Deep Dive - Red Wizards of Thay
The Red Wizards of Thay have been thrust back into the limelight with the release of Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023). But who are these wizards? We know they make the bold fashion choice of only wearing red, all seem to suffer from hair loss, and can cast spells like nobody’s business. To find out where they came from, what they are all about, and what they are doing now, follow us down the rabbit hole as we dive into the Red Wizards of Thay.
1e - Red Wizards of Thay
Zulkir Szass Tam
Delhumide
24th level Magic-User, School of Necromancy, Red Wizard of Thay
NE Myrkul
Lich Malefrom Dreams of the Red Wizard (1988)
Dreams of the Red Wizard, 1988 TSR Inc. / Clyde Caldwell
In the Forgotten Realms: Campaign Setting (1987) and Dreams of the Red Wizard (1988), the Red Wizards of Thay are introduced to the world of the Forgotten Realms campaign setting. The two books are mainly concerned with the region of Thay, but you can only talk about Thay if you also talk about the Red Wizards. The Red Wizards liberated Thay from Mulhorand, set up the government, and plunged Thay into countless ill-advised attacks that always ended in failure. There isn’t a ton of information, but it serves as a fairly good primer for what is to come.
2e - Red Wizards of Thay
Zulkir Szass Tam
(Lich Male Necromancer 29)
Str 11; Dex 14; Con 0; Int 19; Wis 16; Cha 18
Armor Class: 0
Move: 6
Hit Points: 64
Number of Attacks: 1
Damage: 1d10 + paralysis or by spell
THAC0: 9
Alignment: NE
Special Attacks: Spells
Special Defenses: + 1 or better magical weapon to hit; immune to charm, sleep, enfeeblement, polymorph, cold, electricity, insanity, and death spells.
Special Weakness: Can be turned by priest.
Weapon Proficiencies: Dagger, staff, whip
Magical Items: Many (see below)
Age: 264, Ht: 60, Wt: 98 lbs. Hair: Black, Eyes: Gray
Spells: 10/10/10/10/9/9/9/9/9 (includes bonus spells)from Spellbound (1995)
Spellbound, 1995 TSR Inc.
The Red Wizards of Thay first appear in Forgotten Realms Adventures (1990). In the early days of the campaign setting, the Red Wizards wielded massive power, way more than their modern-day counterparts do now. This power was derived from a powerful unnamed artifact. Unfortunately for our red-cloaked mages, unknown forces destroyed, turned off, or stole the artifact during the Godswar. Regardless of what happened to the artifact, it stripped the Red Wizards of their near-godlike magical powers when its power ceased.
Thay is a breakaway principality of Mulhorand, and the wizards in charge wanted only to make their newly independent country the most powerful in the world, who wouldn't in their situation? The Red Wizards are a cabal of powerful wizards, described here as an evil magocracy from across the Sea of Fallen Stars. Thay is a slaver nation, and the government is run by evil wizards. What could go wrong? Well, let's just say that very little gets done, there is little to no cooperation between the wizards, and each one is more interested in advancing their own agenda than working towards a common goal. Sadly, sometimes, fantasy is the same as reality.
The Red Wizards are arrogant and dismissive and have no qualms about killing you or anyone else that gets in their way. This attitude has prevented them from becoming the powerful nation they want to be, as it applies to friends, foes, and their fellow Red Wizards. You'd think that when you have a country filled with super-powerful wizards, they could easily steamroll across the land, conquering anyone who stands in their way. Unfortunately, each wizard truly believes they are the smartest of the bunch, which makes working together nearly impossible. In fact, the Red Wizards would rather kill one another than give up their plans for world domination, for they truly believe everyone else's ideas are inferior and doomed to fail.
In the sourcebook Old Empires (1990), we are provided with a bit of backstory about the land of Thay. Turns out the Red Wizards tried twice to break away from Mulhorand. A thousand years before their successful rebellion, the archmage Thayd and an army of powerful wizards attempted to overthrow the god-kings that ruled Mulhorand. They failed but, in doing so, weakened Mulhorand so much that they were defeated by orcs in the Orgate Wars in -1076 DR. Nearly two thousand years later, the Red Wizards gained independence from Mulhorand at the Battle of Thazalhar in 922 DR.
New and updated information about The Red Wizards can be located in the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting (1993). As usual, before we can talk about the vilest bad guys in the Forgotten Realms, we can now provide you, dear reader, with a much more detailed description of precisely where Thay is located. Tucked between Aglarond and Thesk in the west, Thay is also surrounded by Rashemen in the north, the Inner Sea in the south, Sunrise Mountains, and Endless Waste in the east. It is a magic land filled with exotic items and people who wield mighty power within its borders. It is still a magic-based society, and at the top of the food chain are those evil magic spellcasters, the Red Wizards.
Thay is ruled by several zulkirs, and all of these leaders are chosen from the ranks of the Red Wizards. Under the zulkirs is the noble class of Thay. These tharchions and tharchionesses rule the eight provinces in Thay, doing the bidding of the zulkir under which they serve. The only zulkir that we know anything about is Zulkir Szass Tam. We'll discuss him in a little bit but just know that he's not the friendliest fellow you'll ever meet.
The Red Wizards rule Thay but in a disjointed and chaotic manner. Those that have left Thay and travel throughout the world of Toril act as spies for Thay. Of course, these Red Wizards make the worst spies ever, for the evil spellcasters are arrogant, self-centered jerks who think they know better than everyone else, including their fellow Red Wizards. You can never know if a Red Wizard is working with the best interests of Thay, themselves, or merely to dishonor a fellow Red Wizard who they are pissed at… or maybe all of the above.
Small cabals of Red Wizards have been known to work together, but these alliances are short-lived. Often, a group of Red Wizards will put forth an invasion plan, only to see their plans derailed when they start to squabble amongst themselves, and by squabble, we mean kill one another. It's one of the reasons no one knows how many Red Wizards there are. By this point, it should seem clear that the Red Wizards could have had an actual shot at ruling the Forgotten Realms setting if they could get over their petty squabbles and believe in something greater than themselves. But alas, these paranoid crimson mages have never been able to get their act together, so they have to settle for the province of Thay while dreaming of conquering the world.
There are a few other interesting bits of information scattered throughout the text. Regardless of where or how they are discussed, it is always in the context of them being one of the main evil forces in Faerun. Badge Heraldry was a big thing in the Forgotten Realms, and the Red Wizards of Thay's gold-touched flame was feared throughout the lands. Religion is secondary to the Red Wizardry, but that doesn't mean they don't pray to some evil god. The lucky deity is Cyric, a Greater Power of Death, Murder, & Lies. Also known as the Prince of Lies, it is the god of plotting and scheming, who came into existence after devouring the powers of three elder evil gods. Seems like the perfect god for the Red Wizards to pray to.
Before we dive into the next primary sourcebook on the Red Wizards, there are a few mentions in more obscure books we'd be remiss if we didn't mention. In Volo's Guide to the Dalelands (1993), there is the magic item, The Crown of Dracandros, an object of immense power unique to the Red Wizards. It's not a crown exactly, but rather a large electrum circlet one wears around their waist, which, when activated, turns slowly as it floats in midair, chiming softly as tiny motes of light play about it. It can detect invisibility and detect magic constantly and has a 1 in 6 chance of casting one of twelve spells, including animate dead, flaming sphere, fireball, and web; all at max level. In the book The Code of the Harpers (1993), we are introduced to the Harpers, a group of bards and rangers who aim to root out and eliminate all evil in Toril. On the top of their list are the Red Wizards. In Pages from the Mages (1995), the Red Wizards are credited with creating the fire gate spell, which allows the caster to teleport themselves via a bonfire. They are also credited for the murder of Agannazar, who is said to have died when they laid waste to the School of Wizardry at Neverwinter.
One of our last sourcebooks, Spellbound (1995), provides us with our next trove of information on the Red Wizards. It's a book on the realms of Thay, Aglarons, and Rashemen, so of course, the Red Wizards feature prominently in the chapters about Thay. Citizens of Thay are most commonly from the Mulan or Rashemi, and custom dictates that only those of Mulan heritage become a Red Wizard apprentice. This custom is often ignored if someone shows enough magical aptitude and is met with indifference by other Wizards. One thing the Red Wizards do care about is their outfits. If you want to make a fashion statement and where red robes, you can expect to meet a swift and painful death.
We learn more about the governing system through which the Red Wizards rule Thay. There are eleven provinces within Thay and eight zulkirs that rule over them. Why eight instead of eleven? Because they are the most powerful wizard from each school of magic. Once installed, they have the position for life, so as you can imagine, the competition for the role is extremely fierce. Life may not be the proper term since the most powerful zulkir is the lich, Szass Tam. The actual law states that a zulkir can only be removed if they are completely obliterated, beyond hope of resurrection or existence as a member of the undead.
Szass Tam / Spellbound, 1995 TSR Inc.
Speaking of Szass Tam, you can find him and the other seven Zulkir's stat blocks in the back of the book. Szass Tam is the most powerful of all the zulkirs and has been attempting to unify the ever-warring wizards under his rule. When you live for over 200 years, you get sick of listening to the constant bickering and seeing every single plan for world domination fail because you can't get your shit together. To consolidate power, Tam has pulled wizards from the two factions within Red Wizard society; Imperialists and the Researchers. The Imperialists want to rule the world while the isolationist Researchers wish to stay safely behind the country's walls and work on their spells. Tam's plans for one lich rule forced the other Zulkirs to choose whether to be with him, against him, or to play Switzerland and stay neutral in all upcoming internal conflicts.
We learn about the Faerun's other big bad group of evil-doers in Cult of the Dragon (1998). Why do we bring this up? Because every group of bad guys wants to be the only bad guy in town, putting the cult and the Red Wizards at odds. We guess them sharing Toril is out of the question.
3e - Red Wizards of Thay
Szass Tam
Male Lich Necromancer 10/Red Wizard 17/Archmage 2
Medium-Size Undead
Hit Dice: 29d12+25; hp 211
Initiative: +2
Speed: 30 ft.
Armor Class: 31, touch 16, flat-footed 29
Immunities: Immune to cold, electricity, polymorph, and mind-affecting attacks.
Attacks/Damage: +17/+12 melee (1d6+2, staff of power) or +15 melee (1d8+5 plus paralysis, lich touch) or +17/+12 ranged touch (by spell)
Space/Reach: 5 ft. by 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Paralyzing touch, fear aura
Special Qualities: Arcane reach, spell power +2, immunities, turn resistance +8, DR 15/+1, Specialist defense (Necromancy) +4, spell power (Necromancy) +8, circle leader, Scribe Tattoo, great circle leader, undead traits
Saves: Fort +12, Ref +14, Will +25
Abilities: Str 11, Dex 14, Con —, Int 22, Wis 20, Cha 20
Skills: Alchemy +26, Concentration +25, Craft (gemcutting) + 16, Diplomacy +7, Heal +9, Hide +10, Intimidate + 11, Knowledge (arcana) +26, Knowledge (architecture and engineering) +11, Knowledge (Thayan history) +16, Knowledge (religion) +11, Listen +15, Move Silently +10, Profession (herbalist) +9, Profession (sailor) +9, Scry +26, Search +20, Sense Motive +13, Spellcraft +32, Spot + 15, Swim +2, Wilderness Lore +7
Feats: Craft Staff, Craft Wand, Craft Wondrous Item, Improved Spell Capacity (10th), Improved Spell Capacity (11th), Increased Turn Resistance, Maximize Spell, Mind Over Body, Quicken Spell, Scribe Scroll, Signature Spell (animate dead), Skill Focus (Spellcraft), Spell Focus (Evocation), Spell Focus (Necromancy), Spell Mastery (animate dead, cone of cold, control undead, magic missile, teleport), Tattoo Focus (Necromancy)
Challenge Rating: 31
Alignment: Neutral evil
Advancement: 27–52 HD (Medium-size)
Wizard Spells Per Day: 5/7/7/6/6/6/6/3/5/5/1/1; base DC 18 + spell level, 20 + spell level for Evocation, 31 + spell level for Necromancy. Caster level 29th.
Equipment: Staff of power, bracers of armor +10, ring of three wishes, hand of glory, a ring of spell storing, a +2 ring of protection, a wand of ray of enfeeblement (heightened to 4th level), and a darkskull.from the Epic Level Handbook (2002)
Szass Tam / Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting, 2001 Wizards of the Coast / Sam Wood
When we first look at the Red Wizard in the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting (2001), we are presented with much of the same lore and background of both the wizards and Thay. By now, we are sure you are wondering what it may be like to play an evil wizard cloaked in all red and on the path to world domination. Today is your lucky day because now you can not only think about it but play a Red Wizard too!
Presented as a prestige class, the Red Wizard is the way to go if you want to play a self-centered, arrogant spellcaster of immense power. You’ll need to start by obtaining the Tattoo focus so that you can bear the tattoo of Red Wizards everywhere. Not only does this give you the ability to become a Red Wizard, but you get a +1 to all saving throws against spells from your specialized school of magic and a +1 bonus on caster-level checks to beat a creature’s spell resistance when casting spells from that school.
The Red Wizard prestige class also comes with a range of abilities, mostly centered around making you a spell-casting force to be reckoned with. The Red Wizard’s class skills include Alchemy, Concentration, Intimidate, Scry, and Spellcraft, to name a few. Your spell power in your Red Wizard’s specialist school increases as you level up, increasing your DC for saving throws and to caster-level checks to overcome spell resistance based on your specialized school of magic. You also gain a bonus creation feat. This all comes at a cost, though. When you take the Red Wizard prestige class, you must forgo learning magic from an additional prohibited school of magic, no longer being able to learn spells from those banned schools. There is a silver lining, though, as you can still use the prohibited spells you already know.
A book about the bad guys in the Forgotten Realms would only be complete with the Red Wizards of Thay, which is why they are a featured group in Lords of Darkness (2001). We all know they are evil human wizards, feared and hated, wear red from head to toe, and have an unmatched lust for power. So what new information can we find? How about the non-threatening face of the Red Wizards outside the realm of Thay known as the Guild of Foreign Trade? This guild runs and monitors small Thayian outposts set up in faraway lands.
Why are they tolerated when everyone knows the Red Wizard would take over their country in a split second if they could? These enclaves sell powerful magic items, many of which were created by the Red Wizards. Say what you want about them, but the wizards can craft a mean wand or ring.
Red Wizard spells, magic items, and monster creations can be found in the book Unapproachable East (2003). A spell unique to apprentices of Szass Tam is animate dread warrior, which allows you to transform the corpse of a skilled warrior into an undead monster under your command. Leave it to a lich to give you a way to create an unbeatable undead army. When in combat, Red Wizards like to use the spells Nymbor’s gentle reminder and Nybor’s stern reproof. Where the first spell dazes an opponent, the latter can kill the target instantly if they fail their save. Yep, seems perfect for the Red Wizards.
Red Wizard magic items usually involve inflicting pain. The ebon lash, which delivers burning agony to anyone it hits, is a vicious whip favored by the wizards. Another choice weapon is the flamelance, a +1 flaming burst lance that doubles as a spear if you’re not riding a horse. You can use the lance to fire a jet of white-hot flame as if you had cast Aganazzar’s scorcher as a 6th-level sorcerer. Considering the Red Wizards were the ones that killed Aganazzar, we figure he is turning over in his grave every time a lance is used to melt someone’s face off.
Like all evil wizards, the Red Wizards are responsible for creating terrifying creatures. The Blooded Ones are orcs baptized in magically enhanced blood, are more robust than their standard orc brethren, and are utterly loyal to the Red Wizards and Thay. Attacking with a heavy flail, a blooded one can let loose a fearsome war cry, granting their allies a bonus to their attack and damage rolls.
Unapproachable East, 2003 Wizards of the Coast / Matt Wilson
4e - Red Wizards of Thay
Szass Tam
Human wizard lich
Level 30 Elite Artillery (Leader)
Medium natural humanoid (undead) / XP 38,000
Initiative +17 / Senses Perception +23; darkvision
Necromantic Aura (Necrotic) aura 5; any living creature that enters or starts its turn in the aura takes 5 necrotic damage.
Second Wind (standard; encounter) ✦ Healing Szass Tam spends a healing surge and heals 100 hit points. He gains a +2 bonus to all defenses until the start of his next turn. Regeneration 10 (If Szass Tam takes radiant damage, his regeneration doesn’t function on his next turn.)
HP 388; Bloodied 194; see also Indestructible
AC 45; Fortitude 45, Reflex 43, Will 46
Immune disease, fear, poison; Resist 20 necrotic
Saving Throws +2 (+5 against charm effects)
Speed 6, fly 8 (hover)
Action Point 1
Claw (standard; at-will) ✦ Necrotic +34 vs. AC; 1d6 + 10 damage, and 10 ongoing necrotic damage (save ends).
Soul Strike (standard; daily) ✦ Necrotic Close burst 10; targets enemies; +35 vs. Reflex; 5d10 + 11 necrotic damage. Miss: Half damage.
Necrotic Master Szass Tam can convert any attack power he has to necrotic. Change a power’s energy keyword to necrotic, or add necrotic energy to an attack power that doesn’t normally deal energy damage.
Flensing (standard; sustain minor; encounter) ✦ Fear, Necrotic Ranged 20; +35 vs. Fortitude; 3d6 + 11 necrotic damage, and the target is stunned (save ends). All allies of the target within line of sight take a –2 penalty to attack rolls (save ends). Szass Tam must make a new attack roll against the target when he sustains this eff ect. He can change the target as a standard action.
Resistance (minor; daily) Ranged 10; Szass Tam or 1 ally within range gains resist 10 against one type of damage until the end of the encounter. Choose from acid, cold, fi re, force, lightning, necrotic, poison, psychic, radiant, or thunder damage.
Time Stop (minor; daily) Szass Tam gains two extra standard actions, which he cannot use to attack other creatures.
Shadowflow (minor; encounter) ✦ Illusion Szass Tam uses the power contained in his robes to become invisible until the start of his next turn.
Spellmaster (minor; recharge) Szass Tam regains the use of an expended encounter power.
Indestructible When Szass Tam is reduced to 0 hit points, his body and possessions crumble into dust, but he is not destroyed. He reappears (along with his possessions) in 1d10 days within 1 square of his phylactery, unless the phylactery is also found and destroyed.
Alignment Evil / Languages Abyssal, Common, Draconic, Elven, Infernal, Mulhorandi
Skills Arcana +31, Dungeoneering +28, History +31, Nature +28, Stealth +22
Str 12 (+16) Dex 14 (+17) Wis 27 (+23) Con 28 (+24) Int 32 (+26) Cha 30 (+25)
Equipment orbfrom the Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide (2008)
Dragon #366, August 2008 Wizards of the Coast / Ann Stokes
There is little information about the Red Wizards in this edition, but what there is advances their storyline. In the Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide (2008), The Red Wizards have been united under Szass Tam, now known as the Regent of Thay. We wish we could tell you there was a glorious mage fight, with fireballs flying all around and armies of undead going up against legions of apprentice Red Wizards.
Alas, this was not the case, as the Spellplague laid waste to Thay, and Szass Tam was able to harness the power of the Spellplague, bringing him one step closer to becoming a god. This, in turn, made it relatively easy to install himself as ruler. Removing the other Zulkirs from power - whether they wanted to step down or not - Szass Tam installed his undead sycophants in those positions of power. Those few Red Wizards that still opposed him were scattered throughout Toril, hiding lest they be killed by Thay's new lich god ruler.
The land now has just as many undead as it does living inhabitants. Life is hard for the living, and the undead serve as Tam's army, defending Thay against anyone foolish enough to attack Thay. During this time, Tam spent decades preparing a terrible ritual that would strengthen his power even more, but before he could complete the ceremony, the remaining exiled zulkirs gathered what forces they could and prevented his twisted plan from happening.
5e - Red Wizards of Thay
Magic: The Gathering, 2022 Wizards of the Coast / Josh Hass
It may surprise many who have only recently started playing Dungeons & Dragons, but the Red Wizards have always been the main bad guy right out of the gate. There may not be a single sourcebook dedicated to the crimson-cloaked mages, but their lore and impact on the Forgotten Realms continue to evolve. When you start to connect the dots, you realize their mark as an evil force in this edition.
Ghosts of Dragonspear Castle (2013) is a D&D Next playtest adventure. The Red Wizards of Thay return and have a base with four netherese portals that each lead to powerful elemental nodes. The nodes need keys, and the party has been tasked to retrieve one of the keys before the Wizards can access the node.
In Scourge of the Sword Coast (2014), another D&D Next adventure, we deal with the repercussions of the portal opening briefly, as the shade of the pit fiend Baazka can pass through into Faerun. He joins up with the Red Wizards where Szass Tam had made their base in Bloodgate Keep. Baazka gives the Red Wizards the scoop on a series of portals that wizards hope to use to bring in reinforcements to continue their assault on the Coast. The follow-up adventure is Dead in Thay (2014), where the adventurers are tasked with finding the phylacteries of the demi-lich Kazit Gul so they can destroy the vassal of Szass Tam, destroy the portals, and put an end to the Red Wizards and their Bloodgate stronghold.
Even getting into the actual edition, you can stumble across the Red Wizards causing all manner of mischief. In Lost Mine of Phandelver (2014), you encounter the Red Wizard Hamun Kost. He may help you, but deep in his heart, we're sure he'd rather snatch the soul from your body. In Hoard of the Dragon Queen (2014), an unlikely alliance is forged between the rebel Red Wizard Rath Modar and the cult of the dragon. Their common enemy? Szass Tam, of course, and the plan is for Rath Modar to unseat Tam as the ruler of Thay. All he needs to do to secure the cult's support is help free Tiamat. No biggie.
The culmination of this adventure series is the Rise of Tiamat (2014), where the Red Wizard and the cult of the dragon work feverishly to release Tiamat. In another strange twist, the adventurers travel to Thay and try to forge an alliance with Szass Tam. Tam's hatred for the rebel Red Wizard knows no bounds, so he will assist lesser creatures like yourself in crushing them. There is a glimmer of insight into what's happening in everyone's favorite undead landscape Thay. Szass Tam's rule has been slipping recently. Turns out living creatures don't enjoy living in a desolate wasteland filled with dead creatures enforcing an evil lich's rule of law. It's called a quiet civil war since neither side wants to risk the outside world finding out about the power struggles within the borders. Both sides worry that external forces will use this strife to their advantage, conquer Thay, and depose the Red Wizards for good. Living under the bootheel of a crazed lich is better than being dead, we guess.
The Red Wizards are up to no good again in Tomb of Annihilation (2017). Szass Tam wants the soulmonger for himself or, barring that, destroyed. There's not much new information about the Red Wizards, so know that our favorite evil spellcasters are alive and well, and still causing all manner of trouble for our brave band of adventurers. Of course, if you thought that might be the last you hear of them, they get brief mentions in Waterdeep: Dragon Heist (2018), Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage (2018), Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes (2018), and Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden (2020), with our wizard friends always up to no good.
While we haven't heard much from the Red Wizards of late (outside of being the BBEG in the Dungeons & Dragons movie), we hope that the Red Wizards are brought back as a major enemy soon. Maybe one day we can have an adventure where Thay can be saved, or at least less screwed over by the powerful lich Szass Tam. It would be nice to finally get the story of the Red Wizards to move forward, perhaps under a kinder, gentler red-cloaked wizard… Then again, probably not.
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