Szass Tam

Szass Tam was a powerful lich and a member of a group of eight Zulkirs who ruled the country of Thay, and after the War of the Zulkirs - the Regent of Thay. He was the Zulkir of Necromancy and commanded the Legion of Bone, a huge army of undead soldiers, led by his vampire and lich generals. Szass Tam's seat of power was the Citadel on the Thaymount.

Description
Szass Tam was thin and tall. His face had fine-boned, intellectual features with dark eyes, a wispy black beard, and thinning black hair. He wore a vermilion robe with voluminous sleeves trimmed with gems and gold. He was gaunt and pale, but only his withered hands and the hint of dry rot occasionally wafting from his person truly attested to his lichdom. Szass Tam implemented illusions and the preservation spell to maintain his human appearance. He often took on the appearance of a fine-featured sixty or seventy year old scholarly man with deep black eyes.

He often had an ebony staff with him. During the Spellplague, Tam's undead nature was apparent to every onlooker since the chaos rendered his magical powers close to useless thus hindering the lich from altering his burned and ruined appearance.

Personality
"Where others see misfortune, I see only opportunity."

- Zulkir of Necromancy Szass Tam embraced the telltale behaviors coming among the Red Wizards. He was a talented manipulator and planner, working from the shadows through agents, servants and a vast number of undead minions, including skeletons, zombies, ghouls, ghasts, wights, vampires, who later were joined by a new breeds of risen creatures created with the help of god Bane. His undeath gave him almost limitless patience. Tam was quite prepared to abandon servants or allies and plans that failed, and simply try again later in a better way. Those who met him (or seemingly real magical images of himself that he created and sent far across Faerûn) discovered Szass Tam to be calm, cultured, and even pleasant. He treated his favorite servants with fairness and even kindness. The lich was polite but blunt, and he could be plunged instantly into cold, controlled rage by insolence or deliberate defiance. On the other hand, he seemed to admire those who crossed or foiled him by cleverness, as long as they treated him politely. He was always spinning more simultaneous intrigues than most Faerûnians have years in their lives, seemed content to view existence as a great game, with plots and schemes as the playing pieces.

The lich kept his study always filled with lit candles. He liked to keep his home shrouded in dim light of candles that he preferred to daylight. Tam kept the curtains closed even during the day.

Abilities
As a powerful necromancer an a lich who had centuries to collect powerful magics, Szass Tam had a vastly powerful arsenal of spells, both common and extremely rare. Some of the spells always available to Tam were circle, dazzle, preservation, fire lance, proof from teleportation, Beltyn's burning blood, negate magical weapon, animate dread warrior, imbue undead with spell ability, Simbul's synostodweomer, flensing, unlife, mage tunnel, and spell-lash.

Apart from the impressive mastery of the Art, Tam wielder daggers, darts, and staves. He was knowledgeable on the topics of ancient and modern Thayan history, astrology, engineering, etiquette, heraldry, gem cutting, naval navigation, and herbalism.

Tam also spoke ancient Thorass and Common languages.

Possessions
Due to his power, age, and status, Tam had a vast vault of numerous powerful magic items. Some said that his collection was one of if not the largest in Faerûn. Potions, scrolls, wands, staves and robes all were numerous. He owned rare wands of whips, crystal balls, a ring of three wishes, and two unique artifacts of impressive power – Death Moon Orb and Thakorsil's Seat. A magical tome of knowledge – The Tome of Blasphemous Magic, was loaned to the Red Wizard of Daggerford, Arvik Zaltos, during the Second Sundering. A Harper hero Artus Cimber stole a magical journal with infinite pages from Szass Tam's library, at some point before 1362 DR.

Before claiming the Citadel, Tam owned four sizable keeps all located in Thay. The largest of which was his favorite home that stood between Amruthar and Eltabar. The keep's lands were filled with graveyards where his armies slept until summoned and regular patrols of various undead curettes eluted Tam was uninterrupted in his plannings and research.

Activities
He was considered an accomplished sage. Sometime before 1372 DR, Szass Tam authored a famous anatomical work known as the Aesthetics of Human Anatomy.

Tam also was a spell inventor. Most notably, he developed the spell animate dread warrior, a type of undead created by Tam. He used these dread warriors to unleash attacks on Rashemen. It was believed that Szass Tam also was the inventor of the mage tunnel spell, however, in reality, the luch learned it from some mysterious source.

Allies
Szass Tam had a deal with Larloch, searching for ancient magic items and artifacts for him in exchange for some of Larloch's prized enchanted possessions. Both powerful artifacts, the Death Moon Orb and Thakorsil's Seat, were gained by Tam from this agreement with Larloch.

Even though Szass Tam had dozens of attendants over the years, one - Charmaine, served the lich for several decades as of 1364 DR in exchange for food and a promise of immortality. Tam appreciated a loyal servant and anticipated making her his loyal servant forever. However she died at the fangs of a fledgling vampire. Furious, the lich incinerated the vampire with a mere thought. It was too late to raise her as a vampire, and Szass Tam hated the idea of raising her as a zombie or a ghoul. In the end, he decided to let her rest in peace. Tam's next chambermaid was Neera, who replaced Charmaine, a much less liked and competent servant.

Despite his desire for absolute rulership over Thay, Szass Tam took in prentices whose number and names were kept a secret. A talented necromancer Gweltaz was one of Tam's pupils circa 1268 DR. Gweltaz was ambitious and lusted for the title of theZulkir of Necromancy. His plots against Tam failed spectacularly and was killed by the lich.

Szass Tam once showed interest in finding someone worthy of sharing his lichdom. One such individual was Thazienne Uskevren whom Tam considered intriguing and felt something akin to attraction. However, Thazienne was morally opposed to slavery, while the lich firmly stated that it will always be part of Thay.

Foes
The lich had many enemies. The Zulkir of Alteration, Maligor's plans to claim power over Thay through monetary means, were thwarted by Szass Tam's manipulations. If Maligor was ever to return, surviving the collapse of Thayvian gold mines or through undeath, as archmages were notoriously hard to kill, Tam would be Maligor's main enemy and target of vengeance. People and defenders of Thay's neighboring nations – Rashemen and Aglarond, were Tam's enemies, as well as the pesky Harpers. Fellow Red Wizards and Zulkirs were not Tam's allies either, always plotting and grasping for power.

In the mid-14 century DR, Tam was a secret high-ranking sponsor of Dennaton's gladiatorial pits in Thay. During the same period of time, Vicross commanded a small team Thayan Knights, Thayan Fighters, and Red Wizards in Tethyr. Secretly, Vicross was a wild mage, an aberration in the eyes of the Zulkir. When her nature was revealed, Tam sought to end her life for concealing the wild magic gift.

Rise to Power
Szass Tam was born in the. As Tam accumulated power in secrecy, he used the name of Tarloth Narmandur. As Tarloth, Tam sponsored adventuring companies to procure enchanted items for him, and once the bands brought "enough" magic, they were destroyed by the future lich before they could become dangerous or hold somethings back.

At some point in his youth, Tam inherited his favorite polished, enchanted, several-hundred-years-old crystal ball that belonged to his mentor, after the future lich killed him. Tam increased his arcane powers after wresting all sorts of arcane devices, elixirs, and books from his dead teacher. The teacher's body was reanimated by Tam and kept within his lair, patrolling the Citadel's halls as a simple skeleton. This was done not as an act of malice or proof of superiority, but simple practicality. No body should go to waste according to the lich. In the, he led a group of Red Wizards to slay "the Vampire Zulkir" Nyressa Flass, the Zulkir of Necromancy at the time. Afterward, Tam was named her successor, becoming the new Zulkir of Necromancy.

Before becoming a lich, one of his bitter rivals was a fellow Red Wizard, master of the school of evocation whom Szass Tam faced in a spell-slinging duel. The other Red Wizard was prepared to face Tam's necromancy spells and was caught off-guard when the future lich flung twelve fireballs into his face using a necklace of fireballs. This prompted Tam's opponent to waste most of his spells in deflecting and defending against the infernal onslaught, while Szass Tam had his entire repertoire of memorized spells at his disposal. Needless to say, the future undead emerged victorious.

Lichdom
In the, Szass Tam became a lich after leading an unsuccessful invasion of Rashemen.

In the, Tam slew the Zulkir of Illusion, Nymor Thrul after a failed invasion of Aglarond. Szass Tam became involved in the Harpstar Wars of the. During the last battles of the war, he slew the Harper King, but was defeated himself by Elminster Aumar. This was the first open conflict between Thay and the Harpers.

Tam became a prominent and widely-known power rung the mid-14 century DR after he and three other Red Wizards were plotting to overthrow governments of the cities on the Sea of Fallen Stars. The lich and his Red Wizards summoned an army of creatures from the Elemental Plane of Fire – efreeti and salamanders. The elementals were promise a payment –, permanent magical gate between Toril and the Elemental Plane of Fire, the promise the zulkirs never intended to honor. When the deception was revealed, Red Wizards failed to banish salamanders, leading to the Salamander War of the. Tam sent his undead forces to aid the three wizards against the salamanders, but the war still lasted for almost a year.

In the, Tam and several fellow Red Wizards approached the Grand Army of the Tuigan, following the breaching of the Dragonwall. Bewildered Tougans informed the Zulkirs that the leaders of the recent battles were Yamun Khahan, Illustrious Emperor of All Peoples, and General Chanar. With a demonstration of Thayan powers, Tam transported bath Yamun Khahan and Chanar using his magic to the meeting, leaving the Tuigan leaders no say in the matter. The lich showed Yamun Khahan a vision of the Grand Army clashing with Thayan forces and their defeat under the onslaught of Rad Wizards' magic. To avoid the war, Tam cemented an alliance between Thay and the Tuigans through flattery, intimidation, and demonstration of his strategic leadership. The horde was rerouted towards the lich's much-hated enemies – Rashemen. Together, two armies attacked: Tuigans – from the east and Thayan forces – from the south. Tam loaned Yamun Khahan, the Red Wizards that arrived with him to the negotiations, to lead the attack on Rashemen. The Grand Army of the Tuigan ravaged through Rashemen and as payment for the alliance, Tam used Thayan magic to part the Lake of Tears, allowing the horde to move west, across, Faerûn, until stopped by a united army led by King Azoun Obarskyr IV in the.

By the, Tam's arch rival among Zulkirs was Maligor, the Zulkir of Alteration. Maligor's personal army was comparable to Tam's so instead of a war, Maligor hatched a plan to take over the Thayvian gold mines and through it the production of gold in the country. Willeth Lionson, the tharchion of Thaymount was slain and replaced by Maligor's shapeshifting commander, spirit naga Asp. The Zulkir's plans to outsmart Tam was foiled with the aid of lich's unwilling allies, Harper agents druid Galvin, political from Aglarond Brenna Graycloak, and centaur Wynter. The trio were sent to Thay to investigate Maligor's activities, suspecting a looming war against Aglarond. Seeing an opportunity, Tam put the Harpers in charge of his undead army that clashed with Maligor's darkenbeast and gnoll forces. The confrontation resulted in the collapse of the Thayvian gold mines with Maligor seemingly swallowed by the tunnels. However, the Harpers made themselves an enemy when they intentionally decimated Tam's army in the process.

In the, a powerful earthquake shook Thay, destroying a big part of Eltabbar. The disaster was caused by Szass Tam releasing the the demon lord Eltab who was imprisoned under the city for centuries since the early days of Thay. The lich was attempting to bind the demon lord into servitude but Eltab slithered out of Tam's clutches and hid underneath Thaymout, within its demoncyst. Tam used magic to trap the demon lord within the demoncyst but the spell had a tiny flaw the tanar'ri would exploit with time.

Another attack on Aglarond was helmed by Tam in the winter of. The lich unleashed an army of undead that marched across the Umber Marshes. Waves of Tam's undead crashed against the Watchwall but ultimately failed to breach it.

In the, he was aided by Thazienne Uskevren of Sembia against an assassination attempt by Naglatha, Thay's Spymaster. Thazienne was forced by Naglatha to retrieve Tam's hidden scrolls and unwittingly unleashed Eltab and his minions on Thaymount.



Thayan Civil War
In the, Tam orchestrated the murders of the Zulkirs Druxus Rhym and Aznar Thrul and betrayed a Thayan army, under the command of tharchions Azhir Kren and Homen Odesseiron, to the Rashemi to create a climate of fear within the Thayan population. He hindered the proper investigation of the murders and solved these issues by himself. He thus tried to convince the nobles, legions and common people that he was the only one who could deal with these problems, in order to get himself elected supreme ruler of Thay. When Zulkir Dmitra Flass rallied other Zulkirs originally loyal to him to stand against his aspirations, Tam decided to achieve rulership by force and declared war to all opposing Zulkirs. When Dmitra's council achieved a great victory against his undead army at the Keep of Thazar, Tam called upon the united armies of Gauros and Surthay to march south toward the great city of Bezantur.

By the, Szass Tam had solidified his seat of power in the Citadel at Thaymount by evicting his enemies from their estates on the plateau. Some of the Zulkirs changed switched sides during the war and ended up as Tam's allies. One of them was the diviner Yaphyll. However, after realizing that Thay under the lich's reign would be comprised of undead, she decided to switch sides again in favor of the council of Zulkirs. As a result, Tam took her prisoner in the, binding her with the Death Moon Orb and Thakorsil's Seat, powerful artifacts of domination. He forced Yaphyll to perform the most powerful divination known to her order, no matter the consequences to her own well-being, and to tell him how to arrange for a decisive victory over the other Zulkirs. She performed the task and told Tam to lay a trap at the Keep of Sorrows. Then she left him with another cryptic vision.

At the end of the vision Yaphyll was surrounded by a blue flame and broke free of Szass Tam's power. The lich killed her with his poisonous touch trying to regain control over the diviner. Later it became apparent that Yaphyll saw what became known as the Spellplague, the blue flames being a result of the event. As Yaphyll predicted, the fight at the Keep of Sorrows turned into Tam's favor. With the help of the Death Moon Orb, he tried to coerce his former ally Dmitra Flass into fighting for his side. But then the Spellplague hit. The Death Moon Orb exploded in Tam's hand, freeing Dmitra of its power. The lich was hit by a wave of azure fire, a result of the Spellplague, rendering his magic close to useless and burning the illusory flesh off his face and hands. The lich fled from the scene with the help of his atropal ally Xingax.

By revealing to Malark Springhill, a monk of the Order of the Long Death, why he killed Druxus Rhym, the lich convinced the spymaster to switch sides and work for him and his greater cause henceforth. In order to learn more about the ways of magic in the time of the Spellplague, Tam summoned deity Bane, the Lord of Tyranny, sacrificing the enthralled tharchion Pyras Autorian in the ritual. Bane made a bargain with the lich: he would reveal to Tam his knowledge about the chaotic magic, grant the lich the ability to raise more dead for his cause, and augment the lich's powers. Szass Tam, in turn, agreed to surrender his soul after 1000 years had passed when his quest of conquering Thay was completed. Tam knew that the mystical strength lent to him by Bane would gradually fade so he choose to exploit it immediately.

When it came to another fight at the Keep of Sorrows, Szass Tam summoned a dream vestige to turn the tide in his favor. He succeeded in beating the legions of the Zulkirs, chasing them all the way to Bezantur. His undead legions and loyal priests of Bane further forced the Zulkirs to leave the town aboard vessels. Tam summoned the bodies of drowned men and undead aquatic beasts for a final and lethal victory over the Zulkirs. Accompanied by a fleet of warships made from darkness, he followed the fleeing Zulkirs, entangling them in a marine war. His enemies and Zulkir of Conjuration – Nevron's conjured denizens of the infernal oceans proved quite adept at sea fight, beating back his undead minions. Tam conjured the dream vestige again, finally exhausting his magical powers bestowed by Bane. When Bareris defeated the dream vestige and the Zulkir's forces beat Szass Tam's minions, the lich and Malark Springhill withdrew to the Thaymount, the lich being content with his conquered lands.

Tam didn't bother chasing the remaining Zulkirs any more, leaving Alaor and the Wizard's Reach to them, not fearing any retribution by the depleted Zulkir's forces. He revealed to Malark that he found a book once in possession of Fastrin the Delver.

Trivia

 * Szass Tam first appeared in a short story penned by Ed Greenwood in 1977. However, Tam was hinted at and mentioned by name, status, or as a powerful undead from somewhere to the east as early as a decade prior.

Appearances

 * Adventures
 * Forge of the Dawn Titan &bull; Lost Crown of Neverwinter &bull; Ghosts of Dragonspear Castle &bull; Scourge of the Sword Coast &bull; Dead in Thay &bull; Hoard of the Dragon Queen &bull; Rise of Tiamat &bull; Tomb of Annihilation &bull; Tales from the Yawning Portal &bull; Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden
 * Novels
 * Red Magic &bull; Dragonwall &bull; The Mage in the Iron Mask &bull; The Simbul's Gift &bull; The Crimson Gold &bull; Red Ambition &bull; The Crimson Gold &bull; Unclean &bull; Undead &bull; Unholy &bull; Pieces &bull; Gauntlgrym &bull; Neverwinter
 * Crusade &bull; The Ring of Winter &bull; Cloak of Shadows &bull; Second Chance &bull; ''[[Silverfall/Dark Dancer, Bright Dance|Qilue
 * Dark Dancer, Bright Dance]] &bull; The Last Threshold &bull; Charon's Claw &bull; Eye of Justice &bull; The Captive Flame &bull; Whisper of Venom &bull; The Spectral Blaze &bull; The Masked Witches &bull; Prophet of the Dead &bull; Night of the Hunter &bull; Archmage &bull; Ashes of the Tyrant &bull; The Adversary &bull; The Reaver &bull; The Herald &bull; Spellstorm''
 * Video Games
 * Baldur's Gate series (Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition &bull; Baldur's Gate II: The Black Pits II – Gladiators of Thay)
 * Neverwinter Nights &bull; Neverwinter Nights: Shadows of Undrentide &bull; Neverwinter Nights: Darkness over Daggerford
 * Licensed Adventures & Organized Play
 * The Undumor Connection &bull; First Strike &bull; Silent Streets and Vanished Souls &bull; The Radiant Vessel of Thesk
 * Neverwinter Nights &bull; Neverwinter Nights: Shadows of Undrentide &bull; Neverwinter Nights: Darkness over Daggerford
 * Licensed Adventures & Organized Play
 * The Undumor Connection &bull; First Strike &bull; Silent Streets and Vanished Souls &bull; The Radiant Vessel of Thesk
 * The Undumor Connection &bull; First Strike &bull; Silent Streets and Vanished Souls &bull; The Radiant Vessel of Thesk