The Red Wizards of Thay are an expeditionary force sent to Chult to locate and seize the Soulmonger. They represent one of several competing factions searching for the artifact at the heart of the death curse.
Role in the Adventure
The Red Wizards operate as a rival faction to the player characters, pursuing the same goals through different means. They arrive in Chult already aware of the Soulmonger’s existence and establish themselves in the ruined city of Omu, where they compete with the party to recover the nine puzzle cubes needed to unlock the Tomb of the Nine Gods.
Notably, some NPCs across Chult who might help the characters locate Omu or understand the death curse include “Red Wizards under Valindra Shadowmantle’s command,” indicating they serve under the leadership of the lich Valindra Shadowmantle at the Heart of Ubtao location.
Presence in Omu
The Red Wizards establish a fortified base in Omu’s walled compound (area 2), but suffer a devastating yuan-ti assault that kills most of their expedition—three Red Wizards, twenty human mercenaries, and seven bearers from Port Nyanzaru. The compound lies in ruins with thirty charred corpses scattered throughout.
Orvex Ocrammas
The sole confirmed survivor is Orvex Ocrammas, the expedition’s scribe and translator, who becomes trapped under rubble during the attack. Orvex is a pragmatic, balding human in his early forties who works for the Red Wizards “because they pay well.” He speaks Common and Grung, can translate Old Omuan, and knows the legend of the nine trickster gods. If rescued, he eagerly joins the party and can help broker truces with any surviving Red Wizards.
Zagmira
Zagmira is a Red Wizard who leads the surviving faction members. She employs a doppelganger spy named Ishmakahl who has infiltrated the yuan-ti temple by impersonating a yuan-ti pureblood. The spy has limited access to Ras Nsi but can provide intelligence about the temple’s layout.
Potential Alliance
The Red Wizards can form an uneasy alliance with the party to recover puzzle cubes held by the yuan-ti. Zagmira offers tactical support including:
- Information about her doppelganger spy in the yuan-ti temple
- Suggestions for human characters to disguise themselves as yuan-ti purebloods
- Casting invisibility (5th-level) on up to four non-human party members
However, this alliance is temporary and treacherous. Once the characters retrieve the puzzle cube from the yuan-ti temple, the Red Wizards betray them and attempt to seize all nine cubes. If Artus Cimber accompanies the party, they also try to steal the Ring of Winter.
Ultimate Fate
If the Red Wizards successfully obtain all nine puzzle cubes, they enter the Tomb of the Nine Gods themselves. Inside the tomb, they fall victim to its deadly traps one by one, ultimately failing in their quest.