Red Wizard of Thay is a prestige class that was introduced in Mask of the Betrayer.
Description[]
The Red Wizards are the masters of Thay, the conquerors of that land’s native Rashemi, and the would-be magical overlords of Faerûn. They focus on a school of magic more intently than any specialist, achieving incredible mastery of magic within a very narrow focus. Seen as cruel and evil tyrants by people across Toril, a few choose to leave their region, assume secret identities, and practice magic without having to worry about political alliances and possible slave uprisings.
Early in their careers, would-be Red Wizards specialize in a school of magic. All Red Wizards have some skill as a specialist wizard, and most follow that path exclusively, but a few dabble in other sorts of learning (such as combat or divine magic).
Requirements[]
Alignment: Any non-good
Skills: Spellcraft 8 ranks
Feats: Spell Penetration, Greater Spell Penetration, one metamagic or Item creation feat (other than Scribe Scroll)
Spellcasting: Specialist Wizard, able to cast 3rd-level arcane spells
Class Features[]
| Hit die: d4 |
| Proficiencies: None |
| Skill points: 2 + Int modifier |
| Class skills: Bluff, Concentration, Craft alchemy, Intimidate, Lore, Spellcraft |
| Base attack bonus progression: Low |
| Saving throws | high: | Will |
| low: | Fortitude, Reflex |
- Spells Per Day/Spells Known: When a new Red Wizard level is gained, the character gains new spells per day (and spells known, if applicable) as though he had gained a level in Wizard.
- Enhanced Specialization: Upon becoming a Red Wizard, the character becomes even more skilled at casting spells from his chosen school of specialization - gaining +1 to DC for spells requiring a save and +1 to attempts to penetrate spell resistance. Red Wizards also lose the ability to learn new spells and use scrolls from a second prohibited school of magic (already known spells are not lost, however).
- Note: Although the description of this feat implies that the +1 bonus to DC is only for spells from the chosen school of Specialization, the +1 bonus to DC is actually applied to ALL of the Red Wizard's spells (it does not, however, affect the DC of Epic Spells from any school). It is unknown if the same goes for the +1 bonus to spell penetration. (Tested with an Wizard 10/ Arcane Scholar 10/ Red Wizard 8 with Practiced Spellcaster, Epic Spell Penetration. He should have 28+4+6 Spell Penetration plus an 1 for 1d20. Bigby failed Spell Resistance 40. Conclusion: It does not!)
- This second prohibited school depends upon the Red Wizard's specialization school:
- Abjuration, Conjuration, Evocation, Necromancy, Transmutation: lose Illusion
- Divination: lose Enchantment
- Enchantment, Illusion: lose Abjuration
- Specialist Defense: A Red Wizard gains a bonus to defending against spells from his specialist school. This bonus is +1 at 1st level, +2 at 3rd level, +3 at 7th level, and +4 at 9th level.
- Spell Power: At 2nd level, The Red Wizard's effective caster level for determining level-dependent variable checks for spells is increased by +1. This bonus increases by +1 every even-numbered Red Wizard level, to a maximum of +5 at 10th level.
- Note: Although not specified in the feat description, this bonus only applies to spells from the chosen school of Specialization. This includes any Epic Spells from the chosen school.
- Note: Because spell-save DC is raised by +1 for every 3 caster levels over 20, this feat has the potential to raise the DC of spells from the chosen school of Specialization by an additional +1 or +2 points (e.g. a Wizard 7 / Red Wizard 10 with Practiced Spellcaster: Wizard casting spells from his chosen school of Specialization would be benefiting as a 26th-level caster, and would thus receive an Epic Bonus of +2 to his spell-save DC).
- Wizard Bonus Feat: Red Wizards gain a bonus metamagic or item creation feat at levels 5 and 10.
NWN Comparison[]
- This class did not exist in NWN (but was included in the fan-made PRC pack).
3.5 Rules Comparison[]
Red Wizards in NWN2 will not have circle magic feats.
"Unfortunately, we were not able to implement the Red Wizard's ability to perform Circle Magic for the expansion. Given the time we had, and the complexities involved, we felt it would be better for everyone if we spent time on other features for the expansion. Even with this in mind, the class is great fun to play... and... well... who doesn't want to be a Red Wizard?"