[Accessory] [9235] Dreams of the Red Wizards.pdf

Dreams of the Red Wizards

by Steve Perrin

Table of Contents

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

History of Thay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

People and Society of Thay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Geography of Thay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Current Economy of Thay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Current Politics of Thay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Magic of Thay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Religion of Thay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Personalities of Thay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Adventures in Thay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Pullout Section:

Players Guide to Thay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29-36

Map of Thay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20-21

Credits:

Editing: Karen S. Boomgarden Cover Art: Clyde Caldwell

Cartography: Dave Sutherland Typography: Kim Janke

Interior Art: Valerie Valusek

Keylining: Stephanie Tabat

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PRODUCTS OF YOUR IMAGINATION

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9235

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INTRODUCTION

This book is a description of Thay, said

by some to be the most evil land of the

Forgotten Realms. It is the home of the

powerful, evil Red Wizards, whose

whim can move mountains and sum-

mon great demons to lay waste to arm-

ies. Besides the great magic that seems

to fill every corner, the land is famed

for its rich prosperity, with exquisite,

exotic craftworks and rich culture. For

all of these things, Thay is perhaps the

best-known (and least-visited by those

good men who value their freedom) of

the Eastern Lands.

The realm is also known for its

ancient heritage, byzantine govern-

ment, and magical-based society. Its

slave-traders and slave-gatherers are

feared throughout the Realms, and its

traveling wizards can walk unham-

pered through the most squalid streets

of Tethyr. To most folk of the Realms,

Thay is the great eastern threat, the

land of bloody-handed wizards who at

any moment might swirl across their

borders on the backs of fire elementals

and lay waste to the world.

Many of these fears have some basis

in fact. This book attempts to lift the

veil of rumor and reveal what the Wiz-

ards of Thay are truly capable of, and

why the lands around the Inner Sea

have a true cause to fear the Dreams of

the Red Wizards.

Of course, this book also provides the

necessary information for FORGOTTEN

REALMS role-playing campaigns set in

law, even if the laws are evil, then you

may want to change the attitude of the

gnoll patrols who maintain the law as

Thay and among her neighbors.

they see it in the cities of Thay.

The second use for this book is to

show how events in Thay and the sur-

If you are more comfortable with a

society in which everyone has some civ-

rounding countries can interact with

adventures set anywhere in the

Realms, from Neverwinter to Skuld,

and everywhere in between.

If you are a DM whose campaign is set

in the Realms, and wish to use Thay as a

site for occasional adventures (see Res-

cue! in the appendices) or a complete

campaign you should read the entire

book, referring to the accompanying

map when the wealth of information

about the international relationships

becomes overwhelming.

If you are going to allow player char-

acter magic-users who originate in

Thay, study the chapter on Thayvian

magic particularly closely. There are

many differences between the stand-

ard AD&D® game system magic-user

and a Red Wizardno matter how far

along the Red Wizard is in his studies.

This is also necessary when looking at

the descriptions of the major NPCs in

the appendices. Looking at them with

the eye of a standard AD&D game sys-

tem DM will only confuse you.

If you are running player characters

from other lands who are journeying to

Thay, emphasize the rumored differ-

ences in magic without being specific.

The players will learn about the real dif-

ferences soon enough.

For a full campaign in Thay, be sure to

look at the society and politics chapters

closely. There are differences here that

can be quite alien to the Western-

Europe-style campaign possible even in

Cormyr. There is an underlying evil to

this society that is foreign to even Amn

or Zhentil Keep. The people of Thay are

different from the people of the west-

ern lands, and the differences can be

subtle and trip up player and DM alike.

Of course, you are free to change

some aspects of this culture to better fit

your own playing style. If you are more

comfortable with a society where the

police can be counted on to enforce the

il rights, then you will have to make

some other, perhaps very subtle,

changes in how this society looks at the

adventurers who enter it.

And, of course, study the history and

geography of both Thay and its neigh-

bors. These are the foundation stones

of heroic legends and current national

politics, and both can be good founda-

tions for exciting adventures as well.

Welcome to Thay. May you and your

players characters live through the

experience.

How To Use This Book

This book has two uses for the

FORGOTTEN REALMS game cam-

paign DM. First, it provides a look at

Thay and the lands surrounding it,

complete with enough statistics that a

BATTLESYSTEM Fantasy Combat

Supplement campaign can be set up

using the information supplied within

and some translations from raw popula-

tion statistics to BATTLESYSTEM Fantasy

Combat Supplement characteristics.

There are certainly sufficient reasons for

Thay and her neighbors to go to war with

one another, as you will see, and the stra-

tegic situation is sufficiently complex to

make for some interesting maneuvers

and battles.

HISTORY OF THAY

History of the Region

The East is shrouded in mystery to

those lands to the west of the Inner Sea.

The entire east and south is considered

an area of vast magics and strange tyr-

annies. These considerations are quite

close to the truth.

Before the beginning of the current

Age, there were four great lands who

controlled the east of the Inner Sea. In

the north were Narfell and Raumathar,

to the south were Unther and

Mulhorand. The northern nations were

relatively young, coalescing out of wan-

dering tribes about a thousand years

before the end of the previous age.

Unther and Mulhorand had first

appeared as that age was dawning.

The southern nations had long since

found the Alamber Sea a sufficient bor-

der to keep their interests apart. They

fought for trade rights and for posses-

sion of the few islands of the sea, but

neither seriously invaded the other

country. In the north, however, there

were no such convenient barriers to

the march of armies, and the two giants

of the north were constantly at war. In

these days, no one knows what their

source of enmity was, but stories of

their wars and heroes are still the staple

of any wandering bard of the eastern

Inner Seas.

Eventually, the two nations slew each

other with great magics. Stories in

books found in Myth Drannor tell of

demons summoned, dragons called,

and cities burned. The war came to an

end with neither nation surviving. This

took place about 1500 years ago, just

before the explorers of Tethyr and Amn

began to open up the Inner Sea to the

current age.

Both Mulhorand and Unther moved

to fill up some of the space left vacant

by this catastrophe. Unther lept across

the Eastern Reach to plant cities on that

body of waters northern coast;

Mulhorand founded the cities of Bezan-

tur, Tyraturas, Amruthar, Delhumide,

and Nethjet in an effort to reach the

northern survivors of the great war.

But both nations were already feeling

the first effects of the other great

destroyer of empires: decadence.

Unther could not reach the elves of

the Yuirwood with its traders or its

armies. Rather than circumvent the for-

est, it sat where it was and first lost

Altumbel, then the North Shore Coastal

cities, to forces of rebellion against its

smothering bureaucracy, led by the

freethinking freebooters who led the

migrations east from Amn. Then

Unther retreated from the south shore

under similar pressures. The city-states

that remained formed a loose union

known as Chessenta that still remains,

though the unity of the cities is laugha-

ble to any true nation.

Mulhorand, perhaps because it had a

land connection to the north, managed to

hold on to its northern conquests longer,

but eventually, lost them to a home-

grown menace. About four hundred

years ago, a sect calling itself the Red Wiz-

ards declared its freedom from the god-

kings of Mulhorand. They rebelled from

the rule of the theocracy and demanded

more freedom for magic research.

The sect originally sprang up all over

the old kingdom, but its center of

strength was in the northern prov-

inces, where the natives did not have

the inbred reverence for the god-kings.

The wizards led an army to raze the

capital city of Delhumide and declared

themselves the free nation of Thay.

Then they marched south, taking the

other cities of northern Mulhorand

with little trouble.

Mulhorand roused itself from its stu-

por long enough to hire an immense

mercenary army from Chessenta and

send it into the land now called Thay by

its new masters. The Red Wizards met

this army on the farming plains of Tha-

zalhar. The Wizards met the vastly

superior numbers backed with some of

the less apathetic priests of the god-

kings with sorcery, including what has

been described as a major demon, who

slaughtered vast hordes of mercenaries

before the invaders broke and ran.

Mulhorand effectively shrugged its

massive shoulders, further fortified the

city of Sultim and the River of the

Dawn, and turned over in its bed of

apathy to sleep the sleep of decadence.

Since then, Mulhorand has not claimed

any part of Thay, though they have had

to defend themselves, quite successful-

ly, against two invasions from that

upstart country.

Thay

Their independence secured, the Red

Wizards set about to establish their

own nation. The first order of business

was sending the major demon back

where it came from-an effort that cost

them several Wizards. Then they estab-

lished their capitol of Eltabbar (some

say this is named after the demon) and

began to order their new country.

Initially, the Red Wizards ruled their

new nation themselves, gathering in a

Council to make any necessary deci-

sions. Each Wizard tried to extend his

own powerbase, taking on apprentices

and recruiting other wizards. Many

magic-users from Mulhorand who had

not participated in the rebellion immi-

grated to Thay to partake of the greater

freedom for magic-users there. Within

a century there were too many Wizards

to operate as a ruling Council. Every

decision was reached, when it was

reached, only after weeks of debate.

Moreover, magic-users are not well

suited to governing. To remain good

magi they must continually research

and practice their craft. This leaves lit-

tle time for statecraft and governance.

Recognizing the problem, the Red

Wizards devised the current system

(described in the Politics chapter of this

book) of Tharchions ruling provinces

and Zulkirs chosen from among the

Red Wizards to rule the entire nation.

Thays history since independence

was gained is a cycle of internal strife,

unification to try to conquer neighbor-

ing lands, and so on around the circle.

The first major period of strife was

directly after the foundation of the rul-

ing Zulkirs, when objecting Wizards

marshalled their forces and attempted

to destroy this new government at

birth. However, they were disorganized

and warred among themselves (several

had kingly ambitions of their own) and

the Zulkirs slowly established their rule

over a period of almost 40 years by mili-

tary victory and occasional co-opting of

opponents into their ranks.

by the Tharchion of Thaymount and

the Zulkir of the School of Divination,

who have taken advantage of a period

of Aglarondan laxity to march down off

the Thaymount and take over the trad-

ing towns of Nethentir and Nethjet.

There is also a second prong to their

attack, but that is not immediately evi-

dent to the casual observer.

The third scheme is perhaps the most

ambitious. The Zulkirs of Evocation and

Conjuration have combined with the

Tharchion of Lapendrar to open a gate

to the Elemental Plane of Fire, assemble

an army of salamanders and efreeti,

and purge the North Coast of competi-

tors to Bezantur once and for all.

Naturally, all this activity has not gone

unnoticed. The Zulkir for Enchantment

and Charm is most alarmed at all this

adventurism, since his plan of steady

assassination of heads of state has bare-

ly gotten off the ground.

This is the nation that adventurous

player characters may be entering at

any moment.

1030 DR

Establishment of Zulkirs as

ruling body of Thay

Internal strife in Thay as

Zulkirs continue to establish

rule

Battle of Ingdals Arm

Brindor First King of

Aglarond

Building of Emmech

Building of Giants Wall

Founding of Impiltur

Imphras crowned King

Birth of Zulkir Szass Tam

Breakup of Chessenta Alli-

ance into squabbling city-

states

Imbrar King of Impiltur

Ilmara Queen of Impiltur

Althon King of Aglarond

Creation of Long Portage

Redsail the pirate retires to

Aglarond

Zulkir Szass Tam becomes

lich

Elthond King of Aglarond

Imphras II King of Impiltur

Battle of Singing Sands

Philaspur King of Aglarond

Battle of Brokenheads

Grey Sisters Queens of

Aglarond

Lashilmbrar King of Impiltur

Marriage of Thara of

Aglarond to Elthar of

Milvarune

Alliance of Thesk and

Aglarond

Halacar king of Aglarond

Battle of Lapendrar

Ilione Queen of Aglarond

Rilimbrar King of Impiltur

Great Plague of the Inner

Sea

Targuth Athkarr becomes

Huhong of Rashemen

Simbul Queen of Aglarond

Hyarmon Hussilthar

becomes Huhong of Rashe-

men

Sambryl Queen of Impiltur

The Present

1031-74

1065 DR

The Conquering Wizards

Since the establishment of their nation,

the Red Wizards have had to trade (or

steal) for many things they consider

necessary for their lives. They would

rather conquer and control the lands

that produce these items, so the Zulkirs

and Tharchions are continually schem-

ing and planning to gather armies and

march on one of their neighbors.

Invariably, those Wizards who are

not in on the planning of the conquest

decide that either (1) it is really just a

scheme by the organizers to take over

Thay itself or (2) the organizers will get

too powerful and use their new power

base to take over Thay and/or exact a

revenge on the other Wizards for real

or imagined slights. Thus, those left out

of the planning either (1) try to subvert

those working with the planners into

sabotaging the effort or (2) try to take

over the homefront power base of the

planners while they are off conquering.

The fact that the Wizards not

involved in the planning might be very

right about the real motivations of the

planners does not help build tranquili-

ty. Thus, the military history of Thay is

one of grand conquests splendidly

embarked upon that end in squabbling

and disaster. However, the Wizards

keep trying.

1082 DR

1085 DR

1097 DR

1104 DR

1117-54

1122 DR

1127 DR

1128 DR

1132 DR

1142 DR

1159 DR

1189 DR

1169 DR

1194 DR

Timeline

150 DRMutual Fall of Narfall and

1197 DR

1 DR

163 DR

482 DR

Raumathar

Founding of Cormyr

Founding of Altumbel

Delthuntle and Laothkund

break free of Unther

Steady erosion of Unthers

control of North Coast Cities

First fisherfolk in Aglarond

Mourktar breaks free of

Unther

Adventurers begin to clear

the monsters out of the Yuir-

wood

Battle of Thazalhar

Alliance of Chessenta drives

Unther back beyond the

Riders To The Sky mtns.

First Thay invasion of Rashe-

men

Alliance of the Cities of The

Golden Way into Thesk

Telflamm annexes Nyth and

Culmaster and establishes

own nation

1225 DR

1237 DR

504-679

756 DR

823 DR

1257 DR

1260 DR

870 DR

1294 DR

1317-23

1317 DR

Current Operations

At this time, there are three major

schemes of conquest in operation.

922 DR

929 DR

1320 DR

1334 DR

The first scheme of conquests con-

sists of Szass Tam, Zulkir of Necroman-

cy, and the Tharchion of Gauros, who

are attempting once again to conquer

Rashemen, this time behind an army of

zombies.

The second scheme is masterminded

934 DR

937 DR

1338 DR

1357 DR

975 DR

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