Red Wizard of Thay

Red Wizard of Thay is a prestige class to be introduced in Mask of the Betrayer. 

Description
Red Wizards are the notorious and nefarious spellcasters who are the ruling class in the inhospitable but well-inhabited country of Thay. Slavers, demonologists, and magical experimenters, the Red Wizards are much feared by most of Faerûn. They constantly scheme to bring down their neighbouring nations of Rashemen—where they are thwarted by the equally famed magicians the Witches of Rashemen; Aglarond—where they are turned back by the Simbul of the Seven Sisters; and Mulhorand—where the people of Thay first emigrated from.

The leaders of the Red Wizards are the eight zulkirs, each for a different school of magic. Chief amongst these, and, indeed, among all Red Wizards is Szass Tam, a powerful archmage and feared lich.

The Red Wizards are the enemies of many forces in Abeir-Toril—whilst they receive support from demons and devils and drow, amongst those who oppose them are the Witches of Rashemen, the Seven Sisters and their allies, the goodly Harpers, and even the Zhentarim, who dislike the wizards encroaching on their territory.

The Red Wizards' latest plot, after another failed attempt at securing Rashemen in 1357 DR, is to infiltrate the nations of Faerûn legitimately—in Thayan enclaves which will publicly sell magic items and quietly also traffic drugs, wicked spells, and slaves. Using these they hope to eventually have strongholds and resulting political infiltration that will make them indispensable and powerful, and eventually get them something along the lines of world domination.

Despite the general distrust and dislike that most feel towards the Red Wizards, the mages are still able to extend their power to almost every corner of the Realms, running embassies (known as enclaves) in towns where slaving is otherwise banned. From here they run a lucrative business in the trade of magical items, spells and artifacts, making them virtually indispensable to many of their clients, and as such the wizards expand their sphere of influence ever further.

Requirements
Race: Human

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

 * 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.
 * Specialist Defense: A Red Wizard gains a bonus to defending against schools from his specialist school.
 * Spell Power: The Red Wizard's effective caster level for determining level-dependent variable checks is increased by +1.
 * Wizard Bonus Feat: Red Wizards gain a bonus metamagic or item creation feat.

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?"