Red Wizards of Thay

The Red Wizards, formerly known as the Red Wizards of Thay before the ascension of Szass Tam, were the notorious and nefarious magocratic ruling class of the inhospitable but well-inhabited country of Thay. They were historically accomplished slavers, demonologists and arcane experimenters before wholly embracing an ideal 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 one member who represented each school of magic.

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
During the mid–14 century the Red Wizards spent much of their efforts spreading their influence via their trade enclaves.

When traveling across the realms, Red Wizards were always well protected. They were often accompanied either by the fearsome gladiators of Thay, or the Thayan knights, who dedicated their lives to the role as their protectors.

For nearly a century following Szass Tam's takeover of Thay, the Red Wizards suffered a great divide. The spellcasters in Thay who declared their loyalty to Szass Tam retained their status and power as magocratic overseers. Those that fled Thay or chose not to return to their homeland, operated as a sort of mercantile consortium to maintain their financial interests.

In the years following the Second Sundering, the wizards were relegated to once again being agents the Zulkirs. They were often directed to travel the Realms to acquire powerful magical items in order for the Zulkirs to consolidate their power.

Possessions
The most distinctive feature of the Red Wizards was their namesake red robes.

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, where the people of Thay first emigrated from.

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.

Conversely they received great support from demons, devils, and drow.

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 defeat the Mulhorandi god-king and free themselves from, foreign control.

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.

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.

The coup in Thay changed all this however. Szass Tam's rise to power as the regent of Thay resulted in civil war between himself and the other zulkirs for control. To defeat the zulkirs Szass Tam used the Spellplague to devastate the land, ending the civil war through an even greater disaster. The rebel zulkirs were driven from Thay, as were their followers but the Red Wizards' dark plots came back to haunt them and many of the order's enemies took the opportunity caused by the upheaval to assault the many enclaves the Red Wizards had spread throughout the world.

The final blow to the Red Wizards as they once stood came when the last remaining zulkirs, decades later, interrupted Szass Tam's plot to become a being of godlike power, preventing his ritual from reaching completion. 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 again - at least so long as it was conducted on Thayan soil. 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.

The Red Wizards in the end transformed their old enclaves into their homes. What had once been a facade of a purpose, the accumulation of profit through selling magical items, became fact as the Red Wizards' goals transformed entirely. By 1479 DR few individuals associated the name "Red Wizard" with Thay but instead with a loose confederacy of merchant arcanists and those who believed otherwise were, in fact, mistaken.

Many traditions of the old Red Wizards were lost in the transformation and modern Red Wizards don't maintain the same Mulani traditions of shaved heads and tattoos that the old organization did. Most of the Red Wizards are actual wizards, but not all are, and the title of Red Wizard is generally inherited from parent to child, with exceptions in the case of adoption or marriage whereas in the past the Red Wizards were recruited from talented wizards. Red Wizard enclaves are essentially self-run, some by a single individual, others by a small council of wizards. Most of these enclaves are found within the lands bordering the Sea of Fallen Stars and those nations where Red Wizards are found almost certainly have an enclave within their capital city.

Members
The Red Wizards were highly selective about to whom they granted admittance. They nearly only took in members of the Mulan ethnic group.

Each Red Wizard dedicated themself to a single school of magic.

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