Magic License in Athkatla

The Cowled Wizards are an organization that regulates and enforces magic laws within Athkatla.
The Cowled Wizards place strict laws forbidding casting unlicensed arcane spells in Athkatla. The casting of one will lead to the arrest of those involved. If they resist, they will be killed. After they are arrested, they go on trial in a building in the Athkatla Government, where the leader decides what punishment they receive. They can be executed, or they may be sent to Spellhold, an asylum for magical deviants.
The license to cast arcane spells can be purchased from Corneil in Council of Six Building, Athkatla Government district for 5,000 gold. If you purchase a license, no more enforcers will appear. Otherwise, the first time an arcane spell is cast, you will get a warning from a Cowled Wizard who teleports in. The next five times, he will summon three other enforcers and all of them will attack you. If you defeat them, you then have one hour in which you can cast arcane spells freely without anyone responding.
On the final time after the warning, the responding wizard will summon three much more powerful mages: a 16th-level Cowled Wizard worth 6,000 XP, an 18th-level Cowled Wizard worth 20,000 XP, and a 30th-level mage named Zallanora worth 6,000 XP. They are armed with high level spells like Time Stop, Power Word Kill, Abi-Dalzim's Horrid Wilting, Simulacrum (which can result in an extra wizard opposing you) and more... Once you succeed in killing them, there will be no further response to any arcane spellcasting in Athkatla: and, indeed, should you decide to go back and purchase a license after having proved your point in such a drastic manner, you will not have the option to do so, the game will treat you as if you already have one.
(In the Enhanced Edition, Zallanora's two high level companions are only named "Cowled Wizard": in the original game, one of them is a Cowled Wizard named Khollynnus Paac... for whom death does not necessarily appear to be permanent, since she can also appear in the Mage Stronghold quest briefly - as a neutral who apparently has never crossed your path - even if you do not do that quest until after you've killed her. This is presumably why the Enhanced Edition chose to replace her with an unnamed "Cowled Wizard" in the final encounter with Zallanora and company, although they copied the stats and spells from the original Khollynnus Paac so the fight is unchanged.)
Note: While a majority of players will buy the license to have freedom and no trouble in playing, many won't pay and will instead adjust to the gaming style of no arcane spellcasting inside the city. If desired, you can do so until the party is strong enough to actively lure in the enforcers for their XP and loot.
Note: On the matter of roleplay, The Cowled Wizards do not represent the lawful government. They set down the law and they go out to enforce it without the government's approval. Chief Inspector Brega is quite eloquent about this. Thus, it's not against Lawful alignment to kill them. Even Keldorn doesn't twitch an eyebrow.
== Mod content ==
Sword Coast Stratagems mod has two optional components that can be installed regarding the Cowled Wizards:
Allow the Cowled Wizards to detect spellcasting in most indoor, above-ground areas in Athkatla (BG2,BG2EE,BGT)
The Cowled Wizards claim to ban magic everywhere in Athkatla; in practice, though, they only complain if you cast spells out of doors. This component extends their watch to most indoor, above-ground areas in Athkatla (there are a few exceptions, mostly places where wizards live (e.g. Prebek's tower) or where it's likely that the owners have made arrangements with the Cowled Wizards (e.g. the Copper Coronet).
Increase the price of a license to practice magic in Athkatla (BG2, BG2EE, BGT)
The default price for a magic license from the Cowled Wizards is 5,000gp. This component allows you to increase it to an amount between 10,000gp and 50,000gp, depending on which option you choose during installation. These options are useful to realistically manage the abundant gold that accumulates, well beyond the player's needs, to make the party's purse feel more realistic and balanced. Otherwise, money is never an issue in the game - and it probably should be a factor that needs to be considered, and a resource with implications.
Category:Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn