Produced by a special needle and placed in a location of your choice, this tattoo of a flying snake is applied to all agents of the Zhentarim. When you display this tattoo while performing an Intimidation check against another humanoid, add 1d4 to your attempt.

ZHENTARIM RANKS

Rank 1, Fang (requires 1 renown). This is the rank a character receives when first joining and pledging service to a faction. Perks include:

• Faction Agent Background. Safe Haven (see below).
• Patron Benefits. Assignments and Criminal Contact (see below).
• Magic Items.  A faction insignia (this Zhentarim tattoo) that provides a bonus to Intimidation attempts.
• Downtime Activity. Faction Jobs (see below).

Rank 2, Wolf (requires 3 renown and 3rd level). Characters have shown that they’re aligned with the faction’s goals, and are able to take on more responsibility. Perks include:

• Magic Items or Spells. The agent can choose to receive one of the following, and can choose a different option upon gaining a new faction rank:
  • A banesword
  • Learn the Manshoon’s mage hand cantrip.
  • Learn the find familiar spell and be able to cast it once per day. The familiar takes the form of a flying snake.

Rank 3, Viper (requires 10 renown and 5th level). Characters are reliable faction members, entrusted with many secrets and deserving of additional support during adventures. Perks include:

• Underling. An agent gains an underling with the stats of an acolyte, apprentice wizard, scout, or thug that can go adventuring with the agent or be tasked with accomplishing minor tasks on behalf of the agent.

Rank 4, Ardragon (requires 25 renown and 7th level). Characters are trusted voices within the faction’s leadership. They are looked upon as champions of the faction’s beliefs, and as mentors by those of lower rank. Perks include:

• Magic Items. The agent receives two personalized assassin’s glasses.
• Poisons. An agent may purchase any poison in the Dungeon Master’s Guide, chapter 8 at a 10 percent discount, delivered by a flying snake.
• Task Force. An agent may command a personal task force composed of four underlings (see prior rank) that can be tasked with accomplishing minor tasks on behalf of the agent. They do not go adventuring with the agent.

Rank 5, Dread Lord (requires 50 renown and 11th level). Characters are ensconced within the leadership of the faction and have a great degree of influence, guiding faction decisions. Perks include:

• Commander.  With Dungeon Master approval, agents may commandeer branches of the Black Network to further its aims, solicit magic from the church, or command raid-sized mercenary forces (typically 3 veterans, 27 guards, a priest, and a mage). These forces do not go adventuring with the agent.

Rank Items. Items can not be sold, traded, or gifted. All items disintegrate upon the character leaving the faction.

FACTION AGENT BACKGROUND

Feature: Safe Haven. As a faction agent, you have access to a secret network of supporters and operatives who can provide assistance on your adventures. You know a set of secret signs and passwords you can use to identify such operatives, who can provide you with access to a hidden safe house, free room and board, or assistance in finding information. These agents never risk their lives for you or risk revealing their true identities.

ZHENTARIM PATRON BENEFITS

Having the Zhentarim as a Group Patron provides the following benefits to the entire party.

• Assignments. Your group may be assigned quests to further the factions goals. See next section for available faction Assignments.
• Criminal Contact. Throughout their adventures, a party is likely to come across a criminal or two. Though some lawbreakers are sure to oppose the party during their adventuring career, others may prove to be valuable allies. An alliance with a criminal contact pays for itself in the form of information, influence, and specialized services.
      Every criminal has a specialty. Though the contact might mask their illicit activities under the guise of a legitimate business, their true expertise is known to the party. The criminal contact could be someone the party regularly does business with, such as a thief selling their plunder to a fence. Or perhaps the contact is a rival with which a party member shares a specialty, such as a pair of assassins who crossed blades in the past. The party can use the Contact Specialty table to determine what the contact does best.

Criminal Contact Specialty

ZHENTARIM ASSIGNMENTS AND FACTION JOBS

The following quests are available as Assignments for those with the faction as a Group Patron (which should be actively ran by a DM in a group setting), or as individual downtime Faction Jobs for those who are agents themselves. Quests beyond this list can be easily available at DM discretion.

Random Quests from the Zhentarim

Faction Jobs. Faction Jobs include a handful of short generic missions that a character can reasonably complete within the span of a workweek. To complete a job, a character must accumulate three successful ability checks before accumulating three failures. The player chooses the skill for each of these checks. Once the character has attempted an ability check with a given skill, whether they succeed or fail that ability check, they can’t use that skill again during the remainder of the job.

    A character earns one renown after successfully completing a job. There are typically no monetary or item rewards for completing a job, other than perhaps covering daily food and lodging, if successful.

Faction Job Difficulty Class

This item appears in the DMSGuild publication "Guide to the Five Factions". Links to the homebrew magic items noted above are included in the comments section below.

Notes: agent of the Zhentarim