@TheEdVerse I'm lost. In SKT, Tiamat, and a lot of the extended lore, the Zhentarim are described as slavers, murders, and otherwise evil. Yet I got people trying to tell me they're no worse than any other group because the narrator in SCAG says they've gotten, "less evil".
— Space Is Pretty Big (@SpaceIsVeryBig) September 6, 2019
1)
The Zhentarim began as a cabal of mages (and others of Zhentil Keep) led by Manshoon making a grab for political power, by allying with local clergy of Bane (led by Fzoul, and obeying his orders rather than those of the 2)
…High Imperceptor, head of the faith), and by allying separately with several beholders. So, a strong evil component. The Zhents got control over Zhentil Keep through murder, blackmail, threats, and financial coercion. #Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) September 6, 2019
3)
Again, evil. They had some allies and members who were from the lower planes (DEFINITELY evil), and after coming into control of Zhentil Keep sought to enrich themselves on an ongoing basis by establishing 4)
…and/or controlling the shortest, fastest, cheapest trade routes between the Moonsea and the Sword Coast. They resorted to murder and intimidation to dominate the trade in useful metals brought along those routes, and slavery…#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) September 6, 2019
5)
…was one of the trades they participated in. So, evil again. They covertly sponsored rebels and troublesome urban gangs in many places to run interference for their own activities, and tried in many places to put ‘puppet’ 6)
…local rulers in place, and/or corrupt tax collectors, local Watch officers and other lawkeepers, and so on. Not the style of a good organization. They mustered and maintained a standing army for Zhentil Keep, that invaded…#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) September 6, 2019
7)
…various Dales and other locales with the aim of conquering them, causing widespread bloodshed and suffering. Evil.
However, as membership changed, over the years, the Zhents saw the need for better Public Relations: a better image fo 8)
…their organization, in order to lessen the fear the very mention of their name caused (driving away potential clients/trading partners who would have nothing to do with them). So they remade their image—a process that was…#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) September 6, 2019
9)
…speeded up forcibly when the Spellplague hit and wiped out, or mind-ruined, a lot of their most powerful wizards. And while they never had any sort of formal purge of ‘bad’ members, the passage of years also removed members 10)
…permanently from their ranks who had participated in many evil acts, blunting any criticism of “Well, they SAY they’re not evil, but I see faces among them who were there at this massacre and that slave-taking raid.” Recent…#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) September 6, 2019
11)
…editions of the game have regarded the Zhentarim as one faction among many, who just have a darker past—and for many Zhent members, this can be literally true: they see themselves, and are, simply a tightly-knit, 12)
…hierarchical, need-to-know trading organization that’s good at intel, and is widely spread and so can compete in trade. It remains true that they place internal discipline and Zhent policy over the say of local laws and… #Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) September 6, 2019
13)
…authorities (i.e. a typical Zhent would shelter a fellow Zhent on the run from the local Watch, and help that fellow Zhent ‘get away,’ as opposed to turn the fellow Zhent over to the authorities), but that is also true of 14)
…many guilds, costers, and other playable AdvLeague factions in the setting. Local gossip does remember that the Zhentarim have a dark past, yes, but how evil particular current Zhent members are is up to the DM.#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) September 6, 2019