Welcome to Thay & My First Evil Campaign
Disclaimer: This page discusses one DM's view of Thay, an infamous slave-keeping, magocratic country in the Forgotten Realms with a decidedly evil bent. I began developing it in greater detail for my first evil campaign, which began in 2009 and ran for a decade. This vision is offered for entertainment and variety's sake and for adults only. I do not condone anything described in real life; quite the opposite. I don't suggest that you accept or use these ideas in your games, either, unless everyone in your group is informed beforehand, given safe opportunities to decline, and genuinely okay with moving forward. You might find reasons for characters to work against Thayan interests, details that will fit the tone of your own Thayan campaigns, or nothing that works for you at all. Please read with discretion, and feel free to stop and move on anytime.
Hyborian Adventures � Conan Hyborian, fantasyartdesign.com
My first exposure to Thay was in the figure of Edwin, an arrogant character in the Baldur's Gate video game series. He was very far from his homeland, but he brought a distinctive accent and attitude with him. Edwin's portrait was serious, his lines were sarcastic and amusing, and he was the best damned arcane caster in the game. He made such a first impression that I quickly thought of Thay when the time came to run my first evil campaign. When I turned to the published materials, though, I couldn't find enough to satisfy my curiosity. For such a large and populous country, Thay seemed like a place meant to be visited, and I wanted the PCs to live there. So I fell back on an old motto: if you want something done right (read as: your way), do it yourself.
I want to encourage others to give Thay a chance as the setting for a whole campaign, and not just a one-shot raid into bad-guy territory. I also want to share the things that I've done to give Thay definition, in the hopes that someone else will be able to benefit from it. I started with the official supplements, which are very entertaining and useful, and worked outward from there. I didn't try to stay in line with the supplements or the novels, so please keep in mind that I depart from the canon. If you're looking for more details on the regions and peoples of Thay, or for an idea of how one DM set up an evil game, I hope you will find what you are looking for here.
Table of Contents |
Advice on Running an Evil Campaign Things I learned throughout my first evil campaign |
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Before you use slavery in an evil campaign, here are some aspects to consider |
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The thought process that took me through the early stages of my campaign |
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A guide to common character races, classes, and cultural details |
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A thematic list of first names and surnames for home-grown characters |
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A random name generator comprised of thematic sounds |
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Details about religion, industries, population, and other aspects of the tharchs |
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An organized breakdown of Thay's capital city |
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A breakdown of Thay's crossroads metropolis |
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A breakdown of historical events that have greatly affected Thay and House Valgon |
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A review of the known embassies, with a timeline and some new additions |
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A look at religion in Thay and a calendar of commonly celebrated holidays |
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A new evil deity created for use in our game but suitable to Faerun at large |
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A quick and dirty list of the 91 major noble houses I created for our Thayan campaign |
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The family tree of the player characters based in Eltabbar |
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The family tree of the player characters based in Tyraturos |
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A blog dedicated to exploring the everyday details of Thay |
Resources are free for personal use; please do not offer them for sale or claim them as your own work.
Please do not repost material elsewhere; link to this site instead. Thank you, and happy gaming!