The Red Wizards of Thay, as the name implies, are red-clothing-wearing Wizards who come from Thay. But of course, there’s more to them than that. Masters of necromancy and big fans of Liches, they are an iconic group inDungeons & Dragonsavailable for Dungeon Masters out there to use as the villains for their campaigns. They also helped shape much of the lore in the Forgotten Realms, for better or worse.
RELATED:Ways To Make An Overpowered Wizard In Dungeons And Dragons
Between lore, mechanics, and real-life trivia, there are quite a few interesting details about this powerful wizard society. Let’s dive deep into some interesting facts about The Red Wizards of Thay
10The Basics
Just to make sure we’re all on the same page. Thay is completely controlled by this group, in a society that is controlled by its wizards. They are ruled by the Council of Zulkir, who has control of both the Red Wizards and Thay, by extension.
They are eight in total, each of them dedicated to one of the schools of magic presented in D&D; Abjuration, Conjuration, Divination, Enchantment, Evocation, Illusion, Necromancy, and Transmutation.
9Real-Life Creation
Not only they’re an iconic group in D&D, but they’ve been around for a while. The Red Wizards of Thay were first introduced in thesecond edition of Dungeons & Dragons, created by Ed Greenwood and Jeff Grubb.
Their design not only entailed powerful spellcasters to challenge the players, but they also present complex politics involved in their stories, which created interesting roleplaying opportunities when dealing with one of them.
8Thay
The name of their country is already pretty clear. But what’s so intriguing about Thay, besides being the Wizards' home base? Well, the land itself is rich in many natural resources, which is useful as some of these resources can be used as spell components.
They’re also known for their desire to expand, attacking many neighboring nations with their army. Their soldiers can be troublesome sometimes since not all of them are alive, which also brings us a curious topic about them…
7Their Use Of The Undead
The nation is famous for having a lot of undead in it. Unlike most locations that would deem these actions as unethical or dangerous, The Red Wizards have no problem with undead forces, finding them to be quite effective.
RELATED:Dungeons & Dragons: Things You Didn’t Know About Liches
In fact, some powerful beings over there chose to become undead. It’s an efficient way to increase your lifespan and make it harder for others to kill you overall. This is why some of them turned into undead, and why they’re commonly associated with Liches.
6They’re Known For Slavery
Despite having undead at their service, they are notorious for keeping slavery around, which is sadly one of the things that keep Thay running. These slaves would mostly come from people who are sold to a Thayan or war prisoners.
A trait that marks a slave in the lands of Thay is their extremely long - and poorly taken care of - hair, as slaves were forbidden to cut their hair at all.
5Szass Tam
A name that comes around often when talking about the Red Wizards is Szass Tam. He was one of the eight Zulkir of his time, particularly the Zulkir of Necromancy. With his power and influence, he took over the Red Wizards of Thay entirely.
The Council still exists, however, and they help keep things in order. Still, Szass is the one truly in charge and has ruled over Thay for centuries. Despite being a powerful Lich feared for his necromancy skills, his intelligence and manipulation abilities are just as great, making himwu a dangerous Lich and politician.
4Other Members
Though we mostly hear and talk about Szass - and for good reason - an organization is not composed of one member. There have been other notable members of the Red Wizards, introduced throughout several editions.
Some of them include Rath Modar, a powerful Wizard focused on illusion magic, the Zulkir of Conjuration Nevron, the Zulkir of Alteration (now called Transmutation) Maligor,the newly introduced Sofina, who obeys Szass in Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, and so on.
3Their Enemies
As a large society of power-hungry necromancers, a lot of people will dislike them. They are used as villains in most stories, after all. Still, some people have to deal with them more often than others, making the grudge between them quite big.
RELATED:Dungeons And Dragons: Most Iconic Monsters
Mainly, many conflicts happen between Thay and Aglarond, a nation that is constantly under siege because of Thay. Thayans also attacked Rashemen, located north of them, on several occasions. If you wish to have them as enemies in your campaign, starting in Aglarond or Rashemen during an attack is a great start.
2They Lack Religion
In a group like this, you’d think they would worship some Evil God or Fiend creature of immeasurable power. And though there are a few religious folks within the Wizards, the society itself does not value Religion, putting the pursuit of magic above it.
One God that is commonly associated with the Red Wizards isBane, God of Oppression, Hate, and Terror- just the good stuff. Still, though he has worshipers throughout Thay, the nation itself doesn’t worship him as a whole.
1Other Media
Though D&D started with dice rolls, it’s only natural for a franchise to expand into other types of media. And since the Red Wizards are a famous group of enemies, they also go along for the ride, getting adaptations of themselves throughout the media.
They appear in novels, such as the Haunted Lands trilogy, the video game Neverwinter Nights 2, and most recently in the movie Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves.
NEXT:Dungeons & Dragons: Tips To Make A Villain Your Players Will Love To Hate
