Szass Tam

Szass Tam is a powerful lich and member of a group of eight Zulkirs who rule the country of Thay. He is the Zulkir of Necromancy and commands the Legion of Bone, a huge legion of undead soldiers, led by his vampire and lich generals. Szass Tam is the ruler of Thaymount.

Like other Red Wizards, Szass Tam prefers to remain unseen, working through lackeys and servitor creatures (including vast armies of undead) while he plots and schemes. His own undeath gives him patience. He's quite prepared to abandon servants and attempts that fail, and simply try again later in a better way. Those who meet him (Or seemingly real magical images of himself that he creates and sends far across Faerûn) discover Szass Tam to be calm, cultured, and even pleasant. Tam is polite but blunt, and he can be plunged instantly into cold, controlled rage by insolence or deliberate defiance. On the other hand, he seems to admire those who cross or foil him by cleverness, as long as they treat him politely. He is always spinning more simultaneous intrigues than most Faerûnians have years in their lives, seems content to view existence as a great game, with plots and schemes as the playing pieces-or, if you prefer, weapons. In The Crimson Gold, Tam shows a desire to find someone worthy of sharing lichdom with him.