Beware! This review contains spoilers.
This is not a playtest review.
Endless Sands is a sourcebook from Avalanche Press on a fictional Arabian-style campaign setting based on a mix of ancient Morocco, Persia, and Antioch.
Endless Sands is a softcover mono 64-page book coming in at $16.95. Font size and margins ae both good. There is some white space here and there, particularly in the sidebars - some of which are skewed and accentuate this aspect further. As usual, the front cover's art quality is good and its subject matter questionable. The back cover has an interesting picture of a winged feline in a moonlit window. The internal mono art is stylised and forgettable. The single mono map lacks scale and compass direction, and is strangely placed in the centre of the book, well away from the introductory discussion of the geography of the Endless Sands where it might be more useful. The writing style is engaging and interesting, whilst editing is on the whole also fairly good.
The introduction to Endless Sands introduces us to a dark Arabian Nights-style setting - the deserts are plagued with monsters, the land harbours dark sorcerers, whilst secret organisations plot betrayal of warrior-kings. We are given an overview of the geography of the Endless Sands, and there is a sidebar discussing altitude sickness in the high mountains, heat exhaustion, heatstroke, and prickly heat. The political set-up is essentially four cities surrounding an inland sea at the centre of a large desert framed by mountains and the sea to the north (well, I presume the north).
Part 1: Al-Maghrebia, discusses the nation formed from the four cities surrounding the inland sea. The section looks at the history and government of the region (it is ruled by a Grand Sultan), with a sidebar giving a brief rundown on population, economics, geography, and religion. It goes on to discuss in more detail the four cities:
* Quehabat - filled with colour, noise, and flowing architecture, Quehabat is the capital of Al-Maghrebia. The section provides a textual overview of the city features including the khasbah (fortress), mosque (temple), grand bazaar (marketplace), and the palace of the Grand Sultan. There is also a sidebar introducing the Jewel Of The Conqueror, a magical sapphire worshipped by djinns.
* Ma-Hallam - a city built by sorcery, home of many Djinn, Ma-Hallam is famous for its massive and opulent bath-house. Indeed, there is a sidebar discussing hammams (bath-houses) in general. Other topics covered include the libraries of Ma-Hallam, the ancient temple to the sun god, and the tombs of dead Djinn.
* Yedja-Alit - set on a very defensible promontory into the Inner Sea, Yedja-Alit is a port of free trade, rampant smuggling and overt drug use. A sidebar discusses the drug Mahjoun and its effects. Yedja-Alit is an unhealthy place to live because of its poor water source, and several diseases including typhoid and hepatitis are discussed and given game mechanics.
* Diralé - the smallest of the four cities, much of it ruined by in-fighting and war. It is infamous for its thieves guild, the Seraphine. Other features of the city include a haunted cemetery, a massive water clock, and the palace. There is also a short sidebar detailing the monetary system (the dirham (equivalent to 1 gp) is minted in the city).
The social hierarchy of Al-Maghrebia is also covered and includes a discussion of the roles of the lowest classes of beggars, assassins, and thieves, mystical classes such as dervishes, fakirs, and perfection-seeking sufi, the immortal magical races of the Djinn and Jann, entertainers, eunuchs (who generally guard harems) and ghulams (mercenary guards), ghazis (religious warriors), priests, merchants, nobles and sultans, nomads, and viziers (magicians and alchemists). There is also a discussion of the role of women in Al-Maghrebia, including those who seek a somewhat less secure life by disguising themselves as a man to wander the world.
Part 2: The Deep Sands, begins with a look at the nomadic Badiya who live in tents and raise camels in the depths of the deserts that surround Al-Maghrebia. The section looks at the nomadic tribes' trading and raiding practices, their social hierarchy, and their clothing. The chapter also takes a look at the history of the lost city of Urud, buried beneath the sands by the gods. Also covered are a couple of large oases in the desert and the ruins of a massive sunken tower. The chapter ends with a discussion of group of holy men, the Badoul, and the elite Fuqara - shamans with supernatural powers.
Part 3: Religion And Faith, covers the two opposing faiths of the Endless Sands - the pantheon of the old religion headed by a sun god, and the new monotheistic religion of Ja'Ilam. A section on the old religion covers the deities of the sun god, Ahuramazda and his wife Fatima, and their four children, as well as a discussion of the monsters created by Fatima when she tried to cure her original infertility through a powerful magical ritual. A sidebar gives domains and favopred weapons for these gods. There is also a sidebar on a strange pacifying wine made from the desert plant, Obatu. The new religion of Ja'Ilam is also discussed, and includes information on festivals and holy days, clerics of Ja'Ilam, and the fanatical warriors known as Ghazis, as well as the insane bakaghazis.
Part 4: Characters, offers three prestige classes:
* Bedoul - a shaman with class features such as domains, augury, luck rolls, improved diplomacy, and the ability to burn hit points to cast extra spells.
* Ghazi - fervent religious warrior who has improved defensive abilities and the ability to sacrifice hit points to gain an attack bonus.
* Vizier Of The Four - elemental arcane spellcaster with the ability to turn udead at higher levels, and the ability to summon celestial elementals.
Seven new feats are also offered such as Haggle, Chariot Mastery, and Dervish Attack. There is also a table of names for males and females in the cities, and tribal names for the nomads.
Part 5: Monsters And Magic, offers 10 new monsters for the setting including magical watchdogs, flying felines, large magical jackals, celestial elementals, and sand giants. The section then gives stats and information on the Djinn, which is presented as a template of a medium outsider. Four sub-types - Jann, Ifrit, Ba-jehn, and Yemman, are also detailed, with minor additions or changes to the base Djinn template. There is also a Half-Djinn template. One domain (Desert) and five new spells (blood to sand, fury of Ahuramazda (giant sandstorm), helm of the dead (use of a spirit as a shield), spiritual shield (force shield), and sandwyrm (a hot sand serpent used as a missile) are also offered. The chapter ends with seven magic items for Endless Sands campaigns, including the famous flying carpet, a scimitar of flame, and more detail on the Jewel of the Conqueror, a powerful artifact introduced in an earlier chapter.
Part 6: The Campaign, details a cult that worships one of the old gods, Fatima, who take on monstrous abilities. The chapter and book end with ten short adventure ideas, all linked to information presented within the book - from being set upon by assassins of the Seraphine to getting involved in a Jihad by worshippers of Ja'Ilam against those of the old religion.
Conclusion:
There is a real feeling of authenticity running through this book, despite the culture and land being patched together from various cultures. The book has managed to capture the archetypes that fill one's head when thinking of Arabian adventures, without falling into the trap of mediocrity. Culture, geography, class, religion, magic, and politics are given enough of an overview for a GM to extrapolate from. Whats missing in the book is individulaised detail. There are no example NPCs in the book, and limited exploration of the religious tension and political manoeuvring in real terms - i.e there is discussion of these factors but little in the way of individual examples. This leaves one with the feeling of a little too much generalisation, but this does not really spoil the book, as these issues can be developed by the GM to suit her own campaign or adventures (however, the sub-title 'Arabian Adventures' may be a little misleading as there are no actual adventures within its pages). What there is, is the background to develop your own adventures and it is a campaign setting ripe with ideas and gaming opportunities.
A check of some of the statistics and mechanics picked up some weaknesses and minor errors - the haggle feat seems like more of a new use for an old skill (I already employ a Diplomacy check for haggling in my games as standard), for example. Some of the prestige class features may need full playtesting before unleashing them on your players. But d20 faults seem less glaring than some other Avalanche releases.
Overall, a fascinating and entertaining book giving an archetypal fantasy campaign setting for arabian adventuring, just lacking a bit of micro detail and perhaps a fully fleshed out short adventure.
