Thay - Land of the Red Wizards

T H AY

LAND of the
RED WIZARDS

BY ED GREENWOOD, ALEX KAMMER,
& ALAN PATRICK

T H AY

LAND of the
RED WIZARDS

BY ED GREENWOOD, ALEX KAMMER,
& ALAN PATRICK



Credits On the Cover

Writers: Ed Greenwood, Alex Kammer, and Alan Patrick In the cover illustration by Britt Martin, we see a tense
Editor: Alex Kammer trade negotiation in the street foyer of an Eltabbar mer-
chant. Red Wizards Bezunthyn Phrul, Lazurmrella Hlaree,
Art Direction: Casey Christofferson and Harazulkh Orblaun are engaged in a tense nego-
Graphic Designer and Layout Artist: Gordon McAlpin tiation with Thayan merchants Shelmazra Hornwyntur,
Cover Illustrator: Britt Martin Albrynd Mrethem, and Alamrund Draug.
Cartographers: Dyson Logos, Ian McGarty, Mike Schley Watching the negotiations is the floating, purple skull
Interior Illustrators: Brett Barkley, Adrian Landeros, of the Red Wizard lich Hauzrym, often sent to watch
and listen for Szass Tam himself. If the ruler of Thay is
Britt Martin, Thuan Pham, Hector Rodriguez, Artem taking a personal interest in Ang Harrad dealings, the Ang
Shukaev, Quentin Soubrouillard, Victor Tan Design Harrad cabal may soon find itself used in some dark plan.
(artstation.com/victortandesign) On the far right, Orblaun has had enough of the
contrary nature and curt refusals of important senior Ang
About the Authors Harrad merchant Alamrund Draug, and is now forcefully
mingling not-so-veiled threats with trading details into
Ed Greenwood is a Canadian writer, game designer, Draug’s ear.
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 pub-
lishers. 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!”

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.

Table of
Contents

Foreword. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Chapter 4: Heroes from Thay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
The Weavebound Paladin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Map of Thay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 New Magic Option: Circle Magic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Thayan Backgrounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Part I: The Red Land Thayan Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

Chapter 1: The People of Thay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Chapter 5: Creatures of the Plateau. . . . . . . . . . . 77
Life in Thay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Fey Creatures. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
The Red Wizards of Thay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Goblinoids. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Magical Training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Monstrosities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Non-Magical Training. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Star Spawn. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Kyuss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Chapter 2: Ruling Thay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Undead . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Thay and the Realms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19 Bogmaw. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
The Laraer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Many-hued Goat. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Civil, Cold War. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Protodracolich. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
The Zulkirs of Thay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Poltergoat. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
The Separatists of Thay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Thayan Military Might. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Part II: Intrigue in Eltabbar

Chapter 3: Points of Interest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Adventure Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Alaor, the Docks of Thay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Adventure Start. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Delhumide, the Spirit of Thay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Gafna Bilton’s Tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Eltabbar, the Wealth of Thay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 The Wedding. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .99
Gauros, the Wilderness of Thay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Epilogue. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Lapendrar, the Pulse of Thay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Priador, the Jewel of Thay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Appendix A: Probity Corps Black Site
Pyarados, the Bright Heart of Thay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Player Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Surthay, the Absence of Thay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Thaymount, the Height of Thay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Appendix B: Party Invitation Handout. . . . . . . 106
Thazalhar, the Future of Thay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Tyraturos, the Bounty of Thay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Appendix C: Dark House of Tyranny
Shelmazra’s Tour. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 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.

Foreword
W ell met, reader!
Ye hold a tome both vitally necessary subtle additions of spices like cinnamon and nutmeg,
for those seeking to trade with the Land and the right mix of these can make it delightful.)
And at meals, they need to drink something to

of the Red Wizards, and perilous to pen. cool the throat, as many of them drown their dishes

Thayans of any era, from Thayd to the recent and in tart, fiery tamarind-dominated brown sauces, and

all-roo-ruthless reign of that overreaching fool Szass marinade their fish and their fowl before cooking.

Tam, are sensitive about anyone who reveals too much Oh, and so used are Thayans to being spied upon

of their true nature and doings to outlanders. by Red Wizards and their agents—and if not that,

Fortunately, not only are the creative folk who’ve spies for local tharchions and tharchionesses—that

produced this book bold and inquisitive sorts, who’ve everyone puts their heads together to share gossip,

laid bare before ye more secrets of Thay than have low-voiced. It’s just become habit, and generations

ever before been assembled between any pair of cov- ago, so now they do it from birth without thinking.

ers, but I am also bold, inquisitive, and an overreach- And ye may hear them call on Kossuth, for they

ing fool to boot, so I will happily add to what they’ve daily purify household things, like needles and metal

written. So what shall I tell ye of Thay? dishes that have been used to mix herbal remedies, by

Well, to begin, the average Thayan laborer and holding them in flame as they murmur, “Antur daeya

shopkeeper wants undamaged wares, and whole KOSSUTH” in Thorass (“Be here, to aid with your

items; not for them the bolt of cloth from a distant power, Kossuth”).

land, to be cut and sewn, or a stack of tool-handles, And speaking of the gods, ye’ll search in vain for

for them to fit onto hammer-heads or pickheads or the an in-use public temple or shrine to, say, Mystra,

like; they want to buy a whole and finished item. but there are plenty of hidden family chapels (that

This same “everyday” Thayan likely hums tunes non-family-members will not be invited into, nor will

to themselves, short little melodies or harmonies anyone formally confirm their existence), to all deities,

playing on melodies they already know, and is likely to for Thayans venerate (even if only to ward off disfavor,

overhear other Thayans doing this as they work and in small daily ways, like “don’t let dinner be burned” or

travel—with the result that these little tunes sweep the “let no crockery be broken in this move”) all the gods.

land. So don’t go whistling or humming ditties to act In the cities of Thay, Thayans find comfort in shared

nonchalant, or as code for traveling companions—or rituals of devotion. The sparsely-populated frontier

ye may attract attentive interest from nearby Thayans, tharches have small, simple unstaffed wayside shrines

when ye’d rather not have it. here and there, used for personal worship of whoever

This same everyday Thayan may well have a habit matters most to a Thayan praying there. The city of

of chewing a weed that grows everywhere in Thay Eltabbar is the heart of religious power in Thay, the

for the plucking; most do. The weed is thulfraz, and place where powerful clerics indulge in intrigues and

it looks like a spider on its back: eight dark green, endlessly refine and debate policy. Decrees go out

thin stems sprouting from a central root-knob. from the highest-ranking priests in Eltabbar to every-

Lemony-minty and yet a little like parsley, too. where else in Thay, because Eltabbar is where they

Thayans often chew as they work, like a cow masti- meet, and where most of them dwell (when they’re not

cating its cud. living in their mansions in Thaymount, or elsewhere in

And when they’re not chewing, they’re drinking. Thay on holy business).

Not always something strong, more often during the Yet enough of the everyday; I’ve been told by the

working day (dawn to dusk for most, mind ye) it’ll be likes of Volo the Halfwit that readers thirst for adven-

tea, hot or cold, and that tea will be elkammat. (Which ture, so perhaps I’d best mention some of the thefts

is the standard drinking tea of the eastern Inner Sea, and treasure tales and unsolved mysteries of Thay

from Aglarond and Thay to the Vilhon; a brown, nutty that may yet spawn adventures. Some of which may

tea brewed from the fibrous husks of groundnuts in even be survivable.

Murghôm, Semphar, Mulhorand, Unther, and Chon- So let it first be said that in the mountains that

dath; woody and bitter, but usually sold “adorned” with bound Thay to the east, that have variously been

4 F oreword

called the Sunrise Mountains or the Sunset Moun- from beneath. Most of them still lie dark and waiting
tains—very Thayan, that; in rulership, they can’t keep under the city’s cobbles, and their own thick layers
to one decision for long—there are many tombs full of of dust, holding fistfuls of gems and only long-dead
long-hidden magic. Enchanted items, that dead mages Thayan servants know what else.
of early Thay were interred wearing, and whose Yet I’ll ramble for pages and pages, given the slight-
magics have often transformed the dead into undead— est opportunity, and it’s not me ye’ve come for! ’Tis the
lich-like, spellwielding unique undead, many of them. splendor of Thay.
These are small tombs of a few chambers gouged out So read on, and until next we meet on some
of cave walls, not grand buildings. A good thing, too, page or other,
for even Red Wizards aren’t quite so proudly unob-
servant and stupid as to not notice surface structures Yours in the service of Mystra,
just sitting there.
There’s also the Whispering Ghost, which is an Elminster of Shadowdale
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 deter-
minedly 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 some-
what 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

F oreword 5

6 Map of Thay

PART I

The Red Land

CHAPTER 1

The People of Thay
T hay. The name invokes images of an evil
nation, bent on conquering the surrounding claims influence from a small number of deities, with
kingdoms and subjugating them to their will. most people across the nation revering some mix of
Chauntea, Gond, Mystra, and Waukeen. In a surpris-

It brings to mind vibrant imagery of massive ingly supportive move by several of the tharches, the

undead armies, explosive magics, and demons recognition and even the worship of the Mulhorandi

shackled by profane rituals to perform the will of their pantheon has become commonplace.

vile masters. The Folk of Thay
But this isn’t entirely correct. While Thay is led by

a group of evil mages, it is also home to thousands of Nearly all of the citizens of Thay are of two main

innocent, hard-working people. The nation is perceived ethnic groups. The Mulani comprise the bulk of the

to be evil, but as with all things, perception is based bureaucracy and aristocracy. The Rashemi are the

only upon what people are allowed to witness. Those other primary group; they tend to be burlier and

who explore Thay often find that it is filled with gentle, shorter than the Mulani.

peaceful people that are content to fill their days with Mulani Thayans are raised to obey the laws of Thay,

crafting and family. However, these people are still revere Red Wizards and especially the zulkirs and

bound to their leaders and labor under the ever-present Szass Tam above all, and believe they are an integral

risks associated with their vicious leaders. part of the most powerful and advanced realm in

Life in Thay the world. Thanks to their upbringing, many tend to
be arrogant, especially towards non-humans. Many

The people of Thay are primarily human, but other Mulani view such as elves and halflings as equivalent

races find homes here as well. Even those races that to children, while gnomes and dwarves are often de-

are typically considered monstrous, such as goblins spised or driven away under pain of death. Other races

and bugbears, may be able to establish homes in like orcs, half-orcs, and centaurs are tolerated so long

some of the tharches (states) of Thay. They are a hard- as the Mulani believe that they can be employed as

working people, mainly focused on their daily tasks, useful, strong-backed individuals.

and only rarely do they plan into the future beyond A typical Mulani is tall and thin with brown or

satisfying the needs of their children. hazel eyes, deep yellow through brown to, in very rare

Each of the tharches are given greater detail circumstances, almost slate-gray skin. They have very

elsewhere in this supplement, but the general essence little natural black or dark brown body hair, which they

of Thay is that the people are honest and reliable, are generally expected to keep closely shaved. As a

but labor under the oppressive yoke of a totalitarian result of a drought in Thay’s past, the people typically

arcane regime. The zulkirs that rule the nation place oil any remaining hair that they have and bathe in

their desires and goals above those of the people, and scented oils that are later scraped off the body along

while each of the rulers do desire to promote and with any dirt.

protect Thay, nothing is as important as themselves. Many Thayans bear intricate tattoos whose pat-

Unlike previous years, the worship of deities other terns reflect their goals and accomplishments. Simi-

than Mystra is now permitted in Thay. Each tharch larly, Red Wizards often have many tattoos signifying

8 Chapter 1: The People of Thay

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

and warehouses rank highly, mingled among the upon the death of an owner are inherited by someone
best artisans and craftworkers. Beneath them stand else or seized by a creditor. In recent years it has
the most successful shopkeepers, more than a few become less acceptable to bring in new slaves, and
of whom own chains of outlets, and proprietors of even less palatable to have living slaves—the upkeep
currently-popular city eateries. This middle class are simply isn’t worth it in the minds of many of the eldest
Mulani, Rashemi, and mixed-lineage humans, and Thayans—and so the market for undead servitors
at the bottom of it are apprentices, skilled laborers, has been on the rise. This, coupled with a younger
and crafters. populace that is becoming more and more impactfully
Then come the lower class, semi-skilled workers vocal about the need to prove Thay’s value through
and common laborers, bodyguards and shop and direct action rather than on the backs of slaves may
warehouse guards, and loaders and drovers, who put the very concept of slave ownership in question.
might be of any Thayan-tolerated race, including obvi-
ous outlanders. Some are citizens but most are not. The Thayan View
Finally, underpinning everything in Thay, are the
many, many slaves. Some through long service have All Thayans seek more power in society, and more per-
won some measure of trust and are allowed to work sonal wealth. They also work towards personal fulfill-
under light or no supervision—but slaves are never ment by attaining the skills and mastering the hobbies
freed in Thay; they always belong to someone, and and pastimes that bring them the greatest personal
pleasure. Painting, sculpting, and the making of fine
Slavery in Thay jewelry are prestige crafting even among Thayan
Although slavery is known and accepted by the nobles and are considered personal expression as well
aristocracy of Thay, it is not accepted elsewhere in the as a source of enrichment. Paintings, statuettes, and
Forgotten Realms and beyond. If your games broach jewelry are important Thayan exports.
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 rocky or dry; it tastes a little like spring onions but
duty of rearing one’s own offspring and guiding them more like lemongrass).
to their best chances for advancement, and loyalty to Honey is the usual sweetener in Thayan dishes
trusted trade allies and conspirators—is for weaker, (even in places where no one “keeps” bees, rocky
lesser humans. Rather, be strong of will and clear of terrain in Thay is home to plenty of wild bees), onions
purpose, and seize what can be yours. make frequent appearances, and so, as fill-the-belly
bases, do barley and what Thayans call quth (in our
Thayan Fashion world, “broad beans” or “fava beans”). Common
Thayan spices include garlic, nutmeg, and cloves.
In Thay, the foundation layer of underwear is a In northern Thay, morren (rhubarb), arrath (celery),
breechclout, consisting of a tight-fitting belt or sash, persimmon, and quince join the kitchen staples. Along
through which a strip of readily washable fabric is the Red Land’s southern coasts, wild rice makes its
passed fore and aft, and between the legs between way into dishes but is seldom seen elsewhere. In Thay,
its foldover meetings with the belt. Also used in grain—mainly barley and rye—is plentiful; rice is not.
Mulhorand, Raurin, and Unther, this garment is Most Thayan bread is flatbread, cooked on hearth-
known in Thay as a qadamra, and tends to be cotton, heated stones. Fancy breads are sprinkled with nuts
dyed a solid dark hue, and to contain a small “private and honey, and heavier, heartier, coarser “field bread”
carry-pouch” sometimes filled with a folded spare for farm laborers and wayfarers often has diced leeks,
qadamra; sometimes with an armor or bone plate for onions, or garlic mixed into its flour.
protection of the wearer’s private areas; and some- Thayan cookery makes use of spiced, fiery wine
times for secret carriage of vials of poisons, healing marinades for fish and fowl but not for meats, and the
potions, or contraband. dishes outlanders all remember are those dominated
by tart, hot tamarind sauces (“brown sauces” from
Thayan Cuisine their appearance to those who don’t know what’s
in what they consume, but “rarthaek” to Thayans).
Traditional Thayan cooking makes abundant use Almost every Thayan cook has family recipes for
of diced olives, leeks, lemons and lemon juice, and rathaek that they swear by, but although these vary
thaenen (a wild, tall grass that grows everywhere in
Thay and the wilderlands to the east that isn’t too

Chapter 1: The People of Thay 11

widely in heat, they tend to be similar in overall flavor but using a straight spring onion as a base, and filling
profile. Rarthaek is poured on a dish when it’s ready it with red wine before frying), and dang (mixes of
to serve, and the “iron-throated” will even add more spiced nuts, doused in honey which is then baked
at the table for “a good deep burn,” but there are also into a glaze).
kitchen sauces, or “ulvurr,” that begin as lemon juice A growing “food fashion” in Thay, spreading
and wine mixes, are thickened with what we would fast from its origins in Nethjet, is to make and sell
call a roux and a Thayan cook would call a “dusult” “adorned” honey: honey with powdered dill or garlic or
(“Dusult it more—that’s a thin as a child’s spit! More onion or cinnamon simmered into it before jarring. The
fat is what it needs, and swiftly!”), that a dish cooks in. typical Thayan honey-pot is teardrop-shaped, with a flat
round bottom but a pointed, curved top that becomes,
Phalou when its thin brass stopper is removed, a pour-spout.

To keep dishes from drying out from the hearth-heat Upscale Meals
(the ulvurr boiling off), many Thayan dishes are
cooked in metal pans over a fire, that have a series of Signature dishes at upscale restaurants include such
conical, spout-topped earthenware lids over them, to delights as Fireturtle (a fiery stew of cut-into-strips
aid in condensation and so, keep the moisture in to turtles and watersnake over diced onions, leeks, and
intensity flavor. In our real world, these are usually sweet peppers), Gulhaunt (the necks of herons and
called tajines or tagines, but they are always singular swans, cooked to falling-off-the-bones softness in the
(tapering smoothly to a single chimney or spout). cook’s complex and usually secret blend of spices;
Thayan versions are called “phalou” (singular and the aim here is to make the dish taste nice and even
plural are the same word), and consist of lipped bases “nutty” but not fiery), and Anathur’s Feast (a mix of
(so a phalou placed over a metal dish will rest on its roast lamb, goat, and fowl, in lemon-dominated spices;
rim and also overlap it on the outside) of standard a sure way to start a friendly dispute among Thayans
sizes, and straight edges so several can be placed is to ask who Anathur was, as everyone has their own
touching each other down the length of a long metal wildly different story).
cooking-dish (resulting in complete coverage, and a
row of two or up to four parallel chimneys). Everyday Meals
Spices and marinade can be poured down a chim-
ney to try to “enliven” a dish, but that’s the mark of a More “everyday” fare, to be found in private homes
poor cook, as it cracks a heated phalou sooner or later and in “everyday” eateries, is dominated by three
(usually sooner). Tongs and padded gloves and a roll dishes: dardraun (spiced roast fowl), cardrauth
of a leather kitchen apron are all employed to remove (stuffed fowl), and taeth (baby eels or squid in garlic
phalou and move dishes about. sauce). Detailed recipes follow; interested modern
cooks are warned that although every one of these
Drinks with Meals dishes is safe to eat (notes to real-world cooks appear
in squared parentheses), the flavor profiles Thayan
A diner unused to Thayan cuisine is going to find a lot palates prefer may seem unusual to the modern diner.
of heat in their mouth and throat, and even Thayans
like to have iced water, or minted or lemon-laced Dardraun
water, on the table before they begin eating—and eat-
eries (restaurants) expect to sell a lot of cold ale, wine, Serves 4 hungry diners with hearty appetites
or liqueurs (ruby brandy is always popular in Thay) to
cool diners’ throats throughout a meal. First, dress (defeather, wash, and slice apart
Thayan farmers make pear wine (taress) and peach to begin deboning) your fowl.
wine (tarai), but Thayan vintners make such wines as From the larder:
the minty, semi-sweet emerald-green nethaele, the very
dry dark red ommanth, and the amber-hued shulda, a broth
semi-dry fruity. All of them are blends of grapes and are olive oil
made all over Thay, with the means of making them 1 lemon [or 1 lime]
widely known among the populace, so there’s little ri- 1 onion
valry among vintners and almost no “wine snobbery.” In
Thay, wine is wine. Kindly refill my goblet or tallglass. From the hearth:

Snacks fowlsimmer [modern substitute: chicken broth]

Snacks and “way food” (trail hand-meals) in Thay From the spice cupboard, take you and mix in
include cinnamon-dusted fried locusts and talang bee- a small bowl:
tles (think ladybugs big enough to fill an adult human
palm), deep-fried “long onions” (think “onion rings,” 4 pinches dtarmin [1 tsp. ground paprika]
4 pinches dauntaun [1 tsp. ground cumin]
12 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.]

Chapter 1: The People of Thay

From the cupboard but keep aside: Dardraun

Salt, to taste • Then back to the pan. Add to it the onion and
Pepper, to taste cook, stirring occasionally, until the slices have
browned at the edges yet keep their shape [likely
At the cutting board: 5–7 minutes]. Should the pan darken overmuch
ere browning hath befallen, add water to the pan in
1 onion, halved then cut into smallest-finger-thick small amounts, bewaring the steam!
slices [1/4-inch-thick-sliced yellow onion]
• When thy onion slices are browned, add all the
5 cloves garlic, minced, but set 1-clove-worth aside minced garlic ye did not mix with the lemon frazzle
from the rest to the pan and cook, stirring about the pan, until
the garlic smell strikes thy nose hard [likely half a
3 medium (or 2 large) parsnips or carrots, peeled then minute], then add the bowl of spices and immedi-
cut into finger-thick coins [1/2-inch-thick] ately the barrzin, too, and stir without ceasing until
their smell joins the garlic to the fore [likely another
A cupped pair of hands of pitted, halved green half minute].
olives [1/2 cup]
• Now stir ye in the fowlsimmer, then the honey, and
A cupped pair of hands of parsley or savory [1/2 cup] or then the frazzle ye did not mix with the garlic earlier,
half that of rosemary plus another pinch [1/4 tsp.] of salt, and scrape the
pan to dredge up anything browned.
Fowl [about 4 pounds of bone-in, skin-on de-necked,
de-winged ducks, or chicken or turkey thighs] • Add the fowl back in, then take the pan to even
lesser heat, cover it with the pan cover, and let it
Once you begin: simmer for long enough to enjoy a good, unhurried
tankard [10 minutes].
A swift pour [1 tbsp.] olive oil
1 small ladle [2 tbsp.] of barrzin (barley flour) • Then add the carrots or parsnips, cover anew, and
simmer until the carrots are crisp and tender and
[all-purpose flour can be subsituted] the fowl is cooked through [another 10 minutes
4 cupped pairs of hands of fowlsimmer [2 cups of more or so].

chicken broth] 13
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]. Com-
bine 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 palm-
sized 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.

Chapter 1: The People of Thay

• Then it is time at last to stir in a swift pour [1 tbsp.] A palm-full of ground pepper
of the juice of thy lemon, then the garlic-frazzle 5 bay leaves
mix, then the parsley or savory or rosemary, 1 sprig rosemary
and the olives. 1 sprig thyme

• Stir well, then take from the heat and taste the And for the sauce:
sauce when cool enough. Add more lemon juice,
pepper, and salt to taste. Done. The cook’s palm half-full of cashew nuts [1/3 cup]
The cook’s palm half-full of chestnuts [1/3 cup]
Pairs well with cooked barley. If either nut can’t be had, double the one ye can get
A finger-joint-length of ginger
Cardrauth The cook’s palm full of ground cinammon [or 1 stick]
3 pinches [1 tbsp.] of barley flour [all-purpose flour]
Serves 4 hungry diners with hearty appetites 1 apple
A swift pour of olive oil [or sunflower or other
First, assemble thy utensils: a good big pouring-vessel
of drinkable water; kitchen needles and kitchen cooking oil]
twine; a roasting rack; two roasting pans; and several 1 fist salt
bowls, both large and small; clean linens [towels], 1 fist ground pepper
tongs or hot-gloves for the handling of rack and pan;
fire-irons for tending the hearthfire; longfork or tongs Do it thus:
for turning the cooking fowl; wet-sieve if ye have one
(spare hot-tolerant ewer and towels for straining, if ye • Check thy hearth for readiness. Set water
do not), and one serving-platter for all the fowl, that near it to warm.
can take heat.
Build a good hot hearthfire, coals to last. • Pluck the fowl, then wash it inside and out, pat dry.
Then, dress (defeather, wash, and slice apart to Then rub it well inside and out with salt and pepper.
begin deboning) your fowl and mince thy beef, or
procure from the market or slaughterhouse: • Wash the apples, peel them, halve them, core them,
and cut into cubes. Set aside in a small bowl.
About 5 lbs. fowl (bone-in, skin-on, de-necked, and
de-winged duck, goose, or swan) [modern: yes, you • Wash clean the leek, dress its ends, then cut the
can substitute chicken or turkey] stalk all into rings. Set aside in another small bowl.

1/2 lb. minced meat (cow or ox meat) • In a large bowl mix together the marjoram,
oregano, sage, thyme, sarataun, a pinch of pepper,
From the hearth: the cashew nuts (they can be whole), and the
breadcrumbs. Then mix in the minced meat.
2 cups fowlsimmer [modern: chicken broth, 2 cups] Then add the cut-up apple and leek, and the wine,
and mix well.
From the larder:
• Take this wet mixture and stuff the cavity or cavities
A goodly skin of dry red wine [2 cups or a trifle more] of the fowl with it (worry not if you have more
A goodly skin of the unstrained juice of apples [2 cups than will fit, but discard this excess not), using
the needles and the twine. If thy fowl retains its
or a trifle more, of unsweetened apple juice] wings, tie them to the carcass so they’ll burn not in
A slow pour [5 tbsp.] olive oil (or another cooking oil, the cooking.

such as sunflower) • Mix thy oil with the leftover seasoning mix ye
A cupped pair of hands of honey [1/2 cup] stuffed the fowl with (if ye have none, use pinches of
A cupped pair of hands of apricot jam or jelly [1/2 cup] salt and pepper) and coat the fowl with it, all over.
A cupped single hand of pulverized stale bread If thy fowl is intact enough to have a breast side,
place fowl pieces or whole bird breast side up on a
[breadcrumbs: a 1/4 cup] roasting rack.
3 good-sized apples, of a sour sort
1 orange or persimmon • Place thy (larger, if they vary in size) roasting pan
1 leek in the hearthfire, and cautiously—scalding steam
3 onions warning!—pour warmed water into it, about the
thickness of the cook’s hand, or more [modern
From the spice cupboard: cooks: water in the pan first, then slide into lower
rack of oven, fowl will go in a roasting-pan on upper
4 pinches marjoram rack]. Position the roasting rack above the roasting
4 pinches oregano pan, and on it roast the fowl until ready [about 4
2 pinches sage hours at 200º F].
2 pinches thyme
3 pinches sarataun [1 tbsp. ground coriander]
4 fists [about 1 lb.] of salt
1/3 lb. sugar

14 Chapter 1: The People of Thay

• During this time, gently warm the fowlsimmer near From the market:
the hearthfire, so it spits not (it will, if used cold).
15 oz. baby eels or squid
• When the color deepens sufficiently [after about
an hour] turn the fowl over, and baste it with the From the larder:
fowlsimmer. Thereafter, baste several times, as you
think it necessary [about every 30 minutes], but Half a small skin of white wine [1/2 cup or a trifle more]
keep the remaining fowlsimmer, do not use it all. 2 swift pours [2 tbsp.] olive oil (or another cooking oil,

• When the turned-over fowl has attained the same such as sunflower)
color as at first turning [so, about two hours 2 cloves garlic
into roasting], prick the legs and wings of the
fowl [if any] with a fork to let the fat of the fowl From the spice cupboard:
fry the better.
1/2 cup white wine
• When the fowl sizzles and sings, if you wish to Salt and pepper
brown it, build up the fire around it [at the 3:45 1 fist paprika (or less, to taste; some may
mark of oven cooking, increase oven heat to
230º F]. Move thy water to near enough the fire prefer half that)
to heat, but not boil. Also move thy serving-platter
near, to get warm. Do it thus:

• When thy fowl is ready, take it off the hearth-heat • Heat oil in roasting-pan over a good fire.
onto a surface that can withstand the heat, and • While it heats, clean thy eels or squid (for the latter,
cover it, to let it rest for the length of two long songs
[let it rest out of the oven, covered, for 10 minutes]. cut out and discard beak and “quill” of cartilage),
and then mince thy garlic.
• While it rests, take three small skins-worth [3 cups] • When oil is hot, add minced garlic and baby eels or
of thy heated water and add to the remaining fowl- squid, and fry in the oil until cooked through. Pour
simmer, then strain this mix through a sieve. in white wine slowly to cut down on spitting, then
season with salt, pepper, and paprika, and simmer
• Now make ye the sauce. Wash, peel and halve the until the meat of the eels turns opaque, or the
apple, core it and discard the core, and dice it. Peel squid-ends just start to curl.
the ginger and cut it up fine. Let thy sauce-portion • Then take off heat and serve. Often paired with
of oil heat in thy second roasting-pan. When steam fried dumplings.
starts to rise from it, add the diced apple, ginger,
cashew nuts, chestnuts, and cinnamon. Then stir General Economy
once, and let fry for the length of a song [about 3
minutes]. Then pour in the sieved fowlsimmer-wa- Much of Thay’s commerce is centered on trade. As the
ter mix, and build up the fire or move it to a hotter last major power ere travelers heading east from set-
spot, to bring the pan contents to a boil. When the tled Faerûn cross the Sunrise Mountains and venture
bubbles are hearty, stir in thy flour, and add salt into the Endless Wastes or the wildlands of the Plains
and pepper to taste, and let boil hearty for less than of Purple Dust and the Great Wild Wood, Thay con-
half a song [about 1 minute], then take from heat. trols the flow of goods in and out of the trade routes
Let rest while ye carve the fowl, then use tongs to between the eastern and western lands. They also
remove the cinnamon stick. have significant influence in ports around the world,
from Mulmaster to Baldur’s Gate and beyond. Even
• On thy cutting surface, carve thy fowl, stuffing and fair Waterdeep has some amount of Thayan influence.
all. Arrange on thy warmed platter and pour the The nation creates a significant amount of food ex-
sauce over it. (If platter not large enough for sauce, ports as well. They offer large crops of wheat and corn
put sauce into pourer for diners to apply, but serve every year, and several tharches are rich in berries
swiftly lest the fowl grow cold too soon.) and tomatoes. Thayan metallurgy is also highly sought
after by collectors of fine wares, with Thayan-mined
Taeth silver and gold pieces often fetching exorbitantly high
prices due to the brilliant hues and level of purity
Serves 4 hungry diners with hearty appetites (much found in these metals in their natural veins in Thay.
faster to prepare than the other two popular dishes) Thay is well-known to the world at large as being
the home of some of the most luxurious types of
First, assemble: goats. Some of these breeds have coats as thick and
voluminous as a sheep’s fleece, others have intensely
A roasting pan rich milk which is perfect for both consumption
A large bowl for serving the dish to table and soap-making, and a few offer a variety of meat
Water for washing the eels or squid that is so intensely delectable that it is said to cause
a pleasant delirium upon completion of the meal.
Build a good hearthfire.

Chapter 1: The People of Thay 15

Nobles around the world often jump at the chance General Government
to acquire goat products from Thay, with a few
merchants even going so far as to enter into franchise While it is generally well-known that Szass Tam is
farm agreements with commercial farmers in Thay so the individual in control of Thay, most people aren’t
that the breeds can be experienced the world over. aware that he leads a Council of Zulkirs that rules
the nation, generally by delivering his decisions and
Mining in Thay acting upon his demands. Each Zulkir that Szass has
recruited represents one of the eight schools of magic.
Mineral mining tends to be vast open workings rather Below them are the tharchions or tharchionesses,
than tunnels, which results in a lot of barren “broken the rulers of each of the tharches (effectively, states)
lands” dominated by hills of loose scree tailings and of Thay. These tharches and their rulers are detailed
dust. The process of mining follows these steps, after elsewhere in this supplement.
a working face is established. Often this begins with It’s important to remember that the zulkirs are
a prospector calling upon their patron wizard to blast powerful and ambitious, and while they all seek to pro-
the rock; those prospectors that aren’t working for a tect and promote Thay they all have very strong ideas
wizard often find that they enter into the service of about how best to accomplish these tasks. They work
one soon after finding a rich vein of gems or minerals, together for the most part, but it is not uncommon for
whether they want to or not. them to harbor their own goals and to sometimes plot
Another popular, and largely nonmagical, method is against their fellow zulkirs. While they are allies, they
to employ a flail-wagon. This large many-axled wagon are certainly not friends.
has huge tree-trunk wheels and is fitted with giant
pickaxes chained to hand-cranked rotating drums, so The Red Wizards of Thay
as the drum turns a forest of flailing pickaxes screech-
ingly descends and rebounds, attacking a rock surface. In Thay, a true Red Wizard is beyond reproach.
Then the flail-wagon moves on, and the rock is soaked They are not, however, beyond approach—herein are
with jets of water hand-pumped from water-tank methods by which a future Red Wizard is identified
wagons. Then a low-level wizard casts a spell to turn and trained, and some examples of how they might
the soaked-in water to ice, so this ice cracks the rock conduct their business. Pursuing mastery of the Art is
internally as it expands, and then teams with three- their core drive, and more often than not they are loyal
man-long prybars and hammers and splitting wedges to none but themselves.
go in and break open that area.
After the rock is sundered, magically or otherwise, Identifying Talent
upspars are erected. A skilled team accomplishes
this by setting up a prepared portable upright beam In infancy, every Thayan resident, citizens and visitors
with many legs that can be leveled or secured at alike, are tested by Red Wizards to see if they possess
different elevations. To keep it stable, the beam is then the Gift to practice magic. In rare circumstances a per-
weighed down with rubble-filled boxes. Each upspar son may be given a second test when they first enter
has jointed arms ending in rock-scoop buckets, that into adulthood. Beyond these times the Red Wizards
descend from pivots in a collar-sleeve atop the upright deem magic to be soured or lost.
spar, this bucket-arm is guided by workers on the The first test is almost always delivered covertly
ground around using pull-chains. The bucket is ridden and by surprise, letting the youngling encounter subtle
by one person, who with cords guides its scooping active magic in play to see if they sense anything about
motion, and opens and closes the bucket. it, or can affect it. This may take the form of a spell
The buckets move the broken rock rubble to a side- involving warmth or radiance, or an enchanted item
area where it is broken down into smaller fragments that glows and can be turned on or off, or the glow
by teams wielding mauls or mallets. This process altered in intensity or hue. These are rarely complex
gleans the desirable ore from the tailings. The tailings enchantments but are always configured to be manip-
are taken away to a dumping area, and the ore hauled ulatable by someone strong in the Art. Successful or
away for smelting. not, this will be followed by a formal test done by two
This is distinct from quarrying stone for building, or more Red Wizards in which the youngling’s status
paving, and roofing uses. Stone grit and gravel is often is tracked in a register, so that they may be identified
gathered and carted to riverbanks for roof- and drain- for their as magical threat and potential. The chief
age-tile making. 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 them, and that the nearby ruling dragons of Murghôm
discover what they do have a knack for, so they can be would pounce on Thay to hunt humans at will were it
shaped into becoming a craftworker, scribe, or other not for the deterrance the Red Wizards offer by their
useful member of Thayan society. If they do have the very presence.
Gift, they are removed from their current family and As this training proceeds, individuals are given
situation and are reared by Red Wizards and nurses chances to betray their tutors and Thay and Red Wiz-
under the command of Red Wizards. ards—and then caught and slain ruthlessly, or trans-
This controlled upbringing, away from family and formed into bestial forms to be caged and displayed
wider Thayan society, is intended first and foremost to in front of fellow students as grim warnings of what
instill loyalty to Thay. This includes not just the land happens to traitors.
or the nation of Thayans, but also the hierarchy of Red They will also be firmly taught that their deepest
Wizards, their role in safeguarding all of Thay against loyalty is to Szass Tam, then the Zulkir of the school of
treachery from non-wizards high (ambitious tharchions magic they’re specializing in, then all other Zulkirs as
and nobility) and low (such as disaffected poor farmers the most senior “other” Red Wizards, then Red Wiz-
and citizens of little power), as well as “outlander spies ards according to rank (position in the hierarchy). This
of rival realms jealous of our achievements, who work is the true loyalty to Thay, not devotion to a banner or
tirelessly to weaken us.” Red Wizards are taught that patch of ground or a city.
Aglarond, Rashemen, and Mulhorand all want the Strife over policy within the ranks of the Red Wiz-
Red Wizards gone so they can conquer Thay, and that ards is tolerated, above a certain level (lower ranks
distant financial rivals like Baldur’s Gate, Sembia, are to obey, not question), and sometimes dissent is
Waterdeep, and the Zhentarim all want to slyly passed off as deliberately-arranged training exercises
dominate or come to own Thayan assets, and thus are designed to uncover weaknesses and meritorious
constantly seeking to blackmail Thayans into acting for 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 Non-Magical Training
only the insane would question their purposes, their
fitness to rule, and their plans and strivings for a Red Wizards are trained in a broad smattering of
brighter future. languages, in customs and habits of the traveling
merchants of many lands, and are also trained in the
Magical Training lives of monsters—especially those most likely to be en-
countered in Thay and the lands immediately around
In the olden days, Red Wizards of the various schools it. A Red Wizard is also trained to try to “read” facial
of magic sought to capture potential Red Wizards expressions, movements, and tones of voice to try to
who showed skills in their school for training and tell what a stranger is likely thinking, or about to do, or
rearing and eliminate strong-in-the-Art individuals their attitude towards the Red Wizard or others. They
who showed aptitude for other schools, but Szass are taught always to be alert, aware of surroundings
Tam put a stop to that as he tightened his open rule, including escape routes, possible nearby foes or haz-
as these habits weakened the Red Wizards as a ards, and potential attack vectors, and to pay attention,
whole. Now, training is a mixture of math and history even in crowded streets or markets, of movements
(strong on the “We are Thay, and Thay is the feared and stealthy behavior—all without seeming to watch.
and unappreciated light of an ignorant world” indoc- So many Red Wizards encountered outside of Thay
trination), languages, and trade skills, with a broad are apt to be ready when surprise-attacked, because
range of magical testing sprinkled among the other to them attack really wasn’t a surprise, but perpetually
tutoring to reveal what sort of schools of magic a given anticipated.
student is good at. And lastly, every Red Wizard is encouraged to
Once this personal aptitude is revealed, Red Wiz- develop their own side-interests or hobbies, anything
ards are formally entered into their education. They from collecting tiny carved figurines to covertly assem-
are taught with exhaustive, repetitive practice under bling valuable Sembian urban real estate. Zulkirs have
supervision. They are given and expected to master long seen that this cuts down on treachery and rash
not just a basic roster of relevant-to-them useful spells, acts by giving Red Wizards an outlet for stress and
but also to cast these magics in precisely the same anger, a feeling (however false; as Dove Falconhand
way each and every time. once put it, “the only retired Red Wizards are the
Red Wizards at lower levels are actively discour- dead ones that have the good sense to stay dead”)
aged when it comes to experimentation with existing that there’s something for them to escape to if they
spells and are not permitted to create new magics or ever tire of being a Red Wizard or things get too hot
variants; they’re told that this is dangerous to them for them, and side expertise that can serve them well
and to everyone around them. Simply put, those that as they serve Thay. Having a Red Wizard who can fix
pursue such foolish notions are irresponsible and a leaky boat, pick a lock, or successfully impersonate
reckless at a minimum, or are fools and if pursued a courtier of a different land and gender can be very
anyway are traitors to be hunted down and destroyed. useful in advancing Thayan interests.
When experimentation is allowed, it is under the
direct and constant supervision of a senior Red Wiz- Luskan
ard 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 Their enclaves are fading away and on their own,
“right”—that is, as expected by superiors—way. This so now the Blood-Robes are more like Zhentarim
is one important instance of how Red Wizards differ wizards in a red uniform, one more nasty bunch of
from the Zhentarim, with their open intriguing for mages out to rule the world. And whatever they tried
advancement, and the War Wizards of Cormyr, where in and about Neverwinter failed, and everyone knows
conformity has long been seen as a weakness any it, so they’re as prone to pratfalls as all the rest of us.
enemy can exploit. 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

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

Chapter 2: Ruling Thay 19

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

20

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

21

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

22

Illusion A resourceful and vicious creature, Valindra both rel-
ishes her new role and chafes at the restrictions that
Hlarkus Baltreyo is a male human lich that rarely, if it imposes upon her activities. She longs to shed the
ever, saw cause to leave Thay. He has been a long-time mantle of leadership and return to the world beyond
supporter of Valindra Shadowmantle and threw a Thay’s borders so that she can strike down those that
massive celebration upon Szass Tam’s announcement would stand against her beloved homeland. Valindra
of her promotion to the role of Zulkir of necromancy. Shadowmantle was last seen in Tomb of Annihilation,
A devilishly skilled illusionist, he delights in crafting which shows the activities that would see her pro-
images and experiences are so lifelike that they pass moted into this role.
for being alive themselves. He was exceptionally fond
of creating illusory forms of the friends and family of Transmutation
his foes. Due to circumstances outside of his control,
Szass Tam can exert complete control of Hlarkus if he Samas Kul served as the Zulkir of transmutation
desires to, even going so far as to treat Hlarkus as a under Szass Tam for nearly a century until his
familiar should he desire to. gruesome assassination. However, Szass Tam found
him to be a serviceable ally and worked to return the
Necromancy tall, morbidly obese wizard to Thay. Samas is now
an undead creature under Szass Tam’s control, and
As a reward for her efforts in uncovering the mysteries while he possesses a small spark of personality he is
of the Soulmonger in the jungles of Chult, Szass Tam largely, as with the other undead zulkirs, an extension
promoted the reckless moon elf lich Valindra Shad- of Szass Tam’s will and ideology.
owmantle to the position of Zulkir of necromancy.

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 sometimes-
irreplaceable 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 association was done to more closely bind Dar’lon’s
vision of Thay to the Isles. No name has been
This faction of powerful Red Wizards led by Zulkir formally given for this person, as Dar’lon only refers
Dar’lon Ma of Mulmaster is no less evil than their to them by title. Some believe that the Lantanese
counterparts that reside within the borders of Thay. artificer is actually the subject of a magic jar spell
They firmly believe that their claims to the title of and that their soul has been replaced by that of a true
Zulkir are legitimate and they staunchly defend their Thayan Red Wizard.
positions as such. While they are careful to not call for
the removal of Szass Tam and the others, they have no Chronomancy
qualms about referring to the impending changes that
Dar’lon will be implementing. The school of chronomancy is new to the modern
Dar’lon Ma is no stranger to controversy and has world, but also a holdover from the ancient Empire of
worked to establish several new zulkirs for realms Netheril. Research into this type of magic is ongoing,
that did not exist before: artifice, chronomancy, and and Dar’lon Ma makes no secret of the fact that he is
information. Szass Tam has long held that only a actively seeking to fill this role in the near future. At
school of magic is to have a Zulkir, but Dar’lon has this time, the magic of chronomancy is barely more
expanded this model to include information as a than a theory; time-manipulation magics have been
school of thought rather than a school of magic. This largely banned by Mystra and the few lingering remind-
is troublesome for the Red Wizards of the plateau, and ers are limited to spells such as haste and slow. It is
while it shows some progressive thinking on Dar’lon’s safe to assume that any individual hoping to become
part, it also demonstrates his capacity for strategic the Zulkir of chronomancy will need to demonstrate
thinking as he shapes his influence into a chokehold their mastery of this school of magic in some diabolical
around Thay proper. fashion in order to earn their rank.

Artifice Divination

Lantan is an island nation close to Chult but this does The title of Zulkir of divination has been claimed by
not reduce their impact on modern culture. As time Damond, an aged human male and native of Thay. De-
goes on, the practices of the artificers that dwell and spite his obviously advanced years, he is in excellent
practice there have pushed into the larger world, and health and remains quite spry. His mind is equally
Dar’lon Ma has recruited a Lantanese artificer to be nimble, and he equally invokes and projects an aura of
the Zulkir of artifice. This is a significant departure dangerous cunning at all times. Every aspect of life is
from established Thayan practices in that historically but a game to him—a game where only he can see the
only Thay-born Red Wizards could ascend to this pattern, where few aside from him are aware of the
status, and some have correctly surmised that this rules, and everyone is but a pawn to be manipulated
by the scant few people and creatures that are actu-
Dar’Lon Ma ally in charge.

24 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.

Chapter 2: Ruling Thay

Damond and Dar’lon Ma have a strong relationship appeared in numerous adventures in the Dreams of
even though it is an open secret that the old diviner the Red Wizards storyline. He is generally considered
is known to be working closely with Szass Tam. Both the leader of the Red Wizards outside of Thay.
Red Wizards seek to promote Thay, and the lich
wishes to use every available tool to its utmost po- Information
tential. When the inevitable conflict occurs, Damond
aims to be poised at the summit of greatness one way While information isn’t a school of magic, it is a school
or another. Damond was last encountered in DDAL- of thought. Dar’lon’s chosen Zulkir of information
DRW05 Uncertain Scrutiny. has been referred to as Dusk, a charismatic darkling
residing in Luskan. As Zulkir of information, Dusk
Enchantment manages propaganda, both positive and negative,
for Dar’lon Ma and all Thayans that can’t or won’t
After the city of Mulmaster was decimated by crazed live within the nation’s borders. As with the Zulkir of
cultists, a charismatic human Red Wizard by the name artifice, Dusk is not a native of Thay and represents an
of Dar’lon Ma saw an opportunity. He claimed the title evolution of Dar’lon Ma’s vision of leadership.
of Zulkir of enchantment and initiated efforts to rebuild
the city in exchange for unfettered access to several Vacancies in the Council
historical sites that had been discovered in the vicinity
of the Moonsea. His plans have since expanded and his No Red Wizard has claimed the title of Zulkir for Abju-
influence has been felt as far away as Chult. His words ration, Conjuration, Evocation, Illusion, Necromancy,
call for alliances and the deposing of Szass Tam, but or Transmutation. Neither has Dar’lon Ma made
his all-too-bright smile promises only pain and poison reference to anyone in these roles. Perhaps this is
for everyone involved. Dar’lon Ma was first encoun- because the right candidate has not yet defected from
tered in DDAL00-01 Window to the Past and has 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 Despite the undeniable fact that Szass Tam’s
unlimited throng of undead is the central feature of
Reports of Szass Tam’s mindless legions of terrifying Thayan military might, it is hardly the entire picture.
Thay also boasts a standing army, navy and a division
undead are borne and spread across the length and of secret police all composed of mortal humanoids
rather than mindless undead. While fielding droves of
breadth of the Realms. The mere mention of these undead that do not require either rest or food affords
obvious advantages, the undead bring their own set
hordes in a council meeting in the far-off Dales is of notable drawbacks as well, primarily among them
from a military standpoint being the lack of ability to
enough to see a motion to improve a town’s fortifica- think tactically and to reason generally. This is where
the Thayan Knights, the Water Fist, and the Probity
tions approved. And there is good reason behind the Corps come in.

terror that these swarms inspire. Thayan
Knight
Thay’s undead legions operate like an army of
Water Fist
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.

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 Wiz-
ard 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 ad-
ministrator 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 guard-
ing a city).

26 Chapter 2: Ruling Thay

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

Chapter 2: Ruling Thay

Current Military Ranks of Thay

Thayan Thayan Thayan Rough Real-World Purple Dragons The Talons
Rank Insignia Army Rank Naval Rank of Turmish
U.S. Equivalent of Cormyr

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 Battlemaster Tavalant
General

Zulthark Zuldravar General/Admiral Lord High Marshal Korondor

28 Chapter 2: Ruling Thay

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

Chapter 2: Ruling Thay 29

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

Thayan Knights Probity Corps Water Fist
Sigil Sigil Sigil

30 Chapter 2: Ruling Thay

CHAPTER 3

Points of Interest

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

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

Chapter 3: Points of Interest

giant serpents, or even winged upright bipeds with Alaor,
snake heads). the Docks of Thay
Thayans of all walks of life (including wise, sophis-
ticated zulkirs) associate magical power and success Alaor (“Al-LAY-oar”)
in the Art with the presence of such statues, so down
the years similar statues have been fashioned and Population: 81,500
installed in many Thayan homes, compounds, and Leader: Uldroud Harlrammon
offices. Although no Red Wizard would state matters
so baldly (a Thayan laborer or merchant might), they (LE male human fighter/wizard)
are thought to bring good luck, and to “evoke what is Official Military Presence: The Water Fist,
best of Thay,” no matter how distant they may actually
be from Thay. Thayan Knights
A Thayan of the 1300s and 1400s DR feels at home Commerce: Imports, fishing, local retail
in chambers adorned with snake statuary. As a result, Religious Influences: Gond, Istishia, Umberlee, Valkur
they can be found everywhere Thayans have control
over interior décor. 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 cham-
bers 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 break-
water-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 clandes-
tine meetings, adventurers for hire, as well as other
agents provocateur.
On Raeldreth, an inn and dining club known as Ha-
vandrar’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 meet-
ings, 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 food-
stuffs, building materials, and just about every other
fundamental necessity.

Chapter 3: Points of Interest 33

Uldroud Harlrammon His goal is to arrange “accidents” for the naval ships

Tall, thin, and balding, Harlrammon’s black-bearded of rival realms, so Thay will eventually covertly control
and beak-nosed visage is stark to say the least. His
penetrating stare and cold, light gray eyes underscore Westgate, bottle up Cormyr at the Neck, be able to
his reputation as a calculating, careful administrator
who believes in backup plans, preparedness, and blockade Sembia and the Dragonreach ports at will,
redundancies. He is paranoid when it comes to
outlander spies and saboteurs working against Thay’s and so dominate the Sea of Fallen Stars.
navy and traveling Thayan merchants. A Szass Tam
loyalist through-and-through, he regards most Red Heraldry: The badge of the tharch is the Daej, or
Wizards as arrogant incompetents who weaken and
mar Thay with their personal ambitions and intrigues. “Proud Rule of the Waves,” and represents the navy
Harlrammon maintains a network of personally
loyal spies and informants on Alaoran, especially con- (a gold sail on the ocean, with Thay behind it).
centrated in the harbor of Orjehet. He regards those
that live on Raeldreth as traitors to Thay, or at best Roleplaying Uldroud Harlrammon
idle drones, and due in no small part to his outspoken Bond: The enemies of Thay are everywhere. Only order
opinion on this matter is loathed by many of the
wealthy and powerful who live there. New innovations and vigilance will protect the great nation from their
in sails and rigging and hull design, and in cargo load- ceaseless machinations.
ing and unloading efficiencies, are meat and drink to Flaw: I smiled once. I did not like it. I will never do
Harlrammon (whose local nickname is “the Drood”). 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, Arauntra Taelthoun
the Spirit of Thay
A petite human woman with long honeyed curls and
Delhumide (“Dell-hew-MEED”) large, kindly brown eyes, Aranuntra is utterly entan-
gled with Szass Tam. She is singularly devoted to him,
Population: 58,000 even though she readily and proudly admits to the foul
Leader: Arauntra Taelthoun (LE female magical effects that he visits upon her in his research
efforts. Most Thayans believe her infatuation with
human wizard) Szass Tam has poisoned her mind. She has proven
Official Military Presence: The Probity that she is willing to do anything for him and is fanati-
cal in hunting down any treachery towards him.
Corps, Thayan Knights She is said to love to fly and that she often indulges
Commerce: Agriculture products, in aerial acrobatics if transformed by Szass Tam into
winged form and given that much freedom.
subsistence farming
Religious Influences: Chauntea, Gond, Heraldry: The badge of the tharch is the Thaumaund,
or “Might of Making,” and represents the busy
Nesharia (Nephthys), Osirant (Osiris) crafters of the tharch.

Once the most populous tharch of Thay, this district Roleplaying Arauntra Taelthoun
was largely reduced to sparsely populated open Bond: I hope to live to see a day where all experience
grazing land after the city of Delhumide was destroyed
in Thay’s war for independence from Mulhorand. The the beauty and joy in reverence of Szass Tam.
city was never rebuilt, and the ruins remain shunned Flaw: While I do my best to stay focused, I find myself
to this day. The crumbling region is roamed by living
spells, brigands, “wizard-ghosts,” and all manner of often lost in daydreaming and whimsy.
foul monsters. Curiously, these powerful denizens Ideal: Loyalty. Without faith and fidelity, we are nothing.
don’t roam far, staying contained in the vicinity of the Quote: “Szass Tam is the greatest lord this or any realm
tattered towers of that place. Beyond, Delhumide
today is the safest and most regimented of tharches, has ever known. If you knew him as I do, you would
being “under the eye” of Thay’s ruler Szass Tam. see the greatness he has achieved, and can—if we
Some whisper that the lich vents his frustrations on but cleave to him—bring to us all.”
those denizens, and even uses the ruins as cover for
more nefarious projects and experiments. Eltabbar,
Then as now, the tharch consists of that part of the the Wealth of Thay
plateau of Thay between Lake Thaylambar and the
Gorge of Gauros, bounded by the River Thay and the Eltabbar (“El-TAB-bar”)
River Gauros. Ranchland is increasingly giving way
to farms, and the roadways are constantly improved Population: 2,699,500
by crews of skeletons and zombies that toil away after Leader: Aumaund Halakoun (LE male
sunset. The population is rising rapidly in recent
decades yet is still far less than in olden times. human fighter)
Since the fall of the city of Delhumide, this tharch Official Military Presence: The Probity
has been governed from the city of Umratharos
(“Oom-rath-THAIR-ohs”) which is becoming a city of Corps, Thayan Knights
crafters and innovators, carving wood and casting Commerce: Caravan traffic, local retail,
metal and firing ceramics all under the watchful
eye of the Probity Corps, the absolutist authority agricultural products
ensuring peace and order. These enforcers are free Religious Influences: Helcaliant (Horus-Re), Kossuth,
from corruption and diligent in their duties out of fear
of Szass Tam. Nesharia (Nephthys), Waukeen
Delhumide continues to evolve into an increasingly
productive agricultural sector for Thay. While the The wealthiest tharch of Thay, the tharch known as
legions of undead are of course not reliant on such, Eltabbar is home to its current capitol, the city of
the population growth being experienced across all Eltabbar. This city has been rebuilt and expanded in
of Thay progressively depends on Delhumide’s rising recent decades and portrays a sense of ever-greater
agricultural capacity. Featured crops from this devel- magnificence with each passing year. “Tabar,” as the
oping and verdant region are rice, wheat, and corn. city is called by most citizens, contains homes for
most of Thay’s nobility regardless of their tharch of or-
igin. 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 rules, but on contests between human wrestlers,
and buildings teem with citizens and residents of all beasts, fighting fowl, and even humans pitted against
ranks, but few outlanders are found here. It is a place hungry monsters desiring to eat them. Deadly hu-
of domes and tall spires, walled compounds of the rich man-against-human duels have even been wagered on,
and powerful, and balconied structures crowded to- though spell-duels have been strictly outlawed after
gether for everyone else. Eltabbar is rife with fountains, several unfortunate fires and explosions.
whose mechanical pumps are increasingly undead or The infamous Deep Canal is also found here; it is a
oxen powered, but those that operate the beautiful foun- subterranean sewage circuit that is navigated by nar-
tains take great care to hide their workings under the row barges poled by those who know its labyrinthine
streets or by keeping them wrapped in illusion magic. ways. It is used as a network of travel routes between
Always a hotbed of intrigue, Eltabbar has seen the deepest cellars of many city locales. It is said that
a dramatic increase in the presence of private and the corpses of those that ask too many questions or
well-armed street patrols. The Probity Corps operates upset the nobles may be found here, but only briefly
openly here and numerous other governmental spies for aquatic monsters are common here and are eter-
canvas the city. This extends to Daerath Market—the nally hungry.
one place in the city where stalls and wagons crowd Along the broad, well-maintained High Road where
each other, streets becoming winding alleys between the Szul Road branches off, stands the popular walled
them. Daerath is where shady business can be way-inn known as The Stone Wizard; a statue in its
conducted openly, adventurers may be found and front yard is widely believed to be the worn-down,
hired, and so on, but sensible citizens know that the ancient remains of a mage turned to stone in a long-
tharchion’s spies are more attentive in Daerath than ago duel. Whatever the truth of this, the rambling,
anywhere else. many-times-expanded establishment has become no-
On one edge of Daerath stands the notorious torious as a meeting ground for rivals and foes, a place
Pheldanther’s gambling club, in which wagers are where nigh any behavior is tolerated by the authorities
placed not just on games played with cards or dice due to the Inn’s reputation as neutral ground. This
or battle-boards with miniature armies and intricate neutrality makes it a place where gang leaders settle

36

disputes with each other, Red Wizards not wanting to Gauros,
use magic meet to battle each other by other means, the Wilderness of Thay
criminals trade contraband, make payments, and forge
pacts, and outlanders meet with Thayans who don’t Gauros (“GOR-ohs”)
want to be seen meeting with outlanders. It’s rumored
that there are tunnels and passages beneath the Population: 28,000
Stone Wizard, descending from its cellars to unknown Leader: Haelaedra Kren (LE female
depths—and that those dark places include cells where
kidnapping victims and stolen goods are stored and human sorcerer)
the boldest denizens of the Underdark prowl. Official Military Presence: Thayan Knights
Commerce: Mining, subsistence farming
Aumaund Halarkoun Religious Influences: Gebthant (Geb),

Aumaund’s visage is often described (when he and his Malar, Nesharia (Nephthys), Ramathant (Anhur),
agents aren’t in earshot) as bloated like a toad left too Sebethant (Sebek)
long in the summer sun. He has heavy-lidded eyes,
cheeks with burst blood vessels, and a crooked nose Always one of the wildest, poorest, and most thinly
that has clearly been broken more than once. His ex- populated tharches of Thay, Gauros is a border region.
cessive dandruff often settles on his expansive paunch The rest of Thay tends to think of it as barren hills,
after tumbling out of his greasy brown hair and across roaming monsters, and a few dirty, backwoods wood-
his shoulders. cutters and miners eking out hard livings and dying
He became very rich before being appointed to his poor and young. The truth is that while Gauros is the
current exalted position through a combination of his wildest region of Thay, it is also verdant and almost
land holdings and his aggressively unsavory rental completely unspoiled.
practices but found a real sense of purpose and pride Its main exports are rough-smelted ingots—primar-
in being tharchion. He now devotes himself to making ily of iron or copper—and logs of various hardwoods.
Thay ever wealthier and aims to spread its prosperity Nearly all of its citizens are free, and they enjoy plen-
more widely among its citizens. In contrast to his tiful game and bountiful harvest thanks to the region’s
earlier landlord habits, he busies himself by bettering abundant natural resources. Still, most are poor but
roads, irrigation, sanitation, stores of cached food and have little need of coin as they pride themselves on
other resources, improving toolmaking works and being nearly completely self-sustaining. Gauros is one
wagonworks, and so on. He sponsors, encourages, or of the most well-watered areas in Thay, with many
oversees thousands of projects large and small—and no springs rising and running to sinkholes, and tiny bogs
one else meddles in the lives of the cizitenzry of Eltab- and swamps beyond number. What it lacks most is
bar without him knowing about it, and keeping watch flat areas; everywhere the eye looks are hills and more
on what they’re doing. Over the years, he has become a hills, with mountains beyond to the east.
shockingly deft manipulator, both covertly and by meet- Gauros is a place of pragmatism and living close
ing with others and saying the right things or striking to the land, with most inhabitants sharing a distaste
the right small bargains, at the right moments. Very few for the energetic intrigues and politics that most other
Thayans like him, but almost all respect him. Thayans hold dear. The strongest desires here are
to keep Gauros as it is, not let cities and marching
Heraldry: The badge of the tharch is the Triumph, undead and lots of slaves and Red Wizards become
and represents the wealth, glory, and might of the numerous and dominant. Gaurans even push back
city of Eltabbar. against Thay’s plans to “garden” Gauros by planting
new trees and shrubs to make the more barren hills
Roleplaying Aumaund Klarkoun yield additional berries and timber, and breed and
Bond: I have been underestimated my entire life. release animals to make game more plentiful.
The Gorge of Gauros is the most widely-famous fea-
Despite my ever-growing list of vanquished rivals, it ture of the tharch; the river is cold and fast-flowing and
continues to the current day. alive with plentiful fish. In olden times, many gems
Flaw: I simply cannot resist delicious cheeses. were plucked out of the exposed rocks of the gorge
Ideal: Greed. The most important interest is self- walls on the dagger-points of casual passersby, but so
interest. Only by putting ourselves first can we see to many were taken that such activities now only reap
the needs of others. rewards after one of the infrequent spring landslides.
Quote: “I work to make Thay greater every day of my The stumps of several long-abandoned wizard’s tow-
life; those who join me in such work will find me a ers stand here and there in the Gorge, but these have
steadfast ally, and those who do not will find in me been thoroughly picked over, leaving behind only the
something else entirely.” 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 far as one can travel before the hills give way to the ris-
the tales of mages’ ghosts haunting the Gorge are true. ing rock flanks of the Sunset Mountains. The Falcon
Most of the ruins in the Gorge that are near the Fang has been a lair of both dragons and wyverns at
gorge-mouth are the foundations of old mills; one various times past, and there are rumors of a well-hid-
working mill survives, a sawmill that provides timbers den subterranean labyrinth beneath it that have long
to Surthay and Gauran boatbuilders. There’s constant been used as a hidden brigand lair. These outlaws,
talk of rebuilding one of the stamping mills to crush it is said, raid the rest of Thay with great care and
ore, but it never seems to come to anything; local be- precision, taking only what they need and keeping as
lief is that Red Wizards dwelling in wealthier tharches low of a profile as possible to mitigate the likelihood
want ores smelted into pure metal in their own of hostile response from the Red Wizards. Sometimes
tharches, so they’ll make the coin and not Gaurans. referred to as “The Quiet Claws,” these outlaws are
Perhaps the most famous such ruin is the Falcon said to act to discredit or assassinate any Thayan who
Fang, a upjutting rock shaped like a giant tusk, that seems to have decided that they must be eradicated.
stands in the hills due east of Gauros Keep, about as Gauros is ruled from the frowning stone fortress
of Gauros Keep, which features a well-armed and ar-
mored garrison of Thayan Knights. However, on their
patrols, the Knights keep close to the Keep and sel-
dom stray far from the dirt road linking the Keep with
Denzar and the Daggertooth Pass.

Haelaedra Kren

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

39

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

Chapter 3: Points of Interest

size and architectural magnificence, its older buildings that monsters controlled by the mages—and, some
being torn down and newer, taller ones put up in their say, the ghosts of apprentices slain in the fray—now
places. As a result, it looms impressively (or forebod- appear and disappear at random within its halls, stuck
ingly, depending on one’s point of view) no matter what eternally in their cycle of casting, attacking, and falling
direction it is approached from. Bezantur has always in combat. The flickering, failing wards also disgorge
been in love with the new, and it shows. Bezantans buy dangerous magical discharges from time to time, with-
new clothes constantly, and new furniture often; they out warning, and of course there are treasure-tales
are among the few city-dwellers in the Realms to move and wild stories of all of this magical mayhem being
to different domiciles frequently, almost always after part of some grander scheme to lure outlander mages
purchasing a newer, grander residence or having one and Red Wizards alike into the clutches of whoever’s
built for them. in hiding and directing the wards as their own private
The city of Murbant is surrounded by the largest magical weapons and outreaching arms.
Red Wizard estates, and has been called “the home
of smugglers, traffickers of all types, and reeking fish- Olone Dieyamron
erfolk,” a dismissive reputation that has stuck. Most
Thayans of every tharch save perhaps Gauros like to A brilliant and creative spellcrafter, Olone Dieyamron
look down on Murbant, the “Tainted Jewel.” Some is a very shrewd judge of character. She maintains
of the city’s smugglers deal in kidnapped Thayans a large and expensive network of spies throughout
being rushed out of the realm while it’s rumored that the tharch as well as in important social and political
others specialize in capturing roaming beasts of the circles across Thay. She aims to keep herself abreast
Red Wizard menageries, sailing them covertly and of the latest intrigues, shifts in power and influence
hastily elsewhere for sale in places like Chessenta, among Thayan cabals, and new business opportu-
Westgate, or Sembia. The city is known for the many nities. She is genuinely dedicated to making Thay
amethyst-hued domes of its homes that dominate the better for all, believing that making the poor wealthier
cityscape; local buildings are almost all domed and will lead to spending and prosperity for the entire
sport large oval windows. country, instead of the lofty few. Olone has no interest
Thasselen’s main site of interest to outlanders is in becoming a Red Wizard, with all of what she sees
Galauntowers, a mansion made over into six luxu- as “their haughty blindnesses to the world as it really
rious suites, but now abandoned thanks to a deadly is,” and has a great interest in working with outlanders
spell-duel involving multiple mages and some strong in Thay, as she believes that far too many of her fellow
local ward-spells that got twisted in the fighting, so 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 by the nobles and Red Wizards immediately. In all,
their autarchs view outlanders—adventurers in particu- some four thousand souls dwell in “the Bright Heart.”
lar—with suspicion, as walking sources of trouble. Six gates pierce the walls, spoking major streets
into the outer city. This outer ring of Pyarados is much
Heraldry: The badge of the tharch is the Taerlvhond, larger than the Bright Heart and is ever-expanding,
or “Three Jewels,” and represents the three port spilling outside the outer city walls to the east as op-
cities (“Jewels”) of the tharch. portunity and resources allow. The autarch of the city,
a veteran soldier named Ularth Haeraundor, uses his
Roleplaying Olone Dieyamran soldiers to forcibly prevent any attempts to build to the
Bond: There is a solution to every problem. I have west, southwest, and northwest, as this is fertile land
needed to feed the city.
dedicated my life to applying reason and logic to Most farms in this tharch are in its westernmost
challenges in order to make the world a better place. lands, and are owned by the realm rather than a farmer
Flaw: I cannot abide inactivity. If I am not busy, I am or landholder; the farmers pay annual rents to work
very unhappy. them. This outer ring of Pyarados is the Grimshield
Ideal: Ingenuity. Most of Thay’s troubles come from (just “Shield” in daily local speech) and is a dirty,
hidebound thinking, stuck in the past. We need crowded slum of unpaved, muddy winding alleys, ram-
innovative solutions. shackle buildings that often collapse or lean groaningly
Quote: “This is a time of opportunity across Faerûn, against neighboring buildings, and lawless, grinding
and we in Thay very much want to be a part of it. Not poverty; children scramble along the rooftops hurling
to mention showing all the world how wealthy and stones at “dungbirds” (pigeons, as they’re known in
comfortable the lives of even the lowly can be if we the Sword Coast). Many of these children behave as
choose the right paths forward.” urchins, some rightfully so, and seek anything of value
they can use, trade, or sell. Gangs roam the streets in
Pyarados, the dark hours, battling each other for supremacy and
the Bright Heart of Thay a chance to raid any outlander goods left too lightly
guarded. Justice in the Shield is still a matter of cudgels
Pyarados (“PIE-arr-AH-dose”) and swords, on the streets, not trials; trials are for the
people of the Bright Heart and are rare even there,
Population: 84,000 where quiet backroom deals settle most disputes,
Leader: Ortraun Naumarkh (LE male and the autarch exiles many unless overridden by
the tharchion.
human fighter) Roughly sixty thousand folk dwell in the Shield, but
Official Military Presence: The Probity no one properly counts “dirty Shielders” because to
be counted is to be taxed, so the autarch really only
Corps, Thayan Knights knows the approximate count of how many building
Commerce: Caravan traffic, cash crops, owners and official renters live in the outer part
of his city.
metallurgy For years, Pyarados was sneered at by the rest
Religious Influences: Gebthant (Geb), Helcaliant of Thay as “where the thicknecks dwell,” and was
viewed as a place of coarse untutored folk who were
(Horus-Re), Malar, Nesharia (Nephthys), Waukeen desperate enough to be readily hired as grunt labor.
The city was—and still is—a base for prospectors and
This tharch is full of rolling hills that are patrolled miners seeking to find gems and metal ores in the
lightly from the city at its heart for which the entire mountains, and for hunters and adventurers exploring
region is named. Pyarados the city is what it has been the hills and heights and the wilderlands beyond. The
from the start: two distinct cities, one a slowly-growing mountains remain untamed and teeming with game,
ring around the other. As it has been for centuries, with more than a few prowling monsters as well.
the city remains sharply divided. The seat of power Several large veins of gems and precious ores have
and local governance is the interior city, with tall, been discovered here recently, and it is home to nu-
reinforced walls; it is clean, ordered, and luxurious, merous fortified, always-busy smelters in the foothills
with wide avenues bordered by manicured parks that to the east of the city. The Red Wizards take great
sprawl everywhere. The grounds of noble homes interest in the smelters and their operations and main-
and Red Wizards’ mansions maintain aggressively tain a close watch over them. Local merchants have to
respectful separation so that no great house is close to claw and grasp and scramble to make their fortunes
another. Every such home has its stables, and lanes, and learn very early on to keep their mouths shut and
and orchard-lined gardens and bowers, usually with
fountain-fed pools. They give way to a narrow ring Chapter 3: Points of Interest
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

42

leave politics to those that active play in those cloak- Redfist Tower has a dungeon beneath it, and local
and-dagger games. Laborers learn that if they want to tales insist strange monsters are locked up in it, not
eat regularly, let alone live in any sort of comfort and just miscreants. Legend insists that treasure is hidden
dignity, they have to go elsewhere and forge lives away within the halls and walls of Redfist Tower, put there by
from this harsh backwater. autarchs who ran afoul of the wrong Red Wizard and
Some interesting sites in this tharch are Redfist ended up too swiftly dead to ever retrieve it.
Tower and Laumauntor’s in the city, and the aban- Laumauntor’s (“Law-MON-tor’s”) is a rambling,
doned, reportedly haunted smelter of Hurrkeep, in the dimly-lit, dirty labyrinth of a tavern in a dark corner
foothills a day northeast of the city. of the Shield, a place where the ceiling sags in many
Redfist Tower is the main soldiers’ barracks and places and gets “fixed” by hammering a log into place
the abode of the autarch of Pyarados. Its name comes as a temporary prop that becomes as permanent as
from the red stone it is built from, which was long ago anything in the place. Some call it “the Muttering
fused together through enchantment and artifice so as House” due to the ever-present, droning sound of a
to have a hard, glass-like nigh-unbreakable outer shell, myriad of quiet conversations that take place here at
and from its shape: the squat tower bulges at the top all hours. Laumauntor’s never closes, so it serves as
into two wider floors that house the autarch and his a home for the homeless and as hiring-fair for adven-
household, combined together, these elements look like turers or anyone willing to do shady work. Everyone in
a fist atop an upthrust arm when viewed from some the Shield knows where Laumauntor’s stands but few
angles. It’s pierced by the Red Gate, the largest gate in know that Laumauntor became a lich long ago; the
the inner city wall, that carries a wide avenue named wizard stays in hiding, sending out floating apparitions
Rauntar’s Way straight east to an outer city gate. Unlike of himself to talk to clientele or more often just spy on
the muddy and hole filled lanes in the rest of the Shield, them from the darkest shadows.
Rauntar’s Way is a carefully paved and well-maintained Hurrkeep takes the form of a now-roofless, half-col-
street. City soldiers forcibly keep the Way clear of lapsed stone castle tower with attached rampart that
vendor wagons and squatters so there is always a clear once enclosed ingot sheds (roofs over the in-ground
and ostensibly secure swift route through the Shield. 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 Roleplaying Ortraun Naumarkh
smelting was done, but it was abandoned during Bond: Harnessing and controlling the chaos of the
the raging height of the Spellplague when lurking
monsters of the Underdark broke up into the cellars wider world is what motivates me every moment of
from below—and the resident Red Wizards were too every day.
crazed or mind-melted from the blue fire to effectively Flaw: I delegated an important duty to an underlying
fight them. Those who didn’t flee fast enough perished once. It resulted in disaster. Never again.
horribly, and the denizens of the Realms Below took Ideal: Obedience. There is an order to the world. It is
over Hurrkeep. Later, when Red Wizards sought to important that everyone fully understands their
retake the place, no trace of them could be found, but place in it.
the monsters attacked without warning whenever the Quote: “Be vigilant, be tireless, relax never, and obey
smelter’s workers were weakest, slaughtering them orders. I do, and if more did, there’d be a lot less
time and again, until the remaining Red Wizards trouble in the world.”
refused to work at Hurrkeep and it was abandoned for
good in favor of larger and safer smelters elsewhere in Surthay,
the tharch. These days, outlander adventurers are the the Absence of Thay
most common visitors, and fresh rumors of treasure
hidden in Hurrkeep attract more hopeful challengers Surthay (“SUR-thay”)
whenever the supply of edible opportunists dwindles.
It’s doubtful any of them are true beyond a few coins Population: 62,000
and enchanted rings scattered as bait, but adventurers Leader: Azaelra Odesseiron (LE female
are too often optimists to stop coming.
human wizard)
Ortraun Naumarkh Official Military Presence: The Water Fist,

A stern and humorless former soldier, Ortraun Corps of Thayan Knights
Naumarkh’s shrewd mannerisms are well known Commerce: Caravan traffic, fishing,
throughout Pyarados. He abides by and delivers
clear-cut orders and expects them to be followed to subsistence farming
the letter, and possesses a drive to maintain order for Religious Influences: Helm, Ramathant (Anhur), Malar,
Thayans over outlanders. Brigands, criminal gangs,
and invading armies are unwelcome and historically Sebethant (Sebek), Tempus
unsuccessful in the tharch under his hand. He is
seldom seen out of his armor and is rumored to never This tharch, a strip of poor-soil hill country between
sleep, instead spending his life attentively watching the northern edge of the Plateau and Lake Mulsantir,
over his patrols and receiving reports from his spies. has always been Thay’s military “wall of ready spells
With his drive for efficiency there is little to no room and swords” against its longtime foe, Rashemen. A
for corruption among those he employs. “heavily-patrolled waste” was how one visiting mer-
He sees adventurers not as troublemakers but chant accurately described this region, and although
instead as a necessary relief valve in Thayan society. this description is more than a few decades old, not
He delights in using adventurers over native Thayans much has changed. The frequent patrols find their
in “fighting at the fore” against monsters, gangs, rogue base in the remains the fortified city of Surthay itself,
wizards, other adventurers, and any foe that will take a walled settlement that grew around the original
too high a toll of his precious soldiers. castle of Surthay.
Naumarkh never forgets a face, a name, or an This muddy city was a home for fisherfolk supplying
indiscretion, and is very good at anticipating alliances the kitchens of the castle with fresh lake food. Surthay
and schemes, and sending troops and spies to the has always been squalid and reeking of decay; a sand-
right spot, at the right moment, to thwart them or at bar jutting east to enclose and shelter an arm of the
least see what unfolds, so he knows what’s happening lake forms an excellent natural harbor for small craft
in the darkest shadows of the Shield, and the most but no currents or other water movements scour out
remote valleys of the mountains. Slow to anger, but this backwater except during the most violent storms,
patient and never gives up—so, a formidable and so it stinks of all the dying plants and fish that rot in
dangerous foe. it. Aside from these fishing boats, no Thayan vessels
ply Lake Mulsantir so Surthay has never had any sort
Heraldry: The badge of the tharch is the Saar- of real port facilities. There are many mud flats where
katath, or “Red Fist,” and represents the city of fishing boats can be careened and moored against
Pyarados itself. rising tides, rising to bare rock outcrops where nets
are spread to dry and for repair; a visitor may look in
44 vain for wharves and warehouses. Still, the creatures
in the mud flats and the lake, from large crabs to eels

Chapter 3: Points of Interest

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

Chapter 3: Points of Interest 45

Duskur’s Cave is one of many narrow clefts in the Roleplaying Azaelra Odesseiron
north face of the Plateau and faces Lake Mulsantir. Bond: I will face all challenges with pragmatism to
Most of these are dead ends that serve as temporary
lairs for brigands or for trolls, leucrotta, and other ensure both my self-preservation as well as for the
opportunistic monsters, but one of them—and Surthan betterment of Thay.
can never agree on just which one—has a small, Flaw: I have a profound weakness for sweets and
unassuming-looking side-crevice that makes a few candied delicacies.
sharp turns and then descends into the upper reaches Ideal: Discipline. Through vigilance, forethought, and
of the Underdark. Duskur was a Thayan merchant anticipation, the strong can control many of the
whose head was eaten by one such monster, but in chaotic and dangerous variables that plague
Surthay there are frequent rumors of local merchants lesser people.
who’ve retained their heads thus far and have dared Quote: “I rule here—not for me, but for Szass Tam, and
to establish regular trade expeditions with denizens of the betterment of Thay. Which is the same thing if
the Underdark. we see clearly and serve loyally.”

Azaelra Odesseiron Chapter 3: Points of Interest

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. Noth-
ing 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 sup-
plant 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.

46

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

Chapter 3: Points of Interest

48

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

49