. Rarthaek is poured on a dish when it’s ready to serve, and the “iron-throated” will even add more at the table for “a good deep burn,” but there are also kitchen sauces, or “ulvurr,” that begin as lemon juice and wine mixes, are thickened with what we would call a roux and a Thayan cook would call a “dusult” (“Dusult it more—that’s a thin as a child’s spit! More fat is what it needs, and swiftly!”), that a dish cooks in. Phalou To keep dishes from drying out from the hearth-heat (the ulvurr boiling off), many Thayan dishes are cooked in metal pans over a fire, that have a series of conical, spout-topped earthenware lids over them, to aid in condensation and so, keep the moisture in to intensity flavor. In our real world, these are usually called tajines or tagines, but they are always singular (tapering smoothly to a single chimney or spout). Thayan versions are called “phalou” (singular and plural are the same word), and consist of lipped bases (so a phalou placed over a metal dish will rest on its rim and also overlap it on the outside) of standard sizes, and straight edges so several can be placed touching each other down the length of a long metal cooking-dish (resulting in complete coverage, and a row of two or up to four parallel chimneys). Spices and marinade can be poured down a chimney to try to “enliven” a dish, but that’s the mark of a poor cook, as it cracks a heated phalou sooner or later (usually sooner). Tongs and padded gloves and a roll of a leather kitchen apron are all employed to remove phalou and move dishes about. Drinks with Meals A diner unused to Thayan cuisine is going to find a lot of heat in their mouth and throat, and even Thayans like to have iced water, or minted or lemon-laced water, on the table before they begin eating—and eateries (restaurants) expect to sell a lot of cold ale, wine, or liqueurs (ruby brandy is always popular in Thay) to cool diners’ throats throughout a meal. Thayan farmers make pear wine (taress) and peach wine (tarai), but Thayan vintners make such wines as the minty, semi-sweet emerald-green nethaele, the very dry dark red ommanth, and the amber-hued shulda, a semi-dry fruity. All of them are blends of grapes and are made all over Thay, with the means of making them widely known among the populace, so there’s little rivalry among vintners and almost no “wine snobbery.” In Thay, wine is wine. Kindly refill my goblet or tallglass. Snacks Snacks and “way food” (trail hand-meals) in Thay include cinnamon-dusted fried locusts and talang beetles (think ladybugs big enough to fill an adult human palm), deep-fried “long onions” (think “onion rings,” but using a straight spring onion as a base, and filling it with red wine before frying), and dang (mixes of spiced nuts, doused in honey which is then baked into a glaze). A growing “food fashion” in Thay, spreading fast from its origins in Nethjet, is to make and sell “adorned” honey: honey with powdered dill or garlic or onion or cinnamon simmered into it before jarring. The typical Thayan honey-pot is teardrop-shaped, with a flat round bottom but a pointed, curved top that becomes, when its thin brass stopper is removed, a pour-spout. Upscale Meals Signature dishes at upscale restaurants include such delights as Fireturtle (a fiery stew of cut-into-strips turtles and watersnake over diced onions, leeks, and sweet peppers), Gulhaunt (the necks of herons and swans, cooked to falling-off-the-bones softness in the cook’s complex and usually secret blend of spices; the aim here is to make the dish taste nice and even “nutty” but not fiery), and Anathur’s Feast (a mix of roast lamb, goat, and fowl, in lemon-dominated spices; a sure way to start a friendly dispute among Thayans is to ask who Anathur was, as everyone has their own wildly different story). Everyday Meals More “everyday” fare, to be found in private homes and in “everyday” eateries, is dominated by three dishes: dardraun (spiced roast fowl), cardrauth (stuffed fowl), and taeth (baby eels or squid in garlic sauce). Detailed recipes follow; interested modern cooks are warned that although every one of these dishes is safe to eat (notes to real-world cooks appear in squared parentheses), the flavor profiles Thayan palates prefer may seem unusual to the modern diner. Dardraun Serves 4 hungry diners with hearty appetites First, dress (defeather, wash, and slice apart to begin deboning) your fowl. From the larder: broth olive oil 1 lemon [or 1 lime] 1 onion From the hearth: fowlsimmer [modern substitute: chicken broth] From the spice cupboard, take you and mix in a small bowl: 4 pinches dtarmin [1 tsp. ground paprika] 4 pinches dauntaun [1 tsp. ground cumin] 1 pinch hot ground pepper [1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper] 2 pinches ground ginger [1/2 tsp.] 2 pinches sarataun [1/2 tsp. ground coriander] 1 pinch ground cinnamon [1/4 tsp.] 12 Chapter 1: The People of Thay

From the cupboard but keep aside: Salt, to taste Pepper, to taste At the cutting board: 1 onion, halved then cut into smallest-finger-thick slices [1/4-inch-thick-sliced yellow onion] 5 cloves garlic, minced, but set 1-clove-worth aside from the rest 3 medium (or 2 large) parsnips or carrots, peeled then cut into finger-thick coins [1/2-inch-thick] A cupped pair of hands of pitted, halved green olives [1/2 cup] A cupped pair of hands of parsley or savory [1/2 cup] or half that of rosemary Fowl [about 4 pounds of bone-in, skin-on de-necked, de-winged ducks, or chicken or turkey thighs] Once you begin: A swift pour [1 tbsp.] olive oil 1 small ladle [2 tbsp.] of barrzin (barley flour) [all-purpose flour can be subsituted] 4 cupped pairs of hands of fowlsimmer [2 cups of chicken broth] Twice thy olive oil of honey [2 tbsp.] A pouring-vessel of drinkable water Do it thus: • Get thy hearth-coals ready, and a roasting pan that has a cover, and a metal hot-save-bowl, and tongs of a size to handle the fowl, and a small sharp knife, and a platter and some small bowls. • With the knife, frazzle the lemon [modern: zest the lemon, but make sure to remove the preservative wax coating first, if it’s not an organic lemon]. Combine in a small bowl the 1 clove-worth of minced garlic ye set aside with a like amount of the frazzle, and set that bowl aside also. Reserve the rest of the frazzle in yet another bowl for later. • Then salt and pepper the fowl pieces, both sides; if uncertain how much, let it be 2 pinches pepper and 8 pinches salt, combined in another small bowl before applying to the fowl. • Heat the olive oil in the roasting pan (no pan cover, for now) until the oil doth begin to smoke. Then put the fowl pieces into it, skin side down in a single layer, and fry until deep golden, about 5 minutes; then turn the pieces over and brown the other side, about 4 minutes. Then take the fowl out onto a platter to let cool. • From the pan, pour off and discard all but a palmsized trace of any fowl-fate from the pan, into the hot-save-bowl, for other days and other dishes. Set the pan over lesser heat. • Turn ye back to the fowl, and peel off the skin and set aside for the broth-pot or pets to dine upon. • Then back to the pan. Add to it the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until the slices have browned at the edges yet keep their shape [likely 5–7 minutes]. Should the pan darken overmuch ere browning hath befallen, add water to the pan in small amounts, bewaring the steam! • When thy onion slices are browned, add all the minced garlic ye did not mix with the lemon frazzle to the pan and cook, stirring about the pan, until the garlic smell strikes thy nose hard [likely half a minute], then add the bowl of spices and immediately the barrzin, too, and stir without ceasing until their smell joins the garlic to the fore [likely another half minute]. • Now stir ye in the fowlsimmer, then the honey, and then the frazzle ye did not mix with the garlic earlier, plus another pinch [1/4 tsp.] of salt, and scrape the pan to dredge up anything browned. • Add the fowl back in, then take the pan to even lesser heat, cover it with the pan cover, and let it simmer for long enough to enjoy a good, unhurried tankard [10 minutes]. • Then add the carrots or parsnips, cover anew, and simmer until the carrots are crisp and tender and the fowl is cooked through [another 10 minutes more or so]. Chapter 1: The People of Thay 13 Dardraun

• Then it is time at last to stir in a swift pour [1 tbsp.] of the juice of thy lemon, then the garlic-frazzle mix, then the parsley or savory or rosemary, and the olives. • Stir well, then take from the heat and taste the sauce when cool enough. Add more lemon juice, pepper, and salt to taste. Done. Pairs well with cooked barley. Cardrauth Serves 4 hungry diners with hearty appetites First, assemble thy utensils: a good big pouring-vessel of drinkable water; kitchen needles and kitchen twine; a roasting rack; two roasting pans; and several bowls, both large and small; clean linens [towels], tongs or hot-gloves for the handling of rack and pan; fire-irons for tending the hearthfire; longfork or tongs for turning the cooking fowl; wet-sieve if ye have one (spare hot-tolerant ewer and towels for straining, if ye do not), and one serving-platter for all the fowl, that can take heat. Build a good hot hearthfire, coals to last. Then, dress (defeather, wash, and slice apart to begin deboning) your fowl and mince thy beef, or procure from the market or slaughterhouse: About 5 lbs. fowl (bone-in, skin-on, de-necked, and de-winged duck, goose, or swan) [modern: yes, you can substitute chicken or turkey] 1/2 lb. minced meat (cow or ox meat) From the hearth: 2 cups fowlsimmer [modern: chicken broth, 2 cups] From the larder: A goodly skin of dry red wine [2 cups or a trifle more] A goodly skin of the unstrained juice of apples [2 cups or a trifle more, of unsweetened apple juice] A slow pour [5 tbsp.] olive oil (or another cooking oil, such as sunflower) A cupped pair of hands of honey [1/2 cup] A cupped pair of hands of apricot jam or jelly [1/2 cup] A cupped single hand of pulverized stale bread [breadcrumbs: a 1/4 cup] 3 good-sized apples, of a sour sort 1 orange or persimmon 1 leek 3 onions From the spice cupboard: 4 pinches marjoram 4 pinches oregano 2 pinches sage 2 pinches thyme 3 pinches sarataun [1 tbsp. ground coriander] 4 fists [about 1 lb.] of salt 1/3 lb. sugar A palm-full of ground pepper 5 bay leaves 1 sprig rosemary 1 sprig thyme And for the sauce: The cook’s palm half-full of cashew nuts [1/3 cup] The cook’s palm half-full of chestnuts [1/3 cup] If either nut can’t be had, double the one ye can get A finger-joint-length of ginger The cook’s palm full of ground cinammon [or 1 stick] 3 pinches [1 tbsp.] of barley flour [all-purpose flour] 1 apple A swift pour of olive oil [or sunflower or other cooking oil] 1 fist salt 1 fist ground pepper Do it thus: • Check thy hearth for readiness. Set water near it to warm. • Pluck the fowl, then wash it inside and out, pat dry. Then rub it well inside and out with salt and pepper. • Wash the apples, peel them, halve them, core them, and cut into cubes. Set aside in a small bowl. • Wash clean the leek, dress its ends, then cut the stalk all into rings. Set aside in another small bowl. • In a large bowl mix together the marjoram, oregano, sage, thyme, sarataun, a pinch of pepper, the cashew nuts (they can be whole), and the breadcrumbs. Then mix in the minced meat. Then add the cut-up apple and leek, and the wine, and mix well. • Take this wet mixture and stuff the cavity or cavities of the fowl with it (worry not if you have more than will fit, but discard this excess not), using the needles and the twine. If thy fowl retains its wings, tie them to the carcass so they’ll burn not in the cooking. • Mix thy oil with the leftover seasoning mix ye stuffed the fowl with (if ye have none, use pinches of salt and pepper) and coat the fowl with it, all over. If thy fowl is intact enough to have a breast side, place fowl pieces or whole bird breast side up on a roasting rack. • Place thy (larger, if they vary in size) roasting pan in the hearthfire, and cautiously—scalding steam warning!—pour warmed water into it, about the thickness of the cook’s hand, or more [modern cooks: water in the pan first, then slide into lower rack of oven, fowl will go in a roasting-pan on upper rack]. Position the roasting rack above the roasting pan, and on it roast the fowl until ready [about 4 hours at 200º F]. 14 Chapter 1: The People of Thay

• During this time, gently warm the fowlsimmer near the hearthfire, so it spits not (it will, if used cold). • When the color deepens sufficiently [after about an hour] turn the fowl over, and baste it with the fowlsimmer. Thereafter, baste several times, as you think it necessary [about every 30 minutes], but keep the remaining fowlsimmer, do not use it all. • When the turned-over fowl has attained the same color as at first turning [so, about two hours into roasting], prick the legs and wings of the fowl [if any] with a fork to let the fat of the fowl fry the better. • When the fowl sizzles and sings, if you wish to brown it, build up the fire around it [at the 3:45 mark of oven cooking, increase oven heat to 230º F]. Move thy water to near enough the fire to heat, but not boil. Also move thy serving-platter near, to get warm. • When thy fowl is ready, take it off the hearth-heat onto a surface that can withstand the heat, and cover it, to let it rest for the length of two long songs [let it rest out of the oven, covered, for 10 minutes]. • While it rests, take three small skins-worth [3 cups] of thy heated water and add to the remaining fowlsimmer, then strain this mix through a sieve. • Now make ye the sauce. Wash, peel and halve the apple, core it and discard the core, and dice it. Peel the ginger and cut it up fine. Let thy sauce-portion of oil heat in thy second roasting-pan. When steam starts to rise from it, add the diced apple, ginger, cashew nuts, chestnuts, and cinnamon. Then stir once, and let fry for the length of a song [about 3 minutes]. Then pour in the sieved fowlsimmer-water mix, and build up the fire or move it to a hotter spot, to bring the pan contents to a boil. When the bubbles are hearty, stir in thy flour, and add salt and pepper to taste, and let boil hearty for less than half a song [about 1 minute], then take from heat. Let rest while ye carve the fowl, then use tongs to remove the cinnamon stick. • On thy cutting surface, carve thy fowl, stuffing and all. Arrange on thy warmed platter and pour the sauce over it. (If platter not large enough for sauce, put sauce into pourer for diners to apply, but serve swiftly lest the fowl grow cold too soon.) Taeth Serves 4 hungry diners with hearty appetites (much faster to prepare than the other two popular dishes) First, assemble: A roasting pan A large bowl for serving the dish to table Water for washing the eels or squid Build a good hearthfire. From the market: 15 oz. baby eels or squid From the larder: Half a small skin of white wine [1/2 cup or a trifle more] 2 swift pours [2 tbsp.] olive oil (or another cooking oil, such as sunflower) 2 cloves garlic From the spice cupboard: 1/2 cup white wine Salt and pepper 1 fist paprika (or less, to taste; some may prefer half that) Do it thus: • Heat oil in roasting-pan over a good fire. • While it heats, clean thy eels or squid (for the latter, cut out and discard beak and “quill” of cartilage), and then mince thy garlic. • When oil is hot, add minced garlic and baby eels or squid, and fry in the oil until cooked through. Pour in white wine slowly to cut down on spitting, then season with salt, pepper, and paprika, and simmer until the meat of the eels turns opaque, or the squid-ends just start to curl. • Then take off heat and serve. Often paired with fried dumplings. General Economy Much of Thay’s commerce is centered on trade. As the last major power ere travelers heading east from settled Faerûn cross the Sunrise Mountains and venture into the Endless Wastes or the wildlands of the Plains of Purple Dust and the Great Wild Wood, Thay controls the flow of goods in and out of the trade routes between the eastern and western lands. They also have significant influence in ports around the world, from Mulmaster to Baldur’s Gate and beyond. Even fair Waterdeep has some amount of Thayan influence. The nation creates a significant amount of food exports as well. They offer large crops of wheat and corn every year, and several tharches are rich in berries and tomatoes. Thayan metallurgy is also highly sought after by collectors of fine wares, with Thayan-mined silver and gold pieces often fetching exorbitantly high prices due to the brilliant hues and level of purity found in these metals in their natural veins in Thay. Thay is well-known to the world at large as being the home of some of the most luxurious types of goats. Some of these breeds have coats as thick and voluminous as a sheep’s fleece, others have intensely rich milk which is perfect for both consumption and soap-making, and a few offer a variety of meat that is so intensely delectable that it is said to cause a pleasant delirium upon completion of the meal. Chapter 1: The People of Thay 15

Nobles around the world often jump at the chance to acquire goat products from Thay, with a few merchants even going so far as to enter into franchise farm agreements with commercial farmers in Thay so that the breeds can be experienced the world over. Mining in Thay Mineral mining tends to be vast open workings rather than tunnels, which results in a lot of barren “broken lands” dominated by hills of loose scree tailings and dust. The process of mining follows these steps, after a working face is established. Often this begins with a prospector calling upon their patron wizard to blast the rock; those prospectors that aren’t working for a wizard often find that they enter into the service of one soon after finding a rich vein of gems or minerals, whether they want to or not. Another popular, and largely nonmagical, method is to employ a flail-wagon. This large many-axled wagon has huge tree-trunk wheels and is fitted with giant pickaxes chained to hand-cranked rotating drums, so as the drum turns a forest of flailing pickaxes screechingly descends and rebounds, attacking a rock surface. Then the flail-wagon moves on, and the rock is soaked with jets of water hand-pumped from water-tank wagons. Then a low-level wizard casts a spell to turn the soaked-in water to ice, so this ice cracks the rock internally as it expands, and then teams with threeman-long prybars and hammers and splitting wedges go in and break open that area. After the rock is sundered, magically or otherwise, upspars are erected. A skilled team accomplishes this by setting up a prepared portable upright beam with many legs that can be leveled or secured at different elevations. To keep it stable, the beam is then weighed down with rubble-filled boxes. Each upspar has jointed arms ending in rock-scoop buckets, that descend from pivots in a collar-sleeve atop the upright spar, this bucket-arm is guided by workers on the ground around using pull-chains. The bucket is ridden by one person, who with cords guides its scooping motion, and opens and closes the bucket. The buckets move the broken rock rubble to a sidearea where it is broken down into smaller fragments by teams wielding mauls or mallets. This process gleans the desirable ore from the tailings. The tailings are taken away to a dumping area, and the ore hauled away for smelting. This is distinct from quarrying stone for building, paving, and roofing uses. Stone grit and gravel is often gathered and carted to riverbanks for roof- and drainage-tile making. General Government While it is generally well-known that Szass Tam is the individual in control of Thay, most people aren’t aware that he leads a Council of Zulkirs that rules the nation, generally by delivering his decisions and acting upon his demands. Each Zulkir that Szass has recruited represents one of the eight schools of magic. Below them are the tharchions or tharchionesses, the rulers of each of the tharches (effectively, states) of Thay. These tharches and their rulers are detailed elsewhere in this supplement. It’s important to remember that the zulkirs are powerful and ambitious, and while they all seek to protect and promote Thay they all have very strong ideas about how best to accomplish these tasks. They work together for the most part, but it is not uncommon for them to harbor their own goals and to sometimes plot against their fellow zulkirs. While they are allies, they are certainly not friends. The Red Wizards of Thay In Thay, a true Red Wizard is beyond reproach. They are not, however, beyond approach—herein are methods by which a future Red Wizard is identified and trained, and some examples of how they might conduct their business. Pursuing mastery of the Art is their core drive, and more often than not they are loyal to none but themselves. Identifying Talent In infancy, every Thayan resident, citizens and visitors alike, are tested by Red Wizards to see if they possess the Gift to practice magic. In rare circumstances a person may be given a second test when they first enter into adulthood. Beyond these times the Red Wizards deem magic to be soured or lost. The first test is almost always delivered covertly and by surprise, letting the youngling encounter subtle active magic in play to see if they sense anything about it, or can affect it. This may take the form of a spell involving warmth or radiance, or an enchanted item that glows and can be turned on or off, or the glow altered in intensity or hue. These are rarely complex enchantments but are always configured to be manipulatable by someone strong in the Art. Successful or not, this will be followed by a formal test done by two or more Red Wizards in which the youngling’s status is tracked in a register, so that they may be identified for their as magical threat and potential. The chief fear of all Red Wizards is unrecognized, potentially hostile wizards or sorcerers of power dwelling in Thay, in their very midst. If a young person has no discernable Gift or affinity or magic, no wild talent or psionic ability or sensitivity 16 Chapter 1: The People of Thay

to magic, they are steered into tutelage intended to discover what they do have a knack for, so they can be shaped into becoming a craftworker, scribe, or other useful member of Thayan society. If they do have the Gift, they are removed from their current family and situation and are reared by Red Wizards and nurses under the command of Red Wizards. This controlled upbringing, away from family and wider Thayan society, is intended first and foremost to instill loyalty to Thay. This includes not just the land or the nation of Thayans, but also the hierarchy of Red Wizards, their role in safeguarding all of Thay against treachery from non-wizards high (ambitious tharchions and nobility) and low (such as disaffected poor farmers and citizens of little power), as well as “outlander spies of rival realms jealous of our achievements, who work tirelessly to weaken us.” Red Wizards are taught that Aglarond, Rashemen, and Mulhorand all want the Red Wizards gone so they can conquer Thay, and that distant financial rivals like Baldur’s Gate, Sembia, Waterdeep, and the Zhentarim all want to slyly dominate or come to own Thayan assets, and thus are constantly seeking to blackmail Thayans into acting for them, and that the nearby ruling dragons of Murghôm would pounce on Thay to hunt humans at will were it not for the deterrance the Red Wizards offer by their very presence. As this training proceeds, individuals are given chances to betray their tutors and Thay and Red Wizards—and then caught and slain ruthlessly, or transformed into bestial forms to be caged and displayed in front of fellow students as grim warnings of what happens to traitors. They will also be firmly taught that their deepest loyalty is to Szass Tam, then the Zulkir of the school of magic they’re specializing in, then all other Zulkirs as the most senior “other” Red Wizards, then Red Wizards according to rank (position in the hierarchy). This is the true loyalty to Thay, not devotion to a banner or patch of ground or a city. Strife over policy within the ranks of the Red Wizards is tolerated, above a certain level (lower ranks are to obey, not question), and sometimes dissent is passed off as deliberately-arranged training exercises designed to uncover weaknesses and meritorious qualities. More serious and violent duels and murders and clashes among Red Wizards are seen as the acts of traitors who are mentally ill, thanks to their 17

treachery festering inwardly until it breaks forth—for only the insane would question their purposes, their fitness to rule, and their plans and strivings for a brighter future. Magical Training In the olden days, Red Wizards of the various schools of magic sought to capture potential Red Wizards who showed skills in their school for training and rearing and eliminate strong-in-the-Art individuals who showed aptitude for other schools, but Szass Tam put a stop to that as he tightened his open rule, as these habits weakened the Red Wizards as a whole. Now, training is a mixture of math and history (strong on the “We are Thay, and Thay is the feared and unappreciated light of an ignorant world” indoctrination), languages, and trade skills, with a broad range of magical testing sprinkled among the other tutoring to reveal what sort of schools of magic a given student is good at. Once this personal aptitude is revealed, Red Wizards are formally entered into their education. They are taught with exhaustive, repetitive practice under supervision. They are given and expected to master not just a basic roster of relevant-to-them useful spells, but also to cast these magics in precisely the same way each and every time. Red Wizards at lower levels are actively discouraged when it comes to experimentation with existing spells and are not permitted to create new magics or variants; they’re told that this is dangerous to them and to everyone around them. Simply put, those that pursue such foolish notions are irresponsible and reckless at a minimum, or are fools and if pursued anyway are traitors to be hunted down and destroyed. When experimentation is allowed, it is under the direct and constant supervision of a senior Red Wizard who has authority over the experimenters. The intent is to keep Red Wizards loyal above all, with a conformity of obedience so they will make not just the right decisions in a combat situation, but react in the “right”—that is, as expected by superiors—way. This is one important instance of how Red Wizards differ from the Zhentarim, with their open intriguing for advancement, and the War Wizards of Cormyr, where conformity has long been seen as a weakness any enemy can exploit. Non-Magical Training Red Wizards are trained in a broad smattering of languages, in customs and habits of the traveling merchants of many lands, and are also trained in the lives of monsters—especially those most likely to be encountered in Thay and the lands immediately around it. A Red Wizard is also trained to try to “read” facial expressions, movements, and tones of voice to try to tell what a stranger is likely thinking, or about to do, or their attitude towards the Red Wizard or others. They are taught always to be alert, aware of surroundings including escape routes, possible nearby foes or hazards, and potential attack vectors, and to pay attention, even in crowded streets or markets, of movements and stealthy behavior—all without seeming to watch. So many Red Wizards encountered outside of Thay are apt to be ready when surprise-attacked, because to them attack really wasn’t a surprise, but perpetually anticipated. And lastly, every Red Wizard is encouraged to develop their own side-interests or hobbies, anything from collecting tiny carved figurines to covertly assembling valuable Sembian urban real estate. Zulkirs have long seen that this cuts down on treachery and rash acts by giving Red Wizards an outlet for stress and anger, a feeling (however false; as Dove Falconhand once put it, “the only retired Red Wizards are the dead ones that have the good sense to stay dead”) that there’s something for them to escape to if they ever tire of being a Red Wizard or things get too hot for them, and side expertise that can serve them well as they serve Thay. Having a Red Wizard who can fix a leaky boat, pick a lock, or successfully impersonate a courtier of a different land and gender can be very useful in advancing Thayan interests. Luskan Their enclaves are fading away and on their own, so now the Blood-Robes are more like Zhentarim wizards in a red uniform, one more nasty bunch of mages out to rule the world. And whatever they tried in and about Neverwinter failed, and everyone knows it, so they’re as prone to pratfalls as all the rest of us. Don’t turn your back on them. —Farlo Dethremmon, warehouse owner and trader, Shadows Lane, Southbank Luskan 18 Chapter 1: The People of Thay

CHAPTER 2 Ruling Thay he nation of Thay is ruled by the ancient lich Szass Tam and his selected council of zulkirs. Together, these beings maintain the dayto-day operations of their individual tharches but also the ever-present war machine of Thay. These rulers are inherently evil as they seek to provide for themselves first and foremost, but they work tirelessly to defend their people should they be threatened from any source. Thay and the Realms Thay is generally seen as an evil nation by the other powers of the world. This label is important for two reasons: firstly, in that it is not inaccurate due to Thay’s history as a nation of conquerors and instigators as they seek out magic and territory across Faerun; and secondly, in that it is not entirely accurate. The Thayans use war engines, monsters, highly trained arcanists, and the like in their conquests. But they also use common people that have been pressed into service, given hollow offers of land ownership or citizenship, or have been otherwise coerced into military service. And those that don’t serve in the military directly may find themselves toiling endlessly under the yoke of Thay’s exorbitant taxes and living fees, straining to provide for themselves and their families as those above them in the hierarchy grow fat, lazy, and mean thanks to their efforts. Still, the nations of the world that are aware of these injustices are extremely hesitant to strike at Thay to resolve the matter as time and again, the zulkirs have demonstrated that they are willing to sacrifice their own people in defense of the nation and their ideals. To say that rebellion is brewing is an understatement. Hidden enclaves of citizens of Thay exist through the tharches, especially around the larger cities, that are beginning to suspect that Szass Tam’s inability to gain a decisive victory against Rashemen, the Wychlaran, or even the Zhentarim mercenaries, is a clear sign that the current leadership council is more focused on preserving their own local power than promoting the interests of the nation at large. It has not gone unnoticed that many of the zulkirs have remained entirely within the nation’s borders for many years, unlike in the past where a Zulkir would visit Waterdeep or Baldur’s Gate at times, or even lead attacks in the greater world. Alongside the emerging groups of concerned citizens are a small but influential group of Thayan expatriates. These individuals have enmeshed themselves in the ongoing political schemes of the world at-large, with many of them referring to themselves as zulkirs. These people may or may not have legitimate claim to these titles. Perhaps they’re merely separatists, desperate to depose the ancient lich and take control of the plateau. Perhaps they’re legitimate zulkirs, unable or unwilling to return to Thay until some mission is completed. Only time—and Szass Tam—will tell. The lich and his inner circle of zulkirs that remain within the borders of Thay are thoroughly embroiled in their own power struggles and efforts. Periodically rumors of a Zulkir being supplanted may reach the ears of the outside world, but Szass Tam maintains a tight grip on such communications. As far as the world knows, the zulkirs presented elsewhere in this chapter represent the current list of people in charge of Thay. T Chapter 2: Ruling Thay Chapter 2: Ruling Thay 19

The Laraer Laraer (“lahr-AIR”) is a Thayan dialect word meaning “big change” or “life change” or “new direction in life.” Although this term can be broadly applied, the people of Thay refer to one specific event as “the laraer.” Some 150 years prior to today, an event known as the Spellplague ripped through Faerûn. Magic was undone and the Weave began to spew wild threads of arcane power across the whole of the world. During this time many Red Wizards of Thay found their minds broken and an unknown number of arcanists died as their spells failed or turned against them. This event broke Thay’s power structure and nearly broke its people. Arguably, no individual in Thay was more deeply affected than Szass Tam, the ancient lich that ruled the nation. His magic became unreliable and his attention and concentration, which had previously allowed him to juggle many schemes and magical experimentations were shattered. No longer could he magically spy on the important players in Thayan politics and society; no longer could he abide neither the presence nor even the sight of undead creatures—especially those that he had created, for now that magic was unraveling, the protections he had woven into the spells that animated them were becoming undone, and some became mindless killing machines while others were granted their free will once more. For a time, Thay was effectively on its own. And Thayans, who live to inhale, eat, and drink intrigues and schemes, did not sit idle in this time of chaos and ruling weakness. Red Wizards at a stroke lost their supremacy, and many learned the hard way that slaves, upon whose backs the nation of Thay had been built, bear no burden of historic gratitude when a chance at freedom is presented. In a dramatically short time, an immense amount of scores were settled, “accidents” occurred to Red Wizards, manors were thoroughly destroyed, and trade organizations were subjected to what the rest of the world politely referred to as “a series of hostile takeovers.” As the wizards flailed for stability, the outside world simply waited and watched. Such actions weren’t limited to the Thaymount and surrounding tharches. All across the world, Thayan enclaves and centers of power were realized to be finally vulnerable. Many were outright destroyed and nearly all were looted. Those Thayans that lived outside of the nation’s borders knew fear in those dark days, fear that was justified and well-deserved. The nobles of Thay, who’d long resented being shoved aside from the reins of power, saw a chance to regain power and influence at the expense of Red Wizards within reach. Every dead Red Wizard is one less spy and agent for Szass Tam, and a chance for a noble to make decisions or enrich themselves instead. Many Red Wizards were hunted by a flood of hired assassins; for the first year of the Spellplague’s raging, it seemed that any Red Wizard was a suitable target. Adventurers made for prime bounty hunters, and organizations like the Harpers and Emerald Enclave made no secret of their attempts to further destabilize the region. Thayans who didn’t happen to be either noble or Red Wizards saw chances to redress slights and wrongs, and went after Red Wizards, too. They also realized the danger and increasing expense of keeping live slaves. The historic mindset of unthinking acceptance of slavery as “the way society works, and should” was wiped away, and in that shattering of the status quo and its acceptance, many Thayans started to think energetically and seriously about change in Thay, and a different country in the future. The remaining Red Wizards felt that they had made a pragmatic shift in their processes and culture but had unwittingly set the stage for true societal advancement by this course of action. Thayan change—laraer—was everywhere, inside Thay and all across Faerûn. Szass Tam’s ever-tightening grip on power changed in nature and might, reliance on slaves and their numbers declined sharply, intrigues and grand dreams among “just plain folks” soared, and Szass Tam discovered that the obedient undead Zulkirs he’d installed in his ruling council lacked vision, imagination, ambition and the drive it fosters, and attentiveness to human nature; they repeatedly overlooked details, and didn’t notice cabals and treachery beneath them, unless Szass Tam was at their sides, guiding them. Szass had no choice but to turn to the living, even with their near-certain disloyalty. Civil, Cold War Szass Tam has been in power for hundreds of years and has taken care to install the correct zulkirs as his support base. He is fully aware that some of the currently living zulkirs plot against him, but he has learned from the previous decades and centuries that using liches as zulkirs leads to a leadership platform Right Now, in Thay Truly, this was the laraer. Change all over, and in nigh everything. Where will it head? And what will Thay become? Ah, that is why this is one of the most interesting times of all to be in Thay. Change, as our real-world saying puts it, is “busting out all over.” It’s a time for entrepreneurs, a time for adventurers, a time for innovation and new livelihoods and new things. It’s the Laraer. 20 Chapter 2: Ruling Thay

that merely echoes his sentiments rather than work to develop the nation as it needs to be. For all of Szass Tam’s villainy and transgressions, he does indeed treasure his nation—this love is second only to the love he feels for magic itself, and Mystra by association. He tolerates the plots of the zulkirs until they cross the line and directly threaten him or the well-being of Thay as a whole; when this happens, he is unhesitant and total in his retaliation. In recent years, he’s found it to be much more efficient to simply expel an offending Zulkir or Red Wizard under pain of eternal magical torment should they return to Thay rather than wait for them to grow arrogant enough to strike against him. Unknown to the general populace, Szass has recently closed the borders to the nation for his zulkirs. They are not permitted to travel outside of the nation, even via magic, as he works to consolidate his power and smooth the operations of the people and the state. By expelling an offending Red Wizard and cutting them off from support, he knows that they will have many challenges in the outside world and, down deep in his mind, that if they return empowered and emboldened then perhaps it is truly the will of Mystra that they should do so. Szass’s stance in politics and the control of trade in and out of the nation has led to uprisings from the citizenry on more than one occasion in the past. The most recent uprising is led in spirit by a Red Wizard in Mulmaster by the name of Dar’lon Ma. Dar’lon has claimed the title of Zulkir of enchantment and has been working with other Red Wizards that are not present upon the plateau to create his own council of zulkirs. He plots to one day storm Thaymount and slay Szass Tam so that Thay can return to its rightful place of glory among the Realms. Dar’lon and his compatriots have toiled long and hard to recover lost magic from ancient Netherese ruins, mind-shattering aberrant beings from beyond the stars, dead gods, and other sources to support and further their mission. As Red Wizards and even zulkirs cross or irritate Szass Tam and are expelled from Thay, he cautiously addresses them and explains his mission in an attempt to bring them into his fold. So far, his charismatic crusade has gained him a significant amount of power and followers. Dar’lon’s rebellion isn’t public knowledge and more often than not, if someone were to talk about a Thayan rebellion they would be dismissed as a crackpot or conspiracy theorist. As with the behavior of upstart zulkirs, Szass Tam tolerates Dar’lon Ma and his separatists. As of yet, they have not launched a decisive strike against Thaymount and as such the lich cares little for their squabbles and kingdom-building efforts. Even so, he is keenly aware of the fact that trouble is brewing for his beloved Thay and that he will once against be called upon by his people to protect them from forces they neither understand nor comprehend—at least, this is what he tells himself. Heroes across the Forgotten Realms have found themselves enmeshed in this power struggle, and whether they know it or not, everyone has a part to play in the coming battles. 21

The Zulkirs of Thay Although the nation of Thay answers to Szass Tam as its one true ruler, they also have a council of Zulkirs that oversee the general operations of the nation. The zulkirs each represent a single school of magic, and they all have their own schemes and plots. Many zulkirs are liches, and all are loyal to Thay first and foremost. Szass Tam As the sole ruler of Thay, Szass Tam often finds himself burdened with the process of ruling his nation rather than doing what he prefers to do: research magic and delve into forgotten lore. A terrifyingly powerful lich, Szass is the only creature known to have bargained with the ancient lich Larloch and retained his independence—as well as gaining gifts and training. Szass seeks to establish a council of zulkirs that is simultaneously loyal to Thay and himself and has come to realize that having undead zulkirs often leads to those beings either losing themselves in schemes and plots of their own creation, or simply becoming echo chambers for his own desires (as is more common). He has, in recent years, sought to expand the criteria for becoming a zulkir largely due his realization that populating these roles with undead, including liches, only results in creating an echo chamber for his own plots and machinations. To promote Thay, Szass Tam must identify and recruit arcanists that are loyal to him, devoted to Thay, and wholly dedicated to the support and defense of the nation—all while being possessing free will and remaining clear of the corruption of the outside world or personal plots. Abjuration A woman known only as Sirikhan has taken the position of Zulkir of abjuration as her own. She is a human of Shou descent and busies herself with matters east and south of Thay along the Golden Way, the main trade road that connects the western lands with the lands of Kara-Tur far to the east. Szass Tam has so far been impressed with both her ability to accomplish the tasks that he sets before her but also her willingness to speak her mind, even when her opinions do not match those of the ancient lich. Sirikhan was last referenced in DDAL-DRW05 Uncertain Scrutiny. Conjuration Saj Amog is a Thayan lich and a staunch ally of Valindra Shadowmantle, the Zulkir of necromancy. Prior to his return to Thaymount, Saj was stationed in Neverwinter and worked to quell the rebel uprisings. He was later tasked by Szass Tam to capture a dread ring, a heinously evil creation that Szass desired for his own purposes. While it is true that Saj Amog is a lich, he is not under Szass’s complete control as is Samas Kul, the Zulkir of transmutation, and he often wonders what Szass Tam’s endgame really is for the nation of Thay. Divination Yaphyll, a ruthless and cruel human Mulan woman, served as the Zulkir of divination for just over a hundred years until she died while performing a complex, powerful ritual at Szass Tam’s command. Though he knew that she had previously worked against his position as the one true ruler of Thay, he knew that her command of divination magic marked her as an extremely powerful member of the council of zulkirs, and as such he desired to raise her from the dead. Unfortunately, the ritual that ultimately took her life bound her with a small piece of the blue flame known generally as the Spellplague, and he was unable to raise her. In an unexpected turn of events, though, she clawed her way out of her tomb when Valindra Shadowmantle returned from Chult; the exact reason is uncertain, but it has piqued Szass’s interest. She is not undead but she appears to be frozen in age in her early forties. Despite his best efforts and much to her delight, Szass Tam is unable to use telepathy or divination magic to spy upon her. Enchantment This position was previously held by a Red Wizard named Lauzoril. Lauzoril arranged and conducted a massive insurrection, even going so far as to motivate most of his fellow zulkirs to strike out at Szass Tam and his armies. Although Szass retaliated, Lauzoril seemingly escaped and has not yet been discovered. As multiple previous zulkirs of enchantment have proven themselves to be hostile to Szass Tam, the lich has determined that this seat is cursed and is to remain vacant until such time as he finds, or creates, an appropriate candidate for the role of Zulkir. Evocation M’Weru is a human woman from Rashemen. She uses her knowledge of the Wychlaran to her significant advantage in her post as the Zulkir of evocation. She controls her magic to such an extent that her power is at once terrifying and intoxicatingly beautiful to behold, as she can reportedly shape those magics in previously impossible ways. Szass Tam recruited her after she decimated a pair of Red Wizards and disintegrated their guards without breaking from her ongoing conversation with a harbormaster in Alaor— all without damaging the docks or causing additional casualties. M’Weru was last seen in DDAL-DRW05 Uncertain Scrutiny. 22 Chapter 2: Ruling Thay

Illusion Hlarkus Baltreyo is a male human lich that rarely, if ever, saw cause to leave Thay. He has been a long-time supporter of Valindra Shadowmantle and threw a massive celebration upon Szass Tam’s announcement of her promotion to the role of Zulkir of necromancy. A devilishly skilled illusionist, he delights in crafting images and experiences are so lifelike that they pass for being alive themselves. He was exceptionally fond of creating illusory forms of the friends and family of his foes. Due to circumstances outside of his control, Szass Tam can exert complete control of Hlarkus if he desires to, even going so far as to treat Hlarkus as a familiar should he desire to. Necromancy As a reward for her efforts in uncovering the mysteries of the Soulmonger in the jungles of Chult, Szass Tam promoted the reckless moon elf lich Valindra Shadowmantle to the position of Zulkir of necromancy. A resourceful and vicious creature, Valindra both relishes her new role and chafes at the restrictions that it imposes upon her activities. She longs to shed the mantle of leadership and return to the world beyond Thay’s borders so that she can strike down those that would stand against her beloved homeland. Valindra Shadowmantle was last seen in Tomb of Annihilation, which shows the activities that would see her promoted into this role. Transmutation Samas Kul served as the Zulkir of transmutation under Szass Tam for nearly a century until his gruesome assassination. However, Szass Tam found him to be a serviceable ally and worked to return the tall, morbidly obese wizard to Thay. Samas is now an undead creature under Szass Tam’s control, and while he possesses a small spark of personality he is largely, as with the other undead zulkirs, an extension of Szass Tam’s will and ideology. Candlekeep History has shown us that all attempts to control access to the Art are doomed. Cabals of mages who share spells and research in secret are one thing, and guilds who seek to set prices and curb mage-tyrants are another, but the Red Wizards of Thay are the worst sort of oppressive wizards’ collective. They foment fear that inevitably leads to outbursts of violence, in which those not of their membership destroy books and spell-scrolls and sometimesirreplaceable knowledge in the process, seeking to wipe out or weaken those they hate and fear. Moreover, the Red Wizards seek to control what Art is learned, and how, and that is evil in itself, as well as foolishness that never ends well. Still, if such stains were not upon the world, we’d appreciate no brightness, and be tempered by no testing flames. It’s sad that such words are the best praise I can give them, but there you are. Be wiser, if not less sad. —Ulmarth Rendikho, Monk of the Avowed Chapter 2: Ruling Thay 23

The Separatists of Thay This faction of powerful Red Wizards led by Zulkir Dar’lon Ma of Mulmaster is no less evil than their counterparts that reside within the borders of Thay. They firmly believe that their claims to the title of Zulkir are legitimate and they staunchly defend their positions as such. While they are careful to not call for the removal of Szass Tam and the others, they have no qualms about referring to the impending changes that Dar’lon will be implementing. Dar’lon Ma is no stranger to controversy and has worked to establish several new zulkirs for realms that did not exist before: artifice, chronomancy, and information. Szass Tam has long held that only a school of magic is to have a Zulkir, but Dar’lon has expanded this model to include information as a school of thought rather than a school of magic. This is troublesome for the Red Wizards of the plateau, and while it shows some progressive thinking on Dar’lon’s part, it also demonstrates his capacity for strategic thinking as he shapes his influence into a chokehold around Thay proper. Artifice Lantan is an island nation close to Chult but this does not reduce their impact on modern culture. As time goes on, the practices of the artificers that dwell and practice there have pushed into the larger world, and Dar’lon Ma has recruited a Lantanese artificer to be the Zulkir of artifice. This is a significant departure from established Thayan practices in that historically only Thay-born Red Wizards could ascend to this status, and some have correctly surmised that this association was done to more closely bind Dar’lon’s vision of Thay to the Isles. No name has been formally given for this person, as Dar’lon only refers to them by title. Some believe that the Lantanese artificer is actually the subject of a magic jar spell and that their soul has been replaced by that of a true Thayan Red Wizard. Chronomancy The school of chronomancy is new to the modern world, but also a holdover from the ancient Empire of Netheril. Research into this type of magic is ongoing, and Dar’lon Ma makes no secret of the fact that he is actively seeking to fill this role in the near future. At this time, the magic of chronomancy is barely more than a theory; time-manipulation magics have been largely banned by Mystra and the few lingering reminders are limited to spells such as haste and slow. It is safe to assume that any individual hoping to become the Zulkir of chronomancy will need to demonstrate their mastery of this school of magic in some diabolical fashion in order to earn their rank. Divination The title of Zulkir of divination has been claimed by Damond, an aged human male and native of Thay. Despite his obviously advanced years, he is in excellent health and remains quite spry. His mind is equally nimble, and he equally invokes and projects an aura of dangerous cunning at all times. Every aspect of life is but a game to him—a game where only he can see the pattern, where few aside from him are aware of the rules, and everyone is but a pawn to be manipulated by the scant few people and creatures that are actually in charge. Dar’Lon Ma The More Things Change… Dar’lon Ma is a fired-up Red Wizard and is open about his desire to depose Szass Tam’s council of zulkirs. He believes that he can lead Thay to a better future, and while he does not state that he wishes to destroy the vile lich he won’t deny that “sometimes things must break and be reforged”. The people that he is gathering across the Forgotten Realms are powerful and driven, possessed of their own goals and machinations, and altogether evil. No matter how much gloss is applied to a Red Wizard, their motives are inherently evil. No matter what good they’re willing to perform upon their road to conquering Thay, the end result is, and always has been, total domination and subjugation of Thay, its people, and its holdings. What may come of the separatists winning their cold war? What evilness will they perpetrate to accomplish their goals? They are simply one set of would-be tyrants seeking to depose another, and the cost to the people of Thay is monstrous, as it always has been. 24 Chapter 2: Ruling Thay

Damond and Dar’lon Ma have a strong relationship even though it is an open secret that the old diviner is known to be working closely with Szass Tam. Both Red Wizards seek to promote Thay, and the lich wishes to use every available tool to its utmost potential. When the inevitable conflict occurs, Damond aims to be poised at the summit of greatness one way or another. Damond was last encountered in DDALDRW05 Uncertain Scrutiny. Enchantment After the city of Mulmaster was decimated by crazed cultists, a charismatic human Red Wizard by the name of Dar’lon Ma saw an opportunity. He claimed the title of Zulkir of enchantment and initiated efforts to rebuild the city in exchange for unfettered access to several historical sites that had been discovered in the vicinity of the Moonsea. His plans have since expanded and his influence has been felt as far away as Chult. His words call for alliances and the deposing of Szass Tam, but his all-too-bright smile promises only pain and poison for everyone involved. Dar’lon Ma was first encountered in DDAL00-01 Window to the Past and has appeared in numerous adventures in the Dreams of the Red Wizards storyline. He is generally considered the leader of the Red Wizards outside of Thay. Information While information isn’t a school of magic, it is a school of thought. Dar’lon’s chosen Zulkir of information has been referred to as Dusk, a charismatic darkling residing in Luskan. As Zulkir of information, Dusk manages propaganda, both positive and negative, for Dar’lon Ma and all Thayans that can’t or won’t live within the nation’s borders. As with the Zulkir of artifice, Dusk is not a native of Thay and represents an evolution of Dar’lon Ma’s vision of leadership. Vacancies in the Council No Red Wizard has claimed the title of Zulkir for Abjuration, Conjuration, Evocation, Illusion, Necromancy, or Transmutation. Neither has Dar’lon Ma made reference to anyone in these roles. Perhaps this is because the right candidate has not yet defected from Thay, or perhaps Dar’lon simply hasn’t found the right individual to take their place in his growing regime. Only the future knows! 25

Thayan Military Might Reports of Szass Tam’s mindless legions of terrifying undead are borne and spread across the length and breadth of the Realms. The mere mention of these hordes in a council meeting in the far-off Dales is enough to see a motion to improve a town’s fortifications approved. And there is good reason behind the terror that these swarms inspire. Thay’s undead legions operate like an army of unthinking and relentless ants. When confronted by an obstacle such as a river, they unhesitatingly plunge themselves into the water as more and more pile atop the underwater ones, to form a bridge/road across the torrent so the rest of the force can swiftly cross. They move themselves and whatever they are transporting over the submerged creatures finishing with the “drowned” undead walking up out of the water to follow as if the entire effort was no bother at all. Yet thanks to the defenders of Aglarond, Thay has learned that Red Wizards should always reinforce undead armies. When they don’t, enemy mages can readily set a battlefield of advancing Thayan undead aflame, then hold them off from behind a deep ditch and rampart until the ashes can advance no more. Rational battlemasters across Faerûn suggest that despite Thay’s staggering undead headcount the Red Wizards must follow some kind of martial doctrine or process. Unfortunately, very little is known about the actual makeup of Thay’s armies and tactics outside of those that actively serve. What follows is a summary of the intelligence that has been recovered by agents of the Zhentarim and the Harpers; the veracity of these points is hotly contested by military powers across the world. Despite the undeniable fact that Szass Tam’s unlimited throng of undead is the central feature of Thayan military might, it is hardly the entire picture. Thay also boasts a standing army, navy and a division of secret police all composed of mortal humanoids rather than mindless undead. While fielding droves of undead that do not require either rest or food affords obvious advantages, the undead bring their own set of notable drawbacks as well, primarily among them from a military standpoint being the lack of ability to think tactically and to reason generally. This is where the Thayan Knights, the Water Fist, and the Probity Corps come in. Rank Insignia and Titles Rank insignia are customarily worn on both shoulders, and they are the same for army and naval units. All elements of an insignia are depicted in crimson, on a black field. See the Current Military Ranks of Thay table on page 28. Any Red Wizard attached to a military unit uses and is addressed by their customary rank. Any non-Red Wizard mage or sorcerer attached to a military unit holds Vardhond-equivalent rank and is called a “Nauthkir.” Thayan nobility are treated and addressed as their knightly ranks. The title of “Autharch” is a Lord Mayor equivalent in the governing bureaucracy of Thay (i.e. the head administrator of a city), but is also bestowed as a military title for the Lord Commanders of standing garrisons (i.e. the commander of a fortress, or the troops guarding a city). Thayan Knight Water Fist 26 Chapter 2: Ruling Thay

Thayan Knights In the present day, in addition to the throng of undead, the Thayan Army consists of the Thayan Knights. These highly trained and unfailingly loyal soldiers primarily serve as bodyguards/escorts for the famed Red Wizards, as castle/fortress guards (including all patrols and guards on the Plateau of Thay), and as commanders for massed undead armies in the field. Their organizational structure is similar to that of most traditional standing armies with titled ranks topping out at general. Membership in the Knights is a position of privilege. It is reserved strictly for native Thayans that are of sufficient martial abilities, but most importantly, can demonstrate near fanatical loyalty to their Red Wizard masters. Once assigned to or appropriated by a given Red Wizard, a Thayan Knight’s highest duty is to protect that Red Wizard. This sole duty passes as the Thayan Knight’s code. This said, the vast majority of Thayan Knights do not directly serve specific Red Wizards. Most Thayan Knights fill out the ranks of gate-guards, harbor sentries, road patrols, wilderness wardens, and the rank-and-file officers in the army itself. The funding, training, and equipping of each division of Thayan Knights is the responsibility of the individual Tharchions. This dynamic is a source of constant political tension in Thay as Szass Tam and the Red Wizards incessantly demand more troops from the Tharchions who in turn resist when convenient, citing costs and the shortage of suitable candidates. Barring unusual situations—when battle losses necessitate a recent replacement, for example—any Thayan Knight encountered as a bodyguard knows well the habits and quirks of the Red Wizard they’re guarding. They anticipate what interests their master, which way the mage customarily looks or turn, and what triggers them to anger. They know the areas of effect and consequences of their master’s preferred spells (secondary fires, for instance) and will move and act accordingly. And they are always alert. Thayan Knights Sigil/Dress: The Thayan Knights wear a kit featuring black armor bearing a circle device of eight red flames to represent the eight schools of magic/zulkirates.  Chapter 2: Ruling Thay 27

Current Military Ranks of Thay Thayan Rank Insignia Thayan Army Rank Thayan Naval Rank Rough Real-World U.S. Equivalent Purple Dragons of Cormyr The Talons of Turmish Irhrand Irtane Private Blade Sword Kelrhond Vaethrar Corporal Telsword Avondas Tarsabbar Yoehvar Sergeant First Sword Ralvondas Vardhond Vornadar Lieutenant Swordcaptain Khortal Khortalhond Heemadar Captain Lionar Larvant Marahond Tantrar Major Ornrion Vornral Ulthark Aunkhlar Colonel Constal Hahavrho Narantark Ommondravar Major General Oversword Ondaggar Vulthark Soudravar Lieutenant General Battlemaster Tavalant Zulthark Zuldravar General/Admiral Lord High Marshal Korondor 28 Chapter 2: Ruling Thay

The Water Fist Before the rise of Szass Tam, the Thayan navy was formally dubbed The Wave Serpents but no one but sages, pedants, and formal court documents calls them that these days. To one and all in Thay, they are colloquially “the Water Fist,” after a famous line Szass Tam delivered in a speech: “Thay has three fists: one in armor, one on the water, and one unseen until it’s too late.” That last one is his cute way of referring to the arcane magic of the Red Wizards, but nonetheless his words gave the navy its daily Thayan name. The highly-efficient Thayan navy sails out of a base located on the island-tharch of Alaor. As such, the navy has traditionally fallen under the authority of Alaor’s Tharchion. Currently though, while Alaor’s Tharchion still maintains nominal oversight over the navy, as with just about every other important institution in Thay, the navy is now under the direct control of Szass Tam. The naval vessels themselves are crewed by undead rowers, but also with actual living sailors to perform every other important function on each ship. As with the Thayan Knights, membership in The Water Fist is reserved for native Thayans alone. Sailors in the Thayan Navy, beyond enjoying the ubiquitous and substantial Thayan military training, occupy varying ranks/positions as found in other traditional navies from rigging crew to carpenter and from ensign to admiral. As the Water Fist plies the normally calm waters of the Sea of Fallen Stars rather than more tempestuous bodies such as the Sea of Swords, the Thayan Navy favors the sleeker hull designs of clippers and schooners over the wide and wallowing galleys and cogs more commonly found along the Sword Coast. These craft, either of two- or three-masted varieties, are built for speed and maneuverability. Typically, each is garrisoned by both benches of undead rowers set to execute the complicated rowing instructions necessary for efficient broadside and boarding maneuvers, as well as well-trained sailors who know to quickly seize the enemy ship’s captain, “the head of the snake,” in order to rapidly bring a boarding action to a successful conclusion. Finally, Thayan vessels favor traditional appellations borrowing magic-related themes such as spells, schools of magic, or famous wizards. Some examples of such are The Fire Ball, The Enchanter, or The Zhengyi. The Water Fist Sigil/Dress: The device for the Water Fist is a black equilateral triangle surrounded by a circle of eight crimson tongues of flame, on a light blue field. Chapter 2: Ruling Thay 29

The Probity Corps Pervasive undead performing manual labor or marching to war are facts of everyday life in Thay. The same can be said of the ever-present guards and patrols conducted by the Thayan Knights and other militia. However, for each and every citizen of Thay, the most terrifying branch of the Thayan government is unquestionably the Probity Corps - the secret police of Thay. This innocuous sounding bureau is a source of daily anxiety for all members of the highly structured and stratified Thayan society because agents of the Probity Corps are immune to any and all social or political barriers. Reporting to Szass Tam directly, Probity Corps agents ghost through Thayan society and government on their merest whim. Known more colloquially as the “inquisition,” agents of the Probity Corps can be anywhere at any time. Their enigmatic nature is the source of their greatest power—the ubiquitous fear that literally anyone can be an informant for the inquisition or be an agent themselves. It would be a search indeed to find a Thayan who does not know or at least heard of someone “disappeared” by the Probity Corps. Enforcing absolute loyalty and obedience to Szass Tam, the Probity Corps are feared and hated by all Thayans. The rich and powerful of Thay particularly resent this omnipresence, because as secure as they may be in their strata from virtually every other segment of Thayan society, agents of the Probity Corps can suddenly rip them down from their perch without the least bit of warning. Szass Tam himself delights in the terror inspired by his secret police. He has worked hard to see agents of the Probity Corps entrenched in every important layer of government and Thayan society. They are his most trusted servants. Headquartered on Thaymount, little is known about the specific training that agents of the Probity Corps receive. The little that has been gleaned reveals that agents of the Probity Corps are subjected to extensive and fierce indoctrination as well as deep and rigorous training in both martial and arcane combat. Finally, agents of the Probity Corps are famous for their ability to catch an untruth, actual or perceived, and for then obtaining a confession for the lie. The Probity Corps Sigil/Dress: While rarely openly displayed, the sigil of the Corps is a stylized scale with the golden key of fidelity on one side and the red heart of loyalty on the other. Probity Corps Titles The Probity Corps does not have “ranks” as such. However, the base title of any member of the Probity Corps is “Inquisitor.” Further, the Probity Corp has a commanding Inquisitor in each tharch called the “Inquisitor Superior.” Each Superior is personally selected by Szass Tam. Finally, the soldiers employed by the Probity Corps are referred to generically as “Troopers.” 30 Chapter 2: Ruling Thay Probity Corps Sigil Thayan Knights Sigil Water Fist Sigil

CHAPTER 3 Points of Interest ll across Thay can be found common elements and themes. No matter how diverse the people are or how distant one tharch may be from another, some things are almost always the same across the land. Red Wizard Compounds For reasons of personal security, it is rare for any Red Wizard to have any slaves within their compounds, though slaves may live and toil in an “outer ring” of paddocks, fenced or walled courtyards, granaries, stables, and warehouses. In elder days, paranoid Red Wizards built such outer rings in a manner akin to many snail shells: from the outside, their entire length had to be traversed, circling the fortified walls of the inner compound, to reach the entrance to that inner compound, so defenders could contest every step of an advancing invading force, and sap the numbers of attackers with many pre-prepared traps (spiked pits, fire-barrels ignited from above and then spread by hurled flammable oil “bombs,” and so on). Rather than the Red Wizard or any guests being served by slaves, servants drawn from Thay’s middle class work within the fortified inner compound, in the relatively luxurious surroundings of the Red Wizard’s home, which typically boasts a small, sumptuous, intended-to-impress guesthouse (with spies waiting in secret passages in the walls, to employ spying holes and their ears, to learn all they can); a central mansion furnished to the personal taste of the Red Wizard; a servant’s abode often sited between guesthouse and mansion to give warning (screaming servants) of an intrusion towards the mansion from the guesthouse; and lastly, often surrounded by protective earth berms (rings of raised earthen walls, intended to absorb and deflect upwards harmful magics), a spellcasting chamber built like a double-walled warehouse, for use in practicing spellcastings and perfecting new magics. Most Red Wizard compounds have a fortress-like gatehouse guarding the wagon-width main entrance: a massive stone building in the shape of a squared arch, surrounding the two-paneled gate that normally blocks the wagon-path leading inside. The gatehouse has thick stone inner and outer walls, each at least three courses of blocks in thickness, with an area twice that width or more between these walls that’s entirely filled with loose stone rubble—so someone breaching a wall will be buried in a heavy outflow of shifting stones. The entry gates always open inwards and stand just in front of a rising slope of the wagon-path, so there’s no clear gap beneath them. They can be braced inside by massive timber beams that are slid out of holes in the sides of the gatehouse, through massive iron sockets bolted to the inside of the doors, and on into sockets on the other side of the gatehouse. Some of these bracing beams are stored in either side of the gatehouse, and so are extended out in both directions to hold the doors in place and brace them, passing through the sockets in the same manner as a waist-belt passes through clothstrip “keepers” in a pair of breeches. These beams may further be reinforced with angled braces placed between the inside surface of the gates and stone pockets sunk into the wagon-path (in locations intended to avoid wagon-wheels during normal daily passage of wagons in and out). There may even be additional top-down braces dropped from the “cross-header” of the arch down directly behind the gates, into stone pockets sunk into the wagon-path below. All such beams are moved, with the aid of projecting-metal-spike “handles,” by zombies stored in interior rooms within the gatehouse. Such rooms are A Chapter 3: Points of Interest Chapter 3: Points of Interest 31

commonly connected to each other through the crossheader of the arch, and in the floor of this above-thegates cross-passage are hatches so zombies can be released to plummet down on the heads of intruders, both outside the closed gates and inside them, to form an undead wall of defenders. If a compound is ever surprise-assaulted while the gates are open, zombies will be released to “fill the gap” of the open gateway and defend the compound until the gates can be closed—hopefully trapping some intruders inside the compound, where they can be overwhelmed with superior numbers (or having no place to hide from or avoid the spells of any Red Wizards in the compound) and easily despatched (usually with the exception of one or two survivors who can be tortured to reveal who’s behind the assault, and its exact goals). Thayan Homes To drive off unpleasant smells in a household—and to many Thayans, the “high, clear” smell of crushed mint is desirable, but cooking smells other beings of Faerûn might find mouth-watering, like roasting meat, are considered too pungent or “rich” (earthy, bloody) to be pleasant—incense is often burned in what the wider Realms might call a thurible, but to any Thayan is a “taermra.” A taermra always takes the form of a piercedsided, hinged-to-open two-part metal container with hanging-rings and chains, but it is never swung as a censer, always hung from a ceiling-look or projecting spires of furniture or arches (both open doorways and the ornamental arches found in many Thayan dwellings, that consist of stub walls projecting out into a room about the width of a person, to visually divide the chamber into two or more rooms, without actually doing so; sometimes, overlapping cloth hangings fill these archways to provide more of a visual barrier). The incense is always made in Thay, from local barks, roots, flower petals, and seeds, sometimes soaked in perfumes and spices from Murghôm and Semphar, so that it has the “high, clear” (menthol- or mint-like) scents preferred by Thayans. Less-well-off free Thayans, who can afford incense only for special occasions (such as birthdays, which are annual celebrations known as someone’s “godssmile,” marking when the gods first smiled upon them, at which the celebrant eats something favorite and special, drinks something expensive and special, and receives a tiny handmade gift from one family member, if any survive and dwell near), try to bring nice smells to their dwellings by burning scented candles, which tend to have blander, coarser scents than incense. Thayan Room Furnishings Thayans vary in personal tastes as all sentient beings do, but rooms in typical Thayan homes are dominated by couches strewn with many pillows and fringed blankets (wraps for warmth when the air is cold). Flanking most couches, and in clusters along the walls (often interspersed with mirrors of buffed and polished metal) are waist-high or so (varying in height) stone pedestals. These flaring-carved (that is, slender pillars with wider bases and tops) “vorcel” (pronounced VOR-sell; a single pillar is a “vorce”) provide handy surfaces upon which clusters of scented candles are sited, or bowls are placed, of flower-petals or snacks (Thayan snacks are often nuts or small, round, nutty-flavored balls of cheese). There will also be oval or star-shaped small tables usually used as sidetables for highbacked chairs fashioned for one person to sit on. Thayans usually dine facing each other in a cluster of such chairs, each with their own separate sidetables, and slaves circulating to bring and remove small domed platters and bowls (plates are rarities). Some grand Thayans (such as nobles with large chambers in which there’s lots of room behind the chairs) consider it rude for slaves to pass or stand between them, “in the center” of a dining group, but most Thayans do not. Ceilings are of stucco painted with designs or scenes of past family achievements or Thayan life. Protruding down from them are treadle-powered ceiling fans (a foot-treadle’s force is communicated by slender rods, cogs, and linkages to a broad-bladed fan, the blades always resembling the fins of large fish in shape), to cool occupants during the more frequent times when the air is too still and too warm. Floors are tiled, or in poor homes smooth-compacted earth painted or covered with pebble mosaics. The Serpent Statues of Thay The Athora made Thay a land of magic. To this day, the Athora lies in a cavern-lair deep inside Thaymount constructed by the Ba’etith, that mysterious group of sarrukh, batrachi and aearee who were responsible for the creation of the Nether Scrolls. Known as Assikhath to the sarrukh, the lair is adorned with statues that house protective and preservative magics (for some of the magic items in the lair are both powerful and dangerous; the Ba’etith didn’t want them to fall into the hands of anyone unauthorized—for such unwanted beings wouldn’t know the secrets of how to bypass the defenses of the lair, and so would have to fight them). A few of these statues can animate as guardians, but most shoot forth magics to defend the lair against intruders, particularly those who seek to damage and despoil, or unleash magic. Most of these statues are of stylized sarrukh (snaked-headed lizards, 32 Chapter 3: Points of Interest

giant serpents, or even winged upright bipeds with snake heads). Thayans of all walks of life (including wise, sophisticated zulkirs) associate magical power and success in the Art with the presence of such statues, so down the years similar statues have been fashioned and installed in many Thayan homes, compounds, and offices. Although no Red Wizard would state matters so baldly (a Thayan laborer or merchant might), they are thought to bring good luck, and to “evoke what is best of Thay,” no matter how distant they may actually be from Thay. A Thayan of the 1300s and 1400s DR feels at home in chambers adorned with snake statuary. As a result, they can be found everywhere Thayans have control over interior décor. Alaor, the Docks of Thay Alaor (“Al-LAY-oar”) Population: 81,500 Leader: Uldroud Harlrammon (LE male human fighter/wizard) Official Military Presence: The Water Fist, Thayan Knights Commerce: Imports, fishing, local retail Religious Influences: Gond, Istishia, Umberlee, Valkur Renewed in recent years as the seat of Thay’s navy, Alaor consists of two islands in the Alamber Sea. The larger of the two is Alaoran, and the smaller one is Raeldreth. The islands are often referred to in the collective sense as “the Alaor.” Alaoran is a shipyard and naval base and has been built over and honeycombed with tunnels and chambers many times over the years. The city above these secret places is where the sailors and their families dwell, and sailmakers and the like work daily. Much of Raeldreth has been made over into a forested abode of the wealthy and powerful, replete with glade-gardens and ornamental ponds. These elite Thayans live in their mansions, centered on the freshwater springs that rise from the Underdark in three places on the isle. Thund Greatharbor Anchorage is the breakwater-strengthened main harbor of Alaoran and serves as the seat of daily bustle and moneymaking in the tharch. It is usually home to a dozen naval ships and four times that many merchant vessels at any one time. For security reasons, local fishing boats have been exiled to the lesser harbor of Orjehet, halfway around the island to the east. Orjehet has become the tradesmoot and “neutral ground” for Thay’s poor and criminals and outlanders, including smugglers and dealers in poisons and contraband. The Kraken is a well-known dockside inn which hosts many clandestine meetings, adventurers for hire, as well as other agents provocateur. On Raeldreth, an inn and dining club known as Havandrar’s Haven — “the Haven” in daily converse—at the local winery of Larantheir’s Goblet, has become a rental meeting-place for revels and mercantile meetings, and is a popular place for Thayans to meet with outlanders to talk business, or to meet with each other to speak of intrigues. As there is virtually no tilled land on either island, the Alaor is entirely reliant on imports for basic foodstuffs, building materials, and just about every other fundamental necessity. Chapter 3: Points of Interest 33

Uldroud Harlrammon Tall, thin, and balding, Harlrammon’s black-bearded and beak-nosed visage is stark to say the least. His penetrating stare and cold, light gray eyes underscore his reputation as a calculating, careful administrator who believes in backup plans, preparedness, and redundancies. He is paranoid when it comes to outlander spies and saboteurs working against Thay’s navy and traveling Thayan merchants. A Szass Tam loyalist through-and-through, he regards most Red Wizards as arrogant incompetents who weaken and mar Thay with their personal ambitions and intrigues. Harlrammon maintains a network of personally loyal spies and informants on Alaoran, especially concentrated in the harbor of Orjehet. He regards those that live on Raeldreth as traitors to Thay, or at best idle drones, and due in no small part to his outspoken opinion on this matter is loathed by many of the wealthy and powerful who live there. New innovations in sails and rigging and hull design, and in cargo loading and unloading efficiencies, are meat and drink to Harlrammon (whose local nickname is “the Drood”). His goal is to arrange “accidents” for the naval ships of rival realms, so Thay will eventually covertly control Westgate, bottle up Cormyr at the Neck, be able to blockade Sembia and the Dragonreach ports at will, and so dominate the Sea of Fallen Stars. Heraldry: The badge of the tharch is the Daej, or “Proud Rule of the Waves,” and represents the navy (a gold sail on the ocean, with Thay behind it). Roleplaying Uldroud Harlrammon Bond: The enemies of Thay are everywhere. Only order and vigilance will protect the great nation from their ceaseless machinations. Flaw: I smiled once. I did not like it. I will never do it again. Ideal: Perseverance. By being steadfast in our duty, we are the rock that resists the crashing of incoming waves. Quote: “Fools and the careless prepare insufficiently and reap appropriate downfalls. Work together, in loyalty to great Thay, and all prosper and know greatness.” 34

Delhumide, the Spirit of Thay Delhumide (“Dell-hew-MEED”) Population: 58,000 Leader: Arauntra Taelthoun (LE female human wizard) Official Military Presence: The Probity Corps, Thayan Knights Commerce: Agriculture products, subsistence farming Religious Influences: Chauntea, Gond, Nesharia (Nephthys), Osirant (Osiris) Once the most populous tharch of Thay, this district was largely reduced to sparsely populated open grazing land after the city of Delhumide was destroyed in Thay’s war for independence from Mulhorand. The city was never rebuilt, and the ruins remain shunned to this day. The crumbling region is roamed by living spells, brigands, “wizard-ghosts,” and all manner of foul monsters. Curiously, these powerful denizens don’t roam far, staying contained in the vicinity of the tattered towers of that place. Beyond, Delhumide today is the safest and most regimented of tharches, being “under the eye” of Thay’s ruler Szass Tam. Some whisper that the lich vents his frustrations on those denizens, and even uses the ruins as cover for more nefarious projects and experiments. Then as now, the tharch consists of that part of the plateau of Thay between Lake Thaylambar and the Gorge of Gauros, bounded by the River Thay and the River Gauros. Ranchland is increasingly giving way to farms, and the roadways are constantly improved by crews of skeletons and zombies that toil away after sunset. The population is rising rapidly in recent decades yet is still far less than in olden times. Since the fall of the city of Delhumide, this tharch has been governed from the city of Umratharos (“Oom-rath-THAIR-ohs”) which is becoming a city of crafters and innovators, carving wood and casting metal and firing ceramics all under the watchful eye of the Probity Corps, the absolutist authority ensuring peace and order. These enforcers are free from corruption and diligent in their duties out of fear of Szass Tam. Delhumide continues to evolve into an increasingly productive agricultural sector for Thay. While the legions of undead are of course not reliant on such, the population growth being experienced across all of Thay progressively depends on Delhumide’s rising agricultural capacity. Featured crops from this developing and verdant region are rice, wheat, and corn. Arauntra Taelthoun A petite human woman with long honeyed curls and large, kindly brown eyes, Aranuntra is utterly entangled with Szass Tam. She is singularly devoted to him, even though she readily and proudly admits to the foul magical effects that he visits upon her in his research efforts. Most Thayans believe her infatuation with Szass Tam has poisoned her mind. She has proven that she is willing to do anything for him and is fanatical in hunting down any treachery towards him. She is said to love to fly and that she often indulges in aerial acrobatics if transformed by Szass Tam into winged form and given that much freedom. Heraldry: The badge of the tharch is the Thaumaund, or “Might of Making,” and represents the busy crafters of the tharch. Roleplaying Arauntra Taelthoun Bond: I hope to live to see a day where all experience the beauty and joy in reverence of Szass Tam. Flaw: While I do my best to stay focused, I find myself often lost in daydreaming and whimsy. Ideal: Loyalty. Without faith and fidelity, we are nothing. Quote: “Szass Tam is the greatest lord this or any realm has ever known. If you knew him as I do, you would see the greatness he has achieved, and can—if we but cleave to him—bring to us all.” Eltabbar, the Wealth of Thay Eltabbar (“El-TAB-bar”) Population: 2,699,500 Leader: Aumaund Halakoun (LE male human fighter) Official Military Presence: The Probity Corps, Thayan Knights Commerce: Caravan traffic, local retail, agricultural products Religious Influences: Helcaliant (Horus-Re), Kossuth, Nesharia (Nephthys), Waukeen The wealthiest tharch of Thay, the tharch known as Eltabbar is home to its current capitol, the city of Eltabbar. This city has been rebuilt and expanded in recent decades and portrays a sense of ever-greater magnificence with each passing year. “Tabar,” as the city is called by most citizens, contains homes for most of Thay’s nobility regardless of their tharch of origin. Anyone of significant power or influence in Thay, or desires to attain a measure of the same, keeps quarters in Eltabbar. Chapter 3: Points of Interest 35

Eltabbar is sprawling and populous. Its streets and buildings teem with citizens and residents of all ranks, but few outlanders are found here. It is a place of domes and tall spires, walled compounds of the rich and powerful, and balconied structures crowded together for everyone else. Eltabbar is rife with fountains, whose mechanical pumps are increasingly undead or oxen powered, but those that operate the beautiful fountains take great care to hide their workings under the streets or by keeping them wrapped in illusion magic. Always a hotbed of intrigue, Eltabbar has seen a dramatic increase in the presence of private and well-armed street patrols. The Probity Corps operates openly here and numerous other governmental spies canvas the city. This extends to Daerath Market—the one place in the city where stalls and wagons crowd each other, streets becoming winding alleys between them. Daerath is where shady business can be conducted openly, adventurers may be found and hired, and so on, but sensible citizens know that the tharchion’s spies are more attentive in Daerath than anywhere else. On one edge of Daerath stands the notorious Pheldanther’s gambling club, in which wagers are placed not just on games played with cards or dice or battle-boards with miniature armies and intricate rules, but on contests between human wrestlers, beasts, fighting fowl, and even humans pitted against hungry monsters desiring to eat them. Deadly human-against-human duels have even been wagered on, though spell-duels have been strictly outlawed after several unfortunate fires and explosions. The infamous Deep Canal is also found here; it is a subterranean sewage circuit that is navigated by narrow barges poled by those who know its labyrinthine ways. It is used as a network of travel routes between the deepest cellars of many city locales. It is said that the corpses of those that ask too many questions or upset the nobles may be found here, but only briefly for aquatic monsters are common here and are eternally hungry. Along the broad, well-maintained High Road where the Szul Road branches off, stands the popular walled way-inn known as The Stone Wizard; a statue in its front yard is widely believed to be the worn-down, ancient remains of a mage turned to stone in a longago duel. Whatever the truth of this, the rambling, many-times-expanded establishment has become notorious as a meeting ground for rivals and foes, a place where nigh any behavior is tolerated by the authorities due to the Inn’s reputation as neutral ground. This neutrality makes it a place where gang leaders settle 36

disputes with each other, Red Wizards not wanting to use magic meet to battle each other by other means, criminals trade contraband, make payments, and forge pacts, and outlanders meet with Thayans who don’t want to be seen meeting with outlanders. It’s rumored that there are tunnels and passages beneath the Stone Wizard, descending from its cellars to unknown depths—and that those dark places include cells where kidnapping victims and stolen goods are stored and the boldest denizens of the Underdark prowl. Aumaund Halarkoun Aumaund’s visage is often described (when he and his agents aren’t in earshot) as bloated like a toad left too long in the summer sun. He has heavy-lidded eyes, cheeks with burst blood vessels, and a crooked nose that has clearly been broken more than once. His excessive dandruff often settles on his expansive paunch after tumbling out of his greasy brown hair and across his shoulders. He became very rich before being appointed to his current exalted position through a combination of his land holdings and his aggressively unsavory rental practices but found a real sense of purpose and pride in being tharchion. He now devotes himself to making Thay ever wealthier and aims to spread its prosperity more widely among its citizens. In contrast to his earlier landlord habits, he busies himself by bettering roads, irrigation, sanitation, stores of cached food and other resources, improving toolmaking works and wagonworks, and so on. He sponsors, encourages, or oversees thousands of projects large and small—and no one else meddles in the lives of the cizitenzry of Eltabbar without him knowing about it, and keeping watch on what they’re doing. Over the years, he has become a shockingly deft manipulator, both covertly and by meeting with others and saying the right things or striking the right small bargains, at the right moments. Very few Thayans like him, but almost all respect him. Heraldry: The badge of the tharch is the Triumph, and represents the wealth, glory, and might of the city of Eltabbar. Roleplaying Aumaund Klarkoun Bond: I have been underestimated my entire life. Despite my ever-growing list of vanquished rivals, it continues to the current day. Flaw: I simply cannot resist delicious cheeses. Ideal: Greed. The most important interest is selfinterest. Only by putting ourselves first can we see to the needs of others. Quote: “I work to make Thay greater every day of my life; those who join me in such work will find me a steadfast ally, and those who do not will find in me something else entirely.” Gauros, the Wilderness of Thay Gauros (“GOR-ohs”) Population: 28,000 Leader: Haelaedra Kren (LE female human sorcerer) Official Military Presence: Thayan Knights Commerce: Mining, subsistence farming Religious Influences: Gebthant (Geb), Malar, Nesharia (Nephthys), Ramathant (Anhur), Sebethant (Sebek) Always one of the wildest, poorest, and most thinly populated tharches of Thay, Gauros is a border region. The rest of Thay tends to think of it as barren hills, roaming monsters, and a few dirty, backwoods woodcutters and miners eking out hard livings and dying poor and young. The truth is that while Gauros is the wildest region of Thay, it is also verdant and almost completely unspoiled. Its main exports are rough-smelted ingots—primarily of iron or copper—and logs of various hardwoods. Nearly all of its citizens are free, and they enjoy plentiful game and bountiful harvest thanks to the region’s abundant natural resources. Still, most are poor but have little need of coin as they pride themselves on being nearly completely self-sustaining. Gauros is one of the most well-watered areas in Thay, with many springs rising and running to sinkholes, and tiny bogs and swamps beyond number. What it lacks most is flat areas; everywhere the eye looks are hills and more hills, with mountains beyond to the east. Gauros is a place of pragmatism and living close to the land, with most inhabitants sharing a distaste for the energetic intrigues and politics that most other Thayans hold dear. The strongest desires here are to keep Gauros as it is, not let cities and marching undead and lots of slaves and Red Wizards become numerous and dominant. Gaurans even push back against Thay’s plans to “garden” Gauros by planting new trees and shrubs to make the more barren hills yield additional berries and timber, and breed and release animals to make game more plentiful. The Gorge of Gauros is the most widely-famous feature of the tharch; the river is cold and fast-flowing and alive with plentiful fish. In olden times, many gems were plucked out of the exposed rocks of the gorge walls on the dagger-points of casual passersby, but so many were taken that such activities now only reap rewards after one of the infrequent spring landslides. The stumps of several long-abandoned wizard’s towers stand here and there in the Gorge, but these have been thoroughly picked over, leaving behind only the legends of what they once contained. Veteran Thayan soldiers—and, if you can catch them after a few drinks, Chapter 3: Points of Interest 37

more than one Red Wizard—will attest that some of the tales of mages’ ghosts haunting the Gorge are true. Most of the ruins in the Gorge that are near the gorge-mouth are the foundations of old mills; one working mill survives, a sawmill that provides timbers to Surthay and Gauran boatbuilders. There’s constant talk of rebuilding one of the stamping mills to crush ore, but it never seems to come to anything; local belief is that Red Wizards dwelling in wealthier tharches want ores smelted into pure metal in their own tharches, so they’ll make the coin and not Gaurans. Perhaps the most famous such ruin is the Falcon Fang, a upjutting rock shaped like a giant tusk, that stands in the hills due east of Gauros Keep, about as far as one can travel before the hills give way to the rising rock flanks of the Sunset Mountains. The Falcon Fang has been a lair of both dragons and wyverns at various times past, and there are rumors of a well-hidden subterranean labyrinth beneath it that have long been used as a hidden brigand lair. These outlaws, it is said, raid the rest of Thay with great care and precision, taking only what they need and keeping as low of a profile as possible to mitigate the likelihood of hostile response from the Red Wizards. Sometimes referred to as “The Quiet Claws,” these outlaws are said to act to discredit or assassinate any Thayan who seems to have decided that they must be eradicated. Gauros is ruled from the frowning stone fortress of Gauros Keep, which features a well-armed and armored garrison of Thayan Knights. However, on their patrols, the Knights keep close to the Keep and seldom stray far from the dirt road linking the Keep with Denzar and the Daggertooth Pass. Haelaedra Kren A disciplined administrator, Haelaedra Kren is consumed by her seething rage. She loves opportunities to let it out in battle and she coldly shuts down anyone with a dissenting opinion with clipped, well-chosen phrases that would make a bard envious. She revels in the creative interpretation of facts but avoids personal insults, choosing instead to deliver a string of accusations that, while factual, may not be entirely true in hindsight when taken at their combined value. As the Gauran saying puts it, “Many a being has been hurled into the sky in small pieces for the crime of coming within the reach of Hunting Haelaedra.” Heraldry: The badge of the tharch is the Konthaunt, or “Tireless Burrower,” and represents the mining achievements of the tharch. Roleplaying Haelaedra Kren Bond: I will outwit and outfight any who seek to take from me what is mine. Flaw: I simply do not respect the intellect of others. I am surrounded by lessers and such is my burden. Ideal: Sophistry. I do not let facts or actual evidence get in the way of a winning argument. Quote: “Lack of control is for outlanders, fools, and the deranged. I hunt the undisciplined for duty—and satisfaction.” 38 Chapter 3: Points of Interest

Lapendrar, the Pulse of Thay Lapendrar (“Lah-PEN-drarr”) Population: 1,006,500 Leader: Dathace Yamraharr (LE female human fighter) Official Military Presence: The Probity Corps; Corps of Thayan Knights Commerce: Cash crops and agricultural exports, durable fine goods Religious Influences: Chauntea, Isharia (Isis), Osirant (Osiris), Ramathant (Anhur), Shiallia Laprendar has always been a popular destination for visiting outlanders. Its cities of Nethentir and Nethjet have always been centers of covert hostility to the Red Wizards and any authoritative rule from elsewhere in Thay. Szass Tam and the zulkirs know this, but have decided to rely on the Probity Corps’ spies, covert assassins, and other agents of quiet warfare rather than to clamp down with military patrols or direct actions by the Red Wizards. Nonetheless, all senior Red Wizards know that “the Neth” (the folk of Nethentir and Nethjet) are a source of trouble with the ever-present promise of a brewing rebellion. Tam’s policies on this region come from his recognition that Thay needs relief valves for wealth and ideas and strivings and influences from outside, both for morale reasons as well as to provide the Red Wizards with a method by which they can acquire exploitable goods and resources. Although any Thayan border port can and does serve this function, the relative isolation of Lapendrar from the wider Realms (as opposed to the southern port cities of Thay) means that outlanders and goods must travel longer distances under Thayan surveillance to reach the Neth cities, and so can be more easily noticed and—if need be—responded to. The eastern uplands of Lapendrar are ranchlands, open country, and small-hold farms. In recent years, Red Wizards have been ordered to work weather magic to provide enough dependable rainfall to keep the land from being parched. This has quelled much of the open mutterings against the red-robed mages or Tam’s rule; most citizens in this tharch are fairly content because they feel they’re largely being left alone and ignored by the mighty of Thay right now—and that’s the way they like things. What they do not want is any open conflict with Aglarond flaring up again, because this will turn Lapendrar into battlefields, mustering areas, and supply dumps, with Thayan armies trampling all the crops, eating all the ready food, and commandeering anything else they want. Similarly, they do not want to foment an open rebellion against the Szass Tam and the zulkirs for these same reasons. The city of Nethentir has always supported a thriving cluster of rival live theaters. The locals have 39

a significant appetite for for tragedies and comedies, and especially savor sharp satires of Red Wizards and Thayan nobles. Nethentans like and frequently buy broadsheets, not just of news and gossip, but poetry and prose; there are even local traders and collectors of the written word. The city is a center of glass-blowing and staining, and of finework wood-carving and carpentry. The rival city of Nethjet has always been a center of innovation and mechanization. The city’s residents have a love of assembly line processes and the creation of jigs and forms to assist with repeatable tasks. Fortunes have been made and many usefold household items that can be readily sold have been produced in Nethjet. It is also a place of workers’ cabals, silent “disappearances” where unwanted individuals get strangled or drowned and then rendered down into locally-produced preserved food for export, and quiet local mercantile feuds. Dathace Yamraharr Dathace Yamraharr has chalk-white skin and bloodred eyes framed with thick black hair, which, when combined with her short stature, commanding voice, and powerful presence leave her visitors with few reactions other than “powerful.” She is a farsighted schemer, and a superb actor; she delights in using her skills as a wily diplomat. She makes as few enemies as possible, attentively obeys Szass Tam, and pursues no ambitions of her own. She is a collector of magic items and has a special fondness for items from outside the Sword Coast region. Some say that this is due to her bloodline coming from some far-off land, while others assume that this is because she secretly fears the Red Wizards and simply wants to be able to survive any and all potential disagreements with them. She is a capable fighter with a preference for throwing knives and darts. Heraldry: The badge of the tharch is the Parommul, or “Great Bounty,” and represents the abundant crops of the tharch’s farming. Roleplaying Dathace Yamraharr Bond: My loyalty to the great nation of Thay is unwavering. Flaw: I have a weakness for the exotic and rare. Ideal: Patience. Too few recognize the value of a measured and well thought out response. Quote: “We should all collect more friends in life, individuals we can trust. How can we come to trust each other?” Priador, the Jewel of Thay Priador (“PREE-ah-door”) Population: 96,500 Leader: Olone Dieyamron (LE female human wizard) Official Military Presence: The Water Fist, Thayan Knights Commerce: Cash crops; Local retail Religious Influences: Nesharia (Nephthys), Valkur, Umberlee, Waukeen Priador is the most-recently founded tharch and is just over a century old. Originally consisting of just the city of Bezantur, the region was eventually expanded to encompass the surrounding coastal area as well. The tharch is now largely comprised of low-lying, cool-climate grassland rolling plains, verdant and green. Vegetation of all types flourishes here and has given rise to the Thayan saying “Things grow with the blessings of all the gods in the Priador.” This combined with three thriving port cities collectively called by some sailors of other lands “the Jewels of Thay,” has made Priador perennially one of the most prosperous parts of Thay. Much of this tharch is wilderland little touched by human alterations. Scores of Red Wizards claim parts of it, and many of these holdings consist of markers, fences, small private compounds, and lots of open land roamed by monsters captured and collected by these mages for use in arcane magical experiments. The monster presence restricts Priadoran citizens to the tharch’s sole town of Anhaurz and its three cities, which are now all walled against marauding monster raids: Bezantur, Murbant, and Thasselen. As a result, some Priadorans feel spurned by, or at least cut off from, the rest of Thay. This has resulted in them resenting the authority of the Red Wizards but they’ve learned to do so silently. The brightest of the Jewels of Thay has always been Bezantur, known throughout Thay as “the heart of Thay” because it’s where fashions are often set, where before the rise of the Red Wizards the nobility met to make pacts and decide policies, where in older times the largest slave markets were located, and where the makers of early Thayan culture were centered. Many bards and traveling merchant tale-tellers are also swift to point out that Bezantur is a place where any vice or depravity one can imagine can still be indulged in “given the appropriate loosening of both morals and purse strings.” It was also the center of early Thayan religion, which earned it the title of “the City of a Thousand Temples.” War or peace, good times or bad, Red Wizards or Szass Tam or not, Bezantur has been ever prosperous and has always flourished. It has grown in 40 Chapter 3: Points of Interest

size and architectural magnificence, its older buildings being torn down and newer, taller ones put up in their places. As a result, it looms impressively (or forebodingly, depending on one’s point of view) no matter what direction it is approached from. Bezantur has always been in love with the new, and it shows. Bezantans buy new clothes constantly, and new furniture often; they are among the few city-dwellers in the Realms to move to different domiciles frequently, almost always after purchasing a newer, grander residence or having one built for them. The city of Murbant is surrounded by the largest Red Wizard estates, and has been called “the home of smugglers, traffickers of all types, and reeking fisherfolk,” a dismissive reputation that has stuck. Most Thayans of every tharch save perhaps Gauros like to look down on Murbant, the “Tainted Jewel.” Some of the city’s smugglers deal in kidnapped Thayans being rushed out of the realm while it’s rumored that others specialize in capturing roaming beasts of the Red Wizard menageries, sailing them covertly and hastily elsewhere for sale in places like Chessenta, Westgate, or Sembia. The city is known for the many amethyst-hued domes of its homes that dominate the cityscape; local buildings are almost all domed and sport large oval windows. Thasselen’s main site of interest to outlanders is Galauntowers, a mansion made over into six luxurious suites, but now abandoned thanks to a deadly spell-duel involving multiple mages and some strong local ward-spells that got twisted in the fighting, so that monsters controlled by the mages—and, some say, the ghosts of apprentices slain in the fray—now appear and disappear at random within its halls, stuck eternally in their cycle of casting, attacking, and falling in combat. The flickering, failing wards also disgorge dangerous magical discharges from time to time, without warning, and of course there are treasure-tales and wild stories of all of this magical mayhem being part of some grander scheme to lure outlander mages and Red Wizards alike into the clutches of whoever’s in hiding and directing the wards as their own private magical weapons and outreaching arms. Olone Dieyamron A brilliant and creative spellcrafter, Olone Dieyamron is a very shrewd judge of character. She maintains a large and expensive network of spies throughout the tharch as well as in important social and political circles across Thay. She aims to keep herself abreast of the latest intrigues, shifts in power and influence among Thayan cabals, and new business opportunities. She is genuinely dedicated to making Thay better for all, believing that making the poor wealthier will lead to spending and prosperity for the entire country, instead of the lofty few. Olone has no interest in becoming a Red Wizard, with all of what she sees as “their haughty blindnesses to the world as it really is,” and has a great interest in working with outlanders in Thay, as she believes that far too many of her fellow Thayans ignore or dismiss the wider world. She will happily hire, work with, and even genuinely befriend Chapter 3: Points of Interest 41

outlander adventurers, whereas most tharchions and their autarchs view outlanders—adventurers in particular—with suspicion, as walking sources of trouble. Heraldry: The badge of the tharch is the Taerlvhond, or “Three Jewels,” and represents the three port cities (“Jewels”) of the tharch. Roleplaying Olone Dieyamran Bond: There is a solution to every problem. I have dedicated my life to applying reason and logic to challenges in order to make the world a better place. Flaw: I cannot abide inactivity. If I am not busy, I am very unhappy. Ideal: Ingenuity. Most of Thay’s troubles come from hidebound thinking, stuck in the past. We need innovative solutions. Quote: “This is a time of opportunity across Faerûn, and we in Thay very much want to be a part of it. Not to mention showing all the world how wealthy and comfortable the lives of even the lowly can be if we choose the right paths forward.” Pyarados, the Bright Heart of Thay Pyarados (“PIE-arr-AH-dose”) Population: 84,000 Leader: Ortraun Naumarkh (LE male human fighter) Official Military Presence: The Probity Corps, Thayan Knights Commerce: Caravan traffic, cash crops, metallurgy Religious Influences: Gebthant (Geb), Helcaliant (Horus-Re), Malar, Nesharia (Nephthys), Waukeen This tharch is full of rolling hills that are patrolled lightly from the city at its heart for which the entire region is named. Pyarados the city is what it has been from the start: two distinct cities, one a slowly-growing ring around the other. As it has been for centuries, the city remains sharply divided. The seat of power and local governance is the interior city, with tall, reinforced walls; it is clean, ordered, and luxurious, with wide avenues bordered by manicured parks that sprawl everywhere. The grounds of noble homes and Red Wizards’ mansions maintain aggressively respectful separation so that no great house is close to another. Every such home has its stables, and lanes, and orchard-lined gardens and bowers, usually with fountain-fed pools. They give way to a narrow ring of balconied tallhouses around the inner wall. The wealthy and well-to-do merchants live in this crowded splendor as houses are scarce, fiercely sought-after, with most being purchased or otherwise appropriated by the nobles and Red Wizards immediately. In all, some four thousand souls dwell in “the Bright Heart.” Six gates pierce the walls, spoking major streets into the outer city. This outer ring of Pyarados is much larger than the Bright Heart and is ever-expanding, spilling outside the outer city walls to the east as opportunity and resources allow. The autarch of the city, a veteran soldier named Ularth Haeraundor, uses his soldiers to forcibly prevent any attempts to build to the west, southwest, and northwest, as this is fertile land needed to feed the city. Most farms in this tharch are in its westernmost lands, and are owned by the realm rather than a farmer or landholder; the farmers pay annual rents to work them. This outer ring of Pyarados is the Grimshield (just “Shield” in daily local speech) and is a dirty, crowded slum of unpaved, muddy winding alleys, ramshackle buildings that often collapse or lean groaningly against neighboring buildings, and lawless, grinding poverty; children scramble along the rooftops hurling stones at “dungbirds” (pigeons, as they’re known in the Sword Coast). Many of these children behave as urchins, some rightfully so, and seek anything of value they can use, trade, or sell. Gangs roam the streets in the dark hours, battling each other for supremacy and a chance to raid any outlander goods left too lightly guarded. Justice in the Shield is still a matter of cudgels and swords, on the streets, not trials; trials are for the people of the Bright Heart and are rare even there, where quiet backroom deals settle most disputes, and the autarch exiles many unless overridden by the tharchion. Roughly sixty thousand folk dwell in the Shield, but no one properly counts “dirty Shielders” because to be counted is to be taxed, so the autarch really only knows the approximate count of how many building owners and official renters live in the outer part of his city. For years, Pyarados was sneered at by the rest of Thay as “where the thicknecks dwell,” and was viewed as a place of coarse untutored folk who were desperate enough to be readily hired as grunt labor. The city was—and still is—a base for prospectors and miners seeking to find gems and metal ores in the mountains, and for hunters and adventurers exploring the hills and heights and the wilderlands beyond. The mountains remain untamed and teeming with game, with more than a few prowling monsters as well. Several large veins of gems and precious ores have been discovered here recently, and it is home to numerous fortified, always-busy smelters in the foothills to the east of the city. The Red Wizards take great interest in the smelters and their operations and maintain a close watch over them. Local merchants have to claw and grasp and scramble to make their fortunes and learn very early on to keep their mouths shut and 42 Chapter 3: Points of Interest

leave politics to those that active play in those cloakand-dagger games. Laborers learn that if they want to eat regularly, let alone live in any sort of comfort and dignity, they have to go elsewhere and forge lives away from this harsh backwater. Some interesting sites in this tharch are Redfist Tower and Laumauntor’s in the city, and the abandoned, reportedly haunted smelter of Hurrkeep, in the foothills a day northeast of the city. Redfist Tower is the main soldiers’ barracks and the abode of the autarch of Pyarados. Its name comes from the red stone it is built from, which was long ago fused together through enchantment and artifice so as to have a hard, glass-like nigh-unbreakable outer shell, and from its shape: the squat tower bulges at the top into two wider floors that house the autarch and his household, combined together, these elements look like a fist atop an upthrust arm when viewed from some angles. It’s pierced by the Red Gate, the largest gate in the inner city wall, that carries a wide avenue named Rauntar’s Way straight east to an outer city gate. Unlike the muddy and hole filled lanes in the rest of the Shield, Rauntar’s Way is a carefully paved and well-maintained street. City soldiers forcibly keep the Way clear of vendor wagons and squatters so there is always a clear and ostensibly secure swift route through the Shield. Redfist Tower has a dungeon beneath it, and local tales insist strange monsters are locked up in it, not just miscreants. Legend insists that treasure is hidden within the halls and walls of Redfist Tower, put there by autarchs who ran afoul of the wrong Red Wizard and ended up too swiftly dead to ever retrieve it. Laumauntor’s (“Law-MON-tor’s”) is a rambling, dimly-lit, dirty labyrinth of a tavern in a dark corner of the Shield, a place where the ceiling sags in many places and gets “fixed” by hammering a log into place as a temporary prop that becomes as permanent as anything in the place. Some call it “the Muttering House” due to the ever-present, droning sound of a myriad of quiet conversations that take place here at all hours. Laumauntor’s never closes, so it serves as a home for the homeless and as hiring-fair for adventurers or anyone willing to do shady work. Everyone in the Shield knows where Laumauntor’s stands but few know that Laumauntor became a lich long ago; the wizard stays in hiding, sending out floating apparitions of himself to talk to clientele or more often just spy on them from the darkest shadows. Hurrkeep takes the form of a now-roofless, half-collapsed stone castle tower with attached rampart that once enclosed ingot sheds (roofs over the in-ground dirt molds the smelted metal was poured into, to form wagon-sized ingots whose weight and bulk cut down on casual theft) that have long since utterly collapsed. 43

Hurrkeep still has cellars beneath it, where the actual smelting was done, but it was abandoned during the raging height of the Spellplague when lurking monsters of the Underdark broke up into the cellars from below—and the resident Red Wizards were too crazed or mind-melted from the blue fire to effectively fight them. Those who didn’t flee fast enough perished horribly, and the denizens of the Realms Below took over Hurrkeep. Later, when Red Wizards sought to retake the place, no trace of them could be found, but the monsters attacked without warning whenever the smelter’s workers were weakest, slaughtering them time and again, until the remaining Red Wizards refused to work at Hurrkeep and it was abandoned for good in favor of larger and safer smelters elsewhere in the tharch. These days, outlander adventurers are the most common visitors, and fresh rumors of treasure hidden in Hurrkeep attract more hopeful challengers whenever the supply of edible opportunists dwindles. It’s doubtful any of them are true beyond a few coins and enchanted rings scattered as bait, but adventurers are too often optimists to stop coming. Ortraun Naumarkh A stern and humorless former soldier, Ortraun Naumarkh’s shrewd mannerisms are well known throughout Pyarados. He abides by and delivers clear-cut orders and expects them to be followed to the letter, and possesses a drive to maintain order for Thayans over outlanders. Brigands, criminal gangs, and invading armies are unwelcome and historically unsuccessful in the tharch under his hand. He is seldom seen out of his armor and is rumored to never sleep, instead spending his life attentively watching over his patrols and receiving reports from his spies. With his drive for efficiency there is little to no room for corruption among those he employs. He sees adventurers not as troublemakers but instead as a necessary relief valve in Thayan society. He delights in using adventurers over native Thayans in “fighting at the fore” against monsters, gangs, rogue wizards, other adventurers, and any foe that will take too high a toll of his precious soldiers. Naumarkh never forgets a face, a name, or an indiscretion, and is very good at anticipating alliances and schemes, and sending troops and spies to the right spot, at the right moment, to thwart them or at least see what unfolds, so he knows what’s happening in the darkest shadows of the Shield, and the most remote valleys of the mountains. Slow to anger, but patient and never gives up—so, a formidable and dangerous foe. Heraldry: The badge of the tharch is the Saarkatath, or “Red Fist,” and represents the city of Pyarados itself. Roleplaying Ortraun Naumarkh Bond: Harnessing and controlling the chaos of the wider world is what motivates me every moment of every day. Flaw: I delegated an important duty to an underlying once. It resulted in disaster. Never again. Ideal: Obedience. There is an order to the world. It is important that everyone fully understands their place in it. Quote: “Be vigilant, be tireless, relax never, and obey orders. I do, and if more did, there’d be a lot less trouble in the world.” Surthay, the Absence of Thay Surthay (“SUR-thay”) Population: 62,000 Leader: Azaelra Odesseiron (LE female human wizard) Official Military Presence: The Water Fist, Corps of Thayan Knights Commerce: Caravan traffic, fishing, subsistence farming Religious Influences: Helm, Ramathant (Anhur), Malar, Sebethant (Sebek), Tempus This tharch, a strip of poor-soil hill country between the northern edge of the Plateau and Lake Mulsantir, has always been Thay’s military “wall of ready spells and swords” against its longtime foe, Rashemen. A “heavily-patrolled waste” was how one visiting merchant accurately described this region, and although this description is more than a few decades old, not much has changed. The frequent patrols find their base in the remains the fortified city of Surthay itself, a walled settlement that grew around the original castle of Surthay. This muddy city was a home for fisherfolk supplying the kitchens of the castle with fresh lake food. Surthay has always been squalid and reeking of decay; a sandbar jutting east to enclose and shelter an arm of the lake forms an excellent natural harbor for small craft but no currents or other water movements scour out this backwater except during the most violent storms, so it stinks of all the dying plants and fish that rot in it. Aside from these fishing boats, no Thayan vessels ply Lake Mulsantir so Surthay has never had any sort of real port facilities. There are many mud flats where fishing boats can be careened and moored against rising tides, rising to bare rock outcrops where nets are spread to dry and for repair; a visitor may look in vain for wharves and warehouses. Still, the creatures in the mud flats and the lake, from large crabs to eels 44 Chapter 3: Points of Interest

to curiously shiny small fish, are all quite delicious and require only minimum seasoning or treatment prior to consumption. The city of Surthay today consists of three very different parts: “Westsulkh,” a dirty, crime-ridden shantytown that’s home to fisherfolk, poor Thayans who’ve fetched up here because they could find no better place to live in the rest of Thay, and a few outlanders who fled from justice or feuds or debts elsewhere; the frowning, mighty, many-towered fortress of Surtowers rising like the brutal stone prow of a huge ship in the center, pointed north at Rashemen and bristling with catapults, trebuchets, and ballistae; and “True Surthay” to the east, a district title self-bestowed by local Mulan nobles who dwell in a luxurious maze of walled mansions and the two-comfortable-coach-width lanes that curve between them. Among the nobles dwell the local Red Wizards of Surthay, with many of them being skilled abjurers. Dung- and refuse-heaped mud flats separate Westsulkh from the mouth of the River Thay, which has its ship jetties to the south, well inland to keep them out of easy reach of raiders from Rashemen. Walls and patrols keep the Westar from those jetties, and their slum from expanding to engulf them. The river separates Westsulkh from the real reek—and very real perils—of the vast, trackless swamp of Surmarsh. This sinister wetland has always been a maze of bogs that can swallow and drown entire teams of horses and oxen, and clumps of ground dry enough to support trees that the swamp cannot drown, so a canopy of tree leaves and hanging vines shrouds much of the swamp in permanent gloom; the trees and grasses that are often as tall and thick as stands of bamboo provide ample cover for even large and fierce swamp inhabitants like black dragons, lizardfolk, otyughs, ropers, and a coven of green hags. It’s said in Westsulkh that the green hags invite and control a succession of black dragons to lair in the Surmarsh, maneuvering the wyrms into confronting and fighting formidable intruders. Nonetheless, the swamp has always been a magnet for Thayans—nobles, and wealthy, successful merchants who like to behave like nobles—who love to hunt and bring back monster trophies. It is said in Westsulkh that the hags keep score, desiring to take a greater toll of hunters than the hunters take of their “beloved beasties.” As the tharchioness must pay for food supplies sent to her tharch, Surthay is often a hungry city; the wealthy and powerful know to maintain their own larder-cellars, and the soldiery often eat the castle stores and the shelves of all food shops bare, leaving the poor of Westsulkh to fend for themselves, from what the fishing-boats bring and what can be gleaned wild from the fringes of the Surmarsh and from the bleak hills of the rest of Surthay. The sandbar and mud flats do yield clams to those who don’t mind getting really filthy and risking potential death by drowning while digging for them. Locals soon grow used to the ever-present stench of the Surmarsh and lose most nuances of their sense of smell. Although the Red Wizards work minor weather magics to divert the breezes north out over the lake, disease-carrying stinging insects plague the city. Thunderstorms often rage in spring and fall, humidity makes the city nigh-unbearable in high summer, and winters are both damp and cold. By pitting the poor and the fisherfolk against each other in feuds her spies and covert agents promote, the tharchioness keeps crime in the city personal and low-level rather than the more complex intrigues that plague the other tharches. Still, torture and casual murder is far less common than it once was as the tharchioness tends to personally kill any who dare to commit these acts in her tharch, so most crime is of the “snatch goods and beat those who object” variety. Surthay is a frontier backwater that the rest of Thay ignores as much as possible; it’s sometimes said to be “a good place to exile someone to.” It doesn’t produce enough food to feed itself, let alone ship anything to rest of Thay; what little it does export (often stolen Thayan goods to Thesk) is usually traded for more and better food than can be gleaned or grown locally. Aside from the notorious Surmarsh, sites of interest in this tharch include the Lost Spires and Duskur’s Cave. The Lost Spires are the ruins of more than a dozen overgrown, long-abandoned mansions overlooking the mouth of the River Gauros, in easternmost Surthay. These monster-infested, once-grand complexes were built by Red Wizards who eventually grew tired of defending and rebuilding them against brigand raids, Rashemi invasions, and the occasional hunting black dragon from the Surmarsh. They can readily be found from afar thanks to the few slender, spire-topped towers among them that haven’t collapsed and fallen yet. These have their lingering tales of hidden treasure stolen from Thayan nobles and magic snatched from Red Wizards. What is known is that certain Red Wizards from time to time use their spells to transport themselves for covert face-to-face negotiating meetings in the upper rooms of these towers where none will overhear. These spur fresh rumors that they leave cryptic messages and valuables in those lofty chambers for others to retrieve. Chapter 3: Points of Interest 45

Duskur’s Cave is one of many narrow clefts in the north face of the Plateau and faces Lake Mulsantir. Most of these are dead ends that serve as temporary lairs for brigands or for trolls, leucrotta, and other opportunistic monsters, but one of them—and Surthan can never agree on just which one—has a small, unassuming-looking side-crevice that makes a few sharp turns and then descends into the upper reaches of the Underdark. Duskur was a Thayan merchant whose head was eaten by one such monster, but in Surthay there are frequent rumors of local merchants who’ve retained their heads thus far and have dared to establish regular trade expeditions with denizens of the Underdark. Azaelra Odesseiron A slender, cold-eyed, blonde woman of middle age, Azaelra Odesseiron wears a habitual frown. She is a shrewd and ruthless strategist who looks ahead, always planning for the worst. Calm under pressure, and swift to act, she comes from a long and proud lineage of Thayan nobles but spent her youth as a rebel and an adventurer. Unlike her few surviving kin, she has known hunger, the pain of wounds unhealed, and hardship. Nothing scares her, and her every decision, word, or act is for her own survival first, obedience to Szass Tam second, and the betterment of Thay third. Nothing else matters; she doesn’t care what others think of her, and if someone is trying to ambush, swindle, or frame her, she’s usually a step or two ahead of them— as half a dozen Red Wizards have learned across the years. These days, the wearers of red robes don’t like her but they do respect her as a solidly competent administrator who can be worked with by all who put Szass Tam and Thay first. She has no ambition to supplant any Red Wizard, and no interest in wider politics in Thay unless wider issues in Thay take an interest in her. Azaelra has none of the haughtiness of most nobles and deals with outlanders, brigands, the poor, and the high and mighty alike; as equals who must bow to her will if they are to remain in her tharch. As Surthans are wont to say, “She sees through deceit before you commit it.” Heraldry: The badge of the tharch is the Taerlvrath, or “Three Strivings,” and represents three major activities in the tharch: fishing, agriculture, and defense of Thay. Roleplaying Azaelra Odesseiron Bond: I will face all challenges with pragmatism to ensure both my self-preservation as well as for the betterment of Thay. Flaw: I have a profound weakness for sweets and candied delicacies. Ideal: Discipline. Through vigilance, forethought, and anticipation, the strong can control many of the chaotic and dangerous variables that plague lesser people. Quote: “I rule here—not for me, but for Szass Tam, and the betterment of Thay. Which is the same thing if we see clearly and serve loyally.” 46 Chapter 3: Points of Interest

Thaymount, the Height of Thay Thaymount Population: 21,000 Leader: Eldroun Myrantar (NE male human fighter/sorcerer) Official Military Presence: The Probity Corps, Thayan Knights Commerce: Mining, local retail, general exports Religious Influences: Helcaliant (Horus-Re), Osirant (Osiris), Tholaunt (Thoth) The highest-elevation tharch in the realm, Thaymount consists of the Ruthammar Plateau and a range of volcanic mountains that rise up from it; collectively, they are referred to as “the Thaymount” or “High Thay” when speaking of the entire, larger region. In the past, much of this area served as the homes and training-grounds of Thayan legions; reinforcements were drawn from them whenever needed for Thay’s many wars. Other than that, the tharch was largely wilderland, save for a few army-guarded gold mines along the southern edge of the plateau. However, this region was rapidly transformed after Szass Tam chose to dwell and rule from here. Szass Tam’s presence meant that the zulkirs of the realm soon maintained residences in Thaymount and spent most of their time there. So too did the most ambitious and powerful Red Wizards beneath the zulkirs, for fear of being sidelined, demoted, or simply ignored. This in turn attracted lesser Red Wizards, noble families, and even the wealthiest priests of Thay, all of whom established estates in High Thay, transforming the barren foothills of the mountains into terraced gardens around palatial mansions. From the lower reaches of this heart of luxury and spreading out over the plateau is an ever-growing patchwork of more extensive estates. For those not active in the daily governance of the realm, abodes in this tharch tend to serve as refuges from city residences, especially in the hottest months of each year. Most Thayans prefer to be city-dwellers, and return from their luxurious Thaymount villas and surrounding manicured estates to the bustle and crowding of their favorite cities whenever they can. With the coming of the mighty to this tharch came security; soldiers patrol the heights along the edge of the plateau often. All outlanders and most Thayan slaves and commoners are forbidden to enter this tharch unless accompanied and watched over by a Red Wizard, and even Red Wizards seldom visit this tharch unless summoned or on specific missions. An outlander traveling alone who doesn’t look like someone’s bodyguard on an urgent errand, or any group of armed outlanders on the move, is going to attract attention in Thaymount—and can expect to be challenged sooner rather than later. Some of the surrounding volcanoes are still active and gift the region with frequent earth tremors, smoke plumes of various sizes, and the occasional sulphurous stinking wind, though full eruptions are rarities. The entire region is arid and barren due to ashfalls but outside of this immediate space, Thaymount consists of verdant grasslands, dotted here and there with pine forests that were once far more extensive. There are a few towns and a handful of small, nameless settlements here and there across High Thay, where commoners dwell and farm to supply the estates of the nobles and Red Wizards, but no cities. The mighty of Thay haven’t yet expanded their holdings into the northeastern part of the tharch which remains wild. This Wild High is roamed by gnolls, orcs, and a few goblins; these beings forage, farm, and hunt, keeping well away from the humans—for to be noticed is to be captured and forced into service in the armies of Thay, gaining regular food but losing all freedom, and enduring harsh and constant discipline. All around Thaymount, the rising flanks of the plateau are honeycombed with now-abandoned caverns and passage networks that once housed Thay’s armies. The soldiers now dwell in similar tunneled accommodations in the sides of the Thaymount range itself. Gnolls, darkenbeasts, and captured monsters inhabit caverns on the north and northwest flanks of the mountains, where humans are few. Highly trained, well-equipped orc and orog soldiers of the foremost legions among Thay’s armies dwell in passages and caverns on the south and southeast sides of the mountains, ready at hand to defend and be commanded by the zulkirs and Red Wizards, not to mention the High Regent. Weather throughout this tharch is strictly controlled by weather spells worked by the Red Wizards; they keep everything well-watered, but restrict almost all rainfall to nighttime, to discourage illicit activities and to keep the daylit hours dry for the enjoyment of, and full use by, Thay’s wealthy and powerful. The rivers Eltar, Lapendrar, and Umber all descend from the soot-covered glaciers of the Thaymount peaks, and deep volcanic rifts serve as forges; the smiths dwell where they work, in chambers flanked by the barracks of soldiers assigned to watch over them for any hint of treachery. Red Wizard spells whisk air to the “hammering floors,” and carry harmful gases away to vent into the skies above the peaks. These mountains also hold spellcasting chambers for Red Wizards to practice and experiment in and the private fortresses of certain zulkirs; lesser Red Wizards have been banished from the mountains and forced to build their towers on the grassy plains of High Thay. Chapter 3: Points of Interest 47

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Szass Tam rules from the Citadel, located within one of the highest peaks of Thaymount, slightly south of the midpoint of the range. It long ago expanded into worked-out gold mines immediately south of it, in the mountains; the mines worked today are along the southern edge of High Thay. The Citadel is an ancient stronghold of tunnels and subterranean chambers, encircling the caldera of an extinct volcano. These subterranean spaces have been much enlarged by Szass Tam—sometimes unintentionally, when spells he was experimenting with in deep caverns went awry, blowing apart huge areas of bedrock. The Citadel is now Szass Tam’s “ruling castle” even though it lacks towers and magnificent chambers of state, and its defenses are almost entirely the undead that crowd it. Red Wizards attending him here are well aware that powerful, foe-smiting “hanging spells” cast long ago lurk everywhere; Szass can trigger any of them in an instant, even when his attention seems to be elsewhere. Passages descend from the deepest halls of the Citadel in two directions: north under the mountain range to the Doomvault, and south to a gigantic cavern that thrums with crackling blue fire, and houses a floating rock of immense size that is rumored to be larger than many fortresses. This floating rock is the greatest secret of Thay: the Athora, a rock that also happens to be a mighty node of magic, a source of magical energies so strong and restless that it has made the mountain, and much of the plateau around it, radiate strong magic. Its presence makes sentient creatures born and living in this tharch for long periods have an increased aptitude for the Art, or even spontaneously exhibit innate magical talents. The Athora continues to make Thay a source of wizards, a land of magic to rival Halruaa. It’s said the stone is a sacred thing whose purpose is known exclusively to the goddess Mystra and Szass Tam, and that he often visits it, to stand fascinated or to “renew himself” when weak or damaged or uncertain, but dares do no more for reasons known only to himself. The Doomvault is the creation of the now-dead Red Wizard Kazit Gul, whose fascination and life-work was to explore and study the most famous and deadly dungeons of Faerûn. Eventually he began constructing his own vast labyrinth beneath Thaymount, and made himself a lich in order to finish his work. He constructed features of the Doomvault, and applied enchantments to it, to lure adventurers so he could devour their souls to empower his phylactery. Today, the Doomvault remains a dangerous, trap-filled labyrinth defended by Red Wizards, golems who obey them, resident undead, and various bound and unleashed monsters. Certain Red Wizards in every military fortress across Thay know spells that can teleport hostile intruders—such as adventurers—into the Doomvault. Today, Thay’s economy is underpinned by the vast amounts of gold coming out of a huge deposit, the Fist of Gold, underlying the central southern edge of High Thay, just north of the lip of the Second Escarpment. Guarded not just by soldiers and undead, and mined by tireless undead with only a handful of Red Wizard overseers, the gold mines are covered by seven low, squat fortresses, each concealing the headframe of a shaft sloping down into the Fist. The crushing and smelting are done inside these strongholds, and massive conical gold ingots the size of an adult human are shipped out of the mines through tunnels under Red Wizard guard. Slag and rubble are simply tipped over the edge of the Escarpment to rain down onto an ever-heightening pile below in Lapendrar. Caverns in the Citadel contain more smelted gold than humans have seen across all the rest of Faerûn, as Szass Tam releases only what is needed to keep Thay well-to-do, not wanting gold to become too abundant and so lose its value. Eldroun Myrantar A thin-lipped, cold, and vicious man of few clipped words but many grudges, Eldroun is known to be malevolent and sadistic. Many Red Wizards believe that his grasp of reality is not as firm as it was, but he is fanatically loyal to Szass Tam. He devotes his days to his work which consists of overseeing the gold mines, keeping track of all intrusions into the tharch from outside, and keeping discipline among the troops, Red Wizards, and clerks and scribes of Thay’s government; he does this so well that even the most veteran orcs fear him, and theft, corruption, and violence are all kept to a minimum because “Myrant the Tyrant sees all and punishes more.” Eldroun enjoys inflicting pain, often with a metal-spiked whip, which he tests on himself, publicly, before lashing a miscreant. He is paranoid about the tharch’s security and assigns spies to watch all outlanders whose presence comes to his attention—and spies to watch those spies, for he will assume outlanders are foes of Thay, and will detect and slay spies, so there must be layers of spying on them. Heraldry: The badge of the tharch is the Vor, or “Heart (of the Realm),” and represents the mountain at the heart of Thay (i.e. the tharch). Roleplaying Eldroun Myrantar Bond: The daily prospect of rooting out thieves, spies, and the envious in Thay gets me out of bed each morning. Flaw: My desire to inflict pain has resulted in a few poor decisions, but whatever. Ideal: Sadism. It is not just for breakfast. Quote: “You’re right to fear me. I’m watching you.” Chapter 3: Points of Interest 49