Culture
En Thay, la société se divise en quatre catégories : Les Sorciers Rouges, la noblesse, le peuple commun, et les esclaves. Ces derniers sont, et de loin, les plus nombreux. Le peuple commun travaille presque aussi durement que les esclaves. La nation est entièrement contrôlée par les Sorciers Rouges qui ne partagent leur autorité avec personne d'autre.
Les Rashemis
Le peuple de Thay possède les mêmes racines ethniques que leurs voisins de Rashemen, mais leur culture et leur histoire diffèrent grandement. Ils sont solides et trapus, mesurant un peu plus d'1m50 en moyenne, leur peau est sombre et leurs yeux sont noirs. Les hommes sont généralement hirsutes, portant souvent une barbe fournie et leurs manières sont pour le moins…rudes. Les femmes sont également petites et musclées, elles portent de long cheveux noirs, arborant souvent des coiffures très élaborées. Les deux sexes sont physiquement forts, très travailleurs et font de bons guerriers.
Les Rashemis de Thay s'habillent simplement, portant fréquemment des tuniques de toile. En tant que classe sociale jugée inférieure, les bijoux de valeur et signes décoratifs extérieurs sont assez rares, bien qu'il est fréquent de les voir porter des boucles d'oreilles, des anneaux ou des bracelets. Les Rashemis Thayens les plus aisés portent de riches robes et des capes de belle facture et rasent souvent leurs cheveux pour y faire tatouer des symboles afin d'imiter la classe sociale dominante : Les Muliens.
Prénoms rashemis masculins: Borivik, Faurgar, Jandar, Kanithar, Madislak, Ralmevik, Shaumar, Vladislak
Prénoms rashemis féminins: Fyevarra, Hulmarra, Immith, Imzel, Navarra, Shevarra, Tammith, Yuldra
Noms de famille: Chergoba, Dyernina, Iltazyara, Murnyethara, Stayanoga, Ulmokina
Les Muliens
Les Muliens sont les descendants directs des renégats de Mulhorand qui fondèrent la nation Thayenne. Ils sont généralement grands, minces et le teint légèrement jaunâtre. Leur habitude est de se raser le peu de cheveux qu'ils possèdent afin de les remplacer par des tatouages élaborés représentant le plus souvent des dragons, des démons, des monstres légendaires, des runes mystiques ou des dessins abstraits. Les tatouages des Sorciers Rouges possèdent souvent des propriétés magiques en plus que d'être décoratifs. La passion des tatouages s'est rapidement étendue à toute la nation et on dit que les maîtres tatoueurs de Thay en général et de Bezantur en particuliers sont les meilleurs de tous les Royaumes.
Prénoms mulans masculins: Aoth, Bareris, Ehput-Ki, Kethot, Mumed, Ramas, So-Kehur, Thazar-De, Urhur
Prénoms mulans féminins: Arizima, Chathi, Nephis, Nulara, Murithi, Sefris, Thola, Umara, Zolis
Noms de famille: Ankhalab, Anskuld, Fezim, Hahpet, Nathandem, Sepret, Uuthrakt
Religion
Arcane magic is supreme in Thay, but even the most jaded of the Red Wizards can't deny the power of the gods. Even the zulkirs at least pay lip service to a chosen deity. To do otherwise is to invite retribution. Evil deities - Beshaba, Loviatar, Shar, Talona, Umberlee, and Gargauth the Outcast - are openly worshiped. Veneration of good gods is not forbidden, but it is discouraged. Still, the Red Wizards know that there are times when anyone - even a lawful good deity - can come in handy, so they rarely advocate the burning of any metaphorical bridges.
The most widespread and powerful faith in Thay is that of Kossuth, the Lord of Flames. The Thayans find the neutral-aligned elemental deities to be a good match for their oppressive land. The tenets of good deities such as Tyr or Lathander stand in direct opposition to the hierarchy built by the Red Wizards, and evil deities demand the submission of their followers. Kossuth represents power and mastery without constraints, and so he finds favor among the Red Wizards. Kossuth's faith enjoys a primacy of position and numerous special considerations in Thayan society. Clerics of the Firelord are among the very few people a Red Wizard cannot harm or kill with impunity.
The worship of Bane has had a long tradition in Thay. While the church of the Black Lord suffered after the Time of Troubles - during which Cyric arose to take Bane's place - the return of Bane has resulted in strong and well-organized churches of both Bane and Cyric in Thay. A number of Thayans venerate Mask, and this number has been steadily but quietly growing in the past few years.; Shar's faith is also strongly ensconced in Thay.
The brutal humanoids in the service of the Red Wizards continue to worship their own pantheons. Orcs venerate Gruumsh, much as they do elsewhere, and gnolls worship the demon-god Yeenoghu.
A common misconception outside Thay is that the Red Wizards worship demons and devils. Actually, many ambitious Red Wizards do make regular contact with such evil outsiders, but only to strike bargains with the creatures. The Red Wizards consider themselves the equals of such beings - at least when they band together as a group, just as they did when they summoned the demon Eltab to help them in their quest for independence from Mulhorand.
Economy
Thay's economy has traditionally been borne on the backs of the vast number of slaves who are brought into the country in chains. With the increase of trade in magic items over the past few years, the number of slaves sold in Thay hasn't gone down one bit. In fact, now that Thay has enclaves in just about every major city of Faerûn, its merchants have even more access to slaves, and the slave population is actually growing.
Revenue from the sale of discounted magic items in the enclaves has far exceeded expectations. Thayan merchants have long traded, their nation's goods throughout the world, but they are finding their wares in high demand these days. Before the change in policy, the vast bulk of Thayan exports were raw foodstuffs, timber - including that of the highly prized blackwood tree - and Thayan artwork, jewelry, and crafts, mostly fashioned by skilled slaves. Such trade continues to this day, cementing Thay as a mercantile powerhouse.
Everyone the Thayans do business with is aware of their horrible history and their evil ways. The prices and quality of their wares, however, are just too good to turn down. This suits Szass Tam and the rest of the zulkirs, who have not given up their goal of world domination. The current plan is to use the greed of other people as a tool against them. Bearing discounted goods, Thayans should be able to work their way into every major economy on Faerûn. Once the Red Wizards have become entrenched in a nation, they can learn enough about the locals to dismantle them quietly from within.
Not all the zulkirs agree with this policy. This is particularly true of the more aggressive leaders such as Aznar Thrul, as well as those who aren't in a position to line their own pockets with the wealth brought in by this new venture, such as Zulkir Nevron of the school of conjuration. As with most large projects in Thay, this one could be brought low at any point by the bickering of the zulkirs.
Law and Order
Anyone, foreigner or Thayan, traveling in Thay must carry a pass issued by a tharchion allowing the traveler to use specific roads and visit specific cities. All tharchions delegate the task of issuing passes to minor officials and officers, which means that a travel permit for most points can be purchased with a suitable bribe (generally, 10 to 50 gp for foreigners). Soldiers, messengers, and officials engaged in the performance of their duties are exempt from the requirement to obtain permission to travel, but they generally carry tokens of their authority.
Outsiders traveling without authorization find it difficult, if not impossible, to move about the plateau. Patrols constantly scour the roads and byways, searching for escaped slaves (and the occasional brigand, criminal, or foreign spy). The penalty for being caught is usually death. Those found inside a Red Wizard's estate, on the other hand, are in for an even worse fate as the subject of painful magical experiments.
The laws of Thay are, simple, and the penalties are brutal. They are mostly concerned with establishing who's in power. The tharchions and zulkirs consult a set of tomes known as the Library of Law when faced with a serious problem. However, most of the time, the authorities ignore these books in favor of expediency. These are the most important laws of Thay.
« Only Red Wizards may wear red robes, so that all shall be able to identify them instantly.Do not steal from other Thayans or harm their belongings, especially their slaves.
Do not kill or harm another Thayan. (In practice, this means, "Do not kill or harm anyone from your class or above.")
Obey the orders of your betters. »
The proscription against wearing red robes is unusual, but Thayans take it so seriously that most refuse to dress in any clothing of that color. The penalty for being caught in such garb is execution on the spot. It's rumored that some of the forces of the Red Wizards always carry a spare red robe or two. This is then supposedly thrown onto the body after the guards have killed someone, giving them an excuse for their actions.
The laws of Thay are enforced by whoever claims to have jurisdiction over the people involved or the location in which the disturbance occurred. In Thay, just about every Red Wizard employs slaves or commoners as private guards. The more powerful the person, the more numerous and more skilled the guards. In Thay, might makes right, and the Red Wizards have plenty of might. The trouble comes when more than one group of guards claims jurisdiction over any particular issue. This happens often, and when it does, a fight usually breaks out.
Defense
Thay is a military powerhouse, its combined armies outnumbering those of all its neighbors put together. However, due to a lack of cooperation between the various forces, Thay has never been as effective as it should be.
Each zulkir and tharchion is expected to form a body of troops known as a legion. Only a sponsor's resources limit the legion's makeup and size. Other Red Wizards are permitted household forces or bodyguards, too. The wealthiest of them may have thousands of troops at their disposal. Sadly - or fortunately, depending on one's point of view - the disparate Thayan forces work together as poorly as do their leaders. Only during extreme threats to the entire nation are the various armies able to put aside their differences and work with one another. Even then, their cooperation is hardly complete.
Few of Thay's cities have walls or other defenses. The Thayans regard the First Escarpment as a wall around the entire country and plan to halt invaders at the edge of the precipice. Thayan cities that lie below the escarpment (Bezantur, for example) are often protected by extensive walls. The first line of defense for Thay is the constant and vigorous patrolling of both its borders and its interior. This provides the zulkirs with an early warning system that allows them plenty of time to respond to any massive attack.
