[EdinSumar]

Hey there. I've decided to write up a bit about the culture of the mulan people, who have their origin as slaves from another world brought to Faerun by the Imaskar Empire and are the people that makes up a minority in Chessenta and a majority of Mulhorandi, Unther and the ruling class of Thay (unlike rashemi, who make up the majority of the country Thay, but mostly middle or high-middle class). Most of what you will read here is specific to Thayan mulans, rather than mulans as a whole (of whom there are far more of in Mulhorandi and Unther than in Thay).

First things first, one of the most distinguished things about mulans, and especially Thayan mulans is their relationship with hair, of all things. It is common knowledge that most Red Wizards prefer to cut off all of their hair, sometimes even eyebrows, and that this style is emulated by many Thayan nobles as well as well-to-do middle class individuals, even rashemi. It is likewise well known that slaves are not allowed to cut their hair at all, which is why you can often know slaves from freemen by the long, dirty hair that they wear on their heads. This is due to the fact that in mulan culture, long hair equals barbarism (which has a counterpart in the real world, especially during much of the ancient age), and short hair therefore is a symbol of civilization and often seen as a thing of beauty. There is also a practical reason behind it, long hair is impractical in the Thayan climate, being very hot, and it makes it easy to distinguish freeman from slave at a glance.

Mulan are favored by the system in Thay, in many things. It is much easier to be a Thayan mulan than it is to be a Thayan nonhuman, or even a Thayan non-mulan human. The social ladder (aside from military rank, bureaucratic rank and all such things) usually go: mulan > other human > nonhuman > all slaves (at times being a free nonhuman can be just as bad as being a slave, though). If you are a Thayan-born mulan you are guaranteed to have a much easier life than most would have in Thay, and though the country is still a horrible place to live for all those not amidst the top, the chance for you being amidst the top is much greater than in any other situation. Officially, only mulan can ever become Red Wizards, most Red Wizards are mulan children from noble families trained from childhood, but some (such as most of the players) will have been made apprentices without having been trained from childhood. Of course, at times there have been non-mulan Red Wizards, but those are the big exception rather than the rule, and it is not something a great deal of the more conservative Red Wizards or even normal Thayans appreciate.

The mulan people are notoriously fond of slavery, it has a very important place in the organization of their nations. Unther, Mulhorandi and Thay are all slave nations, and it could be argued that without slavery the economy would not function. This ties in well with the general mulan cultural perception on the world and their place in it, that the gods and fortune itself favors not the soft, merciful or just, but the ruthless, powerful and decisive. Mulhorandi mulan as well as many mulan minorities in other countries primarily worship the Mulhorandi pantheon, who originally freed the people from the yoke of the Imaskar Empire. Untheric mulan worship the Untheric pantheon, or did before its destruction, owing now aligience mostly to Tiamat, the surviving member of the pantheon. The Thayan mulan shun the Mulhorandi pantheon, mostly because the country itself is very much opposed to Mulhorandi. Thayans have taken up worship of the Firelord Kossuth as their main national deity, and many Thayans, especially many Red Wizards, pay him some heed. It is naturally assumed that if no one else catches the attention of a Thayan during his or her lifetime, Kossuth will be his or her patron deity and end up with his or her soul, which is not the worst that can happen, seeing that Kossuth is not cruel, but mostly uncaring.

More to be added whenever there is more to add. Updates will be noted.

[The Philosopher]

I do believe adding some extra source material text will do wonders for corroborating this.

Human, Mulan

Regions: Chessenta, Chondalwood, Mulhorand, Thay, Unther.

Since the fall of ancient Imaskar, the Mulan have dominated the
eastern shores of the Sea of Fallen Stars. Led by two pantheons
of deities, the ancient Mulan empires of Mulhorand and Unther
conquered at various times Ashanath, Chessenta, the Eastern
Shaar, Murghôm, Rashemen, Semphar, Thay, Thesk, and the
Wizards’ Reach cities that lie south of the Yuirwood. In their
wake, these empires have left ruling elites composed almost
exclusively of Mulan. After millennia of rulership, the Mulan
have become arrogant, highly resistant to change, and wholly
convinced of their cultural superiority.
The Mulan are firmly wedded to the use of magic, with the
only major point of disagreement being whether to pursue the
arcane or divine tradition. For many generations the god-kings,
powerful avatars of the Mulhorandi and Untheric deities long
resident on Toril, ruled both empires as incarnate gods. The somnolent
rule of the god-kings permitted the development of a
powerful priest class in Mulan cultures that has long struggled
with practitioners of arcane spellcasting for power. Their heavyhanded
clerical rule prompted repeated rebellions by wizards and
sorcerers, leading to the dominance of Thay by Red Wizards of
Mulan descent.
Mulan are generally tall, slim, and sallow-skinned with eyes
of hazel or brown. They lack much body hair, and many, including
all nobles, shave any hair that they do have. Hair color on
an unshaved Mulan ranges from black to dark brown. The lower
classes of Thay, Mulhorand, and Unther often have significant
Rashemi or Turami blood, leading to darker complexions. The
folk of Chessenta have long mixed with the nearby Chondathans,
and pure Mulan features are rare there.
The Mulan have a long and proud history, viewing both their
society and their culture as eternal. Rapid change is regarded
with suspicion, and the arcane arts either warmly embraced
(Thay) or viewed with deep distrust (Mulhorand and Unther).
Mulan believe themselves to be more civilized, more prosperous,
more creative, more powerful (should they choose to be), and in
all other ways superior to all other ethnic groups. Even in the
face of evidence to the contrary, Mulan are dismissive of other
cultures’ accomplishments and openly arrogant with respect to
their own.
The history of the Mulan is largely the history of Mulhorand,
Unther, Chessenta, and Thay, as detailed in the FORGOTTEN
REALMS Campaign Setting.

Outlook

The Mulan believe in order and discipline and are strongly
resistant to change, the legacy of millennia of undying rule by
the god-kings of Unther and Mulhorand. They haughtily believe
that they are either the chosen of the gods (in Mulhorand,
Unther, and Chessenta) or above the gods (in Thay) and hold
their culture above all others. Unlike most other human cultures,
the Mulan believe they dwell in an earthly paradise, where
stability and security shall reign for all eternity. The afterlife is
merely a mirror of the mortal realm. In Thay, such beliefs have
been twisted to regard undeath as the mirror of life, while in
Unther the centuries-long tyranny of Gilgeam made a horror of
both this world and the next. Mulan are indoctrinated from a
young age to revere their cultural traditions, to respect the law,
and to honor the servants of the gods (or the Red Wizards, in
the case of Thay).
Although not drawn to adventuring, Mulan seen outside their
traditional homelands are usually adventurers of one sort or
another. Some have fled enslavement or been driven into exile
due to differences with the local authorities, whether they be
mercenary lords in Chessenta, cultists of Tiamat in the remnants
of Unther, bureaucratic priests in Mulhorand, or autocratic
Red Wizards in Thay. Others are sent abroad as agents of
one of the Mulan realms, serving as representatives of a Thayan
enclave, tracking down relics plundered from a Mulhorandi
tomb, fighting in a Chessentan mercenary company, or spying
on those who have designs on Unther’s carcass.

MULAN CHARACTERS

Mulan typically make good fighters, whether trained in the
mercenary armies of Chessenta, the church armies of Unther
and Mulhorand, or the wizard-led armies of Thay. The road to
power in Mulhorand and, until recently, Unther lies in the
various priesthoods. As a result, many Mulan in those realms
are clerics of one of the Mulhorandi gods, Hoar, or Tiamat.
Chessenta has its fair share of clerics as well, many of whom
serve various Faerûnian deities, but only the churches of Kossuth
and several evil Faerûnian deities are strong in wizarddominated
Thay.
In Mulhorand, good-aligned deities with strong martial traditions
employ many paladins in their service. Wizards and
clerics are well established in Chessenta, Mulhorand, Thay, and
Unther, although their efforts are much restricted in Mulhorand
by the bureaucracy of priests. Bardcraft, brought back by
Chessentan mercenaries from western Faerûn, is held in high
esteem in Chessenta but is otherwise almost unknown in lands
dominated by the Mulan. Monks are found in large numbers
only in Mulhorand, where most orders are integrated into the
church of Thoth. Rogues are common in the teeming cities of
Mulhorand and Unther, where priests are more corrupt than
pious. Mulan are almost never barbarians or druids, as they have
always lived in cultures established by the god-kings and their
clerics. Likewise, Mulan rarely find their calling as rangers, for
the Mulan dwell in long-settled lands with few forests or other
areas of wilderness.
Prestige Classes: Many Mulan take up the divine prestige
classes of arcane devotee, divine champion, divine disciple, and
divine seeker. Assassins and blackguards devoted to evil deities
are not unknown in Mulan societies and are especially prevalent
in Thay and Unther. In Thay, almost all Mulan wizards
of sufficient skill eventually choose to join the ranks of the
Red Wizards.

Mulan Society

Despite the fragmentation of the Old Empires of Mulhorand
and Unther, the Mulan have changed little despite the passage
of centuries. Strict class divisions segregate Mulan society into
the nobility (including all clerics and arcane spellcasters), the
commoners (farmers, merchants, and skilled craftsmen), and
slaves (everyone else). Although upward and downward mobility
is possible in Mulan society, primarily by joining the clergy or
studying the Art, the Mulan discriminate against most other
human ethnic groups and races and preserve strictly defined
class roles.
Despite the centuries-long presence of the god-kings, the
Mulan are not particularly reverent, nor are they overly interested
in commerce. The Mulan aspire to power, preferably
backed by magic, and engage in endless intrigues to accumulate
personal power no matter what the cost to the ideals to which
they nominally ascribe.
Mulan place great stock in education, and all members of the
nobility and middle class receive some amount of instruction as
a child. Many youths are apprenticed to a powerful wizard
(Thay) or join the church of one of the god-kings (Mulhorand
and Unther) at a young age and are raised apart from their families.
As adults, the Mulan are expected to serve their role in
society and not make waves. Death is a lifelong obsession for
most Mulan, who spend their entire lives preparing themselves
for the afterlife. The Mulhorandi epitomize this obsession, planning
every detail of their journey into the afterlife.
Outside Mulan-dominated lands, Mulan keep to themselves,
forming isolated enclaves apart from the local society. Thayan
enclaves are simply the latest such example of the Mulan holding
themselves apart from and above other races and human
ethnic groups when dwelling in foreign lands. Of necessity, some
cross-pollination of cultures does occur through trade contact
with neighbors, but expatriate Mulan prefer to limit such contacts
whenever possible. Mulan from the Old Empires almost
never venerate deities other than their homeland’s pantheon,
and most Thayans can hardly be bothered with any gods. Few
Mulan see the point of any languages other than the local
dialect of the Common tongue.

Language and Literacy

Depending on their homeland, Mulan speak one of the various
tongues of the Rauric language family—all derived, at least in
part, from the slave argot of ancient Imaskar. The language of
Unther is Untheric, while the language of Mulhorand,
Murghôm, Semphar, and Thay is Mulhorandi. Untheric
employs Dethek runes for its alphabet, suggesting a strong tie
between the gold dwarves of the Great Rift and the early inhabitants
of Unther. Mulhorandi is rendered in the Celestial alphabet,
first introduced by a manifestation of Thoth.
In Chessenta and the Wizards’ Reach, Chessentan, a tongue
closely related to Untheric with strong Chondathan
and Shaaran influences, has largely supplanted
Untheric. The folk of Chessenta have long
used the Thorass alphabet in addition to
Dethek runes, and Chessentan is almost
exclusively written using Thorass characters.
Both Thay and the cult of Set render
Mulhorandi in the Infernal alphabet, consciously
repudiating the rule of the current god-kings.
Common is less frequently spoken in Mulandominated
lands than elsewhere in Faerûn, but it
still widely known nonetheless. Mulan who learn
second tongues often choose one of the other
Rauric languages mentioned above, Aglarondan (among the
cities of the Wizards’ Reach), Chondathan (Chessenta), Durpari
(southern Mulhorand), Rashemi (Thay and the Wizards’
Reach), Shaaran (southern Unther), Shou (Semphar), and
Turmic (Chessenta and Mulhorand).
All Mulan are literate except for barbarians (very rare among
this ancient race), commoners, and warriors.

Mulan Magic and Lore

To the Mulan, magic is a tool for intrigue. Divination and illusion
magic are particularly valued, for they facilitate the subtle
plots that Mulan spellcasters employ.

SPELLS AND SPELLCASTING

The Mulan have strong traditions in both arcane and divine
spellcasting, the former a legacy of ancient Imaskar and the
latter the result of the millennia-long residence of the god-kings
among them. These two spellcasting traditions have long been at
odds with one another, manifested most clearly in the separation
of Thay from Mulhorand.
In Thay, nearly all arcane spellcasters aspire to join the ranks
of the Red Wizards, where specialization in a school of magic is
taken to an extreme not seen elsewhere in Faerûn. Of those spellcasters
who are of lower rank, wizards outnumber sorcerers, and
bards are almost unknown. In Mulhorand and Unther, where the
practice of arcane magic is much restricted, most spellcasters are
clerics of one of the many Mulhorandi god-kings. Paladins are
found in greater numbers than in other cultures, but rangers and
druids are all but unknown. In Chessenta, bards outnumber other
practitioners of the Art, and clerics of both the Faerûnian and
Mulhorandi pantheons are common as well.
Spellcasting Traditions: Mulan favor spells that ensure personal
defense and enable one to learn a deity’s will. Combat spells,
particularly those of an elemental nature, are also common. In
Thay, arcane spells of elemental fire are much preferred. In Mulhorand,
Murghôm, and Unther, spells that safeguard tombs of
the dead or inflict curses upon the living are much favored. Commonly
known examples include augury, bestow curse, commune,
fireball, glyph of warding, and symbol.
With their history of god-kings and powerful magic, Mulan
spellcasters cast spells somewhat differently than their counterparts
elsewhere on Faerûn. Those with the Southern Magician
feat (see the appendix) are able to occasionally cast arcane spells
as divine spells, or vice versa.

Unique Spells: Although Mulan spellcasters have created
large numbers of spells, both arcane and divine, various cultural
influences have combined to ensure that few are widely known.
The priesthood of Thoth has long striven to keep arcane Mulhorandi
secrets hidden from the outside world. Infighting
between individuals as well as the various schools of
magic in Thay has kept most Red Wizard spells
from becoming widely known, even among their
fellows. In Unther, the now-dead god Gilgeam kept
very tight wraps on all new spells, seeing them as a
threat to his continued rule.

MULAN MAGIC ITEMS

The Mulan have traditionally discouraged
the creation of arcane magic items, in large part
for the same reason that the study of the Art has been discouraged—
to preserve the power of the priests. While such cultural
discouragement of magic item creation continues to hold true in
Mulhorand and, to a lesser extent, Unther and Chessenta, it has
been wholeheartedly rejected by Thayan Mulan. As indicated by
the burgeoning number of Thayan enclaves scattered across
Faerûn, the Red Wizards are responsible for a large fraction of
the widely known types of magic items in use in Faerûn today.
The Red Wizards have created many unique magic items as well,
but they jealously hold such secrets for themselves.
Various magical staffs are quite common as well, as the
quarterstaff is the original symbol of authority in the lands of
the god-kings. Khopeshes, scimitars, and swords are commonly
crafted with brilliant energy, ghost touch, holy, throwing,
thundering, wounding, and unholy special abilities. Whips are
often given the wounding special ability. Quarterstaffs typically
receive disruption and holy special abilities. Armor is typically
crafted with cooling, fire resistance, or lightning resistance special
abilities.

Common Magic Items: Incense of meditation, necklaces of
prayer beads, oil of timelessness, phylacteries of faithfulness,
scarabs of protection, rods of rulership, staffs of healing, and
vestments of faith. The numerous priests in Mulan lands produce
enough of these items that they may be purchased at a
10% discount in any large city in Mulhorand or Unther (due
to the Thayan rejection of religion, this discount does not apply
in Thay).

Iconic Magic Items: Among the more powerful magic items in
many a Mulan spellcaster’s arsenal is the ankh of ascension (see
the appendix), which makes all her spells function better.

Mulan Deities

The Mulan are the last major human ethnic group to venerate
a pantheon of deities other than the dominant Faerûnian pantheon.
Until the Time of Troubles, the Mulan of Mulhorand,
Murghôm, and Semphar venerated the Mulhorandi pantheon,
while Unther, Threskel, and parts of Chessenta venerated the
Untheric pantheon. Following the deaths of Gilgeam and
Ramman during the Avatar Crisis, the Untheric pantheon effectively
vanished, its last members (Tiamat and Assuran) absorbed
into the Faerûnian pantheon. The Mulhorandi pantheon finally
awoke to its own dire position. Today, the Mulan of Mulhorand,
Murghôm, Semphar, and Unther venerate the Mulhorandi pantheon,
while those who dwell in Chessenta, the Wizards’ Reach,
and Thay largely venerate the Faerûnian pantheon.
Assuran, the Lord of Three Thunders, is known as Hoar in
other lands. He is a deity of justice and vengeance, venerated by
Mulan of Unther and Chessenta, although his cult is strongest
in the cities of Akanax and Mourktar. Hoar’s church has
declined in influence in Unther as Anhur’s has grown, but it
remains strong in Chessenta where Hoar, in his guise as Assuran,
is venerated as a god of storms and regarded as one of the celestial
patrons of the country.
Horus-Re, the Lord of the Sun, is worshiped primarily by
Mulhorandi who govern and administer. Although his faith is
strongest in Mulhorand, his church has attracted an increasing
number of adherents from the ranks of the fallen Untheric god
Gilgeam who have renounced their formerly wicked ways. Clerics
of Horus-Re rule vast estates in the name of their deity, and
control an immense amount of wealth and power in Mulhorand.
Women in Mulhorand and Unther have long worshiped Isis, the
Bountiful Lady, known as Ishtar in Unther. She has a very
strong following among good-aligned arcane spellcasters.
Before his death the Untheric god Gilgeam blamed Tiamat
for all Unther’s ills, driving many Untherites who opposed his
harsh rule into her embrace. The Dragon Queen earned her
moniker as Nemesis of the Gods when she slew the Supreme
Ruler of Unther during the Time of Troubles, an act of liberation
that has earned her church large numbers of adherents,
even among nonevil Mulan. In neighboring Chessenta, Tiamat
has many followers as well, for there she is known as Tchazzar,
the red dragon Father of Chessenta. In time, her church is likely
to contract when Tiamat’s true nature is finally revealed.

Relations with Other Races

The Mulan view members of other human ethnic groups with
disdain. The Turami minorities of Mulhorand, Unther, Threskel,
and Chessenta are generally tolerated, (except in Unther, where
they are almost universally despised), but they are always considered
members of the lower class. North of the Wizards’
Reach, the Rashemi form the bulk of the lower class of Thay.
The Red Wizards nominally restrict their ranks to Mulan wizards
and sorcerers, but many look the other way if they find a
Rashemi spellcaster skilled in the Art and willing to pretend to
be a Mulan, although powerful Rashemi wizards can dispense
with the charade.
The Mulan get along with the gold dwarves of the Great Rift,
thanks to centuries of trade, and are inclined to view all the
Stout Folk in similar light, although arctic dwarves and wild
dwarves might prove an exception. Rock gnomes are largely
unknown, so the Mulan view them as little dwarves. Halflings
are similarly rare, as the largest nearby concentration of the hin
lies in far-off Luiren, and are generally treated much like
dwarves as well. Elves and half-elves are almost unknown to the
Mulan and the subject of great superstition, stemming in large
part from the frustrations Unther’s armies experienced long ago
while attempting to subjugate the Yuirwood. In Mulhorand and
Unther, the Fair Folk are seen as wizards by the bureaucracy of
priests, and thus are regarded with the same combination of fear
and loathing as Red Wizards of Thay.
The Mulan despise half-orcs, a legacy of the Orcgate Wars
handed down for centuries. Western Chessenta is a notable
exception, particularly in the city of Airspur, where half-orcs
are tolerated. Of the nonhuman civilized races, planetouched,
particularly aasimar, are the only race looked up to by the
Mulan. After millennia of intimate involvement with the godkings,
aasimar of Mulan descent are seen as descendants of the
gods and thus worthy of great respect. Tieflings engender fear
rather than reverence, for they are seen as the spawn of Set
and Sebek. Genasai are scarce, although fire genasi of Mulan
descent are treated as full-blooded Mulan in Thay and welcomed
into the School of Evocation.

Mulan Equipment

Mulan favor simple, unadorned clothing, such as white tunics,
black headdresses, belts, and sandals. In colder climes, more colorful
garments may be worn, but the fashion is for clothing to
remain plain, a tradition originally begun so as not to challenge
the majesty of the god-kings. Tattoos are the most common
form of adornment, often depicting stylized representations of
various beasts and monsters, cryptic runes, and abstract designs.

ARMS AND ARMOR

In ages past, Mulan employed bronze weapons, typically
khopeshes or scimitars, and many relics fashioned of bronze are
still in use today as ceremonial attire or because they bear powerful
magic. Modern-day Mulan favor steel swords, introduced
after the gold dwarves passed on the secret of forging steel, and
composite bows, which were used to great effect during the Orcgate
Wars. Most other weapons employed in western Faerûn,
with the exception of longspears and other polearms, are
employed to varying degrees by the Mulan as well. Quarterstaffs
are favored in Mulhorand, particularly by clerics, and whips are
the weapon of choice of many Red Wizards. The armor of choice
of most Mulan is scale mail, although they have adopted chainmail
and breastplates in recent centuries. Heavy armor is almost
unknown, possessed only by the greatest warriors.

Common Items: Scale mail, banded mail, scimitar, khopesh,
light mace, heavy mace, shortspear, composite longbow.

ANIMALS AND PETS

In lands ruled by the god-kings, the Mulan revere felines as
divine agents, reflecting the lingering influence of the Cult of
Bast centuries after that minor Mulhorandi goddess evolved into
Sharess. Horses are highly prized in greater Mulhorand, particularly
in Murghôm and Semphar. Perhaps because of its large population
of centaurs, Thay is not particularly known for its horses.
Instead, black unicorns form the heart of Thayan cavalry
squadrons. In Thay, arcane spellcasters of Mulan descent employ
imps, quasits, shocker lizards, stirges, tiny snakes, and toads as
familiars. Members of the Order of the Magi in Mulhorand
prefer animals associated with their patron deity, particularly
hawks and ibises.

Source: Races of Faerûn