Cowled Wizards

The Cowled Wizards is an organization that regulates the use of wizardly magic by the people in Athkatla during the Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn campaign.
== Chapter I ==
The Cowled Wizards are first seen when Jon Irenicus uses illegal magic to kill assaulting Shadow thieves in Waukeen's Promenade. Shortly after, six Cowled Wizard members teleport to the location and attempt to arrest him, though Jon fights back and kills four of them. 
Eventually he allows himself to be taken as he has neither the time nor inclination to fight them continuously. However, he demands Imoen be taken prisoner as well, as she had casted Magic Missiles at him previously. They are both teleported to a brief "trial", and a senior wizard judges that they are deviants and sequestered to "rot in Spellhold."
==Wizard Magic Ban==
The Cowled Wizards place strict laws that ban unlicensed wizardly spells. 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 sentence is applicable. Punishments up to execution are possible, or more likely they may be sent to Spellhold, an asylum for the insane or magically deviant.
Arcane magic cast outside buildings in Waukeen's Promenade, Bridge District, Athkatla City Gates, Athkatla Slums, Athkatla Docks and Athkatla Government areas always trigger a response.
Arcane magic cast in the Athkatla Graveyard, Temple District or random encounter areas in the city seem never to trigger a response.
==Enforcing the Ban==
The first time a party member casts an arcane spell illegally (i.e., without having first bribed, or rather "purchased" a license from, Corneil), a Cowled Enforcer will appear and warn you not to do it again.COWENF02.BCS However, the party member may cast wizard spells for the rest of the day, even transitioning to other districts to do so, without being attacked. After the party has rested once (8 hours), casting another wizard spell results in another enforcer appearing.
The second time an illegal spell is cast, the same Cowled Enforcer shows up and says that you were warned and calls in three other Cowled Enforcers for backup before attacking. (For details on all four enforcers, see the page for Cowled Enforcers.) 
If you defeat them, you'll be able to cast spells freely until you rest or enough time passes, but then, the same group will appear again when you cast. Killing them does not lower reputation.
After defeating this repeating encounter a total of five times, the next time you cast a spell the Enforcer teleports to the casting location and announces:
The Enforcer then calls in help from three more powerful Cowled Wizards, including a named mage: Zallanora.
After defeating this final, unique group of Cowled Wizards, the attacks stop and you will be free to cast spells even without a license.
The Cowled Wizards will also not bother trying to enforce the magic ban against a party of Reputation 3 and under (though such a party will be hunted by them in other occasions). Such low reputation characters can experience unique dialogue when trying to acquire a license from Corneil (who tells you not to bother, as, at that point, "you have already proven yourself destructive beyond the boundaries of common sense") and even increase their reputation while continuing to be free of the magic ban.
==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.
==Mod Content Gallery==
CW1.png|thumb|Cowled Wizards warned the party not to cast magic. The party ignored their warnings. 4 CW Mages teleport in, cast prebuffs and summon 3 Nishruu. Screen shot with SCS & SR Mods - Insane difficulty.
CW2.png|thumb|The aftermath of the CW assault. PC was near death at one point. CW cast timestop, Greater Malison and Symbol of Death at Valygar. Saving throw made. Time to rethink our magic casting in Athkatla, but first, will search the bodies for treasures and scrolls. 18,000 XP gained.
==Appendix==
===External links===
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Category:Organizations
Category:Cowled Wizards
Category:Image needed