Cowled Wizards

*This article is specific to this wiki. For the Forgotten Realms universe, see Cowled Wizards (Forgotten Realms).*

## Cowled Wizards

### Purpose

* Conduct espionage
* Enforce anti-magery laws

### Parent

Council of Five

The **Cowled Wizards** or **Cowled Ones** are a secret society of mages operating in Amn. Although the organization began as an advocate for the preservation of Amnian magery, it is now a xenophobic cabal of spellcasters sanctioned by the Council of Five.

## Purpose

The Cowled Wizards' are based in Athkatla and report to reigning *meisarch* of the Council of Five. Their principle responsibilities are defending the nation from rogue spellcasters and any conspirators who threaten the five Great Houses.

## Features

### Anonymity

Cowled Wizards are largely indistinguishable from other Amnians and operate in a variety of professions. Members are forbidden to reveal their identities except to those closest to them. A member may know only their superior and one or two other informants/operatives.

### Appearance

As their names suggest, Cowled Wizards obfuscate their identities by donning tan hooded robes. Patterns of white and grey that line the robes' sleeves signify a wizard's rank in the order. It is said that the robes resemble those worn by students of the School of Wonder.

### Sects

The wizards operate in sects who oversee magic use in each settlement of interest in Amn. Larger cities like Athkatla and Crimmor may have multiple sects, i.e. one sect per ward. Sects are responsible for detecting and suppressing unsanctioned magical effects.

## Methods

### Regulation

By law, all spellcasters must register and obtain permission to practice "the Art". Officially, one may apply for a *Casting License*, though few do for fear of being "uncloaked". The Council will sometimes issue limited casting visas to foreign dignitaries as a gesture of goodwill.

Members of the Great Houses (and some Platinum and Adamantine houses) are mostly exempt from magic regulation, provided they carry their *scroll of pedigree*.

### Uncloaking

There are few definitive ways to detect a magic-user. Sects will often surveil monks, proselytizers, con artists, elves, and members of the Ore caste. Depending on the severity of their crime, discovered magic users may be "uncloaked" as punishment.

Uncloaking may occur in public or in private, but the result is the same:

* The accused is stripped of their ability to interface with the Weave
* Without the Weave, the accused can no longer cast magic spells or interact with magical items
* The accused can no longer read or write language
* The accused can no longer convey coherent thoughts whatsoever

## History

### Origin (c. 1267 DR)

In 1266 DR, students of the School of Wonder, a mages' academy located north of Small Teeth, accidentally unleashed a coven of demons imprisoned within a collection of ancient artifacts. The massacre and destruction that followed convinced King Dhanar that all sorcery, regardless of the intentions of its practitioners, is too dangerous to be trusted. He quickly banned all spellcraft and ordered the torching of Athkatla's Temple District the following year.

Seeing the writing on the wall, many spellcasters resettled to the uncharted realms of New Amn or left the country altogether. Some chose to remain, tasking themselves with preserving the mystical culture and arcane traditions of Amn. In this vein, Alisar of Esmeltaran created the *Order of the Cowled Wizards* whose undercover operations "shall forever cultivate that Art taught by Azuth and Deneir".

### Early Operations (1267 - 1275)

Early wizards focused their efforts on smuggling arcane artifacts to their hidden sanctuaries littered among Amn's forests and mountain ranges. Apprentices were often assigned work as scribes or recruiters. Donning the hooded vestiges signified both holy virtue and enviable intelligence.

### Disappearance of Alisar (1275)

In the summer of 1275, King Dhanar named the Cowled Wizards as the perpetrators of multiple kidnappings and murders of nobles travelling along the Trade Way. In an open letter to his majesty, Alisar denied the cabal's involvement, but said it would investigate the incident independently. The following autumn, Alisar would disappear on quest to Mount Speartop.

### Order among Chaos (1276 - 1333)

In 1276, King Dhanar was assassinated in coup d'état, effectively ending the Amnian monarchy and leaving a power vacuum. The chaos that ensued allowed the cabal to expand its membership to Waukeenars, monarchists, and other traditionalists who had been deposed by inter-house conflict. Magery had mostly flourished to pre-ban levels by 1300.

Thayze Selemchant, a Cowled Wizard whose house came to dominate the lands of southwest Amn, expressed concern that a new monarch would jeopardize his house's hard-earned wealth and power.

### Reign of Meisarch Thayze (1333 - 1362)

After the Great Amnian Trade War, the establishment in Athkatla had mostly been replaced by young and/or inexperienced noblemen who were eager to end the interregnum. Selemchant took this opportunity to sew insecurity among the populace by spreading rumors of an elven invasion, a pirate blockade, and a war with Waterdeep. Selemchant employed illusions to convince the wide-eyed leaders of Great Houses that he alone can save them from their imminent doom. Unanimously, the leaders of the five most powerful houses agreed to form a new government called the Council of Six with Selemchant at its head.

The new Council would see many events over the next three decades, including the Murann Spice War, the Coast Plague, the Time of Troubles, and the discovery and colonization of Maztica. Both the Cowled Wizards and House Selemchant prospered during this period. Thanks to the role's anonymity, Meisarch Thayze's relationship to the former remained completely obscured until his discovery and assassination in 1362 DR during the Council Schism.

### Legitimation under Shoon VII (1358 - 1385)

During the Time of Troubles, necromancer Shoon VII infiltrated the Cowled Wizards by possessing a young elven apprentice by the name of Zallanora Argentresses. Under her guise, the *qysar* redirected the mages' energies to intimidate rivals and accumulate political power in Athkatla. Although his aim had always been to restore his family's imperium, his actions strengthened the cabal's political leverage considerably.

By 1369 DR, the Wizards had become an official arm of the Amnian government, overshadowing the once-powerful Amnian military. The military office, *dahaunarch*, would be rendered obsolete, reducing the Council to five.

Still occupying Zallanora's body, Shoon remained a dominating figure in the Cowled Wizards until his disappearance in 1385 DR.

### Dominance (1385 - Present)

After the Year of Blue Fire, a cataclysmic period which saw the drowning of Amn's western colonies by magical forces, the Council of Five depended heavily on the Cowled Ones to defend the nation from further obliteration. Casting aside their grievances from the Council Schism, the Council granted the wizards the license to forcibly halt any unsanctioned magery by any means necessary.

Over the last century, the cabal has grown from a magical "watchdog" into a secret agency with much broader aims. Xenophobic paranoia dominates its members' mindsets.

## Bases of Operation

* Alisarhold
* Spellhold

## Notes

1. ↑ A folk tale attributes his death to the ancient dragon Icehauptannarthanyx.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Steven E. Schend (August 1997). "Book Three: Erlkazar & Folk of Intrigue". In Roger E. Moore ed. *Lands of Intrigue* (TSR, Inc.), pp. 8-19. ISBN 0-7869-0697-9.
2. ↑ Ed Greenwood (July 2000). *Volo's Guide to Baldur's Gate II*. Edited by Duane Maxwell, David Noonan. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 13. ISBN 0-7869-1626-5.
3. ↑ BioWare (September 2000). Designed by James Ohlen, Kevin Martens. *Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn*. Black Isle Studios.
4. ↑ Steven E. Schend (2012-04-17). What is Shoon VII up to? Candlekeep Forum. Retrieved on 2016-07-23.
5. ↑ Bruce R. Cordell, Ed Greenwood, Chris Sims (August 2008). *Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide*. Edited by Jennifer Clarke Wilkes, *et al*. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 92. ISBN 978-0-7869-4924-3.