Red Wizards of Thay

The Red Wizards, formerly known as the Red Wizards of Thay before the War of the Zulkirs, were the notorious and nefarious magocratic ruling class of the inhospitable but well-inhabited country of Thay. Historically they owed their power to being accomplished slavers, demonologists, and arcane experimenters, while some of them wholly dedicated their efforts to creating a nation of undeath.

Organization
For centuries, the leaders of the Red Wizards and in fact all of Thay, was the Council of Zulkirs. The ruling body comprised eight of the most powerful Red Wizards, each of whom represented one of the schools of magic. Each of the zulkirs and their subordinates fomented intense rivalries with one another, leading to great feuds and near-crippling internal strife.

In the years following the War of the Zulkirs, the supreme ruler of the Red Wizards was the feared lich, Szass Tam.

Since Szass Tam's takeover, the exiled Red Wizards have transformed enormously, becoming a loosely organized chain of merchant enclaves who specialized in procuring magical items.

Activities
For most of their history the Red Wizards enjoyed their status as the aristocratic ruling class of Thay. They used their authority and arcane power to spearhead numerous battles of conquest against their neighboring nations. The Red Wizard regularly assaulted both the wild lands of Rashemen to the north, and the nation of Aglarond to the west.

During the mid–14 century the Red Wizards spent much of their efforts spreading their influence via their trade enclaves. They used these havens to act as spies and concealed against for the nation of Thay.

When traveling across the realms, Red Wizards were always well protected. They were often accompanied either by the fearsome gladiators of Thay, clerics of Kossuth, or even Thayan knights, who dedicated their lives to the role as their protectors. They were hardly discreet in their journeys, often carrying themselves with boorish swagger or haughty detachment.

In the years following the Second Sundering, the Red Wizards were once again relegated to serving as agents the zulkirs or even Regent Szass Tam himself. They were often directed to travel the Realms to acquire powerful magical items in order for the zulkirs to further consolidate their power.

Abilities
Each Red Wizard were expected to wholly dedicate themself to a single school of magic. While they gained additionally knowledge and power with the spells they studied, Red Wizards were forced to forego spells from two separate schools of magic. They were considered to be among the most powerful spellcasters, with access to the most potent spells and stalwart arcane defenses.

Due to their unique arrangement of mercantile enterprise, Red Wizards had access to the finest magical items and seldom saw the need to attend magefairs.

Some of the spells most readily associated with Red Wizards included combust, fiendform, fire gate, flame dagger, and Nybor's gentle reminder.

The Red Wizards were known practitioners of circle magic. This form of magic allowed several spellcasters to combine their arcane power in order bolster the prowess of their "circle leader", or maximize the efficacy of the leader's spells.

Just as tattoos were a featured aspect of Mulani culture, so were tattoos of power for the Red Wizards. They even experimented with inscribing these tattoos on slaves, who they could then use to infiltrate other city-states.

Tactics
When arose conflict arose, Red Wizards gave decisive orders to the soldiers, knights, or other allied forces under their command. They worked especially closely with Thayan knights in order to coordinate defensive and offensive shifts in combat. Red Wizards were well-trained in the arts of war, but still readily listened to those trusted individuals who offered tactical advice.

During battle, Red Wizards they acted aggressively. They often utilized large-area-of-effect spells to incapacitate or harm a large number of their fores. They regularly employed the various spell scrolls and wand to which they had such ready access.

Base of Operations


From the mid–14 century onwards, the Red Wizards maintained enclaves in many major cities all across Faerûn. While each one was considered an autonomous entity, each of them had the shared goal of greater accumulation of wealth. Prior to the Thayan civil war, the Red Wizards could act with complete unity within their enclaves, as they were considered to be set upon Thayan soil and only subject to Thayan law.

There were sizable Thayan enclaves in the cities of Athkatla, Baldur's Gate, Calaunt, Calimport, Cimbar, Hillsfar, Hlath, Hlondeth, Innarlith, Iriaebor, Marsember, Messemprar, Mulmaster, Procampur, Proskur, Ravens Bluff, Saerloon, Scardale, Scornubel, Soorenar, Telflamm, Veltalar, Waterdeep, Westgate, and Yhaunn.

Only the tradition of separated autonomy survived the war. Those Red Wizards who lived as merchants throughout Faerûn no longer received the support of their home nation of Thay.

Possessions
The most distinctive feature of the Red Wizards was their namesake red robes. In fact, they were the only individuals allowed to wear red garments, save for the nation's priests of Kossuth.

Many of the wizards preferred to wield whips as their weapons of choice.

Relationships
While the Red Wizards help supreme authority in their homeland of Thay, they were not well trusted and in fact reviled across the Realms. Despite the suspicions held by many, the Red Wizards were often allowed to operate their enclaves in many Faerûnian cities. From here they ran a lucrative business in the trade of magical items, spells and even artifacts. This made them virtually indispensable to many of their clients, and as such allowed them to further expand their sphere of influence.

They constantly schemed to bring down their neighboring nations of Rashemen, where they were thwarted by the equally famed magicians the Witches of Rashemen; Aglarond,  where they were turned back by the Simbul of the Seven Sisters; and Mulhorand, from where the people of Thay first emigrated.

During the height of their influence, the Red Wizards were the enemies of many forces in Toril. Amongst those who opposed them were the Witches of Rashemen, the Seven Sisters and their allies, the goodly Harpers, and even the Zhentarim, who disliked the Wizards encroaching on their territory. The Fangshields fought against th Red Wizards due to their horrific experimentation and creation of black unicorns.

Although the Red Wizards' allies were few, they often proved to be powerful assets. The church of Kossuth in Thay provided much aid throughout the years, and monks from the Order of the Long Death were often called upon to carry out assassinations. The Red Wizards often drew agreements with and received great support fire genasi; drow; and fiendish beings; such as tieflings, demons and devils.

History


Upon the earliest and greatest of the Red Wizards' victories was the Battle of Thazalhar in the. They delved into the demoncyst beneath Thaymount and used dark rituals to elicit the aid of the fearsome demon lord Eltab. The Red Wizards were then able to overwhelm the city of Delhumide, defeat the Mulhorandi god-king and free themselves from, foreign control.

The Red Wizards led Thay's first major assault against Rashemen in the, but were thoroughly turned away.

In the, the Red Wizards managed to magically transport an entire horde of orcs from the Spine of the World mountains to the lands south of Thay. Their role in the Orcgates Affarir, as it came to be known, was taken to diminish the prestige of the Covenant alliance of mages.

The Red Wizards led an assault on the Covenant's arcane school in Neverwinter during the, leading to the death of Aganazzar and a "wizardwar" between the two groups. This conflict would continue until the with the dissolution of the Covenant.

They launched their first failed invasion of Aglarond in the. However they would repel an Aglarondar invasion at the Battle of Lapendrar in the.

When the elves of Cormanthor began to leave their forest in the, the Red Wizards set their sights on the ruins of Myth Drannor. They gradually and discreetly established an enclave in Scardale Town within the Dalelands in order to gain access to the ruined elven city.

- Salamander War - After another failed attempt at securing Rashemen in the, the Red Wizards planned to infiltrate the nations of Faerûn legitimately — in Thayan enclaves which would publicly sell magic items and quietly also traffic drugs, wicked spells, and slaves. Using these they hoped to eventually have strongholds and resulting political infiltration that would make them indispensable and powerful, and eventually get them something along the lines of world domination.

The Council of Zulkirs and Red Wizard organization as a whole began to experience internal strife in the. The Zulkir of Transmutation Maligor attempted to seize power from the rest of the council. His efforts were thwarted by a surprising alliance between Szass Tam and agents of the Harpers.

During a Thayan invasion of Rashemen, in the, the Red Wizards melted glaciers atop the Icerim Mountains. The sudden waves of ice water flooded the cities of Immilmar and Mulsantir.

In the, Red Wizards made an enemy of the since-imprisoned Eltab. The then-zulkir of necromancy Szass Tam attempted to enslave the demon lord to Thakorsil's Seat by means of the ritual of twin burnings, but was thwarted by some adventurers. Eltab sword revenge against the necromancer and the rest of his Red Wizards.

By the, the Red Wizards found they had much greater success accumulating power through financial wealth rather than military might. Because of this, they ceased direct hostilities against neighboring nations for a short time.

Less that a decade later, in the, Szass Tam plunged Thay into a civil war when he began a coup against his fellow zulkirs. The Red Wizards were divided into two seperate factions and fought each other in a war that lasted ten years. To defeat his foes, Tam harnessed the devastation of the Spellplague to gain god-like powers and ravage the landscape of Thay.

The rebel zulkirs were driven from Thay, as were their followers. The Red Wizards' dark plots came back to haunt them and many of their enemies used the group's turmoil to assault the many enclaves. Many Thayans chose to flee their home nation and settle elsewhere across the Realms.

For the Red Wizards however, the death of the zulkirs ended what the Red Wizards once had been and gave way for the new order. They suffered a great divide that would last for nearly a century. The spellcasters in Thay who declared their loyalty to Szass Tam continued to act as magocratic overseers. Those that fled Thay or chose not to return to their homeland, were forced to live new sorts of lives.

The exiled Red Wizards operated as a sort of mercantile consortium to maintain financial independence, predominantly in the Moonsea and central Faerûn. Outside of Thay, the words "Red Wizards" came to only be thought of as the quintessential merchant arcanists. The exile mages transformed their old enclaves into their new homes. What had once been a facade of a purpose, the accumulation of profit through selling magical items, became daily practice as the Red Wizards eked out new lives outside of Thay.

Those Red Wizards who continued to serve Szass Tam and his undead zulkirs in Thay continued to enjoy their prestige and privilege as magocratic rulers.

The final blow to the Red Wizards as they once stood came when the last remaining zulkirs, interrupted Szass Tam's plot to become a being of godlike power in the. The Zulkirs rallied what allies they had and prevented the completion of Tam's ultimate end, the ritual of the unmaking. Their efforts cost them their lives, but likely saved Faerûn from one of the greatest threats it might have ever faced and prevented Szass Tam from ever attempting the ritual on Thayan soil.

At some point during the 15 century, the Thayan Resurrection sect of Red Wizards emerged in Thay. The group openly resisted Szass Tam and his undead servitors, and even managed to destroy several of the undead zulkirs. The group led by Rath Modar managed to align their interests with those of the Cult of the Dragon in west Faerûn during the 1480s DR. They believed that by assisting with Tiamat's arrival to the Prime Material plane, the Dragon Queen would bestow upon them great power that could unseat Szass Tam as regent.

Around the, similarly-algined Red Wizards traveled to the Sword Coast to gain access to four powerful elemental portals that were previously established created by a Netherese cult dedicated to the four Elemental Princes of Evil. Like Rath Modar, they hoped this power would help them overthrow Szass Tam in Thay.

Around this time, a group of Red Wizards accompanied a band of githyanki knights to seek out some enormous adamantine item from within a dungeon beneath the Dragon Caves of Tu'narath.

Members
The Red Wizards of Thay were highly selective about to whom they granted admittance. They nearly only took in members of the Mulan ethnic group. Very few Rashemi were allowed to join their ranks, and only then if they disguised themselves as Mulan.

As their name suggested the Red Wizards admitted wizards over other arcane spellcasters, such as sorcerers or bards. Even then, only about one of every six wizards in Thay was a member of the Red Wizards.

Those Red Wizards who lived outside of Thay in the post-Spellplague years forewent many of their old traditions, especially the shaved heads and plentiful tattoos preferred by the Mulani of Thay. For these individuals, the title of Red Wizards was passed on through heredity, adoption, or marriage.

Notable Red Wizards

 * Rath Modar: One of the exiled members of the Thayan Resurrection, Rath sought to summon forth the dragon deity Tiamat.
 * Szass Tam: After serving as the zulkir of necromancy for centuries as a lich, Szass Tam elevated himself to Regent of all of Thay.
 * Zhengyi:

Appearances

 * Adventures:
 * Dreams of the Red Wizards &bull; Ghosts of Dragonspear Castle


 * Novels:
 * The Haunted Lands
 * Unclean &bull; Undead &bull; Unholy


 * Video Games:
 * Baldur's Gate series
 * Baldur's Gate &bull; Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn &bull; Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition
 * Neverwinter Nights series
 * Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer