ZHENTARIM HEIRARCHY

Bane
Fzoul Chembryl h
e
Manshoon Xulla

Beholders

Scyllua Darkhope

Grimgashr AlLashvahazred Mara Kalaliv

Loroshyr Auzkovyn Eirklon MalMeret

Tethyamar Iron Gauntlet (Monks)

Tethyamar Darkflight Swordshadows (Assassins)

Calamor Lavver

Tethyamar Battalion

Ataklos Rathryn
 Zhentarim was founded nearly a hundred years ago by the dark wizard Manshoon. He
painstakingly pieced together a powerful network of wizards, mechants, beholders and Baneite clerics
who shared his goalsnamely, the domination of Abeir-Toril through trade and force of arms. The Black
Network is one of the most powerful organizations on the face of Faerun, boasting at least 10,000 active
members, mostly concentrated in the Moonsea area.
By nature the Zhentarim is a lawful organization (keep in mind that this only means honoring
contracts and tradition when coupled with evil), giving it an orderly and rigidly hierarchical structure.
The Black Network has control of entire cities (and free reign in the surrounding lands) and has
subverted governments to its will. If need be, the Black Network has the armed might to march against
recalcitrant nations and bring them to their knees.
Mighty warriors such as Scyllua Darkhope and the Pereghost are also members of the Zhentarim,
although the Pereghost is affiliated with the Cyricist splinter group in Darkhold.
Despite Fzouls tireless work to bring all of the Zhentarim under Bane, the Cyricist faction
continues to be strong and gains strength as the Church of Cyric grows. When Manshoons lieutenant
Sememmon, fearing an assassination attempt by Fzoul, severed ties with the Black Network and went
into hiding, Darkhold was left without a lord. Fzoul sent any worshippers of Cyric to Darkhold, hoping to
clamp down on them and reinstate Banes worship as the official religion of the Zhentarim. As it is, the
Church of Bane is still stronger and has a very good chance of obliterating the Cyricists should a holy war
arise. The Black Networks other primary strongholdsZhentil Keep and the Citadel of the Ravenare
firmly under the control of Fzoul and the Church of Bane.
Another large stronghold of the Zhentarim is in the ruins of Tethyamar on the Desertsmouth
Mountains. This key stronghold is of great strategic value; being on the end of the vast Anauroch desert
gives it a good amount of control over the caravans that pass through.
In general, the Zhentarim is a huge threat to all the peace-loving peoples of Faerun and also a
dangerous opponent for other evil organizations that wish to pursue their own agendas.
 Bane
God of Tyranny (Greater Deity; Fighter 15/Blackguard 10/Cleric 10/Wizard 10/Rogue
20)
The Black Hand is a thoroughly wicked deity of strife, tyranny and hatred. He seeks
to dominate all of Abeir-Toril, turning the entire Material plane into his personal
temple. While he has absolutely no love or respect for life, Bane does not slay
wantonly; he is too self-glorifying to do so. He will trample on anything that resists
him, but what he can turn to his worship, he will. After his recent resurrection and
the reestablishment of the church of Bane, the Black Hands Chosen Tyrant Fzoul Chembryl continued
his campaign of world domination with a renewed fervor.

Zhentarim High Command

Fzoul Chembryl (fa-ZOOL SHEM-breel)
Chosen Tyrant of Bane (Human Male Cleric of Bane 17/Hierophant 2, Chosen of Bane)
The cunning, malicious and supercilious Chosen Tyrant is the leader of both the Church of
Bane and the Black Network. He is cold, manipulative and a true representative of his
deity in that he is domineering to the extreme. His goal is his deitysthe complete and
total subjugation of Abeir-Toril. To Fzoul, the Zhentarim exists entirely for the use of Bane
toward this end.

Manshoon (MAN-shoon)
The Masked Archmage (Human Male Wizard 23/Archmage 2)
Once the leader of the Zhentarim, Manshoon was an archmage of terrible power and renownthat is,
until Fzoul Chembryl slew him. As he perished, no less than twelve of his stasis clones awoke and began
slaying each other in a mad bid for power, each convinced he was the real Manshoon. Eventually, only
three were left, with one of them rejoining the Zhentarim and ceding the leadership of the Black Network
to Fzoul. He now reports to no one but the Chosen Tyrant, and autonomously commands the Black
Network to do his dark bidding.

Scyllua Darkhope (she-LOO-wa DARK-hope)

and Targaraene (TAR-ga-rain)
The Castellan of Zhentil Keep (Human Female Paladin 5/Ranger
4/Blackguard 6)
Once a noble Paladin of Tyr, the blackguard Scyllua Darkhope fell into
darkness after being manipulated by Lord Orgauth, a pit fiend who
was an ally of Fzoul Chembryl and lord of Zhentil Keep. Eventually, Scyllua turned on
Orgauth and slew him, completely turning her back on Tyrs justice and embracing evil. She was quickly
taken into the Zhentarim and became Fzoul Chembryls champion, a fiercely charismatic commander of
the Black Networks military might. She rides an enormous white Nightmare named Targaraene into
battle and utterly crushes any enemies of Bane in her path. The ogre mage Grimgashr serves under
Scyllua as the commander of Fortress Tethyamar.

The Order of the Iron Gauntlet

Mara Kalaliv (MA-ra KA-la-liv)
Abbess of the Iron Gauntlet (Half-Elf Female Monk 15)
A monk skilled in stealth and assassination, the half-elf Mara Kalaliv is a servant of Bane
and a subordinate of Scyllua Darkhope. She is pursuing an aggressive recruitment
campaign for her orders monastery located near Zhentil Keep. Her direct subordinate stationed in
Tethyamar Fortress is the tiefling Eirklon MalMeret

Eirklon Malmeret (ire-CLAY-on mal-me-RET)

The Nessian Hailstorm (Tiefling Female Monk 13)
Although her bloodline was created in the distant past by Beshaba (to whom she owes her short
antlers and white hair), Eirklon Malmeret found no pleasure in the ways of chaos, which she saw
as too flighty to bring her power. Instead she sought a more disciplined path, and found herself
entering Mara Kalalivs abbey at Zhentil Keep. Eirklon quickly grew in strength, developing a
devastatingly powerful style of fighting that focused on careful study of the opponent and a series of
swift, decisive blows. She eventually gained the epithet the Nessian Hailstorm, supposedly describing
her disturbingly quiet stalking and devastatingly rapid blows. Although the moniker is inaccurate (as
Eirklon is neither from Nessus nor has fiendish ancestors from there), she does nothing to suppress the
title as it causes people to propagate countless misconceptions about her naturetypically fatal errors
that aid her greatly in her missions. She currently serves the mighty lord of Tethyamar Fortress,
Grimgashr, as chief of assassins. A handful of Iron Gauntlet monks and several assassins of other
disciplines report to Eirklon.
Fortress Tethyamar
Grimgashr (grim-GASH-er)
The Black Fist of Bane, the Black General (Half-Fiend Ogre Mage Warlock 1/4/15)
When Kara Chermosk, former commander of Fortress Tethyamar, was assassinated by the
Cyricist Western Zhentarim, Fzoul Chembryl decided to petition his god for a commander
who could hold the strategically-located fortress with more success. Bane replied in a
mighty explosion of green firea portal from his home plane, the Barrens of Doom and Despair. Out
stepped Grimgashr, an ogre mage whose father was a pit fiend who was an ally of the Black Hand.

Banefist Grimgashrs fiendish blood gave him strength far beyond that of the already formidable
stock of the ogre mages, as well as a special connection with the powers of darkness. Instead of pursuing
the normally chaotic life of a sorcerer, he concentrated more on exploring (and exploiting) the dark
powers of his heritage and chose to further his own pacts with the Nine Hells as a warlock.

The Black General is a monstrously large abomination, even for an ogre mage. He has large,
twisted horns and enormous wings (although these are more for show than anythinghis ogre mage
heritage allows him to fly without them) and a long, spiked tail. Instead of fists with large, stubby fingers,
Grimgashr has large claws on both hands; even his teeth are evil-looking black spikes. Despite his focus
on magic, Grimgashrs formidable strength allows him to perform excellently in battle. He often
personally leads charges with wings spread wide and feet floating off the ground, invariably terrifying
enemy ranks. Grimgashr wears a custom-tailored suit of black-painted mithril chain embellished with
designs that mark him as a high-ranking Zhentarim commander and a servant of Bane. Adding to his
already formidable spell-like powers is his weapon of choice, an enchanted, rune-engraved and Bane-
blessed fullblade forged of black adamantine. This immense sword is over twelve feet long; apocryphal
accounts of it cleaving both horse and rider in one swing have not been proven but are not beyond belief.

Beware his enchantingly smooth and deep voiceGrimgashr is thoroughly evil and though he has a
twisted concept of honor (and would rather capture and enslave than destroy and slaughter), he has no
respect for life and will have no compunctions against obliterating a harmless but stubborn village. He
never forgets affronts and will pursue grudges to the bitter and bloody end.

Grimgashr is served by Loroshyr Auzkovyn, Ardragon Calamor Lavver and Imperceptor Ataklos
Rathryn, cleric of Bane.

Loroshyr Auzkovyn (lo-ro-SHEER OZ-kov-in)

The Black Howler (Drow Male Wizard 7/Zhentarim Skymage 5)
Serving under as Grimgashrs lieutenant is the Skymage Loroshyr Auzkovyn. A member of
the Vhaeraun-worshipping Auzkovyn clan, he turned to the Church of Bane when
Vhaeraun was slain by his sister Eilistraee. Completely turning his arcane studies to the
services of the Zhentarim, Loroshyr rose through the Black Networks arcane caster ranks
and soon found himself appointed as deputy commander of Fortress Tethyamar. Self-serving and bitter,
Loroshyr hates Grimgashr but fears and respects his power just the same. He is always on the lookout for
opportunities to cause the Black Generals downfall.
Loroshyrs exotic mount is Aarkaaraazaa, a 12 HD yrthak whose hide has been dyed brown. The
yrthak is a terrifying sight to behold, and Loroshyr has been known to use its sonic lance attack to
surgically eliminate enemy commandersending battles long before they normally would have.
Loroshyrs use of the sonic lance and sonic magic earned him his epithet.
Although Loroshyr personally commands a small flight of Skymages and sometimes leads attacks in
Grimgashrs absence, he does not have a true military rank and is more of an advisor with executive
powers.

AlLashvahazred (AL-lash-va-HAZ-red)
The Azure Castigator, Lash(Wyrm Blue Dragon)
Although allied with the Zhentarim (whom he knows are capable of keeping
annoying adventurers out of his hoards in the Anauroch desert), Lash does not
personally revere Bane (who was once a mortal human), let alone consider himself
a subordinate of Fzoul Chembryl or the Black Network at large. He does, however,
have a strange penchant for Scyllua Darkhope and listens intently to her requests.
Under normal circumstances one might consider Lash a subordinate of the Dark
Castellan, though he personally sees her as a messenger from his allies. In exchange for contraband
Zhentarim goods and protection from adventurers, Lash often sorties from his lair to waylay caravans of
non-Zhentarim guilds and even occasionally aids the Black Networks attacks on civilized areasas long
as he is given a fair share of the loot.

Art by Wayne Reynolds, Emily Fiegenschuh, Vinod Rams, Todd Lockwood, Mark Zug, and Steve Prescott.