Zhentarim

"The best of the best." — their own recruitment pitch. What they mean is: ruthless, effective, and loyal to profit.

The Zhentarim — also called the Black Network — are a powerful, sprawling mercenary and criminal organisation operating across the Sword Coast and beyond. On the surface they present as a legitimate mercenary guild offering the best soldiers, smugglers, and spies money can hire. Beneath that, they deal in blackmail, political manipulation, assassination, and the movement of contraband.

They have no central city, no public face, and no single leader the party has identified. They work through cells, cutouts, and deniable agents.

Campaign Involvement

Glasstaff's Fate

The party's most direct contact with the Zhentarim came after the Phandalin arc. Iarno Albrek (Glasstaff), captured by the party and handed over for transport to Neverwinter for trial, never arrived. He was murdered on the road by Zhentarim agents — reasons unknown.

Threads

• Who ordered Glasstaff's assassination, and why?
• Does the Zhentarim have ongoing interests in the Phandalin region or the Wave Echo Cave?
• Have any other NPCs the party has encountered been Zhentarim assets?