Alistair Blackwell

Alistair Blackwell is a high-ranking regional leader within the Zhentarim (often called the Black Network), an ancient guild of spies, thieves, and smugglers active throughout the Sword Coast. Alongside his wife, Catherine Blackwell, Alistair is associated with the guild’s presence in the northern port city of Luskan.

Zhentarim Leadership and Internal Schisms

Alistair’s station came to light following the death of Halia Thorton, the Spymistress of Phandalin. Before her demise, Halia prepared a magical message within a dragon-shaped amulet. This message, intended for the adventurer Erevyn, detailed the key chapter leaders of the Zhentarim across the region to warn him of a brewing internal conflict:

The Zhentarim is divided into two stark, warring factions. On one side stands a moderate, integrated faction who favor long-term integration within the Great Cities of the Lord’s Alliance. Opposing them is the radical faction comprising Alistair and Catherine Blackwell, Nezznar the Spider, and the missing Pereghost. Recovered writings from the journal of Nezznar the Spider shed further light on these divisions, noting that the Blackwells “see as I do”—suggesting they aligned with Nezznar’s perspectives and shared his dismissal of the moderate faction as “weak.” However, Nezznar’s writings also revealed that his patron deity, Lolth, did not wish him to cooperate with the Blackwells, indicating that even within the radical Zhentarim faction, internal alliances were strained by divine decrees.