Thayan Noble Houses

Disclaimer: This page discusses one view of Thay, an infamously evil, slave-keeping, magocratic country in the Forgotten Realms. This vision is offered for entertainment purposes for adults only. I do not condone anything described; quite the opposite. Please read with discretion, and feel free to stop anytime. Before you use any ideas herein, please gain your group's full consent to engage the material.

"Hooded Edwin " by artastrophe used with permission

Thay has a strict and nuanced hierarchy of castes, with nobles at the highest levels of influence and implicit grades of power within the upper crust. The vast majority of Red Wizards and higher level clerics come from noble backgrounds, and most of Thay's governors and enclave leaders do, as well. Those of Mulan blood are allowed to breed with other Mulan, outsiders, and some other races of interest (such as the yuan-ti). As Thayan enclaves have become fixtures in far-flung cities, a number of Thayans have arranged sanctioned marriages with aristocracy from abroad, as well. To keep bloodlines "strong" and maintain their social structure, there are many laws surrounding marriage and birth and few Thayans find their desired match an easy goal to reach.

With each new marriage, and sometimes with individual births, nobles pledge their children to one house or another to avoid divided loyalties and feuds. Thereafter, a claimed child is considered to be the responsibility and asset of that house until their status changes. The family provides an upbringing befitting a high ranking citizen, and in exchange it can command the member's obedience in childhood and services in adulthood. Unsanctioned births are treated with various levels of harshness, ranging from hefty fees to being expelled from the noble sphere to the child being seized as a slave or a sacrifice. Needless to say, most Thayans fear the consequences that could befall them enough to avoid unapproved births.

Thayan noble houses that do not have a main family business or pursuit tend to splinter, as different family members try to steer the house in too many directions. Some of the current houses split off from each other in the past, such as the vicious battles that split House Malaerach into House Malaergost and House Onolath. While some noble houses are in direct competition due to their interests, other houses compete simply to be the most prestigious. Family lands are highly prized, as are notable magical items. Many commoners and slaves are attached to noble estates and feud with the servants of rival houses.

Thay's oldest families are inevitably tied to the nobles of Mulhorhand, although some changed their names when Thay broke free from the god-kings. A few point to their family ties in Unther, Murghom, and Semphar. Every now and again, someone tries to trace their lineage all the way back to the Great Artificers of Imaskar, but such attempts are always hotly debated.

Rather than recording the years that houses were ennobled (and opening themselves up to all sorts of trouble), House Delizan tends to divide families into three categories. Ancient houses were founded sometime in the years -2000 to -999 DR, middle houses formed from -1000 to 921 DR, and new houses have risen since Thay's independence (c. 923).

Below are the current noble houses of Thay and their major area(s) of interest, as of the 1378 Census in Eltabbar, when the 91st house (Austraxos) was christened. Since they are spread throughout the country, with family estates in and outside of major cities, each house has a variety of alignments, authority figures, and religions. Given Thay's history, their noble houses separated from the gods of Mulhorand at the first opportunity and do not dedicate themselves to particular deities.

There are currently about 49,248 Thayans of noble blood on record. The 20 ancient houses maintain 9,850 members. The 30 middle houses have 17,237 nobles altogether. The 41 latecomer noble families share 22,161 nobles. Some Thayan nobles in good standing live outside of the country due to the enclaves, but the vast majority stay close to the comforts and power of home.

Name	Trade & Interests	Age	Reputation
Agneh	Politics and leadership	Ancient	Praised
Ankara	Slave acquisition (piracy)	Middle	Recognized
Aporos	Architecture (homes)	Middle	Praised
Ashmeddai	Arcane magic (enchantment)	Ancient	Accepted
Austraxos	Flight and flying mounts	New	Discounted
Autorian	Politics and leadership	Middle	Legendary
Baleth	Slave training (art)	Middle	Discounted
Belos	Magical arms & armor	New	Praised
Besklen	Armor (light)	Middle	Accepted
Canos	Shipping, cartography, slave transport	Middle	Accepted
Celski	Calligraphy & tattoos	New	Praised
Csittanko	Antiques (nonmagical)	New	Discounted
Dagrun	Armor (heavy)	New	Tolerated
Dal	Gladitorial games	New	Praised
Darnak	Caravan trade	Middle	Accepted
Dasselath	Slave acquisition (planar)	New	Recognized
Delizan	Heraldry & history	Ancient	Accepted
Dervich	Foodstuffs (grains)	New	Tolerated
Doruzed	Magical rods	Middle	Accepted
Elgroth	Timber	New	Discounted
Embian	Winemaking	Middle	Recognized
Eremal	Foodstuffs (fruit)	New	Tolerated
Eshunir	Slave training (high house)	Ancient	Accepted
Flass	Politics and leadership	Middle	Accepted
Focar	Exploration	New	Tolerated
Gallegos	Entertainment & fashion	New	Recognized
Gios	Art	Middle	Tolerated
Givlich	Jewelry (gold, silver, etc.)	Middle	Recognized
Gordesh	Horse breeding & training	Middle	Despised
Govannon	Moneychanging	New	Accepted
Gozal	Winemaking	Middle	Accepted
Halphas	Armor (medium)	Middle	Recognized
Hashtur	Architecture (public)	Ancient	Recognized
Hunosel	Arcane magic (illusion)	Middle	Tolerated
Ilmeth	Perfumes	Ancient	Recognized
Imbros	Magical rings	Ancient	Praised
Indolf	Mining	New	Tolerated
Kallos	Illicit goods	New	Tolerated
Koraz	Magecraft (exotic components)	Middle	Praised
Kos	Fishing	New	Despised
Kren	Timber	New	Accepted
Kul	Shipping, cartography, slave transport	Ancient	Praised
Lasko	Jewelry (gold, silver, etc.)	Middle	Recognized
Lavartya	Foodstuffs (grains)	New	Tolerated
Lectos	Hunting & procurement (exotic beasts)	New	Accepted
Lloros	Potion brewing	Ancient	Praised
Lyundra	Wondrous items	Middle	Legendary
Malaergost	Poisonmaking	Middle	Tolerated
Mediocros	Arcane magic (abjuration)	Middle	Legendary
Metron	Slave acquisition & training (alcohol brewing)	Ancient	Accepted
Mishkov	Hunting & procurement (exotic beasts)	New	Tolerated
Nath	Magical arms & armor	Middle	Recognized
Nirresh	Foodstuffs (fruit)	New	Discounted
Nishka	Moneylending	New	Despised
Nymar	Politics and leadership	Ancient	Praised
Odesseiron	Arcane magic (conjuration)	Middle	Legendary
Omraj	Trapmaking (magical & otherwise)	Ancient	Accepted
Onolath	Poisonmaking	Middle	Tolerated
Parnath	Slave training (pottery)	Ancient	Tolerated
Phan	Slave market	New	Praised
Qarto	Mercenary fighting	New	Tolerated
Quantoul	Magecraft (magical experimentation)	New	Despised
Rhaenys	Mercenary fighting	New	Recognized
Rhym	Arcane magic (transmutation)	Ancient	Legendary
Rothos	Calligraphy & tattoos	Ancient	Accepted
Sashenka	Fur trade	New	Discounted
Savrian	Arcane magic (divination)	Middle	Discounted
Shanived	Mining	New	Recognized
Sun	Musical instruments	Ancient	Tolerated
Svarog	Slave training (leatherworking)	New	Despised
Szordrin	Politics and leadership	Middle	Discounted
Tam	Arcane magic (necromancy)	Ancient	Legendary
Tanzirk	Slave market	New	Accepted
Thal	Landowning	Ancient	Tolerated
Thrul	Arcane magic (evocation)	Middle	Legendary
Thullos	Exploration	New	Recognized
Valgon	Slave training (courtesan) & acquisition	New	Recognized
Vantur	Weapons	New	Tolerated
Vhol	Fishing	New	Tolerated
Vizemod	Magical staffs	Middle	Accepted
Volkos	Diplomacy	New	Recognized
Wenz	Cooking, exotic foods, beer brewing	New	Tolerated
Weslir	Slave training (weaving)	New	Discounted
Xemelenos	Bookbinding & restoration	Ancient	Accepted
Xeraston	Slave acquisition & training (forging)	New	Tolerated
Yaras	Jewelry (gems)	Ancient	Accepted
Yonago	Magecraft (research)	Middle	Recognized
Zalios	Drugs	New	Accepted
Zandranto	Jewelry (gems)	Middle	Recognized
Zolphas	Alchemical items	New	Discounted
Zurn	Slave acquisition (enclaves)	New	Accepted

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