The Red Wizards of Thay are a villainous faction in the Forgotten Realms setting of Dungeons & Dragons and the main antagonists of the 2023 film Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. They are an organization of wizards who rule the corrupt and harsh nation of Thay. Engaging in slavery, assassinations, unethical experiments on humans and animals, smuggling of magical artifacts, and demonology, the Red Wizards are feared throughout Toril and frequentely clashed with the heroic organization of the Harpers and other heroes.
The leaders of the Red Wizards are the council of the eight Zulkirs, each one of them is a master of a different school of magic, and the most prominent of them is the lich Szass Tam.
History[]
The Red Wizards at their height were the enemies of many nations and factions in Toril and received support from demons, devils, yugoloths, and the drow. Amongst those heroic and villainous characters who opposed them were the Witches of Rashemen, the Seven Sisters of Mystra and their allies, the goodly secret agents Harpers, and even the evil mercenary organization Zhentarim, who disliked the Wizards encroaching on their turf.
Despite the general distrust and dislike that most felt towards the Red Wizards, the mages were still able to extend their power to almost every corner of the Realms, running their enclaves as planned in towns where slaving was otherwise banned. From here they ran a lucrative business in the trade of magical items, spells and artifacts, making them a necessary evil to many of their clients, and as such the wizards expanded their sphere of influence ever further.
A political coup in Thay changed all this however. Szass Tam's rise to power as the sole ruler of Thay resulted in civil war between himself and the other zulkirs for control. To defeat the zulkirs Szass Tam used the infamous Spellplague to devastate the land, ending the civil war through an even greater disaster. The rebel zulkirs were driven from Thay, as were their followers but the Red Wizards' dark plots came back to haunt them and many of the order's enemies took the opportunity caused by the upheaval to assault the many enclaves the Red Wizards had spread throughout the world.
The final blow to the Red Wizards as they once stood came when the last remaining zulkirs, decades later, interrupted Szass Tam's plot to become a being of godlike power, preventing his ritual from reaching completion. Their efforts cost them their lives but likely saved Faerûn from one of the greatest threats it might have ever faced and prevented Szass Tam from ever attempting the ritual again, at least so long as it was conducted on Thayan soil. For the Red Wizards however, the death of the zulkirs ended what the Red Wizards once had been and gave way for the new order of Szass Tam.
Notable Members[]
- Maligor: The villain of the novel Red Magic. He was the Zulkir of Alteration who tried to usurp Szass Tam.
- Szass Tam: After being the Zulkir of Necromancy for centuries, Szass became the monarch of Thay.
- Edwin Odesseiron: A smug and rude red wizard who is one of Gorion's Ward possible companions in the Baldur's Gate videogames.
- Rath Modar: A renegade red wizard who tried to summon Tiamat to Toril.
- Hazlik: A red wizard who ended up in the Demiplane of Dread of Ravenloft and became the dark lord of Hazlan.
- Valindra Shadowmantle: The new zulkir of Necromancy.
- Sofina
- Dralas
- Syorla Salm
Gallery[]
External Links[]
[]
 Villains
| ||
|
Arklem and Valindra's Agents
| ||
|
The Legend of Drizzt Villains | ||
|
Pirates of Luskan Calimport Underworld Sentient Artifacts Demons Dragons Drows Many-Arrows Shadowvar Red Wizards of Thay Others | ||