The Red Wizards, Vol I-V
The Red Wizards
Book I
* Introduction
* Chapter I: Red Wizards of Thay
Book II
* Chapter II: Organization
Book III
* Chapter III: Enviroment
* Chapter IV: People of Thay
Book IV
* Chapter V: Mulan
* Chapter VI: Rashemi
Book V
* Chapter VII: Thayvian Knight
* Chapter IIX: Hierachy
Book I:
Introduction
The following is made from many different sources and authors, but one source had a great influence on the structure of the book here. Everything here has been quoted, rewritten, and some passages simply added on.
Red Wizards of Thay
Long considered a threat to peace in eastern Faerun, the Red Wizards of Thay have a history of war and agression toward their neighbors and even more distant lands. In recent years, they have also become the principal purveyors of magical goods to the powerful, wealthy, and the desperate throughout much of Faerun. Exsconced in secretive walled enclaves in dozens of cities, the Red Wizards command fear and respect far outside the borders of their native Thay. These mercantile enclaves have become so successful that many Red Wizards have abandoned their dreams of military conquest for a more insidious and pervasive form of power-the power of gold.
The Red Wizards' efforts to export their magical goods abroad have resulted in three main benefits for the Thayans. First, people of distant lands are beginning to view the Red Wizards as mysterious, perhaps intimidating, merchants, rather than as would-be conquerors. Second, the sale of magic items, even at a discount, is a phenomenal source of revenue for the Red Wizards. Much of this wealth flows back to the coffers of the zulkirs (the leaders), who use the profits to fund magical research, espionage, and whatever secret interests they may have. Finally, demand for Thayan goods is so high that the Red Wizards can exact significant concessions from local rulers anxious to bring some of the wealth generated by a Thayan enclave into their cities. The trade enclaves provide the Red Wizards with secure bases of operation, spy networks, and resources abroad.
The Zulkirs may still be creating terrible battle spells and monstrous magical war machines in the secrecy of their homeland, but the public facade of the Red Wizards has become that of reliable, if eerie, traders in magic.
Book II:
Organization
Headquarters:Thaymount, Thay
Members: Approximately 1,000 actual Red Wizards, with approximately 5,000 practicing wizards in their service.
Hirarchy: Militaristic.
Leaders: The zulkirs of Thay (loose council of eight Red Wizards, each specialized in a different school of arcane magic)
Religions: Kossuth, Bane, Shar, Loviatar
Alignment: LE, NE, LN, CE
Secrecy: None.
Symbol: A disk with a white star at the center and a red spiral moving counterclockwise from the center, with eight red spheres of increasing size on the spiral. The red represent the Red Wizards, and the eight spheres represent the eight primary schools of magic, and the white star represents a fading fireball.
The Red Wizards rule Thay as the heads of a large quasi-military organization, the structure of which is more convoulted than it first appears.
Among Thayans, the terms "wizard" and "Red Wizard" have different meanings, A Wizard is someone who wields arcane power in the form of spells (While bards and sorcerers are known in Thay, the Red Wizards consider them inferior and treat them as susch.) Although wizards may grow powerful, and that power deserves respect, only Red Wizards command true authority in Thay.
A Red Wizard is a practicing wizard who has been indoctrinated into the outermost circle of Thaya politics. In Thay, only Red Wizards are allowed to wear red robes, and those who violate this law are swiftly caught and slowly tortured, usually in a public manner. To avoid even the threat of such a punishment, most Thayans never wear anything red, and some refuse to don orange clothing as well. The only exceptions are the clerics of Kossuth, who stand outside the ban and are easily recognized by their holy symbols and their multi-colored robes.
While most people outside Thay believe that all Thayan wizards are Red Wizards, this is not true. Only about one wizard in six is actually a Red Wizard. The rest are apprentices, low-level wizards, those unconcerned with politics, and those who have not yet proved their worth to Thay. In game terms, only characters with levels in the Red Wizard prestige class are called Red Wizards (although devious and foolish individuals may claim the title outside Thay with the intent to fool others). Choosing to become a Red Wizard requires careful thought for that path holds great power, the Red Wizard loses some of a traditional wizard's versatility (by being obliged to select an additional prohbited school of spellcasting). Many wizards delay joining the Red Wizards for as long as possible, hoping that their wider variety of spells compensates for thier shortcomings compared to those who donned the red robes earlier.
Book III:
Environment
While the zulkirs and Tharcions may be the most promiment leaders of the country, the Red Wizards at all levels are seen as the epitome of the evil of Thay. Red Wizards hold the power of life and death over others in that land, and only other rival Red Wizards keep them from exerting that power at whim. Standing laws in Thay prevent the Red Wizards from simply seizing whatever food they want from farmers, and any item they desire from the Merchants. Their main power is political, and those who regard themselves as above such mortal and mundane concerns quickly find themselves exiled or killed by other Red Wizards intent on preserving the status quo.
In practice a Red Wizard is likely to have many contacts, allies, and enemies among the wizards and the Red Wizards, with servants of varying types and various power levels. If a Red Wizard is slain or dissapears, his allies invsetigate. Although they most often assume that the dissapearance is due to a rival and leave it at that, occasionally the allies try to find and destroy those responsible for the death.
The wizards of Thay grow up and are educated in a cutthrout enviromentt of intrigue, competition, and cruelty. They have survived dangerous masters and evil rivals, and have experienced and witnissed magic that is prohibited by more ethical wizards. They are not fools, although some are megalomaniacs and cannot see the flaws in their own plans. The enviroment in which they are raised and trained makes them dangerous opponents, and no one should take them lightly.
People of Thay
Thay is a land of divisions, many of which determine a person's place in society and her acces to power. While the vast majority of Thayans are human, there is a substantial humanoid population as well. Most of the nonhumans are either slaves or warrios in the various armed forces of the Red Wizards, but some have earner their emancipation.
Gnolls and Orcs are the most common nonhuman humanoids in Thay. They form the backbone of the Thayan armies, especially the gnolls, who are often placed in city garrisons to keep the populace in line. The less-controllable orcs are usually employed as shock tropps.
With the zulkir's current policy of peaceful trade, the orcs often sit idle, itching for a fight of some sort. If one doesn't come quickly enough, they end up rioting amongst themselves. To keep this violence from overflowing into the rest of the population, the Red Wizards have set up a regular series of gladitorial games. Orcs, gnolls, and other violent humanoids are pitted against one another in blood matches for the enjoyment of the ever-growing crowds of spectators.
Goblins and halflings are also not uncommon in Thay, although they are almost always slaves. Their lives may not be as violent as those of the gnolls and orcs, but they are just as short. Tieflings and other planetouched creatures can be found here as well, although these rare folk are judged more by their human ancestry than their physical appearance.
In Addition to nonhumans, Thay is home to two distinct human cultures: the Rashemi and the Mulan.
Book IV:
Mulan
Mulhorandi blood runs thick in the veins of the Mulan. These are the descendants of renegades who rebelled against the Mulhorandi Empire 400 years ago. and since those fateful days, they have retained the power they wrestled from their distant masters. Nearly all the Red Wizards are of Mulan extraction. There are few exceptions, and most of these pass themselves off as the children of Mulan parents.
The Mulan people are tall and slim, sometimes to the point of being gaunt. Their skin is sallow, and they usually remove what little body hair they have by means magical or mundane. They wear intricately designed tattoos in place of hair, usually on their bare skulls and where their eyebrows were. These tattoos often represent dragons, demons, devils, and other creatures of ancient evil. They are extremely stylized, sometimes to the point of being cryptic runes or even abstract signs. Many Red Wizards use tattoo magic, and the fashion of tattooing arose from this. Even those without the power of the Red Wizards wish to look as though they do.
Almost all nobles in Thay are of Mulan descent, although not all Mulan are nobles. At worst lowborn Mulan are free farmers or artisans, although many seek power that does not depend on their family's wealth, becoming bureaucrats, soldiers, or priests. For those with the aptitude, the path of the Red Wizard is open. In fact, most Red Wizards come from Mulan Families of relatively humble means (although high-born Red Wizards have the advantage of personal wealth and noble alliances to aid their advancement when they complete their training).
Rashemi
The common people in Thay are almost exclusively Rashemi, kin to the folk of Rashemen. The Rashemi are a hardy people short and stocky with dusky skin and dark eyes. They all have thick, dark hair, although most free Rashemi choose to shave their scalps (or at least, crop their hair quite short) to distinguish themselves from slaves, who are forbidden to cut their hair. Wealthy Rashemi often have themselves tattooed in the Mulan style.
Thayan Rashemi are not a conquered people, nor are they oppressed. They do not have the same opportunities for advancement or wealth that people of Mulan descent do, but they are resigned to their lot and take fierce pride in their strength and dark majesty of their land. Any Rashemi with sufficient means owns slaves, and most likely treats those slaves as harshly as they are treated anywhere in Thay. Few Red Wizards are of Rashemi Descent, but the Rashemi make up the bulk of Thay's free soldiers. Many of the most elite military forces are composed of cruel Rashemi warriors who are happy to serve the Tharcions and Red Wizards.
Book V:
Thayvian Knight
While the Red Wizards are not opposed to blasting their opponents with deadly spells, or shredding the minds of their enemies with dark magic, there are times when they need protectors who have mastered the art of swordplay. These protectors are the Thayan Knights, familiar with magic and loyal to none but the tattooed mages.
The Thayan Knights act as bodyguards and enforcers for the Red Wizards and as an extension of their reach. They lead common Thayan Troops into battle and help fuar the wizard enclaves. Although they are referred to as knights, they have no code of conduct, and the only thing that binds them is that their lives are worth nothing compared to the safety of the Red Wizards.
Almost all Thayan Knights are fighters, although monks* and rangers have been known to pursue this career. Barbarians are typically too reckless to concentrate on defense, and the Red Wizards consider other individuals too weak for the duties of a Thayan Knight.
Hierachy
Slaves
Commoners
Nobles/Red Wizard Apprentices(lowest rung of the RW ladder)
Thayan Knights (Thayan Knights are technically slaves, but they are held in higher regard, since they are considered an extension of the Red Wizard, as such they are free to wear Red Robes)
Magus(second rung of the RW ladder; level capped at 6 in CoA)
Senior Magus(third rung of the RW ladder; level capped at 9 in CoA)
Lord Magus(fourth rung of the RW ladder, level capped at 12 in CoA)
Tharcion/Khazark (the Khazark is the head honcho of an Enclave; also while Tharcions aren't Red Wizards, they are regarded as such, since they were appointed by a Zulkir)
Zulkir (only eight of these, one from each of the eight schools of magic, more below)
Zulkirs
Aznar Thrul: Zulkir of Evocation
Druxus Rhym: Zulkir of Transmutation
Lallara: Zulkir of Abjuration, is a Female
Lauzoril: Zulkir of Enchantment
Mythrellaa: Zulkir of Illusion, is also a Female
Nevron: Zulkir of Conjuration
Szass Tam: Zulkir of Necromancy, is a Lich (and has been for hundreds of years) and also is considered the most powerful of the Zulkirs.
Yaphyll: Zulkir of divination, is Female
Tharchs
Gauros: Controlled by Azhir Kren
Priador: Controlled by Aznar Thrul (who is also one of the Zulkirs)
Tyraturos: Controlled by: Dimon
Eltabbar: Controlled by: Dmitra Flass
Lapendrar: Controlled by: Hezass Nymar
Delhumide: Controlled by: Invarri Metron
Thazalhar: Controlled by: Milsantos Daramos
Surthay: Controlled by: Homen Odesseiron
Pyarados: Controlled by: Nymia Focar
Thaymount: Controlled by: Pyras Autorian
Alaor: Controlled by: Thessaloni