Characters / Forgotten Realms Factions

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Factions

The transition of Forgotten Realms to Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition has resulted in a move to embrace more group-based gameplay. This has resulted in numerous longstanding organizations achieving more prominence in the setting as well as gaining significant power. It also has resulted in some antagonist factions becoming playable.

Player Character Factions

The Harpers

In General

Those Who Harp.

An old organization that has risen, been shattered, and risen again several times. Its longevity and resilience are largely due to its decentralized, grassroots, secretive nature, and the near-autonomy of many of its members.

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• Action Girl: Lots of these with Myrmeen Lhal, Bronwyn, Shandril Shesshair, and Arilyn Moonblade.
• Balance Between Good and Evil: Played somewhat better than most as the balance is between evil who is trying to destroy it and the good who is usually passive in its face of it.
• The Bard: The Harpers take their name from this profession and are the biggest baddest group of these in fantasy.
• Big Good: Elminster, Khelben, and the Seven Sisters serve as this for the Harpers. The Cynic among them think this make them The Pawn. Averted in 5th Edition where they're all independent.
• Can't Argue with Elves: One of the flaws of the organization is that they have an idealized view of elves when any fan of the Realms knows that they're actually often in need of a Screw You, Elves!.
• Heroic Neutral: Almost an inversion of how the trope is normally played. The Harpers have no cause in a setting defined by them other than balance, music, and "good" and are constantly meddling.
• Hypocrite: The Harpers have been known to kick out members like the Bhaalspawn, Artus Climber, and Khelben for not towing the line when their entire shtick is Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!.
• Jerkass Has a Point: The Harpers carry out a lot of their meddling and "heroic" resistance without any sort of plan or care to the consequences.
• La Résistance: The Harpers operate like a massive revolutionary group that works in cells, passes secret messages, and fights against the various powers that be. Their lack of a defined target, though, makes all governments nervous.
• Neutral Good: In-universe. The most common Harper alignment according to official stats and Word of God.
• Nostalgia Filter: The Harpers view Myth Drannor as The Good Kingdom and maybe even Utopia. Anyone who has read Elminster in Myth Drannor knows it to have been a massively racist society of arrogant elves who viewed humans as vermin.
• Professional Killer: The Harpers don't advertise it but they include a number of them who just flat out murder "evildoers."
• Quirky Bard: Harpers have many-many variants on Bards with quite a few dual classing like Danillo Than and Finder Wyvernspur.
• Renegade Splinter Faction: The Moonstars were one of these briefly in the Realms but gently faded away as the conflict died down with Third Edition. Now the Moonstars have been more or less replaced with Force Grey that has no ties to the Harpers.
• Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: A constant theme in the books is the Harpers choosing to stand up for the little guy against what is lawful or popular.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Not with each other but the Order of the Gauntlet that prefers to work within laws and codes.
• To Be Lawful or Good: As illustrated in many of the books, particularly Thornhold, many paladins and other champions of good distrust if not outright hate the Harpers for their lack of respect for the law.
• We ARE Struggling Together: The Harpers have the backing of the Chosen of Mystra and her church as well as several nature-themed gods. However, the Gods of Good in general, particularly the lawful ones, as well as the governments of non-evil nations don't approve of the Harpers' activities.

Arilyn Moonblade

Race: Half-elf (Moon)

Class: Fighter

Alignment: Neutral Good

The daughter of a Princess of Evermeet and a Master Harper, Arilyn Moonblade was orphaned at early age and soon ended up as an agent of the Harpers. She is notorious among the elves for being the first half-elf to wield a Moonblade. One of the protagonists of The Harpers and Song And Swords.

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• Action Girl: A deadly swordswoman, assassin, and wielder of the Moonblade.
• Aloof Dark-Haired Girl: Thanks to her half-elven heritage, she's pretty and pale like a moon elf and tall like a human. Other aspects of this trope also apply.
• Battle Couple: Eventually she and Danilo become this.
• Cool Sword: Arilyn is the wielder of a moonblade, which is a major magical relic that kills anyone unworthy of wielding it.
• Combat Pragmatist: Despite the fact she wields a moonblade, Arilyn was trained as an assassin and cares nothing for showing off or glory.
• Daddy's Little Villain: Was raised by the man who killed her mother unknowingly for years.
• Deadpan Snarker: Most of the time, usually directed at Danilo.
• Lady of War: Arilyn Moonblade is a no nonsense warrior with a generally dour attitude as well as lack of flourish.
• Professional Killer: Her cover identity in the Harpers is that of a assassin. She also serves as this for them as well.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: She is the blue to Danilo's red.
• Starcrossed Lovers: With Danilo Thann, though it works out for them in the end.
• Sugar-and-Ice Personality: Arilyn is a Nice Girl, idealistic, and kind but has to put up a cold and harsh front due to her job as a Professional Killer.
• Sword and Sorcerer: With Danilo Thann. She is the sword and he is the spells.

Danilo Thann

Race: Human

Class: Bard or Aristocrat/Wizard/Spellsinger

Alignment: Chaotic Good

A Waterdehavian nobleman of the prestigious Thann family that has been apprenticed to Khelben the Blackstaff. He is a agent of the Harpers and lovers with Arilyn Moonblade. One of the protagonists of The Harpers and Song And Swords.

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• Bawdy Song: He wrote a few. And even taught one to a singing sword.
• Black Sheep: What his family treats him as due to his public identity as a drunk and wastrel.
• The Dandy: A flamboyant and charming rogue who is noticeably higher class than most of his associates.
• Go Through Me: Tries to do this to those who would hurt Arilyn. It is of questionable effect.
• Non-Idle Rich: What he actually is. Later, he becomes Royals Who Actually Do Something, due to being one of the Lords of Waterdeep, for a time.
• Obfuscating Stupidity: Danilo plays the role of a fool and hedonist so well that he sometimes fools even Arilyn.
• Quirky Bard. Of course. Despite being identified as Aristocrat/Wizard/Spellsinger in 3E, he considers himself a bard. Also, is sufficiently spoony, or at least tries to be seen as such.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: He is the red to Arilyn's blue.
• Sword and Sorcerer: With Arilyn Moonblade. He provides the spells and she provides the blades.
• Upper-Class Twit: What image he's cultivating. The Dandy singing dubious couplets and less than successfully dabbling in magic — just one more good-for-nothing noble. He's the lad who pranks people using a singing sword with Bawdy Song. He "forgot" to make publically known the part where he personally researched the spell allowing to edit the musical repertoire of pre-existing magical items. For example.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: With Elaith Craulnober, eventually. Both view the other as romantic rivals despite Arilyn preferring to keep them at a distance.

The Emerald Enclave

In General

Protectors of nature.

A far-ranging group that opposes threats to the natural world and helps others survive the many perils of the wild. Members of the Emerald Enclave are spread far and wide, and usually operate in isolation.

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• Back from the Brink: The organization had become a shadow of its former self in Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition due to xenophobia as wel as the destruction of their island home. They are now one of the most widespread groups in Faerun.
• Balance Between Good and Evil: The organization actually seeks this between nature and civilization. However, they see the conflict between good and evil as one of these destructive forces.
• The Beastmaster: Comes from the fact its members are primarily Rangers and Druids.
• Doomed Hometown: Their homeland of Illighon was struck by the Spellplague and turned into a part of mainland Turmish.
• Druid: The organization includes a huge number of these and they provide their spiritual leadership.
• Fantastic Racism: The Emerald Enclave had an incredible hatred for the Spellscarred due to their loathing of what the Spellplague did to all of Faerun.
• Green Thumb: A lot of their members are druids.
• The Hermit: A lot of Emerald Enclave members avoid people and live alone when not performing their duties.
• Nature Hero: Their entire deal. They exist to preserve the natural world from destruction and keep humans from being killed by it.
• Red Mage: Their focus on druidism and rangers means they have a mixture of offensive as well as curative magic.
• Voluntary Shapeshifting: One of their most common tricks and weapons against enemies.
• We Help the Helpless: One of their major goals is to help people survive the perils of the wilderness, which is doubly harsh in Faerun due to all the monsters.

The Lords Alliance

In General

The Lords of the North.

The Lords’ Alliance is an association of rulers from cities and towns across Faerun (primarily in the North), who believe that solidarity is needed to keep evil at bay. The rulers of Waterdeep, Silverymoon, Neverwinter, and other free cities dominate the coalition, and all lords in the Alliance work primarily for the fate and fortune of their individual settlements.

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• The Alliance: The Lords Alliance is a collection of all the major northern powers working to protect each other.
• City of Adventure: An alliance of a half-dozen of these and all very well known as hotspots for adventurers.
• Fictional United Nations: More or less the closest thing the Realms has to an alliance and diplomatic system between its major powers.
• Godzilla Threshold: The Cult of the Dragon trying to raise Tiamat results in them putting aside all of their infighting to work together.
• Government Agency of Fiction: As much as something like this can exist in a Medieval setting, the Lords Alliance's agents serve as this.
• Hufflepuff House: It contains some of the most powerful city-states in the Realms but also some rather tiny communities.
  • Amphail is a horse-breeding community that is included simply because a large number of Waterdeep nobles send their relatives there to keep them out of sight.
  • Goldenfields is a member primarily because it is a massive granary with help from the Emerald Enclave.
  • Longsaddle is included because the Harpell family is an enormous clan of battle-capable wizards who aren't all insane or evil.
• Multinational Team: The Lords Alliance employs agents from all of its cities as well as outside them to get things done.
• Professional Killer: The Lords Alliance employ many of these as part of their duties.
• The Remnant: Not actually the Lords Alliance itself but the Silver Marches, which was once an organization almost as powerful as the Lords Alliance itself but failed due to infighting over the now-extinct Kingdom of Many Arrows.
• The Theocracy: Elturel has historically been one of these in the worship of Torm. Unfortunately, even in the Realms, it is prone to Knight Templar behaviors.
• We ARE Struggling Together: The Lords Alliance has very little loyalty to each other and works together begrudgingly at best.
• The World Is Always Doomed: The city of Neverwinter due to OOU reasons of being the setting of a series of popular video games is subject to constant near and total destruction.

The Order of the Gauntlet

In General

Honor, Duty, Justice, and Revenge.

The Order of the Gauntlet is a relatively new organization dedicated to smiting evil wherever it lurks and without hesitation. The Order understands that evil wears many guises, playing games and tricking others in order to spread. That is why its members act on their own authority, identifying threats and smashing them before they can grow.

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• Easily Forgiven: Tyr killed Helm during Fourth Edition and retired from active godhood. They're both back and working together now.
• Knight in Shining Armor: Their entire motif. They wish to inspire the Realms with their glorious pursuit of justice.
• Knight Templar: Both Helm and Hoar are Lawful Neutral deities that have a history of agents going too far.
• Lawful Good: In-universe. The primary alignment of the Order's members.
• Lawful Neutral: In-universe. Pretty much every member who isn't Lawful Good is this.
• My Friends... and Zoidberg: Hoar is the God of Vengeance and not traditionally associated with higher chivalric ideals.
• N.G.O. Superpower: It doesn't have the power of any government behind it but Tyr, Torm, and Helm are some of the largest churches in the realms.
• The Paladin: Many of its members are this.
• Real Men Love Jesus: Goes with the fact its an organization of paladins and clerics.
• Religion is Magic: Comes with being an organization that primarily employs spellcasting clerics and paladins.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Not each other but with the Harpers that are much more willing to break the law in the pursuit of good.
• To Be Lawful or Good: A problem with the organization as they're made of all Lawful Gods but at least two of them are neutral. Evil is not welcome among them.
• We ARE Struggling Together: Averted, actually, despite the historic conflicts between the various deities. They are now in a firm alliance against evil.

The Zhentarim

In General

The Black Network.

The Zhentarim, or Black Network, is an organization of well-trained mercenaries, savvy rogues, and crafty warlocks who seek to expand their influence and power throughout Faerûn. Agents of the Zhentarim feel that if they play by the rules, nothing gets done. Ultimately, they want to make the rules—and, in some cases, they already do. They walk a fine line when it comes to the letter of the law and don’t shy away from the occasional shady deal or illicit activity to get what they want.

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• Action Survivor: The Zhentarim have been the consistently beaten and battered villains of four editions but have emerged now as a strong player character faction.
• Adaptational Heroism: In other modules, the Zhentarim often appear as villains or at the very least as forces opposing the players. Here they can be allied with, joined and actually fight against even bigger threats.
• Antihero: A Zhentarim protagonist is one who can accomplish great deeds and save the Realms but still works for a cruel mercenary alliance.
• Arch-Enemy: The Zhentarim are collectively this to the Harpers.
• Back from the Brink: The Zhentarim were almost destroyed by Zhentil Keep being sacked with more than half of the city being slain by their patron god Cyric's forces. Fzoul Chembryl and later, the Pereghost, pulled it back.
• Bad Boss: Cyric, Fzoul, and Manshoon all have done more damage to the Zhentarim than many of their enemies.
• Big Bad Ensemble: The Zhentarim have been led by Manshoon, Fzoul, Cyric, Xvim, the Pereghost, and various lesser leaders. Many times, they are working together or against one another.
• Big Bad Wannabe: The Zhentarim under TSR were frequently expected to be Stupid Evil and frequently approached Team Rocket levels of incompetence. This despite Ed Greenwood envisioning them as one of the most dangerous groups in the realms. Even 3rd Edition had them take a backsheet to the Shadovar. Their Villain Decay was only reversed itself with 5th Edition when they became a player character group.
• Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: Something that has afflicted the organization from the beginning despite its new pretensions of being a "family."
• The Dog Bites Back: When Cyric was their master, he treated them horribly. Bane wasn't sunshine and roses, but he understood the concept of reward and not tormenting the Zhents on a whim. When Bane returned, the Zhents were thrilled to sign back up with him.
• Enemy Civil War: Manshoon vs. Fzoul, Banists vs. Cyrcists, Xvim's worshipers vs. Cyricists, and the Manshoon Wars (Manshoon vs. Manshoon) just for starters. Waterdeep: Dragon Heist has a Manshoon clone working against the Doom Raiders.
• Enemy Mine: The Zhents once made a temporary alliance with the kingdom of Cormyr to stop the invasion of the Tuigan led by Yamun Khahan.
• Equal-Opportunity Evil: Their ranks include Orcs, Dwarves, Elves and Asabis (a race of desert dwelling lizardmen). One of their military commanders is the orc general Vrakk.
• Evil Is One Big, Happy Family: Has adopted the idea they're a family under the Pereghost. This is Blatant Lies and it is as divided as ever.
• Fat Bastard: Lord Chess toward the final years of his life.
• God of Evil: Bane, Cyric, and Xvim have all been patrons of the organization.
• Klingon Promotion: Previously, a very common way of advancing ones position in the organization. After Bane's revival, he has a system in place of reasoned debate and merit-based advancement.
• A Lighter Shade of Black: The Zhentarim may be ruthless and is definitely the most evil of the five factions operating throughout the Sword Coast. Here they are actually allies to the player and just as likely to oppose the villainous factions.
• Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Despite their evil or morally ambiguous alignment, their quests include stopping Serial Killer and trying to reunite a family.
• Odd Friendship: The Zhentarim have a lengthy history with Beholders despite the fact the latter generally treat human like pets at best.
• Only in It for the Money: Their primary concern while operating. This leads to them sometimes actually doing good.
• Only Sane Man: All of its leaders think they are this but the closest was Lord Chess, who was The Heart between Manshoon and Fzoul. Its no coincidence the organization went to hell after Mask tricked him into sacrificing himself to trap Kezef the Chaos Hound.
• Private Military Contractors: What they've reinvented themselves as. They're now some of the most effective mercenaries in the world since the biggest threat they guard against is themselves.
• Protection Racket: Alongside Monster Protection Racket. The best way to avoid problems with the Zhentarim is to hire the Zhentarim. Even this isn't a guarantee, though.
• Renegade Splinter Faction: The Zhentarim are deeply prone to generating these with its members frequently having mutliple leaders from multiple locations at any given time. In Waterdeep: Dragon Heist Manshoon is leading one while the Doom Raiders are leading another.
• Sigil Spam: A lot of their members wear the Black Network's symbol, the flying snake, quite openly.
• Stupid Evil: Enforced via Executive Meddling on Ed Greenwood and other authors. The Zhentarim would spend most of the history of their existence as Cannon Fodder mooks versus an actual threat.
• Take Over the World: The Zhentarim's goal under Manshoon and Fzoul both.
• Team Rocket Wins: The death of Shandril Sheshair cost massive amounts of resources but resulted in them depriving the enemy (i.e. The Forces of Good) of a powerful resources.
• The Theocracy: What it became when Fzoul was the Chosen of Xvim and Bane both as well as head of the group.
• Token Evil Teammate: The Zhentarim sent a legion of orcish troops to help The Alliance led by King Azoun V against the Tuigan horde. In more recent modules, they'll also ally with other factions if it benefits them.
• Took a Level in Badass: The Zhentarim under the Pereghost has stopped the majority of its infighting and now has focused on expansion. It is once more one of the most powerful organizations in all of the Realms Post-Sundering.
• Why Won't You Die?: The Zhentarim have endured the wrath of multiple gods, civil wars, and the Chosen of Mystra.
• Villain Protagonist: Player character Zhentarim are this by default given the organization's goals and methods.

Manshoon

Lord of Zhentil Keep

The Archmage of Zhentil Keep and the leader of the Zhentarim at various points in its history. He avoided lichdom and focused on cloning himself, which backfired horribly when they all came alive and tried to kill each other. The original is now long dead and the survivors have spread to the four corners of Faerun. For his appearance in Waterdeep: Dragon Heist go here.

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• And Then John Was a Zombie: One of his clones woke up as a vampire and found this actually made him able to resist the urge to kill all of his other clones.
• Archenemy: Elminster of Shadowdale, Fzoul Chembyrl, and himself. Manshoon has a lot of archenemies.
• The Archmage: One of the most powerful mages in all of Faerun according to Ed Greenwood.
• Bad Boss: Manshoon is a sadistic evil bastard prone to executing subordinates who fail him.
• Badass Normal: A bizarre case of this in the fact that he is one of the world's greatest mages without being a Chosen, lich, or Shade.
• Big Bad: Has a claim to being one of these for the Realms as a whole but Executive Meddling affected his presentation.
• Body Surf: The goal of the "real" Manshoon (the one that's housing his actual soul) post-Manshoon War is to find a way to jump between his body and the other surviving clones. So far he's had little success.
• Brain Uploading: How his cloning technique is supposed to work but failed somewhere along the way.
• The Chessmaster: One of the greatest politicial masterminds in all of Faerun. His only problem is Elminster and Fzoul are just as good.
• Cold-Blooded Torture: Practices this as one of his hobbies. Did we mention he's an awful person?
• The Dragon: Manshoon and Fzoul traded this role several times. As of 3rd Edition, they reached an understanding that while Fzoul was the overall head of the organization, Manshoon had broad latitude to commandeer the Zhentarim's resources and troops to advance its goals.
• Enemy Civil War: Perhaps one of the few occasions in fiction where he's fought himself in one with the Manshoon War being a massive war between his clones. Essentially the original Manshoon tried to create a endless army of clones to rely on to survive, only to die before he was completed, causing the clones to wake up, think they were the real Manshoon, and then actively seek out each other to assert themselves as the real one. It's mentioned that there were many instances of the clones just running into each other on a whim, and a magical duel occurred that killed both. Ultimately, three survived, finding ways to shut off the "kill all other Manshoons" programming, and started working on rebuilding his power base.
• Expendable Clone: Has the view of his clones as this but seems to apply it to himself as well.
• Joker Immunity: Manshoon's endless supply of clones means its nigh-impossible to ever be rid of him. Though he has at least three confirmed alive clones, the clones still seemingly want to perfect the spell, making it easy for him to have another back-up in case he dies.
• Manipulative Bastard: Is always plotting, scheming, and working an angle.
• Only Sane Man: Believes that Fzoul and other zealots in the Zhentarim just weaken the organization. He's not wrong.
• The Sociopath: Ed Greenwood describes him as cold, methodical, and incapable of anything resembling real feeling.
• Sorcerous Overlord: Manshoon dreams of ruling the world as a mage god. He also ruled over Zhentil Keep as one of these for awhile.
• Surrounded by Idiots: Considered himself this when he was head of the Zhentarim.
• Take Over the World: Has this ambition openly as his goal. He is oddly one of the few wizards who has the juice to do it.
• There Can Be Only One: When the original Manshoon was killed, a score of clones were all activated at once. Most of them killed each other in the ensuing struggle, with only three survivors. One changed his name to Orbakh and became the vampire leader of the Night Mask thieves' guild, and a second took refuge with Halaster Blackcloak. The third one was recognized as "the" Manshoon, and resumed his place in the Zhentarim.
• Villain Decay: Ed Greenwood's version is one of the most terrifying men in the world. TSR insisted that he be portrayed as much less competent.
• Villainous Friendship: The closest thing he has to one of these is with his apprentice Semmenon.
• Why Won't You Die?: Much of Faerun has this view of him due to his endless supply of clones.
• You Have Failed Me: He has executed many of his minions for not living up to his expectations.

Fzoul Chembryl

Chosen of Bane

A renegade priest of Bane, Cyric, Iyachtu Xvim, and later Bane. He was eventually made Chosen of Bane and then an Exarch. He was also the leader of the Zhentarim at various points in his career.

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• Affably Evil: Fzoul is surprisingly pleasant. He may be the Chosen of a God of Tyranny, but he's very happy to have a scholarly chat while being fully polite.
• Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence: He was made into an Exarch of Bane for being willing to die in Bane's service.
• Big Bad: He was one of the biggest villains in the Realms, having led one of its most prominent organizations.
• Corrupt Church: Bizarrely, an aversion of this. Fzoul's frequent issues with the High Imperceptor of Bane is the fact he's not corrupt and sincere in his faith in Bane.
• Deal with the Devil: Was powerful and evil enough that the Pit Fiend Orgauth was willing to play second fiddle to him.
• Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?:
  • Killed a Banelich (effectively a demigod) with the Scepter of the Sorcerer Kings.
  • Summoned the Bane fog that annihilated the rest of the Baneliches, evil artifacts in Myth Drannor, as well as most of Cyric's followers in the Moonseas and Dalelands.
• The Dog Bites Back: Fzoul managed to get his revenge against both Manshoon as well as Cyric in time.
• The Dragon: Served as this to Manshoon for awhile before becoming Dragon Ascendant. As the head of Bane's church, he was also this to his god. He continued even when he died, as Bane made him an Exarch as a reward for his decades of faithful service.
• Dragon Ascendant: After gaining the favor of Xvim, he overthrew Manshoon and took over the Zhentarim.
• High Priest: Fzoul has been one of these for no less than three separate gods.
• Human Sacrifice: Sacrificed all of Manshoon's former followers and Cyrics to Xvim.
• Hypercompetent Sidekick: Both to Manshoon when the latter led the Zhentarim, and to all three of the gods he served. Even after his death, he continued serving in this role when Bane made him an Exarch.
• I Gave My Word: Unlike Manshoon, Fzoul means it when he makes you a promise.
• Only Sane Man: Is this versus Manshoon due to the latter's focus on magic above all else. Manshoon returns the favor by dismissing Fzoul as a fanatic.
• Pragmatic Villainy: Switches his allegiances whenever circumstances change dramatically like Bane dying or Cyric going insane.
• Real Men Love Jesus: Fzoul genuinely believes in Bane and loathed worshiping Cyric.
• Sealed Inside a Person-Shaped Can: Bane took over his body to use as an avatar during the Time of Troubles. Needless to say, this was a huge honor for Fzoul, and an early indication of how much Bane valued his competence.
• The Starscream: Plotted to seize control of the Zhentarim from Manshoon for years and did so, only to lose control to the Pereghost.
• The Theocracy: Attempted to turn Zhentil Keep into one of these for Bane, then Cyric (which ended disastrously), and then Iyachtu Xvim. He went right back to Bane when the latter burst out of Xvim.
• Took a Level in Badass: He goes from one player in Zhentil Keep to an abused servant of Cyric (who never appreciates how competent Fzoul really is), to eventually undermining Cyric and snatching the priesthood out from under him. By the end of Fzoul's life, he's the unquestioned Chosen of Bane who's rebuilt the Zhentarim into one of the most powerful forces in the world and is one of the greatest clerics alive.
• Ultimate Blacksmith: Fzoul forged the Scepter of the Tyrant's Eye that became his signature weapon.
• Villainous Valor: Fzoul is many things but he is not a coward. He is also marginally better at keeping his word than Manshoon.

Major Factions

The Cult of the Dragon

In General

The cult of undead dragons.

A sinister cult of dragon-worshipers that attempts to bring about an age where humanity and other races are ruled by undead dragons. They are every bit as insane as they sound.

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• Big Bad: They were founded by the Fallen Hero Sammaster who has been raised a few times.
• Cult: It's in the name. Notably, the Cult of the Dragon is insane and stupid in a god-filled world.
• Dracolich: They were responsible for the creation of these in the Realms but many splinter cults now just worship dragons in general.
• Draconic Abomination: The Cult of the Dragon creates these in Dracoliches as well as worships Tiamat.
• Dragon Hoard: The Cult of the Dragon attracts dragon members by offering wealth to their masters as well as protecting these.
• Dragon Rider: Some members of the Cult ride wyverns into battle. Actual dragons are usually a bit more picky.
• The End of the World as We Know It: The goal of the cult is to bring about a draconic apocalypse and they've tried several means of doing so.
• Human Sacrifice: A favorite tactic of the cult in order to appease Tiamat.
• The Man Behind the Man: Tiamat has since become their official goddess and behind many of their plots.
• Mask of Power: The five dragon masks that can be used to control dragons as well as play a crucial part in summoning Tiamat.
• Religion Is Wrong: In a setting with literally hundreds of gods, The Cult of the Dragon book outright states that the Cult of the Dragon's beliefs are not only insane but stupid. Most dragons they worship, especially Tiamat, simply use them for their own ends, and it is made clear that they plan on killing their followers when they get what they want. This makes them no less dangerous.
• Renegade Splinter Faction: The Cult of the Dragon has fragmented over the years with many of these arising. Ironically, the dragon and Tiamat worshiping ones are much saner as well as respectable theologically speaking in the Realms.
• Stupid Evil: The Cult of the Dragon has this reputation for their utterly batshit goals and methods. This makes them no less dangerous.
• Volcano Lair: The Well of Dragons is an extinct volcano and former dragon graveyard.

The Red Wizards of Thay

In General

A nation of magic-users that rules over a vast number of slaves as well as undead hordes. They, oddly enough, exert most of their influence through the sale of magic items in other nations. Their leader is Szass Tam, a powerful lich.

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• Archenemy: The Simbul was this to the Red Wizards of Thay for many years. So powerful was she that she single handedly kept them from taking over her nation. They also have a long history of conflict with the barbarians of Rashemen.
• Bad Boss: Wizards of Thay are known to punish their subordinates for failure at the slightest provocation. Szass Tam applies this to other wizards underneath him.
• Bad People Abuse Animals: Their crimes include cruel experiments on animals and turning them into monsters like the Darkenbeasts and the Black Unicorn.
• Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: The Red Wizards of Thay were infamous for their lack of honor and duplicity in a setting full of them. Most of the highest ranking people in Thay got to their positions by killing or backstabbing people above them, and they will often do what they can to achieve their goals at the expense of others.
• Cut Lex Luthor a Check: Thay's influence had receded badly until they started opening merchant enclaves to sell magical items. It lost a lot of that influence again under Szass Tam.
• Enemy Civil War: The War of the Zulkirs.
• Evil Counterpart: Thay is actually descended from the Mulhorand Empire with many of their practices taken from Ancient Egypt. Which would make it an Expy for Stygia from Conan the Barbarian.
• Evil Sorcerer: Almost every member of the Red Wizards qualifies as this.
• Evil Versus Oblivion: Despite being firmly evil, Thay has occasionally assisted other factions in fighting off potential world ending threats. After all, they need a world to control and take advantage of.
• The Magocracy: Power in Thay is determined by how much magical power you possess.
• Mordor: Thay became a much more terrifying and evil place under Szass Tam's rule with undead everywhere.
• The Necrocracy: Thay became this in Third Edition but Szass Tam has eased up considerably since them.
• Slavery Is a Special Kind of Evil: Thay is one of the largest slave holding powers in the Realms, a fact that causes them to be seen by the majority of other nations as one of their biggest crimes.
• Sorcerous Overlord: Szass Tam rules Thay with a skeletal grip.

Szass Tam

Race: Mulan human lich

Class: Wizard

Alignment: Neutral Evil

Lich King of Thay

The former Zulkir of Necromancy in Thay before becoming its Sorcerous Overlord as well as a Lich.

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• Adaptational Villainy: Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves removes most of his nuance in the short screentime he has, portraying him as a much crueler, power-hungry monster.
• Affably Evil: Polite, scholarly, and almost utterly devoid of morals. He may be trying to establish a necromantic empire on the lives of countless innocents, but there's no reason to be rude about it.
• The Archmage: Of the Evil Sorcerer variety, of course.
• Ax-Crazy: His original characterization was this, along with a dose of Laughing Mad. He's mellowed out significantly ever since in favor of a ruthless but polite schemer.
• Benevolent Boss: Szass Tam is very pleasant and genteel to his closest followers. Even when he's forced to sacrifice one to seal a pact with Bane, he's quite apologetic about it and makes it as quick as he can.
• Deal with the Devil: During the Enemy Civil War in Thay, Szass Tam made a deal with Bane to assure his victory.
• Evil Overlord: Of Thay. First by virtue of being the most powerful and cunning of its 8 rulers, then by virtue of being the only one of them left alive.
• Godhood Seeker: Attempted a ritual to turn himself into a greater god. Failed and more or less destroyed his country in doing so, turning most everyone into zombies. Plans to try again in another country.
• Greater-Scope Villain: Usually when you see a Red Wizard working toward an evil end, bet your bottom dollar that Szass Tam is the one off in the distance planning to benefit.
• I Gave My Word: Szass Tam will keep his word when he gives it. He just doesn't give it easily, and wach out for his Exact Words, but he will honor agreements if he is unable to use Exact Words.
• The Necrocracy: Turned Thay into an enclave of the undead, with Tam as its Sorcerous Overlord.
• Our Liches Are Different: A pretty standard example, also being one of the most powerful necromancers in the setting.
• Pragmatic Villainy: Szass Tam spins webs of treachery, but he is fully capable of extending charity and pleasantry to advance his goal. He also knows when not to be pointlessly cruel and to reward his subordinates.
• Sorcerous Overlord: He is the absolute ruler of Thay from Third Edition to Fifth onwards.
• Surrounded by Idiots: In Neverwinter, at least. Szass Tam struggles to control the bizarre collection of individuals trying to raise a Dread Ring and is actually exasperated.
• Uncanny Valley: He somehow manages to evoke this despite being an undead monstrosity. His arms and especially his neck are far longer than any person's should be, which makes him even more disturbing than a "typical" lich.
• Villain Respect: Szass Tam really respects people of integrity and honor. Even heroes who oppose him. He'll happily meet and chat under flag of truce, even if it won't stop him one iota from enacting his nastier ends.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: Szass Tam may be trying to all but end and remake the world, but he truly believes it'll be better off with him as the ultimate ruler.
• Your Days Are Numbered: Surprisingly for a lich, Szass Tam offers his soul to Bane in return for Bane's help in achieving his goals. Bane gives him a certain length of time before he'll collect and Szass Tam agrees. He is well aware he has a set amount of time to finish things before that.

Minor Factions

Bregan D'aerthe

In General

A troop of mercenaries made up of disenfrechised male Drow. Led by Jarlaxle Baenre, they secretly control the city of Luskan and seek to make it a member of the Lord's Alliance.

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• Amazon Brigade: Gender-flipped and downplayed. They are overwhelmingly male due to their rebellion against the matriarchal structure of drow-society. Female drow are eligible to join, if they condemn the Matriachy.
• Cool Ship: The Waterdeep: Dragon Heist adventure gives them a magical submarine as their base.
• Dramatic Irony: Drizzt Do'Urden suffered for decades trying to fit in among surface dwellers but Bregan D'aerthe's efforts means drow are now much better tolerated even if just because they're famous mercs.
• Fantastic Racism: Only drow can join this faction, and they seem to tolerate racist violence or even murders committed by some of their members.
• Guns For Hire: How they primarily operate.
• N.G.O. Superpower: Bregan D'aerthe has actually become the power behind Luskan and is now actually a nation of itself despite being officially a mercenary band.
• Only in It for the Money: Subverted. While technically a mercenary band, they have far loftier ambitions as Jarlaxle's efforts prove.
• Private Military Contractors: They're famous for this in both Menzoberrazan and now on the surface.
• Rag Tag Bunch Of Misfits: Most of their members are from disgraced of destroyed houses.

Jarlaxle Baenre

For his seperate page entries see:

• The Legend of Drizzt (Homeland)
• Waterdeep: Dragon Heist

Force Grey

In General

Force Grey is an elite cadre of specialized adventurers, drawn from the ranks of the Gray Hands, whose fighting prowess is matched only by their loyalty to the city. Force Grey attracts the best of the best. Characters don’t begin their adventuring careers as members of Force Grey, but they can work up to that status.

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• Action Girl: Asper was a particularly famous member of Force Grey despite only being an honorary one.
• Ascended Extra:
  • Originally, they were just referenced in a 1998 novel as existing with no detail about them.
  • They were the protagonists of a board game and a free to play idle game.
  • Force Grey received a massive bump from the Critical Role group doing a campaign around them.
• Da Chief: The Blackstaff serves as the head of Force Grey even though they technically answer to the Lords of Waterdeep as a whole.
• Elites Are More Glamorous: The "best of the best" among adventurers, or at least that's what their reputation is.
• Immigrant Patriotism: A lot of Force Grey's members weren't even born in Waterdeep but have since sworn themselves to its service at all costs.
• My Species Doth Protest Too Much: Harshnag is a good aligned Frost Giant.
• Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Force Grey and the Moonstars both had a lot of crossover due to Khelben using them both as his personal wetworks teams.
• Undying Loyalty: All of them are fantastically loyal to Waterdeep and its people.
• We Help the Helpless: Force Grey work for the Lords of Waterdeep and the Blackstaff but generally have this as their ethos.

The Doom Raiders

In General

The Doom Raiders were five unscrupulous adventurers who liked to plunder lich lairs (called “dooms” by some). They gave up adventuring to join the Black Network and came to Waterdeep three years ago with plans to establish a Zhentarim foothold in the city. In that time, they have forged alliances with various nobles and guilds and run afoul of others, all the while fending off Harper spies.

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• Enemy Civil War: They're in the midst of a gang war with Manshoon for control of the Zhentarim in Waterdeep. Given Manshoon is primarily concerned with the Xanathar Thieves Guild and they don't even know their opponent is Manshoon, it's pretty clear their chances aren't very good.
• Evil Counterpart: As a bunch of evil-aligned adventurers, they're almost certainly one of these for most heroic groups.
• Evil Versus Evil: They're opposed to the rise of Manshoon in Waterdeep since that would remove their own power base.
• A Lighter Shade of Black: They're a bunch of murderous thugs but nowhere near as bad as Manshoon.
• Oddly Small Organization: The Doom Raiders despite their influence over Waterdeep's Zhentarim are just a single adventuring party.
• Only in It for the Money: Are more typical Zhentarim of 5th Edition than Manshoon, just wanting to make a buck.
• Punch-Clock Villain: They're a bunch of evil criminals and gangsters but lack Manshoon or Fzoul's twisted ambitions.
• Thieves' Guild: They're one of these but their efforts are more in smuggling and bribery than usual. Xanathar also has the other markets tied up.