The Zhentarim controlled by Manshoon are just antagonists. Alignment [9], For years Manshoon was the lord of Zhentil Keep and leader of the Zhentarim. [16], In 1487 DR, although intending to continue where his former clone left off, the new Manshoon continuously found himself thwarted, from even attempting to begin his schemes, by the newly returned Mirt the Moneylender, the two of them continuously meeting for drinks and passive-aggressive conversations in Suzail. Maybe I am misunderstanding the book, but in some portions, it seems to indicates there may be two Zhentarim factions, one affiliated with the Doom Raiders and Davil Starsong, and one affiliated with Manshoon. He hunted down the vampire who had turned him, the Night King Orlak, and slew him, taking the vampire lord's magic items and his title of Night King. His strong leadership in this time of crisis was widely credited as the only reason the Zhentarim was able to survive and begin rebuilding its power and reputation, and as of 1489 DR, he appeared to still be in command of Darkhold, and as a result the wider Black Network.[4]. Since the shades consider Anauroch to be a part of their nation, they are unlikely to accept armed caravans guarded by spellcasters traveling through their land. The Pereghost was one of the great mysteries of the Zhentarim's fortress of Darkhold. In 1372 DR, Bane re-emerged and Fzoul switched his worship back to his original god. Unknown to nearly everyone, Fzoul arranged a tenuous peace with Khelben Blackstaff of Waterdeep. [15] The Zhentarim hierarchy follows a linear branching structure, with Fzoul Chembryl at the head of the organization. Instead, he discovered the beholder Xantriph. Died He gave no name other than "The Pereghost" and refused to speak of his history. In turn, the Pereghost was completely loyal to the Black Network. Ultimately, they want to make the rules — and, in some cases, they already do. The Doomraiders are former adventurers who settled down and took over/opened a Zhentarim chapter in Waterdeep (possibly because the name itself came with some sway). Orbakh quickly took over the Night Masks as he arrived in the midst of a power vacuum left by the death of the guild's former leader. The Black Network is finally becoming the well-organized group that Manshoon envisioned. In exchange for information provided by the Blackstaff, Fzoul agreed to limit Zhentarim expansion to east of the Thunder Peaks for nearly thirty years. As a result, Darkhold would become the last Zhentarim stronghold left to the worshipers of Cyric. Often these caravans are simply captured and then brought to their intended destination under the flag of the Black Network, providing both a profit from the goods and an implicit understanding from the buyer that the Zhentarim succeed in trade where others fail. This allowed Manshoon to further dream of advancing his skill in the Art while manipulating both the beholders and the church of Bane from behind the scene. I integrated WDH into DotMM so for thematic and simplistic reasons I made the Zhentarim one unified faction. Although many things went well for Manshoon's Black Network, many things went wrong as well. Lawful evil (Long list of NPCs here has been cut. The Zhentarim seeks to become omnipresent and inescapable, more wealthy and powerful, and most importantly, untouchable. Over the years, the Zhentarim expanded to include Darkhold and the Citadel of the Raven. The Zhentarim is your family. Several years later, Greenwood brought the setting to publication for the D&D game as a series of magazine articles, and the first Realms game products were released in 1987. Since the Zhents charge essentially the same prices as their competitors, even honest folk tend to buy from them, despite and misgivings over the source. Role-playing game products have been produced for the setting … The Black Network is a meritocracy. The Zhentarim is an organized crime syndicate that controls a large part of the Moonsea region's economy. It offers a standing bounty for the heads of powerful Harpers allies who have fought the Zhentarim in the past, such as Elminster and several of the Seven Sisters. Manshoon (pronounced: /mɑːnˈʃuːn/ man-SHOON[4][7]) was the founder of the Zhentarim,[8] also known as the Black Network, until he was "slain" by Fzoul Chembryl, his ally, and Lord Orgauth in 1370 DR. Darkhold's arm… 3.5 However, Elminster and Storm Silverhand were able to restore the Simbul's sanity, and she forced Manshoon to yield and promise to work with Elminster to recover Blueflame items. Their presence in Baldur's Gate is centered around countering actions of the Iron Throne as a part of their expansion into the Sword Coast. Until recently, the Doom Raiders (and the Zhents working for them) were in charge of all Zhentarim operations in Waterdeep. The Doom Raiders want to protect the status quo - they’ve built up a good thing here, and as long as they keep their heads down and don’t draw too much attention, they can get rich off of running most of the illegal trade in the city. This attitude puts the Zhents at odds with the Iron Throne, the Cult of the Dragon, the Rundeen, and any evil group of a more chaotic or independent inclination. Manshoon investigated personally, hoping to find powerful magic. Second, they raid enemy caravans, using human soldiers or recruited gangs of humanoids to drive their competitors into poverty. Urlam Stockspool Red eyepatch, suave businessman. Several powerful lords report directly to him, with each lord having subordinates who pass on reports and requests. Publicly, Urstul would be seen as the leader of this new faction of Zhents. They claimed their rightful council seats and supported Fzoul's rise through the ranks of the Banite priesthood. Knowing the priests to obey Bane over anyone else and assuming the wizards were just as ambitious as he was, Manshoon held little trust for any of his new allies, he sent out spies and was determined to raise his powers in the arcane far above anyone else in Zhentil Keep. Archmage 5 Wizard 20 [9], Laeral and Kyriani Agrivar witness the Manshoon Wars on top of Piergeiron's Palace in Waterdeep, Three clones, who mastered this killing compulsion by means of spells and devices, survive with the one that returned to the Zhentarim appearing to be 'the' Manshoon. Is this intentional by Manshoon as a way to usurp power from within? One major setback occurred during the Time of Troubles, with the destruction of the Zhentarim’s primary deity, Bane. To do this he has created a faction within the Zhentarim in Waterdeep. I look at it like this: Manshoon’s Zhents = Nazis, Doom Raiders = the mafia. The idea behind the Harpers was conceived by several Myth Drannan elven military leaders in collusion with a few trusted human rangers and druids. One of them had gone to fight some mages from Thar and had died in the conflict while the other remained in the keep. The Zhentarim is an unscrupulous shadow network that seeks to expand its influence and power throughout Tobias Island. Manshoon made sure his blind brother Asmuth fell off of a bridge to his death before they returned to the keep where he and Chess planned to dispose of the usurpers. This doesn’t prevent the Zhents from defending their western territories, but in all likelihood if those territories were lost (for example, if Darkhold were to be taken over by Cyricists), they would have to accept the loss until the agreement expired. Now even a group of common merchants bearing the symbol of the Black Network is treated respectfully and kept at arm’s length, for the merchants might be under the protection of a powerful wizard or carry magic far beyond the means of ordinary folk. [citation needed], Decades after collapse of the Weave and the devastating effects of the Spellplague, the vampiric Manshoon began plotting to take rulership of Cormyr. This has caused a civil war between those loyal to Davil and the Doom Raiders and the modern day Zhents against those who are loyal to Manshoon. It is still interested in enlisting like-minded wizards to its cause, as well as clerics of Bane, but most other individuals are turned away or simply not offered positions within the organization. Former home(s) If local monsters are not available, Zhentarim spellcasters have been known to conjure hideous creatures, with the same net effect of rampaging native terror. Completely fitting the archetype of the sly-tongued, sinister and decadent master spellcaster, Manshoon ruthlessly crushed revolts within his own ranks of the Black Network, easily slaughtered his rivals and weeded the weak out of the ranks of the young and ambitious by sending upstarts on nigh-impossible suicide missions. This brings us to the current day Zhentarim in Waterdeep. Third, they use tactics such as extortion, arson, and murder to deter their rivals and opponents in mercantile trade and political activity. Whilst venturing up to the surface to feed, he found himself in Westgate where the magic items influenced him to create some vampire underlings and with them, he decided to take over and revitalize the Night Masks thieves' guild.
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