[LORE/SETTING] Which nation/region would be the most accurate pastiche of Thay?

[Arkhios]

What it says in the tin.

It's been a while and I feel I'm getting a bit rusty on my Golarion Mastery since I found it difficult to deduce the most appropriate pastiche for Faerûn's Thay.

First I came to think of Cheliax, but I quickly hesitated, and began to wonder if it really is, after all.

I trust there's someone in here, more up-to-date with Golarion. At least more than I feel to be.

[Psyren]

I don't think there's a straightforward one-for-one match to it, but I would think of Varisia or Nex before I thought of Cheliax personally.

[Florian]

Hm, hard question. I don't think there is an exact match, so it depends on your priorities.

Varisia has this whole Runelords thing going, which is even slightly better executed than the Red Wizards, but you'd have to pilfer from Adventure Paths, especially Return of the Runelords to update Varisia accordingly. The bright point is that it basically also includes Rashemen.

Nex is a magocracy, but I don't think the Arclords have the same vibe as the Red Wizards.

Cheliax is your typical evil empire and would need the least work.

Personally, I'd go with the Runelords stuff.