AD&D - Forgotten Realms - Dreams of the Red Wizards

7/27/2019 AD&D - Forgotten Realms - Dreams of the Red Wizards

1/74


2/74

Dreams of the Red Wizardsby Steve Perrin

Table of Contents

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

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

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

Geography of Thay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14Current 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 CaldwellCartograph y: Dave Suther lan d Typograph y: Kim Janke

Interior Art: Valerie Valusek Keylining: Stephanie Tabat

TSR, Inc.

POB 756

TSR Ltd.

120 Church End, Cherry Hinton

Lake Geneva,WI 53147 USA TSR, Inc.

PRODUCTS OF YOUR IMAGINATION

Cambridge CB1 3LB

United Kingdom

ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, AD&D, FORGOTTEN REALMS, BATTLESYSTEM, PRODUCTS OF YOUR IMAGINATION,and the TSR logo are trademarks owned by TSR, Inc.

Distributed to the book trade in the United States by Random House, Inc., and in Canada by Random House of Canada, Ltd.Distributed to the toy and hobby trade by regional distributors. Distributed in the United Kingdom by TSR Ltd.

This material is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. Any reproduction or unauthorized use

of the material or artwork presented herein is prohibited without the express written permission of TSR, Inc.

9235XXX1501

1988 TSR, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Printed in U.S.A.

9235


3/74

INTRODUCTIONThis book is a description of Thay, saidby some to be the most evil land of theForgotten Realms. It is the home of the

powerful, evil Red Wizards, whosewhim can move mountains and sum-mon great demons to lay waste to arm-es. Besides the great magic that seemso fill every corner, the land is famedor its rich prosperity, with exquisite,xotic craftworks and rich culture. For

all of these things, Thay is perhaps thebest-known (and least-visited by thosegood men who value their freedom) ofhe Eastern Lands.

The realm is also known for itsancient heritage, byzantine govern-ment, and magical-based society. Its

lave-traders and slave-gatherers areeared throughout the Realms, and itsraveling wizards can walk unham-

pered through the most squalid streetsof Tethyr. To most folk of the Realms,Thay is the great eastern threat, theand of bloody-handed wizards who atny moment might swirl across their

borders on the backs of fire elementalsand lay waste to the world.

Many of these fears have some basisn 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 Seahave a true cause to fear the Dreams ofhe Red Wizards.

How To Use This BookT h i s b o o k h a s t w o u s e s f o r t h eFORGOTTEN REALMS game cam-paign DM. First, it provides a look atThay and the lands surrounding it,omplete with enough statistics that a

BATTLESYSTEM Fantasy CombatSupplement campaign can be set upusing the information supplied within

and some translations from raw popula-ion statistics to BATTLESYSTEM Fantasy

Combat Supplement characteristics.There are certainly sufficient reasons forThay and her neighbors to go to war withone another, as you will see, and the stra-egic situation is sufficiently complex to

make for some interesting maneuversand battles.

Of course, this book also provides thenecessary information for FORGOTTENREALMS role-playing campaigns set in

The second use for this book is toshow how events in Thay and the sur-

Thay and among her neighbors.

rounding countries can interact witha d v e n t u r e s s e t a n y w h e r e i n t h eRealms, from Neverwinter to Skuld,and everywhere in between.

If you are a DM whose campaign is setin the Realms, and wish to use Thay as asite for occasional adventures (see Res-cue! in the appendices) or a completecampaign you should read the entirebook, referring to the accompanyingmap when the wealth of information

about the international relationshipsbecomes overwhelming.

If you are going to allow player char-acter magic-users who originate inThay, study the chapter on Thayvianmagic particularly closely. There aremany differences between the stand-ard AD&D game system magic-userand a Red Wizardno matter how faralong the Red Wizard is in his studies.This is also necessary when looking atthe descriptions of the major NPCs inthe appendices. Looking at them withthe 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 toThay, 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 tolook at the society and politics chaptersclosely. There are differences here thatcan be quite alien to the Western-Europe-style campaign possible even inCormyr. There is an underlying evil tothis society that is foreign to even Amn

or Zhentil Keep. The people of Thay aredifferent from the people of the west-ern lands, and the differences can besubtle and trip up player and DM alike.

Of course, you are free to changesome aspects of this culture to better fityour own playing style. If you are morecomfortable with a society where thepolice can be counted on to enforce the

2

law, even if the laws are evil, then youmay want to change the attitude of the

If you are more comfortable with a

gnoll patrols who maintain the law as

society in which everyone has some civ-

they see it in the cities of Thay.

il rights, then you will have to makesome other , perhaps very subtle ,changes in how this society looks at theadventurers who enter it.

And, of course, study the history andgeography of both Thay and its neigh-bors. These are the foundation stonesof heroic legends and current nationalpolitics, and both can be good founda-tions for exciting adventures as well.

Welcome to Thay. May you and your

players characters live through theexperience.


4/74


5/74

and warred among themselves (severalhad kingly ambitions of their own) andthe Zulkirs slowly established their rule

over a period of almost 40 years by mili-tary victory and occasional co-opting ofopponents into their ranks.

The Conquering WizardsSince the establishment of their nation,the Red Wizards have had to trade (orsteal) for many things they considernecessary for their lives. They wouldrather conquer and control the landsthat produce these items, so the Zulkirsand Tharchions are continually schem-ing and planning to gather armies and

march on one of their neighbors.Invariably, those Wizards who arenot in on the planning of the conquestdecide that either (1) it is really just ascheme by the organizers to take overThay itself or (2) the organizers will gettoo powerful and use their new powerbase to take over Thay and/or exact arevenge on the other Wizards for realor imagined slights. Thus, those left outof the planning either (1) try to subvertthose working with the planners intosabotaging the effort or (2) try to takeover the homefront power base of the

planners while they are off conquering.T h e f a c t t h a t t h e W i z a r d s n o t

involved in the planning might be veryright about the real motivations of theplanners does not help build tranquili-ty. Thus, the military history of Thay isone of grand conquests splendidlyembarked upon that end in squabblingand disaster. However, the Wizardskeep trying.

Current OperationsAt this time, there are three major

schemes of conquestin operation.

The first scheme of conquests con-sists of Szass Tam, Zulkir of Necroman-cy, and the Tharchion of Gauros, whoare attempting once again to conquerRashemen, this time behind an army ofzombies.

The second scheme is masterminded

by the Tharchion of Thaymount andthe Zulkir of the School of Divination,who have taken advantage of a period

of Aglarondan laxity to march down offthe Thaymount and take over the trad-ing towns of Nethentir and Nethjet.There is also a second prong to theirattack, but that is not immediately evi-dent to the casual observer.

The third scheme is perhaps the mostambitious. The Zulkirs of Evocation andConjuration have combined with theTharchion of Lapendrar to open a gateto the Elemental Plane of Fire, assemblean 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 goneunnoticed. The Zulkir for Enchantmentand Charm is most alarmed at all this

adventurism, since his plan of steadyassassination of heads of state has bare-ly gotten off the ground.

This is the nation that adventurousplayer characters may be entering atany moment.

Timeline 150 DRMutual Fall of Narfall and

1 DR163 DR482 DR

504-679DR756 DR823 DR

870 DR

922 DR929 DR

934 DR

937 DR

975 DR

Raumathar

Founding of CormyrFounding of AltumbelDelthuntle and Laothkundbreak free of UntherSteady erosion of Untherscontrol of North Coast CitiesFirst fisherfolk in AglarondMourktar breaks free ofUntherAdventurers begin to clearthe monsters out of the Yuir-woodBattle of ThazalharAlliance of Chessenta drives

Unther back beyond theRiders To The Sky mtns.First Thay invasion of Rashe-menAlliance of the Cities of TheGolden Way into TheskTelflamm annexes Nyth andCulmaster and establishesown nation

4

1030 DR

1031-74

DR

1065 DR

1082 DR1085 DR1097 DR

1104 DR1117-54DR

1122 DR

1127 DR1128 DR1132 DR1142 DR

1159 DR

1189 DR1169 DR1194 DR

1197 DR

1225 DR1237 DR

1257 DR1260 DR

1294 DR1317-23DR1317 DR

1320 DR1334 DR

1338 DR1357 DR

Establishment of Zulkirs asruling body of ThayInternal strife in Thay as

Zulkirs continue to establishruleBattle of Ingdals ArmBrindor First King ofAglarondBuilding of EmmechBuilding of Giants WallFounding of ImpilturImphras crowned KingBirth of Zulkir Szass TamBreakup of Chessenta Alli-ance into squabbling city-statesImbrar King of Impiltur

Ilmara Queen of ImpilturAlthon King of AglarondCreation of Long PortageRedsail the pirate retires toAglarondZulkir Szass Tam becomeslichElthond King of AglarondImphras II King of ImpilturBattle of Singing SandsPhilaspur King of AglarondBattle of BrokenheadsGrey Sisters Queens ofAglarond

Lashilmbrar King of ImpilturMarriage of Thara ofAglarond to Elthar ofMilvaruneAlliance of Thesk andAglarondHalacar king of AglarondBattle of LapendrarIlione Queen of AglarondRilimbrar King of ImpilturGreat Plague of the InnerSeaTarguth Athkarr becomesHuhong of Rashemen

Simbul Queen of AglarondHyarmon Hussiltharbecomes Huhong of Rashe-menSambryl Queen of ImpilturThe Present


6/74

The LandsSurrounding ThayTo a large extent, the history of Thay isthat of the neighboring nations. The fol-lowing is a brief description of the his-tories of these nations and how theyrelate to their imperialistic neighbor.

AglarondInitially a wilderland inhabited only bya few sylvan elves, satyrs, and the fellforest denizens known more to men infable than in fact (owlbears, stirges, andthe like), Aglarond was little disturbedby men as settlement spread east across

the Inner Sea an age ago.Often visited by pirates and others

seeking a temporary refuge or timberto cut, Aglarond remained unsettled formany long winters. A few hermits ekedout an existence in coastal caves and lat-er Aglarond became something of aretirement refuge for piratesthosetoo old, notorious, or badly maimed tocontinue faring. At length, fishermenseeking untouched areas moved toAglaronds shores, and slowly smallsettlements of fisher-folk took hold onthe rocky coasts. These villagers faced

the sea, and although the woods at theirbacks seldom erupted to endangerthem, they did not explore inland, orboldly cut and fell timber in the mannerof the settlers of Cormyr, Sembia, andthe Dalelands. The far-off pinnacle andthe endless woods remained hostileplaces for generations; those who ven-tured too far in did not return.

As the woodcutting slowly ate awayat the forest edge, skirmishes withowlbears and satyrs became more com-mon, and were-creatures began toappear. Adventurers on the run or

seeking employment also began toarrive in Aglarond, and for a brief,bloody decade still vivid in the songsand travelers tales, men slaughteredthe most dangerous and aggressive ofAglaronds monsters.

As the dangers of the wood grewfewer, hunters and fur-trappers ven-tured further inlandand eventually

discovered that the elves of Aglarondhad grown few and humble, weakenedby disease and continual warfare with

the mountain trolls and the dark elvesof the mountain depths. Most of thefisher-folk remained ignorant (and fear-ful) of the forest depths, and did notventure far into the trees, but the

hunters and adventurers fought thetrolls and (rarely) the drow, knowingthe elves first as wary allies and then asfriends-and within another genera-tion a proud (if few in number) half-elven folk had come into being in thedepths of the woods, the elves beingcompletely absorbed into the half-elvenstock. Over the next decade, the drow

went under (ground) and came toAglarond no more, the trolls were near-ly eradicated, and the satyrs all leftAglarond or perished in the forestwars, until the half-elves came to ruleall of Aglaronds wooded interior. Indis-cr iminate woodcutt ing continuedaround the villages of Oskur and Sluskin particular, and at length the half-elves grew angry enough to move downinto the fishing villages and take over.

This led to several armed skirmishes,notably a pitched battle at the remoteanchorage of Ingdals Arm, in which the

pure humans perished to a man, butat length the half-elves prevailed.

For a time there was ill-feeling, butthe just rule of the half-elven (and theirundeniable and ever-increasing bloodties to the fisher-folk) soon welded thepeople into a loyal fellowship under therule of a king. The first king (the seniorwarleader of the elves) was the agedBrindor; he established a fighting corpsof veterans and youths, named an heir(as he had no surviving mate or off-spring of his blood) and began a tradi-

tion of government by monarchy andcouncil, each village choosing a repre-sentative or elder to be a part of thecouncil, to advise and debate with theking. Those who could not accept therule of the King moved west, intoAltumbel, or north and east into Thesk.Theskan raiders (and later, the growingthreat of Thayl were countered byBrindors only great engineering works:

5

the fortress of Emmech, at the mouthof the Umber, and the Wall of Giants,constructed by giants in return for

some mysterious magical service Brin-dor gave them, which prevented anyarmy that crossed the Umber Marshesfrom sweeping into Aglaronds growingfarms.

Brindors heir, Althon, began a greatprogram of irrigation, road-building,and careful husbandry of the much-shrunken woods of Aglarond; eventu-ally to become known as Althon theOld, he lived nearly a hundred win-ters, and in his time Aglarond grew intoa strong and happy realm, despite thegrowing power of Thay and the many

cities along the coast to the south ofwhat is now known as the Yuirwood.(The wood gained this name because ofthe Yuir, the name of the original elventribe that lived there). Althon had twosons, Elthond and Philaspur. Elthondperished in the first great battle againstthe forces of Thay, Singing Sands (1194DR, so-called for the lamenting womenof Aglarond, who cried and sang allnight as they took up the bodies of their

sla in men from the sands aroundEmmech), and Philaspur reigned there-after, perishing himself at the fortress

of Glarondar in the battle of Bro-kenheads (1197 DR). Philaspurs daugh-ters, Thara and Ulae, ruled togetherafter his death: long and well. Known asthe gray sisters for their raiment,they developed their magical arts toawesome heights, and were believed tohave thwarted many forces from Thayere these reached Aglaronds borders,by means of shrewd dweomercraft. Intheir later years, both took husbandsThara wedding Elthar of Milvarune,gaining thereby the friendship of Thesk(which survives to this day); and Ulaewedding the forester Ilion. Thara andElthar had no children, but Ulae bore ason, Halacar, and a daughter, Ilione.

Halacar reigned from the death of hismother (1257 DR) through a disastrouscampaign against Thay, and died-ofpoison, it is thought-in the winter of1260 DR, without wife or offspring. Hissister Ilione came to the throne inexpe-


7/74

enced, but was wiser than Halacar,nd carefully built Aglaronds strength,m m e d i a t e l y n a m i n g a s h e i r h e r

pprentice, the young and mysteriousorceress known only as The Simbul,nd ruling long and wisely as Aglarondrospered.Ilione died of plague in 1320 DR, andnce that time the Simbul has ruled the

ealm with magery greater than anynown in the Inner Sea lands since theall of Myth Drannor; she is thought totill live, and Aglarond still survive,ecause she personally overmatchesven the infamous Red Wizards ofhay.If the Simbul herself has apprentices

r a chosen heir, she has not publiclydentified any such to the Council. Hertyle as Queen of Aglarond (a title sheever uses, preferring to be knownnly as The Simbul) is her own, differ-nt from her predecessors and coun-erparts in other realms. As Mirt of

Waterdeep once said, Ah, that Lady-he goes her own way. That way musteeds be a narrow and often treacher-us one; Aglaronds future may wellang in the balance.The royal banner of Aglarond is three

white stars on a royal blue field.

mpilturmpiltur was formed two hundred andxty winters ago, when the city statesf Lyrabar, Hlammach, Dilpur, andarshel united under Imphras, war-aptain of Lyrabar, to face the menacef hobgoblin hordes advancing fromh e G i a n t s p i r e m o u n t a i n s , f r o m

whence they had only raided sporadi-ally before.The human armies, bolstered by

wood elves from the Grey Forest and

warves from the Earthfast Mountains,met the hobgoblins in the High Passwest of the River Icehilt, and there was

reat slaughter. The High Pass was

choked with the bodies of the fallen,nd blood began to flow like a river erefroze; a red river that ran down out of

he heights, onto the rocks below. Thisitter struggle went on, day and night,

in the cold, until on the afternoon of thefourth day, the exhausted humandefenders were pushed back, out of the

heights, and forced down onto theplainfor although they fought valiant-ly, and commanded the natural heightsand strongpoints of the Pass, the hob-goblins were without number or end,as the sage Amphyr (who was a bow-man in the battle) put it, and just keptcoming over the bodies of their ownf o r c e s , u n t i l t h e y w o r e o u t t h edefenders.

Imphras fled across the plain, harriedby the hobgoblins, until he reachedBluefang water, where he rallied hismen to stand against the invaders.

Some came against him; twice his ownforce at leastbut others ignored thewarriors and ran southwards, past the

men of Imphras, to take and loot the cit-ies on the coast.

And there the hobgoblins were metby the women the warriors had leftbehind, with swords in their hands, andamong them stood Soargar, the oldarchmage of Lyrabar, standing withtwo sticks; and the young sorceressSambral, and her guest, the archmageVelgarbrin of Baldurs Gateand theselast three unleashed magics that have

never again been seen so gathered onone field from that day to this; the earthopened, hobgoblins were snatched intothe air by invisible handsand hurledto earth again, balls of fire crackled androared all about the screaming hordes,and lightning leaped and hobgoblinsfell.

When at last the spells were done, thehobgoblins were fewer than before,but still they came forward, to cutdown the womenand then Imphraswith his few surviving men fell on theirrear like a scythe takes down grass, andthey fell and were routed.

The gathered folk of the c i t iesencamped upon the plain and Soargarbreathed his last, drained of life by theuse of his art, yet content, and he badethe elders of all the cities make Imphrastheir general, against the hobgoblinscoming again. They did so, and Soargartold Imphras of the lost crown of Nar-

6

fell, a thing of wondrous magic hiddenin the old dweomercrafters tower inLyrabar, where it had slumbered these

many years, and of magic swordsthereand then fell dead, smiling. AndImphras took the crown, and raised asmall tower at Filur, and ruled there,and in time wed Sambral and had heirs.

But it was not in his time that the hob-goblins came again. Sambral died, andafter grieving Imphras followed. Theirson Imbrar took the throne. His sisterI lmara became a sorceress underMhilra of Milvarune, and found scryingstones of lost Myth Drannor in heradventures, and founded Ilmwatch. Inthose stones she found the hobgoblins

stirring. Imbrar went up against thehobgoblins before they could attack therealm, and he was not seen again, but

neither were the hobgoblins. And themagical swords that he and his guardwore, the legacy from Soargar, werelost.

Ilmara, sorrowing, took up the crownof Narfell and the rule in Filur, and afterforty winters took to husband Rilaun ofSarshal, a young warrior half her age,and had a son, whom she namedImphras, and crowned king. Rilaun waswroth, and took arms to seize the

crown, but he was murdered ere hecould take it, and Imphras II reignedwith his mother as regent until he was16 winters old.

And in time he took to wife Lasheelaof Dilpur, and had many sons; and thecrown passed to Lashilmbrar, and thento his son Rilimbrar, and then to Rilim-brars eldest daughter, Sambryl.

Sambryl is a mage of power (CG 17thlevel M-U) who does not like to rule; soshe walks the kingdom freely, leavingthe defense of the realm in the hands oftwelve lords of the Realm tall descen-dants of Imphras II): Kylraun; Imbrar;Lashilaun; Soargilm; Haelimbrar; Sam-brar; Rilimbraun; Imbraun; Silmgar,Silaunbrar; and Rilaunyr.

Impiltur today is a war-ready realm,still on the frontiers of civilized lands,but largely at peace and friendly withits neighbors of Telflamm, Thesk,Rashemen, and Aglarond. With these


8/74


9/74


10/74

stalemate broken only by occasionalThay incursions which are destroyedor repelled by the Witches and the stal-

wart fighters of Rashemen.Rashemen is ruled by a Huhrong, orIron Lord. The present Iron Lord isHyarmon Huzzilthar, a grizzled, gray-and-white bearded veteran of seventy-six winters; he has directed the fangsof Rashemen for twenty-three win-ters. since he was chosen by the Witch-es in a process they do not reveal. Hereplaced the senile Old Wolf, TarguthAthkarr, who in his turn held the HighSeat in Immilmar for seventeen win-ters, after the death of his predecessor,Lethgar Mimdusko. Targuth was taken

in by the Witches, and never seenagain; he is believed to have been care-fully tended until death, for the Witch-es (as Rashemi say) are like that.

Details of Rashemen history, asidefrom the annals of Thayvian invasionsrouted, are not easily come by. Very fewof the populace are literate and theWitches are the keepers of lore, andthey do not disseminate this informa-tion to common travelers.

City of Amruthar

Amruthar was founded by the god-kings of Mulhorand in their efforts tocolonize the northern lands of theI n n e r S e a a f t e r t h e m u t u a l s e l f -destruction of Narfell and Raumthar. Itslocation on the Lapendrar is a strategicone, and it has been an important trad-ing city since its inception.

During the war of rebellion againstMulhorand, the city fathers of Amru-thar sided with the wizards immedi-ately, offering them alliance. This is onereason that the city has never beenunder the sway of the Red Wizards

since the establishment of Thay.Theoretically, this is an independent

city, with the the River of Sorrows(Lapendrar) keeping it from Thay.

Actually, Amruthar is a puppet statedepending entirely on the whim of theRed Wizards. Just now, it serves as aconvenient trading center for thosecountries whose merchants do not

wish to deal with the Red Wizards, butfind the money of their agents in Amru-thar to be just fine.

The city does have lively politics, withthree main groups vying for control.THE REALISTS want to keep Thay

happy and themselves free. In short,this is the status quo party and, count-ing the citizens who think everything is

just fine and refuse to have anything todo with politics, is by far the largest

party.THE AGLARONDANS want to invite

Aglarond in to govern them. SinceAglarond has no inclination towardsextending itself out that close to Thay,this is not a very realistic party.

THE INDEPENDENTS wish to severall ties with Thay, impose severe dutieson Thayvian goods, and generally treatThay as if it were just another country,and not a very popular one, at that. Thisparty is halfway between the Realistsand the Aglarondans in size.

ThazalharThis once-rich farmland is now a bufferzone between Thay and Mulhorand. Itwas devastated in the war between theMulhorand and the rebels who found-

ed Thay.Now the land is called one vast grave-

yard. Farmers no longer t i l l i tsenriched soil and it lies fallow and bar-ren.

The Coastal CitiesThe cities of Delthuntle, Nethra, Teth,L a o t h k u n d , H i l b r a n d , L a s d u r ,Taskaunt, Escalant, Murbant, and Thas-selen are known as the Coastal Cities,the Cities of the North Coast (of theEastern Reach), and the Free Cities.They were established by settlers fromUnther at the dawning of the new ageand later on by pioneers from the West.The easternmost cities have been underthe control of Thay at one time oranother for the last four hundred

years, but are currently free.Each city is independent, but they

have a loose association for purposes of

mutual defense and some trade pacts.The Western cities, which perceivethemselves as less in peril from the Red

Wizards, are usually slow to respond toa threat to their eastern neighbors fromThay.

Of these cities, most are actuallytowns. Only Delthuntle, Laothkund,Hilbrand and Escalant are truly cities,with populations over 5,000 people.Delthuntle and Laothkund have popu-lations of about 50,000 each, Hilbrandand Escalant about 20,000 each.

The cities have fought among them-selves and against their trade rivals inChessenta more often than they havefought Thay or any other invader. Wars

among the cities are fought by merce-naries, mostly from Chessenta, and thewarfare is one of maneuver and advan-tage, with one citys forces surrender-ing if they are obviously outmatched bya foeman.

At this point in time, the cities of Las-dur, Taskaunt, Murbant, and Tahasse-len are in flames. See Adventures, FireTime.

9


11/74

PEOPLE AND SOCIETY OF THAYn most of the lands of the Inner Sea,he dominant human racial stock is sim-lar to the men and women of Amn and

Tethyr. However, the racial mixture ofThay is almost totally divided betweenwo other racial stocks, with a scatter-ng of the type more familiar to thenhabitants of the western realms ofhe Inner Sea.

The basic lower and middle classtock of Thay consists of short, hairy,warthy, sturdy folk; the same stockound in neighboring Rashemen. Thisody type, called the Rashemi, can beound in the lower free classes andmong the slowly-growing middle classf the country. In fact, the middle class

s more likely to fall into this categoryhan the lowest class of slaves, since the

Red Wizards buy slaves from all overhe Realms, and the slaves are of allands and body types.

The rulers of Thay, on the otherhand, are slightly taller and slimmerhan their subjects (though not as tall as

most Western men), with much lessody hair and a sallow rather thanwarthy skin. This is the body type

most commonly found in the lands ofUnther and Mulhorand, which is hard-y surprising, since the rulers of Thay

re the descendants of Mulhorani whoroke away from that ancient kingdom.

This body type is called the Mulan.

The Population ofThayThay is an ancient land, and has beenhe home of three different nations.

Compared to many lands, it is quitepopulous.

Counting the slave population, therere about 1.5 million sentient people

within the borders of Thay. This is anstimate, as the Zulkirs consider anyuch information potentially hazardouso the security of the country, and theyefuse to take a census. Probably theest-counted members of the societyre the slaves, as the slave owners haveo keep some record of how many they

have and how much they are produc-

ing, but there is no central repositoryfor these records and individual slaveowners are leery of letting anyone

know the extent of their holdings.Due to the centrally organized farm-ing, where most is done on large slavefarms, there is a higher proportion ofpopulation in the cities to the people onthe farms than is common in the west-ern realms where the farming is donemostly by small collections of freefarmers or serfs of small landholders.About 300,000 people live in the cities,the other 1,200,000 in the wayside vil-lages and slave farms. Of the city dwell-ers, about half are slaves, but in thecountry, the proportion of slaves to

freemen is about seven to one.In general, there are three social

classes in Thay.

The NobilityThese are the rulers of Thay, and com-prise both the Tharchions and Thar-c h i o n e s s e s w h o r u l e t h e v a r i o u sregions and the Red Wizards them-selves.

Members of the Bureaucracy are alsoa m o n g t h e n o b i l i t y a s a r e t h eAutharches who rule sub-regions in the

name of the Tharchions.The nobility is almost entirely com-prised of the slim, sallow, folk fromMulhorand, but a few of the lowerclasses have managed to impress somewizards with their magical ability andbe elevated to the rank of wizardsapprentice. Some of the Rashemi havenow become members of the Red Wiz-ards.

Traditionally, nobles of Thay disdainand abhor body hair (something of a tri-al for those of Rashemi descent). Menare known to grow facial hair even as

they shave their heads. Women com-monly shave their heads and decoratetheir shaved pates with artistic designs.Sometimes the designs are permanenttatoos, but most are just body paint,and frequently changed. This custom ismainly honored among the Tharchionsand Tharchionesses, though most RedWizards also follow the style when they

10

have the time.Presumed Red Wizards have been

seen outside of Thay with beards and

normal body hair. Most of these areobviously of Rashemi descent (part of aprogram of proving their worthinessby taking on missions to foreign lands),but even Mulani have been seen in suchcondition. It is thought that, withouttheir specially-trained slave barbers,Red Wizards would rather grow theirhair than risk cutting it by themselvesor entrusting their heads to local bar-bers.

There are several noble families inThay and, as a sign of the possibleupward mobility in Thayvian society,

new noble families are being started allthe time.

In general, anyone appointed to theposition of Tharchion (see Politics) orAutharch is automatically noble, andhis immediate family (spouse[s], chil-dren) is also ennobled. Any other familymembers including siblings are notennobled, but, since nepotism is stand-ard in Thay, can expect to becomenobility soon.

Red Wizards are also automaticallynobles, and they ennoble their immedi-ate families as well.

If the children of a Tharchion do notbecome Tharchions or Autharchesthemselves, or children of Red Wizardsdo not become wizards, they are stillnobility. Once a Thayvian becomes anoble, it is almost impossible to takethat status away from his family. Onlythe unanimous decision of the Zulkirscan remove the status of nobility; this isusually done by outlawing the family,arresting all accessible members, andturning the survivors of the arrestingprocess into slaves.

It is not necessary to get all the Zulkirsupset with you to have a downwardchange in fortunes. Noble families alsodisappear because of the backstabbing

politics of Thay. A family with many sonsand siblings and with tentacles of powereverywhere in the country can vanishovernight if the right collection of ene-mies decide the family is getting too pow-erful for the enemies good.


12/74

Some of the current influential fami-lies include:

The Agneh: This family has a long his-

tory of Tharchions and Wizards in itsmembership. The most illustrious cur-rent member is Mari Agneh, Tharchio-ness of Bezantur, who was the blacksheep of the family because of her pastas an adventuring thief until she wasappointed to her current post. She hasembraced her family again and appoint-ed most of them to official posts withinher city government. Many people havenoticed that these posts are those withthe most prestige for the least work-asituation about which the family mem-

bers have never been heard to protest.

The Agneh clan is the leading family ofBezantur.

The Canos: This family is on the rise

politically. Though there are no RedWizards involved with this group, theynumber a Tharchion, Mikal Canos ofDelhumide, and a Tharchioness, Thes-saloni Canos of the Aldor. The familyhas built itself up by its military reputa-tion.

The Daramos: This is a new family,based around the Tharchion of Tha-zalhar and consisting of him, his wife(who rides as a member of his guard)

and their two small children.The Flass: This family is on the down-

turn, though it has had a couple ofinfluential Red Wizards among itsmembershi p. The Thar chi oness o fEltabbar is one of the family, but shehas distanced herself from the clan forsome years over an almost-forgottendispute.

The Kren: This is a fairly new familywhich initially gained prominence dueto the efforts of its progenitor, a womanwho became a Red Wizard. Her daugh-ter took after her father, however, andis now the Tharchion of Gauros.

The Mediocros: This family gained itsposition two hundred years ago whentheir progenitor became Tharchion ofEltabbar. Now, the leading member ofthe family is Valerios Theokillos, Thar-chion of Pyarados. The family main-tains its seat in that border city andattempt to sponge off their scion, but he

has little time for them. He would muchrather deal with his old adventuringfriends and they are the ones who have

reaped most of the benefits of his lar-gesse.The Odesseiron: This is an ancient

family in Thay, its progenitor was oneof the wizards who brought the DemonPrince to this plane and fought off theinvaders from Mulhorand. For the mostpart, the Odesseirons have been Wiz-ards. Homen Odesseiron, Tharchion ofSurthay, is the first to gain status as aTharchion. He is also somewhat famousas the first person to be a member offour Schools of Magic simultaneously,even though he never officially gained

the title of Wizard.The Tam: This is one of the more

ancient families of Thay, not only in lin-eage but in age of its membership. Itshead, Zulkir Szass Tarn, is only the thirdperson to hold that position under con-ditions that are explained in the NotablePersons of Thay section of this book. Atthis point, we can only say that the seatof the Tam family is commonly referredto as The Necropolis.

Noble Titles of Thay

One way of distinguishing the workingnobility from the non-working varietyin Thay is the titles they bear. A Thar-chion or Autharch is a leader of thebureaucracy and the equivalent of acivil servant. They are the workingnobility. They are referred to as Lordor Lady or Your Eminence.

Red Wizards are referred to as Mas-ter (the sex does not matter) or YourOmnipotence. The rest of the nobilityis referred to as Daeron or Daeronness(literally noble-born) and referred topersonally as Sir or Mistress or

Your Excellency or Your Honor.Higher ranking nobles (the Tharchionsand Autharches) rarely bother withsuch formal titles when talking tolower-ranking nobles.

High ranking priests are called LordPriest (or other, higher, title) or YourOmniscience. They have no official sta-tus in Thay, but still maintain a lot of

11

social status. Which churches exist inThay and how powerful they are is cov-ered under Religions of Thay.

The Middle ClassThay has little experience of a middleclass, and merchants and tradesmenare generally considered to be justanother form of laborer. Since all agri-culture is done on slave-run planta-tions, there is no experience at all of themiddle class yeoman farmer that distin-guishes so many Western Realms.

In actual fact, with the foiling of sev-eral of the Red Wizards plans for

expansion at the expense of their neigh-bors, tradesmen and traders havebecome the source of much of whatThay needs to exist. The Red Wizards

have recognized this sufficiently to usethe legitimate traders of Thay as a cov-er for their own depradations amongthe other kingdoms of the Inner Sea.

Because of the independence of indi-vidual members of the ruling class,there is no government regulation ofthe middle class. This is both a blessingand a curse to merchants and trades-men. Depending on the Tharch they

inhabit, they may be freewheeling

entrepeneurs, treating Tharchion andWizard alike as almost an equal, or theymay have to swear fealty to a particularruler and go to him for permission forany deal they wish to consummate orproject they wish to commence. Whatis worse for these people is that theserules can change with a change in eachruler , which in the assassinat ion-

haunted halls of Thay can happen over-night.

The middle class approach to groom-ing is to be as neat as possible. Becauseof the rules governing slave grooming,

no peasant or merchant is too hairyshaving is common, and womens hair-styles tend to be shorter than thosefound elsewhere in the Realms. Nopeasant wants to be mistaken for aslave.


13/74

Slavesecause of the need to keep many peas-nts under arms (and the loss of theame peasants in various attempts atonquest) Thay depends on a slavec o n o m y . L e g i t i m a t e t r a d e r s g o

hroughout the Realms trying to pur-hase criminals and any other possibleandidates for slavery. Of course, theyannot purchase anyone sentenced tomited slavery for a period of time, as

he sentencing authority would have noway of knowing that the criminal had

een released after his term was spent.However, enough lands use permanent

avery as a punishment that the slave

aders are able to find many candi-ates for the slave pens of Thay. Somenner Sea countries use slavery andale to the merchants of Thay as a spe-al punishment for especially heinousrimes.However, most criminals do not have

he special requirements that somelaveholders of Thay have. The Red

Wizards meet these needs with theirwn special slaversthe dregs of the

nner Sea are hired to go out and findhe ideal candidates, kidnap them, andurn them over to the Red Wizards to

ecome slaves.Slavery in Thay is universally dread-d throughout the Realms around thenner Sea. Aside from the meager foodnd/or hard labor and/or degradationhat is the probable lot of any slave inhe few lands that allow for any form ofavery, Thayvian slaves are likely to

ecome subjects of experiments, fed toxotic monsters that demand humanesh, or be slaughtered in depravederemonies.Slaves who have been in Thay for

more than a month can always be told

part from the peasantry becauseaves are not allowed to cut their hair,o matter where on their bodies itrows.Since the nobles of Thay are also very

areful of cleanliness, this means thatart of a slaves daily chores is washingn ever-growing head and, sometimes,ody of hair.

Under normal circumstances, theslave hair is piled up in masses on thehead of the slave, but any slave who is

not on his or her masters businessmust wear his or her hair down, so thatthey can be told as slaves immediately.

It is possible for a slave to get permis-sion to cut his hair, but it can never becut to less than half way down theslaves back.

If a slaves hair must be cut for medi-cal reasons, the first question is wheth-er it would not be easier to let the slavedie. If they decide to keep him alive, heis shaved where needed, then kept inseclusion until the hair grows out again.

Demi-Humans in ThayBesides the dominant human popula-tion of Thay and the inevitable orcishtribes in the Thaymount and Sunrisemountains, the largest single humanoidtribe in Thay is gnolls. Gnoll merce-naries made up part of the Red Wiz-ards army of rebellion, and theirreward was continued employment inthe armies of the Thay and retirementto communities on the borders of thecountry, particularly the Thaymountand Gorge of Gauros.

Under these conditions, antitheticalas they are to the usual form of gnollhabitation, the descendants of the mer-cenaries thrived. They have made ahome for themselves in Thay and canbe found throughout the country, usu-ally working as mercenaries and law-enforcers. Thayvian law being what itis, gnolls get a great deal of pleasure outof enforcing it. Unlike their wilderbrethren, Thayvian gnolls are neutralevil, not chaotic evil.

It is said that there are dwarves andgnomes in the Sunrise mountains, but

they have little to do with the Red Wiz-ards; their sole contact is with the raid-ing parties that enter the SunriseMountains looking for slaves.

Of elves there are none in Thay,except as slaves. Thayvian wizards donot buy adult elves as slaves, but occa-sionally buy children that they can besure have not yet learned magic. The

12

drow underneath Aglarond are said tohave embassies in Thay, and they mayhave their own colonies under Thay,

but they are not part of the life of thecountry. Elven adventurers in Thay areremarked on and watched closely.

Halflings are present in Thay asslaves, and, to some extent, as free citi-zens, Some halfling mercenaries did afavor for a Red Wizard and retired toBezantur on the proceeds. Their fami-lies joined them and now there are half-lings in all the cities. The halflings whosettle in Thay find the paranoia ofThays rulers a fertile field for scamsand con gamesand there is alwayswork for a good thief who doesnt take

up much space.Centaurs can be found throughout

Thay, usually as guards on the slavefarms. These centaurs were originallyinhabitants of Aglarond who were driv-en out by the half-elves because of theirthieving ways and were welcomed bythe Tharchion of Thaymount as merce-naries. There is a centaur legion (spon-sored by one of the Red Wizards) in thestanding army of Thay, and centaursusually have the run of the roads ofThay.

This does not prevent centaurs from

becoming slaves for real or imaginedinfractions.

Sahuagin are found in Bezantur andon the Aldor fairly frequently. In Thaythe sahuagin have found a society theyunderstand, and such trading as theydo with the a ir breathers i s donethrough Thay. Their kingdom in theAlamber Sea is a firm Thayvian ally (asfirm as any alliance with the sahuagincan be).

The Society of ThayEssentially, Thay is an evil society. Over-all, the alignment of the country is neu-tral evil, but this can vary from lawfulevil (usually but not always exemplifiedby the Tharchions and Zulkirs) to cha-otic evil (usually exemplified by theactions of many of the Red Wizardswho are not Zulkirs).

But wherever one may be in Thay, the


14/74

rulers and most of their followers aredriven by greed and megalomania andparanoia. Each member of the society

seems to be dedicated to raising himselfto the highest possible pinnacle of suc-cess, preferably on the backs of hisfriends, family, and associates. Noteveryone living in Thay feels this way,but it is the way of the majority. It helpsexplain why members of the rulingclass have many acquaintances andassociates, but very few friends.

This makes for an almost chaotic evilsociety, but chaos is kept away by astructure of traditions and laws thatallow for the Red Wizards havingalmost total freedom to do as they

please, but just enough restraintthrough societal pressure and thethreat of retribution by all the otherwizards to keep Thay from disintegrat-ing into a million tiny magocracies, eachwith a king mage on top trying todestroy all the other little magic king-doms.

Part of the unwritten traditions andmotivations of the Red Wizards is theirenvy of the god-kings of Mulhorand.They rebelled from that land to escapethe overlordship of these avatars ofpowerful gods, and established a socie-

ty that they hope will lead them to thesame position through magic instead ofworship. Thus, each wizard usuallysees himself as a sort of proto-god, andeach realizes that he needs a society ofworshippers to maintain his power, sothey maintain their society as the god-kings have maintained theirs.

13


15/74

Geography of Thay

General Descriptionhay is a vast realm, bounded on the

orth by the river and lake of Mulsan-r, its gateway there being the city ofurthay. To the northwest it claims theurmarsh, a vast marsh and fenlandhat lies between the rivers Thay andur. The central core of Thay then runsouth past the eastern slopes of Thay-

mount and the eastern bank of Lapen-rar, the River of Sorrows, for many

miles, until turning southeast along thedge of the Priador (high plains) to the

many-spired city of Bezantur. Bezantur,n the Alamber Sea (sometimes knowns the Sahuagin Sea) is Thays southern

ateway, and has traditionally rivaledhe free cities of Thasselen, Murbant,s c a l a n t , T a s k a u n t , L a s d u r , a n dilbrand that share the north shore of

he Sea.From Bezantur, the land claimed by

hay is the seacoast east to the mouthf the River Thazarim, and northwardsp that rivers west bank to the Sunrise

Mountains and then north to the out-ow of the Mulsantir.Thay frequently attempts to swallow

he lands along these borders, and cur-ently has destroyed several of the free

ties and captured Nethentir and Neth-t, trading cities between Aglarond

nd Thay.Within these borders, at the heart of

he realm, lies Eltabbar, seat of the RedWizards and capital of Thay. From the

orth, one reaches the city of Thay uphe river Thay, to the vast Lake Thay-

mbar. Eltabbar lies upon a bay of that

ragon-turtle-inhabited water. Fromhe west, one reaches Thay up theapendrar from Escalant, or overlandom Nethjet on the river Umber, to the

ndependent city of Amruthar (which is

ill independent, though now circledy lands c la imed by Thayl , fromhence by bridge a road runs to Tyra-

uros, where roads north from Bezan-ur, south from Eltabbar, and west fromyarados on the Thazarim meet. (Thehazarim is navigable as far north asyarados.) The Sunrise Mountains formn impenetrable barrier to the east, and

Elminster knowns nothing of what liesbeyond them. There are tales of bothlamia and evil naga in these mountains,

but, he cautions, there are such taleseverywhere, and but few of them aretrue.

Most of the country is on the great,irregular plateau formed by the FirstEscarpment of the Priador and whichrises eastward almost imperceptiblytoward the Sunrise Escarpment and theSunrise Mountains. The land is gentlyrolling and broken only by occasionalstreams or one of the major rivers, thepeaks of Thaymount, which are encir-cled by the Second Escarpment, thespires of the cities, and the farming

communities and wizard towers thatcan appear every t ime a travelermounts the top of one of the manyhummocks in the trail.

Carefully set along each road andnavigable river are the tax stations,which are usually accompanied by aninn and some other residences. At eachtax station, the owning Wizards tax col-lectors collect the taxes for crossing hislands from every traveler. Travelersattempting to travel cross country findthemselves in trouble with wanderingmilitary patrols and the strange crea-

tures that many wizards keep patrol-ling their grounds for exactly thepurpose of keeping out tresspassers.

Most of the land is under cultivation,but the lonely farmhouses seen in otherlands are not found in Thay. All arableland is in the hands of the Wizards orTharchions and their subordinates, andthe farm workers (usually slaves) live inthe central farming towns and hike orride to their assigned fields.

This form of cultivation is not terriblyefficient, but there is so much landunder cultivation that Thay can stillexport some grains and fruits to neigh-boring lands.

There are no forests in Thay. Theonly trees are occasional copses of exot-ic species that decorate Zulkir-ownedstreams and decorative trees from oth-er lands planted in the cities and towns.

Lake MulsantirThis large body of water divides Thayand Rashemen, and is mostly a Rashemi

lake. Thay occasionally attempts to gainascendency on the lake, but suffersfrom the simple problem of having littlewood with which to build warships.The Witchboats of Rashemen are toomuch for the Wizards to match withoutdecent wood for their ships.

The River ThayThis river runs between Lake Mulsan-tir and Lake Thaylambar, and is naviga-ble almost its entire length. Because ofthis navigability, there is not the exten-

sive road network in northern Thaythat is found in the southern Tharches.Instead, everyone uses the river. Theland between the River Thay and themuch-less-navigable River Gauros is amass of slave-farms and wizard towersdivided by dirt paths. The main centersof population are along the river.

The Long PortageThis is the one part of the River Thaythat cannot be traversed upstream. TheRiver comes down off the First Escarp-

ment to the level of Lake Mulsantirdown a gentle decline that does not stopboats from traveling downstream, butis too rough and fast to pole or rowboats upstream.

For about a century after Thaybecame a nation, the Guild of Portagerscharged exorbitant rates to haul vesselsup the river. Then the Wizard ShevasTam (father of the current Zulkir of theSchool of Necromancy) was confrontedwith a demanding chief of the Guild andkilled him. Shevas Tam then had hisminions slaughter most of the Guild

members and Shevas Tam turned theminto zombies.

Now the Guild consists of the zombiesof the original Guild and any replace-ments needed (acquired through crimi-nals put to death in Surthay and Eltabbar)as the zombies wear out. The Tam familymaintains the zombies and collects amodest fee from each traveler.

14


16/74

The fee might be higher, but the fami-ly has little attention to spare for thisenterprise, and really hasnt checked to

see if the Guild is paying for itselflately.

Lake ThaylambarThis very large lake is in central Thay.The former Mulhorand capi ta l ofDelhurnide and the current capital ofEltabbar are on opposite sides of thelake.

The lake is said to contain dragon tur-tles, and fishing boats sometimes disap-pear forever. Weather control spells

keep storms from disturbing the water,so some beast such as dragon turtlesmay be responsible. The Tharchions ofEltabbar and Delhumide sometimeslead hunting expeditions into thedepths and come back with something,minus some boats and followers.

SurmarshThis large marsh is fed by both the Riv-er Sur and River Thay, and is a night-marish bog broken up by occasionalhummocks of high ground and smallhuts of refugee slaves and criminalswho eke out an existence as best they

can.One menace all must deal with in this

bog are the lizard men who hold swayas they do in so many of the swampsthey have been driven to since man firstarrived in the Realms.

These lizard men are divided up intotribes and occasionally raid outside theswamp, but mostly they hold to treatiesthey have made with the Tharchion ofSurthay.

Sometimes they will try to hunt up arunaway slave or criminal that theThayvians are particularly anxious tocatch, but their main function in thealliance is to hold the marsh againstinvaders. Since the only possible

invaders are the people of Thesk, theyare not often called on to fulfill theirpart of the bargain.

The River SurThis wide, shallow, and fever-infestedriver is usually considered the border

between Thay and Thesk, though noone but assorted Thesk-allied herdersgrazing their cattle inhabit the areabetween this river and the TheskianMountains. The villages that can befound along the river are small farmingand fishing villages who trade with thenomads and pay occasional taxes toThay tax collectors.

ThaymountThese mountains poke out of the plainof the Priador and form the Second

Escarpment and the source of the Riv-ers Umber, Eltab and Laprendrar. Intimes of weakness, the western borderof Thay is the Second Escarpmentdown to where it intersects the RiverLaprendrar . These mountains arealways known as the Guardpost of theWestern Borders, and act as the head-quarters for the Tharch of the Thay-mount.

The Gold Mines of ThayThe Thaymount is a volcanic region

and much newer geologically than theancient Sunrise Mountains. Part ofwhat the volcanoes brought up to thesurface are extensive veins of gold ore,which were discovered by the rebel-lious Red Wizards and exploited asfunding for their revolution againstMulhorand.

Since that time, the gold mines havebeen a major source of Thayvianwealth. They traditionally fall underthe purview of the Tharchion of Thay-mount, and he pays a fixed tax on thegold to the Zulkirs. Thus, the more he

can get out of the mines, the more hecan keep, and if the mines run out ofgold, he is still stuck with the tax pay-

ments.Like so much of Thay, the mines are

worked by slaves. Being a slave in themines of Thay is considered among theworst possible fates for a Thayvianslave, whose position is never enviable.

The CitadelThis ancient fortress was part of theThaymount when the Kingdom of

Raumathar first claimed the land in theprevious age. Who built it and why isstill unknown, though various Red Wiz-ards have sent missions deep into itsbowels to try to learn its secrets. As bestas anyone can tell from the subject ofsome of its very faded wall paintings, itmight have originally been built by liz-ard men, before they were driven intothe swamps by mankind so many thou-sands of years ago.

Parties exploring the Citadels deepestdungeons have found great treasures,but many have never returned. There

is some evidence that there is an exten-sive troglodyte population somewhere

in its deepest reaches, and the drowmay have a colony there.

The River UmberThe River Umber tumbles out of theThaymount as a narrow, fast, stream oflittle use to anyone except as a source ofwater to the few slave farms owned bythe Tharchion of Thaymount and hisfollowers.

Once it cascades down from the Sec-

ond Escarpment to the plains of thePriador, it slows down and widens outinto the narrow lake called only TheUpper Lake Umber. This is a largelyunpopulated area as it is claimed byboth Thay and Aglarond, and only afew fisher families live along its length.

From this lake, the Lower Falls takesthe water to the main body of LakeUmber, which has the unwalled tradingtowns of Nethentir and Nethjet on itsnorth and south shores, respectively.

This area is continuously beingfought over by Thay and Aglarond, and

has just changed hands again with thecurrent advent of the armies of Thay.There are very few farms except forsubsistence farms used to supplementthe diet of the inhabitants. Most of thelocal residents are fishermen who tryto ignore whoever claims to be theirmasters.

15


17/74

The River EltabIt is said that this river did not exist

efore Thay won its freedom from

Mulhorand, and its creation was part ofhe spell which summoned a demonrince to help the Red Wizards.Whatever the truth of this story, the

ver supplies the water of the city andelps create its unique waterwaysefore it goes on to feed Lake Thaylam-ar.

Sunrise MountainsThis mountain chain has always been

he eastern border of Thay. Thesemountains have a reputation for impas-

bility, but it is actually possible to getast them in summer though not withnything bigger than a donkey. Beyond

he mountains are arid plains, called thelains of Purple Dust for reasons thatre obvious if you look at them. No oneas entered them and come back.To the east of Thay and Rashemen, to

he north of the Plains of Purple Dust,re reputed to be the lands of Raurinnd Durpar, known from annals ofading agreements from the days ofarfell and Raumathar. No one has

een seen from these lands for centu-

es.

The River ThazarimIn the days of Mulhorands rule of this

rea, this river, between the falls wherecomes off the Sunrise Escarpment to

he falls from which it tumbles off therst Escarpment, was the core of a fer-le farming area. Slave farms still popu-te the western bank of the river, but

he eastern bank is devastated andbandoned, still desolate after the bat-e that created Thay as a separate

ation.The river itself is used as a travelwayong its length between the Escarp-ents, but the steep falls at each end ofis length make boat travel impossibleithout portaging the river craft. Thewer reaches of the river support

ome slave farms on the west bank andontinue the devastated state on the

eastern bank. Upstream, the river isnarrow, fast, and rocky-impossible totravel on muscle-powered boats. Thearea upstream is largely unpopulatedexcept for one trading and last-minutesupplies village situated on the SunriseEscarpment, just above the falls.

Alamber or Sahuagin SeaThis body of water is the easternmost

part of the Inner Sea. It serves as theborder between the ancient kingdomsof Mulhorand and Unther, and is thehome of a major sahuagin kingdom,whom the Red Wizards are on at leastspeaking terms with.

The northernmost island of the Sea is

the Aldor, which is the Thayvian navalbase. Currently, the dominant navaland merchant power in this area isThay; both Unther and Mulhorandmerchants find it more convenient toship their goods in Thayvian hulls andaccept Thayvian payments for theirgoods than build their own ships andfind their own markets.

However, there are pirates in the areathat live in small, secluded villagesalong the coast of Thay and Mulhorandand on the smaller islands to the southof Aldor. They prey on the smallercoastal trading vessels and occasionallysurprise the crews of larger vesselswho bring their ships into shore tocamp for the night or make emergencyrepairs. When the Thayvian navy findsand raids one of the pirate villages, thepirates attempt to pass themselves offas fishermen. Sometimes they are suc-cessful at this deception, and some-times the Thayvian marines dont reallycare and capture and enslave the popu-lation of the fishing village anywayeven if it turns out to be just a fishing

village.Piracy on the Alamber is a tricky pro-fession, but the potential rewards aregreat. By now, pirates have learned toavoid any ship flying the red-and-gold-flame-on-black banner of a Red Wizardunless their spies have indicated thatthe banner is a ruse.

16

The River LaprendarThis is the second longest river in thearea, and the longest in Thay. It is

known as the River of Sorrows becauseof the miners who have died in the goldmines near its headwaters and becauseof the men of Aglarond and Thay whodied trying to cross or defend the riverduring Halacars ill-fated invasion ofThay in 1260 DR.

The Escarpments and thePriadorThay is broken up into three distinctrises from the ground level of the othersurrounding kingdoms. Each is marked

by a sudden sharp rise, called anEscarpment, out of the relatively flatplain surrounding it. These Escarp-ments are not completely vertical, andmost are easily climbable, but theincline is very precipitous compared tothe surrounding countryside. The easi-est inclines are those around some ofthe rivers, though others are still verysteep falls, and where the main roads ofsouthern Thay were built centuriesago.

The Priador is the name for the gentlyrolling plain that tops the First Escarp-

ment. It is broken only by the variousrivers and Lake Thaylambar, and is thecentral area of Thay. The entire regionis broken up into thousands of slavefarms and small wilderness areas keptas private game preserves by the RedWizards and Tharchions.

These game preserves are full ofmonsters that the Wizards need forspell and potion ingredients, and mostof them have no bounds on where theycan travel, so travel anywhere aroundthese preserves can be very hazardous.

Travelers who are accosted by such

monsters are usually allowed to defendthemselves as best they can, but there isno liability to the owner if his monsterskill someone (though, of course, thissort of thing has caused intense feudswhen the victims were members of aninfluential family and the monstersowner refused any or adequate recom-


18/74

pense). And, of course, sometimes trav-elers who are successful in defendingthemselves may incur the wrath of theowner if the monster was an especiallyprized or hard to replace species.

Main CitiesEltabbar

Though it is the capital of the country,and the residence of at least half theRed Wizards, it is the second largestcity of the land. Its population isbetween 80,000 and 100,000 people,about half of whom are the slaves of theTharchioness and the Red Wizards inresidence. Merchants and other non-

government non-magic-users are lessthan enthused about sharing a city withso many paranoid magic-users, and pre-fer to do business in Bezantur.

The city is walled, with very fewbuildings outside the walls. The RiverEltab comes in under the walls and pro-vides a central core of canals that dividethe government area of the town from

the business and residence area. Thespaces between the canals are dividedup into parks, each of which is ownedwholly or in part by one of the Red Wiz-ards or the Tharchioness.

Streets are wide and relat ivelystraight here. Distances are easily mea-sured, which encourages people to tryto map the town, with results as speci-fied below. There is also an extensivesurreptitious trade in maps of the city,which are erroneous at best, deceptiveat worst.

M a p p i n g t h e c i t y i s a p r o b l e mbecause it is built in the form of animmense glyph. This is actually thesymbol that keeps the demon princeEltab imprisoned and available to theRed Wizards. This was a mighty magicdevised by Jorgmacdon, the first Zulkirof the School of Conjuration, and hisfamily is still powerful in the country,even though it has not produced any-one to match him since that time.

Whether the canals are part of theglyph holding the Demon Prince, orperhaps the presence of the water itself

is necessary to the spell holding him, isnot common knowledge. The DM canmake his own decision here.

Because the shape of the city is actu-

ally the glyph holding Eltab prisoner, itis illegal and severely punished for any-one to make a map of Eltabbar. If some-one actually manages to draw an exactmap, and then the map is destroyed, itweakens the bonds on Eltab. Each mapmade divides up the power of the bind-ing further among all the maps and thestreets themselves. If enough maps aredestroyed, Eltab is freed, and his likelyactions could destroy a large section ofthe Forgotten Realms, Thay not theleast among them.

The official explanation for this banon maps of Eltabbar is a matter of secu-rity. If someone knows how the city islaid out, they can invade it more easily.This logic has since progressed to anedict forbidding the mapping of anycity of Thay.

The Zulkirs are on the alert for mapsmade of Eltabbar, and confiscate anythey can find. Maps that have been con-

1 7


19/74

cated are kept in the Wizards Tower,nder great wards of protection andasis to keep them safe.

The city is frequently disturbed bymblings and shakings. Non-wizardsidents think them simple earth-

uakes. The Red Wizards know thatmeone has destroyed another map oftabbar.

ezanturhis port was first known as Kenstenhen it was the southern port of Rauma-ar. It was destroyed in the war betweenarfell and Raumathar and Mulhorandbuilt it as Bezantur to be a seaport one same site. While there is no rivercess to this port (aside from somereams coming down from the Firstcarpment), as there is with Escalant toe west, the natural harbor is the best one coast, with ample depth for the larg-t ship and protection from the fiercestorms for over a hundred ships.Bezantur is the largest city of the realm.

he population, which has never beenunted as long as Thay has owned they, is somewhat in excess of 100,000ople. Far-travelers who have seenaterdeep compare the two as being

most equal in size, but each traveler hass own idea as to which is larger.Most seaborne merchants bring theirods for Thay through this bustlingrt. It is easily the most cosmopolitanThayvian cities.

The city is built around its harbor andclosed by walls that do not encom-ss the extensive market town thats taken shape outside its walls. Thealls do not cover the actual water-ont, the entrance to the harbor isarded with forts. The central citadelfully walled.

Bezantur is also known as The Citya Thousand Temples, and The Free

ty. The first reference is to the largember of churches (though not reallythousand) to different deities that can

found everywhere in the city, cater-g to the needs of the many travelersho stop in. Elsewhere, temples andrics are not supported by the author-

ities, so Bezantur is by far the holiestcity of the Realm. The other namecomes from the tax-free nature of the

city, where no one is taxed, and every-one is prey to the thieves. See the Poli-tics section for further explanation ofthis situation.

TyranturosT h i s t r a d i n g t o w n w a s b u i l t b yMulhorand, and is the third largest cityof the realm. This is the crossroads citywhere the High Road from Eltabbar toBezantur meets the Eastern Way fromAmruthar to Pyarados. Most goodsgoing through southern Thay passthrough this caravan town, but notmuch of it stays there (except for thetaxes collected by the Tharchion). Fromhere goods go to and from Bezantur,Pyarados, Amruthar, and Eltabbar.

This city is not walled, though thereare fortified manors and a centralwalled citadel. Its market is famedthroughout the East as the placewhere anything, or anyone, can bebought. This refers to, among otherthings, the extensive slave market thathappens every day in the central mar-ket area of the town.

PyaradosThis is a relatively new city, The City ofthe East, built by Thay and nestledunder the shadow of the Sunrise Moun-tains and controlling the upper reachesof River Thazarim and the guardian ofthe Thazalhar Battle Plain. Adventurersgetting ready to explore the SunriseMountains (and who can obtain officialpermission) outfit here at exorbitantprices.

This is a large city, with over 50,000people, and only the central area of thecity is guarded by a wall, which is sup-plemented by that around the fortressof the Tharchion.

SurthayThis is another new city, built to guardLake Mulsantir against the invasionsfrom Rashemen that the Red Wizards

fear from that notably non-aggressivecountry. Once the Rashemi were seento be homebodies, Surthay became the

stepping off point for many militaryinvasions of Rashemen. At this point,the Red Wizards have not learned thefolly of these expeditions.

Despite its position on the lake, Sur-thay is not really set up as a port city.There is access from the lake to the cen-tral marina of the city, but the good nat-ural harbor has not been properlyexploited. This is because the Witchesof Rashemen still control most of thelake, and tend to sink most Thayvianvessels they encounter. Only Thayvian

fishing vessels that hug the southern

shore have any survivability on LakeMulsantir.

Surthay contains about 40,000 peopleand slaves, and is walled very stronglywith high walls and many towers carry-ing siege engines. There are no outlyingbuildings permitted around Surthay.Most of the primary wizards of theSchool of Abjuration have towers hereor in the immediate area.

The Ruins of DelhumideThis was the capital of the province

when it was part of Mulhorand and amajor city of Raumathar before that.One of the god-kings had his seat there,though he was not there (the usual situ-ation) when the Red Wizards firstunleashed their controlled DemonPrince and sent him against the holyguardians of the city. When the demon

won the struggle, Delhumide was aruin, and the rule of the god-kings inthe north was broken.

Now the city is a broken ruin, with nobuildings of more than one story intact.The inhabitants are the armed forces of

the Tharchion of Delhumide, variousparties of researchers and explorers,and the remaining magical guardiansleft by the previous owners. These lat-ter are supplemented by denizens ofthe earth who have begun investigatingthe extensive dungeons underneath theruins and made life very interesting forthe Thayvian explorers.

18


20/74

The High Road and theEastern WayT h e s e t w o r o a d s w e r e b u i l t b yMulhorand along the same model as themajor roads in that sleeping kingdom.The Red Wizards have maintainedthese roads better than the god-kings

have maintained theirs.The roads are elevated from the sur-

rounding land and made of hardpacked earth covered with pavingmaterials that owe as much to alchemyas common craft. The surface is hardand fast, letting the horsemen of Thaymove quickly from spot to spot along it,and letting commerce move quickly as

well.Using the roads is such a benefit inSouthern Thay that most merchants

dont mind that the roads make the taxstations that much harder to avoid.

The Tax StationsAll along the rivers and roads of Thay

are a series of villages about one daystravel apart. These are built aroundmilitary posts and generally feature a

defendable tower and a garrison ofabout 30 men at arms. These stationstend to accumulate hangers-on, so thatthriving villages now surround them,usually featuring at least one inn or tav-ern and several people providing otherservices for travelers such as a smithy, awheelwright, a livery stable, and soforth. This is one of the few openingsfor private enterprise in Thay, andcraftsmen make full use of this oppor-tunity.

Tax stations were built by the Zulkirsbut each is maintained by the Red Wiz-ard or Tharchion most concerned withthe area. Each tax station takes its toll of

travelers for upkeep of the roads andthe garrison also arranges for roadrepairs or, on the rivers, upkeep ofdocks and other facilities. The workerson these jobs are not the residents ofthe village, but the slaves from what-ever local slave-farm is appropriate.

Surrounding RealmsThe geography of Thay is as con-

strained as much by the boundaries ofthe lands around it as it is by its ownphysical features.

AglarondA small realm that keeps to itself,Aglarond exerts little influence inaffairs of state outside its borders. It isimportant in the overall balance of theInner Seas lands, however, simplybecause its presence prevents Thayfrom overwhelming the northernEast. Aglaronds strengthand dan-

ger, because she stands in magical oppo-sition to the Red Wizards of Thay, whodo not kindly suffer rivalsis its cur-rent ruler, a female archmage of fabledpowers, known only as The Simbul.

Aglarond lies on the northern side ofa peninsula jutting out into the easternend of the Inner Sea; a sparsely inhab-ited, heavily-wooded realm of fewfarms and no large cities. Jagged pinna-cles of rock stand at its tip, and runalong the spine of its lands; to the east,these fall away into vast and treacher-ous marshes that largely isolate the

Simbuls realm from the mainland.Travel in Aglarond is by griffon, ship, orforest trails. It trades lumber, gems, andsome copper for glass, iron, clothgoods, and food when freetrading ves-sels come to port-but sends out notrading vessels of its own. The ships ofAglarond are fishing vessels and thefew small biremes and triremes of its

navy.The southern border of the nation is

the southern reaches of the Yuirwood,the woods in which the elves lived thatbecame part of Aglaronds unique half-

elven heritage. To the south of the Yuir-wood are the independent Cities of theNorth Coast.

Aglarond cannot boast a field army ofany size, nor a powerful navy, but with-in its woods The Simbuls foresters areexpert and deadly troops, adept at fire-fighting and at using coastboats (long,canoe-like open boats handled with

lateen sails, oars, and poles) to raid bynight. They are equally adept at travel-l ing in the treetops and fighting

amongst them.The foresters are alert and grim; themenacing might of Thay is uncomforta-bly near, and Aglaronds blades are alltoo few.

Little is known of the Simbuls aimsand true strength, but she is seen toconstantly roam the northern Realms,working to influence all manner ofe v e n t s ( p r e s u m a b l y t o b e t t e rAglaronds safety, although she is saidto be a member of the Harpers, whoseaims are more widespread) in disguise,

or behind the scenes.

ImpilturThis young land comprises the areaa c r o s s t h e E a s t i n g R e a c h f r o mTelflamm and Thesk and Aglarond. Ithas no contiguous borders with Thay,but it is a friend of most of the nationsthat do border Thay, and supportsthem in their wars against the Red Wiz-ards.

Impilturs neighbors are Lothchas thebandit lord in the Desertspire Moun-tains and the Ice Gorge to the west,

where the hobgoblins lived until theirpower was broken by Impiltur, and tothe east and north the Great Dale andthe woods to the north of it. In the openwastes where Narfell once flourisheddwells the Nentyarch, a mysteriousmage of great power who rules grimmen and strange beasts, living inpeace-unless the wood is entered bythose he has not invited; these simplyvanish. This area is known as Ashanathand little more is known of it.

TelflammThis city-state comprises the city ofTelflamm and the subject-cities of Sythand Culmaster. Its prosperity rests inbeing one of the terminal cities of theGolden Way and its excellent port,which makes it the favored terminal,even though goods have a higher pricebecause they must pass out of the realm

19


21/74


22/74


23/74

f Thesk to reach Telflamm.Despite an ongoing trade rivalry,

elflamm and Thesk are allies in many

hings, and Telflamm supports Thesk ins struggles with Thay, since Telflammould have no chance if Thay were itseighbor.Telflamm is a walled city of perhaps

0,000 population. Much of it is tran-ent, as Telflamm is a favorite spot ofebarkation to the East or embarkation

or the West. People looking for thessistance of adventurers often come toelflamm and adventurers go thereoking for patrons.The army of Telflamm is entirely mer-

enary and used solely for patrolling its

oads and keeping the city and itsependents safe. If called on to supporthesk militarily, the coffers of the city

ould be opened to buy more merce-aries to help their ally. Their ownoops would stay to defend the homeont.

Theskhis is the land between Aglarond and

mpiltur. The government of this land isn oligarchy made up of the rules of theading cities along the Golden Way

om Two-Stars to Milvarune whichcts as a capital (mostly because it is sor removed from Thay). The nomadicibes who run their flocks in the Thesk

Mountains in the center of the land andhe plains around the mountains alsorotect the cities by acting as a thorn in

he side of any invading army fromhay. Their tactics are ideally suited toit-and-run and they work in such aattered fashion that mass destruction

pells cannot damage very many at ame.It is against foes like these that Thay

as developed its cavalry, but theomads are still capable of riding ringsround any Thayvian unit.The nomad magic users are mostly

hamans, but shamans who haverown in power (perhaps because ofe proximity to Thay) so that they are

quivalent to Druids. They have manythe same spells as druids, with some

differences because of their plains andhills existence.

However, the courage and skill of the

nomads and shamans, and the merce-naries from the trade towns and citiesare not the main reason Thay has notconquered the place. In fact , themilitary-minded leaders of Thay areaware that conquering Thesk wouldleave them with very vulnerable flanksto Rashemen and Aglarond. The RedWizard policy is to secure the flanksfirst.

MulhorandThis ancient empire has been in exist-ence for over four thousand years, andits borders have fluctuated for most ofthat time. However, since Thay brokeaway about four hundred years ago,t h e b o r d e r s o f M u l h o r a n d h a v eremained much the same.

Almost the entire east coast of theAlamber Sea is under the sway ofMulhorand. From the River of theDawn in the North to the River ofSwords in the south, the god-kings ofMulhorand hold their lands in a slothfulgrip. To the north of the capital ofSkuld, City of Shadows, only Sultim is a

major city. The rest of the land is mostlyfarmlands occasionally broken by smalltowns like the crossroads town ofMaerlor and the ford-town of Rauthil.

Below Skuld, there are many citiesincluding Gheldaneth and Neldorild. Allof these cities are full of monolithicbuildings of white stone and the prayer-towers of the god-kings, all surrounded

by the squalid huts of the slaves andlower classes. The cities are surround-ed by gigantic walls patrolled by merce-nary soldiers from Chessenta.

RashemenThis is the easternmost of the knownRealms. It has been dubbed The FarLand by merchants of the WesternRealms. To its east lie uncountedleagues of rock-and-grass wastelands,and several rumoredbut unreachedin recent memorykingdoms of men.

22

The land of Rashemen is home to a raceof short, muscular men who herd goatsand rothe, and are adept at stone-and

bonecarving.Land of Berserkers some balladscall Rashemenand indeed, such is thefearless savagery of its warriors, andtheir stamina, that at least sixteen arm-ies from Thay have been slaughtered orturned back from Rashemen in the lastseventy winters, and the Far Landremains free.

Rashemen is ruled by a Huhrong(Iron Lord), or senior war leader, whosepalace towers above the roofs of thesurrounding city of Immilmar. The IronLord commands Rashemens standing

army, which consists of warr iorsarmored in heavy fur and leathertunics, with hand weapons, short bows,lances and mountain ponies. Mostpatrol the border with Thaytheshores of Lake Mulsantir and the bro-ken lands east of the Gorge of Gauros.

There are many lesser lords, eachwith his own followers andbusinessesbut the succession of ruler-ship, and the posts of warleaders of thearmy, are chosen by the Witches. TheWitches dwell mainly in Urling, andprovide sorcerous, unmanned, boats

(the feared Witchboats) that patrolAshane, the Lake of Tears, as far northas the Pool of Erech, and the Mulsantir-waters as far south as Surmarsh andthe harbor chains of Surthay, unleash-ing fell beasts and poisonous gasesupon the vessels of Thay.

The Witches also govern the commonwarriors of Rashemen through themaking of jhuild (firewine), the potentamber drink that the warriors of theland imbibe heavily before fighting.The Witches are believed to all befemale, are known to be over sixty (andprobably over a hundred) in number,wear black robes and face-masks, bearmagical rings, wands, and whips, andhave m u c h - f e a r e d ( b u t l a r g e l yunknown) magical powers.

The continued existence of Rashe-

men speaks of the real magical powerof the Witches. Witches are wor-shipped and revered in Rashemenit is


24/74

death to harm or disobey a Witchandare known to seek out land take men aslovers for brief periods, presumably as

some sort of planned breeding pro-gram. If Witches leave Rashemen, theymust abandon their black garb and con-ceal their powers, but none are knownto have done so.

Wool, furs, and carved stone andboneand rare, much-prized casks offirewine (which deadens pain andinflames lust and other aggressiveemotions)are the trade goods ofRashemen; in return cloth and wood-work, lumber and foodstuffs areimported. There are three trade routesfrom the Far Land: the Long Road to

the North, via the Great Dale to theWest, and the Golden Way to the south-west. Rashemen is self-sufficient inwar-metals and northen herd animals,a n d m a k e s m u c h h e a v y , s m o k y -flavored cheese for use within its bor-ders (the stuff is very nourishing, butan acquired taste, and little-exported).

Snow-racing (naked and afoot, acrosscountry) and the hunting of snow-catsare popular sports among both sexes inRashemen; widespread hobbies includethe collecting of rare and beautifulstones (including gems), exploring old

ruins in the north of the realm (rem-nants of a previous kingdom, Rauma-thar, neighborand foeof the morefamous, but equally vanished, realm ofNarfell, that lay to the west), and goingo n g r o w i n g u p t r i p s o u t o fRashemena journey that every maleof the realm makes when a youth. If hecomes back to Rashemen, such a jour-neyer is considered a man. For most,the dajemma (or journey) is a sightsee-ing tour around the Inner Sea Lands,but the cumulative effect of the dajem-mas is to build trading contacts, pick up

a lot of incidental information about theInner Sea Lands, and gain continuousnews of politics (and military activities)in the Inner Sea region.

Sages, merchants, and mercenarycaptains generally agree that Rashemenhas no designs upon the lands around;like most of Thays neighbors, its pri-mary concern is survival. Rashemens

warriors are to be fearedbut they areseldom encountered outside the FarLand save as drunken youths ondajemma, and do not have the reputa-tion of, say, the mercenary companiesof the Sword Coast lands, or the BlackHelms of Tethyr. For most inhabitantsof the Inner Sea lands and Sword Coast,

the Far Land remains a mysterious landmuch sung of in minstrels tales, as thesetting for this or that feat of brawn.

The total population of Rashemen isno more than 100,000 people, but theyabhor slavery and every person is afree citizen of the country.

City of AmrutharThis theoretically independent cityrests just over the River of Sorrows(Lapendrar) from the core area of Thay.At some times it has been almost entire-ly encircled by Thays lands, but itmaintains its own governmenta pup-

pet of Thays.The city is well-walled and actively

patrolled by the soldiers of the ruler,called the Heirarch. He has a Council of

the most influential people of the city,who are divided up into several politicalfactions described elsewhere.

About 30,000 people live in Amrutharand the farming villages within a daysride of the city.

The Cities of the CoastMost of these nine cities were found-ed by Unther when it tried to expandinto this area. Now they are indepen-dent trading towns, all trying to vieagainst Thays Bezantur and each otherfor the cross-sea trade from Chessenta.The western cities of Delthuntle andLaothkund are the largest of the lot,with populations around 70,000 each

almost the size of Bezantur. Hilbrandand Escalant of the east have some pre-tensions to competition with Bezanturin trade, but no chance of competitionin size. They have perhaps 30,000inhabitants each. The rest of the citiesa r e a c t u a l l y u n w a l l e d t o w n s o fbetween 5,000 and 15,000 people.

Most of the smaller cities of the east,such as Lasdur, Taskaunt, Murbant, anThasselen have been attacked and cap-tured or destroyed by Thay at one timeor another in their histories, and Esca-lant and Hilbrand have each been burrto the ground once. At this time,Hilbrand has just surrendered to theTharchion of the Lapendrar and Esca-lant is under siege by fire elementals.

The coast also has several other villag-es which are mostly fishing villages anowe allegiance (or at least tax money) toone or another of the larger towns.

ThazalharThis devastated barren buffer zone

between Thay and Mulhorand is bor-dered by the River Tazarim to the westand north and the River of the Dawn tothe south. The Sunrise Mountains areits eastern border. There are no regularresidents except for the Tharchion ofthe region and his troopers. Tradingcaravans and raiders of trading carvans traverse it, and most goods go bysea on the far safer Bezantur-to-Sultimroute.

Its short coastline is home for severalpirate families that prey on the smallervessels of that trade.

23


25/74

hay is a slave-based, agrarian econ-my. Most of the foodstuffs producede grown on slave-run farms owned

y

Documents

AD&D - Forgotten Realms - Dreams of the Red Wizards