D&D 5E [5e] QL's Al-Qadim Game

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This is an 11th level Al-Qadim game using the D&D 5th edition rules, playtesting high-level material me and a team are working on for the forthcoming Al-Qadim Adventurer's Guide.

Currently we have 6 players, and are full.

My intention for the game is to adapt original material, Object of Desire (Dungeon #50), Blood and Fire (Dungeon #63), the high-level scenarios from ALQ3 A Dozen and One Adventures, and ALQ4 Secrets of the Lamp to run a game from 11th - 16th level (or however high we get). There's a big theme of fighting the Brotherhood of True Flame. As a DM I like to include a well-balanced diversity of challenges, opportunities for exploration, Prince of Persia style traps, plentiful humor, lots of great acting, dark intrigue, even romance if folks want, some moral dilemmas, and lots of scimitar and spell-slinging action.

This is a playtest, so you'll receive playtest documents and I'll periodically ask for your feedback.

[SBLOCK=The Quest]
Something stirs in the High Desert, something wreathed in flames...

Amir Bouladin al-Mutajalli (His Resplendent Magnificence, May the Gods Themselves Speak Highly of Him) rules the Jann of the High Desert, known as the House of Sihr. Though the jann are tempestuous and unwelcoming of trespassers, they trade with other enlightened tribes and have sworn fealty to the Grand Caliph, sending a delegate each year with rare and wondrous tribute. However, this is the third year no such delegate has appeared in the court of the Grand Caliph and word is that caravans are mercilessly being attacks by dark-robed men appearing out of the desert whirlwind.

Concerned that Amir Bouladin may be facing division among the jann sheikhs loyal to him (and what that may presage for the neighboring Qudra and the Pearl Cities), the Grand Caliph orders an expedition led by the PCs to investigate.

Their starting point is Tajar, City of Trade, where they will rendevouz with the brave and wise Sheikh Ali al-Hadd to organize their caravan into the burning sands...


[/SBLOCK]

[SBLOCK=Character Creation & Playtest Info]
Basics:11th level. Feats and multi-classing allowed.
Books: Stick to stuff in the PHB or my playtest materials, definitely no Unearthed Arcana, though I may be willing to allow stuff from Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide or Volo's Guide to Monsters if you have a good idea for integrating it into Al-Qadim.
Ability Scores: Point-buy, array, or rolling 4d6 drop lowest is fine. If you roll, please use Coyote Code or some other service to link your rolls.
Equipment: Normal starting equipment, plus 50,000 gp party pool to draw from (I believe it was only drawn down 2,500 gp already) but need consent of others to use it.
Starting Magic Items: Choose one option:

• Choose 1 rare magic item and 3 uncommon magic items.
• Roll 2 times on Magic Item Table B and 4 times on Magic Item Table A (see playtest docs).

Playtest: I have a bunch of PDFs on GoogleDrive to share with playtesters. There are 5 living/work-in-progress documents: Backgrounds, Character Themes, Magic Items, Spells, and Sub-Classes. Those marked in red are in use by players in our game.

Playtest Backgrounds
• Barber Surgeon
• Beggar (variant)
• Bureaucrat (variant)
• Caravan Driver
• Desert Rider
• Fortune Seeker (variant)
• Genie-Touched
• Pearl Diver
• Tale-spinner (variant)
• Zakharan Merchant (variant)

Playtest Character Themes
Mages: Alsáher, Astrologer, Elementalist, Geomancer, Ghul Lord, Jackal, Mageweaver, Mechanician, Scholarly Mage, Sha’ir, Spellslayer
Priests: Cleric of Order, Hakima, Kahin, Mystic
Scoundrels: Barber, Beggar-Thief, Holy Slayer, Matrud, Merchant-Rogue, Rawun, Sa’luk
Warriors: Askar, Corsair, Desert Rider, Faris, Mamluk, Mercenary Barbarian

Playtest Sub-Classes
• Barbarian: Horse (totem spirit), Path of the Dervish
• Bard: College of the Voice
• Cleric: Mysticism domain, Prosperity domain, Truth domain
• Druid: Circle of Aged Masters
• Fighter: Commander, Guardian, Holy Warrior
• Monk: Mystic of Nog (Way of the Open Hand options)
• Paladin: –
• Ranger: Outrider
• Rogue: Mechanician, Sly Fox, Spellslayer
• Sorcerer: Elementalist, Ghul Lord
• Warlock: Noble Genie
• Wizard: Astrology, Cabalistic Magic, Ceremonial Magic, Geomancy, Spell Weaving[/SBLOCK]

[sblock=Setting Map, Large][/SBLOCK]

The Current Party

[MENTION=6814006]Thateous[/MENTION] Vizier Akilah the Hakima ♀ half-elf / noble / cleric (truth*) 11 / LG
[MENTION=4936]Shayuri[/MENTION] Ankabut the Holy Slayer♀ human / urchin / monk (way of shadows) 8, rogue (assassin) 3 / N
[MENTION=6803188]VLAD the Destroyer[/MENTION] Salahuddin ibn Hamid al-Qadib the Sha'ir♂ human / genie-touched* / warlock (noble genie*) 11 / CG
[MENTION=23]Ancalagon[/MENTION] Lal Qalandar the Mystic ♂ human / hermit / barbarian (dervish*) 11 / CG
[MENTION=6855204]tglassy[/MENTION] Harun the Sa'luk ♂ water genasi / desert rider* (with flippant charm*) / rogue (mechanician*) 11 / CG
[MENTION=20005]Matthan[/MENTION] Husam ibn Khalid the Guardsman ♂ half-orc / soldier / fighter (guardian*) 11 / LG
[SBLOCK=Retired PCs]
[MENTION=6855130]Jago[/MENTION] Kaniel ibn Faruq al-Masafir ♂ half-orc / al-Badia mamluk of the Valiant* / barbarian (dervish*) 11 / CG
[MENTION=6866331]Foxbytes[/MENTION] Najiyah Amahhum ♀ human / genie-touched* / sorcerer (elementalist*) 11 / CG[/SBLOCK]

Here's a recap of the story thus far, courtesy of [MENTION=6855130]Jago[/MENTION]...

[SBLOCK]- We met, nearly fought, but then (kinda) befriended 2 Sea Mages, a Brother and Sister, who were intent on killing Najiyah because they believed her connected with the Brotherhood of True Flame, and assumed she was poisoning the Sheikh against their people (who are also being hunted and killed). We instead got them an audience in front of Sheikh Ali al-Hadd of Tajar, whom was not entirely too thrilled that we did so because it may show a favoritism that he didn't want to convey (as one of his advisors, if I recall, calls these sea mages little more than corsairs who plunder their trade ... something about the daughter of another noble, I think?)

- We learned about the Brotherhood of True Flame and how they've been raiding caravans in the desert. Kaniel has reason to suspect that they may be connected to his own past at the Desert Mosque. We are unsure on the details.

- The Promise and Akilah (sp) had encountered a group of ruffians within the city before The Crash, but I'm not entirely sure where that was going ..?

- Kaniel and Najiyah were speaking to the Sea Mages to try and get more information out of them, see what their goals were and what they knew of this corsair and the Brotherhood.

- We were planning our caravan into the desert. The music was primed to swell, Peter O'Toole was there, it was pretty great.[/SBLOCK]

What system is this using? Which edition?

Shayuri said:

What system is this using? Which edition?

Click to expand...

5th edition. I tagged it in the subject line.

Ah, yes. I thought maybe you meant, uh...shadowrun?

(>_<)

Sorry, I was thrown by some of the class options that I didn't recognize. Is there a specific book or reference you guys are using to get the flavor?

I assume we will re-roll stats? Was it the usual 4d6 drop lowest?

Sent from my SM-G935P using Tapatalk

Quickleaf has a Playtest Document that we're working from: many of the new class options come from that, like my Barbarian Dervish and Najiyah's Elementalist Sorceress. We're all taking an option or two from these to test them out to see how they feel, many of them drawn from past Al-Qadim iterations or just the Scimitars and Sorcery feel of Arabian adventures.

Ah, I see! Should I wait for that document to be available to me, I wonder? I could probably get something reasonable with reflavored core rules...perhaps a smattering of Elemental Evil or similar...

So, to grotesquely oversimplify, we have a tanky melee guy, an elemental caster, a cleric and a druid with a little multiclassing.

Caster is a sorceror, so may also be a face, but probably hasn't got a lot of utility magic.

So perhaps a wizardly caster for other types of magic...or perhaps another frontliner? Or an eldritch knight or bladesinger for a mix?

Hmmm!

Shayuri said:

Ah, yes. I thought maybe you meant, uh...shadowrun?

(>_<)

Sorry, I was thrown by some of the class options that I didn't recognize. Is there a specific book or reference you guys are using to get the flavor?

Click to expand...

I'll PM you the GoogleDrive links

Thateous said:

I assume we will re-roll stats? Was it the usual 4d6 drop lowest?

Sent from my SM-G935P using Tapatalk

Click to expand...

Only if you want to. You guys with finished characters like Vizier Akilah (if you're choosing to play her) don't need to re-roll. Though I only have PDF backups of Kaniel, Najiyah, and Barack.

Assuming we still have our char sheets, will rerolls be a requirement?

Edit: nevermind, quickleaf already answered

I still have my character sheet and I believe Najiyah has hers as well, nothing's changed from that.

And yes, our Sorceress and ... well, actually, a lot of the PCs are talkers. Even I rock some Persuasion. We're a chatty group.