On the Origins of the Zhentarim: Difference between revisions
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| image = Book Generic A Image.png | | image = Book Generic A Image.png | ||
| icon = Book Generic A Item Icon.png | | icon = Book Generic A Item Icon.png | ||
| description = A loose sheaf of paper, printed with an eye for quantity over quality. | | description = | ||
| quote = A loose sheaf of paper, printed with an eye for quantity over quality. | |||
| book text spoiler = | | book text spoiler = | ||
| book text = | | book text = [An excerpt from the ongoing <i>Metatext: Rebound</i> by Iosefa Elgin, a scholar excommunicated from the Church of Deneir for her heretical efforts to reconstruct the Metatext, her god's annal of lost and hidden knowledge.] | ||
But perhaps greater still than their monopoly as the continent's largest private army, the true achievement of the modern Zhentarim is in the sanitised image they present to the world. Viewed by most as an efficient - if unscrupulous - mercenary organisation, few would guess at the Black Network's dark origin: as a cult dedicated to the dark god Bane, once bent towards bringing all peoples to heel beneath his creed of tyranny and domination. | But perhaps greater still than their monopoly as the continent's largest private army, the true achievement of the modern Zhentarim is in the sanitised image they present to the world. Viewed by most as an efficient - if unscrupulous - mercenary organisation, few would guess at the Black Network's dark origin: as a cult dedicated to the dark god Bane, once bent towards bringing all peoples to heel beneath his creed of tyranny and domination. | ||
Many among their ranks scoff when confronted with this fact, citing overblown conspiracies and reassuring me that the only gods to whom the Zhentarim give worship today are the twin deities profit and power. | Many among their ranks scoff when confronted with this fact, citing overblown conspiracies and reassuring me that the only gods to whom the Zhentarim give worship today are the twin deities profit and power. | ||
This is not to say the organisation has entirely shed its dark side, however - alongside the clenched fist of their military, another hand works from the shadows to ensure that the Network prospers even in peacetime. For just as vital as the movement of troops is the movement of goods, legal or otherwise, and there is no border or market that is ever truly closed to one bearing the seal of the Black Network. | This is not to say the organisation has entirely shed its dark side, however - alongside the clenched fist of their military, another hand works from the shadows to ensure that the Network prospers even in peacetime. For just as vital as the movement of troops is the movement of goods, legal or otherwise, and there is no border or market that is ever truly closed to one bearing the seal of the Black Network. | ||
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| camp supplies = | | camp supplies = | ||
| single use = | | single use = | ||
| rarity = | | rarity = common | ||
| weight kg = 0.5 | | weight kg = 0.5 | ||
| weight lb = | | weight lb = 1 | ||
| price = 14 | | price = 14 | ||
| usage cost = | | usage cost = | ||
| effect = | | effect = | ||
| where to find = | | where to find = * Second floor of [[Arfur's Mansion]] {{coords|15|-70}} | ||
}} | }} | ||
Revision as of 11:00, 7 December 2023
Properties
Books
Rarity: Common
Weight: 0.5 kg / 1 lb
Price: 14 gp
Where to find
- Second floor of Arfur's Mansion X: 15 Y: -70
Text
[An excerpt from the ongoing Metatext: Rebound by Iosefa Elgin, a scholar excommunicated from the Church of Deneir for her heretical efforts to reconstruct the Metatext, her god's annal of lost and hidden knowledge.]
But perhaps greater still than their monopoly as the continent's largest private army, the true achievement of the modern Zhentarim is in the sanitised image they present to the world. Viewed by most as an efficient - if unscrupulous - mercenary organisation, few would guess at the Black Network's dark origin: as a cult dedicated to the dark god Bane, once bent towards bringing all peoples to heel beneath his creed of tyranny and domination.
Many among their ranks scoff when confronted with this fact, citing overblown conspiracies and reassuring me that the only gods to whom the Zhentarim give worship today are the twin deities profit and power.
This is not to say the organisation has entirely shed its dark side, however - alongside the clenched fist of their military, another hand works from the shadows to ensure that the Network prospers even in peacetime. For just as vital as the movement of troops is the movement of goods, legal or otherwise, and there is no border or market that is ever truly closed to one bearing the seal of the Black Network.