D&D 5E [5e] QL's Al-Qadim Game

[Shayuri]

I was also not familiar with the setting, but don't let that intimidate you...it's surprisingly easy to grasp once you're into it, I've found.

 

[tglassy]

Good to know!

 

[Quickleaf]

I've always been in love with the idea of Al-Qadim since I played the old computer game when I was a kid. I've never gotten a chance to play in it or really read much about it. I would love to throw my hat in the ring, but I would probably want to play something for the playtest. Is there a link to that content that I'm missing?

The Genie's Curse, right? I think I played that as a kid. There's no public link, but I will PM you the playtest docs. Been traveling this week so a bit behind on posting.

Wow, a high level game. I haven't gotten to play one of those yet. Could I play? I'd have to think of a character, and read up on your first post to know what's going on, but I've been dying to see what high level gameplay is like and this looks like a good chance to do that. I've never played higher than level 6.

Yeah, there's room, you're welcome to join in. I agree that opportunities to play high level can be few and far between.

Gonna go out on a limb and guess that the new Mystic class isn't allowed? I've been using that in every game anyone will let me, but understandable if it's not.

If not, I'm kind of thinking either Bard, Wizard or both. I'd need to see your playtest material, but I've always loved Bards for some reason and haven't had a chance to really play one in a long time.

Edit: I've been reading through it, and it is very lore heavy, which is something I like. I am not as familiar with this setting, though I have a knack for learning settings, I just need to do some research, which is something I am happy to do. I love research. I've been wanting to do more middle eastern types of settings, and I think this would be perfect for that.

Normally I'd be fine with homebrew/UA content, but since this is a more focused playtest, I'm requiring we stick to the PHB or else our Al-Qadim playtest documents. So no mystic.

There's definitely a new bard subclasses and a couple new arcane traditions in the playtest doc. I'll PM you the links.

I'm very familiar with the setting and I'm pretty adept at not going overboard with jargon or unfamiliar political structures / religious ideas – I'm more of a "show, don't tell" sort of DM anyhow.

 

[tglassy]

I'm looking over magical items now. I was really tempted to go with the Amulet of Health, Gauntlets of Ogre Power and Headband of Intellect to get a 19 in str, con and Int, lol. But in the end, there's so much utility that can come from the various magical items that I felt that would be almost a waste.

 

[Matthan]

I want to run something from the play test materials so I'm going to wait and let inspiration hit me when I read that.

 

[tglassy]

Definitely going with Bard. I've picked two of my uncommon items: Hat of Disguise and Ring of Mind Shielding. Also going to take the Actor Feat. Basically, he's a performer, and is well versed at playing any and every role on stage and off. He can be anyone, and because of his ring, nobody can tell if he's lying, even by magic.

In fact, I'll probably take the Spy background variant, unless I see one in the playtest backgrounds that I like better.

Still haven't settled on a Rare item yet. I'm leaning towards Belt of Hill Giant Strength, for 21 strength. Another part of his deception, he doesn't look that strong, but he can wrestle dragons. Well, small ones. The only thing is, all three of those are Attunement items, which uses up all my attunement slots.

For my other Uncommon item, I'm thinking either the Helm of Telepathy or Gloves of Thievery. If I took Gloves of Thievery and Expertised Slight of Hand, I'd have a +13 on Sleight of Hand checks, which is awesome. But, with the Helm of Telepathy, he could read the surface thoughts of those he's fooling with his disguises, and know whether he's actually fooling them or not. Only problem is Helm of Telepathy is another Attunement item, which means he couldn't have the Belt above, and it's another headpiece, which means it wouldn't really work with the Hat of Disguise unless I could refluff it as a headband or amulet or something.

So, my choices are:

Ring of Mind Shielding
Hat of Disguise

Option 1:
Belt of Hill Giant Strength (Rare)
Gloves of Thievery

Option 2 (Only if I can refluff so Helm of Telepathy can be used with Hat of Disguise):
Helm of Telepathy
Portable Hole (Rare)

Option 3 (This gives me a free attunement slot for later):
Gloves of Thievery
Portable Hole (Rare)


What do y'all think?

 

[Matthan]

I'll let the established players weigh in on that, [MENTION=6855204]tglassy[/MENTION].
[MENTION=20323]Quickleaf[/MENTION], since I'm not set on any particular character at the moment, is there an option (or options) in the playtest material that you most want to see in play to check it? When you PM the material, I can direct my attention that way.

 

[Thateous]

Haha tglassy my character will be so distrusting of yours.

Sent from my SM-G935P using EN World mobile app

 

[tglassy]

Now I'm conflicted....

Because my character is leaning towards more of a spy, I decided to look over Rogue to see if it would work better. I'm not sure if it works better, but I've never had a chance to play a full Rogue before. I know we have a Rogue Assassin/Monk, but I'd be looking more at Thief. A thief with Hat of Disguise, Ring of Mind Shielding, Gloves of Thieving and Actor.

Because of Expertise and Reliable Talent, he can't roll less than an 18 on any skill check he is proficient with, and with the gloves, he can't roll less than a 23 on Sleight of Hand or Lockpicking checks. That's...intense, to say the least. Talk about being the party skill monkey. I wouldn't focus him so much on stealth as much as...well...skill monkey stuff, and possibly being a possible "Face".

And the level 13 ability, Use Any Device, would help with the Magic stuff, cause then he could use any magical item, regardless of level, race or class requirement.

Yeah, I'm thinking I might either forgo Bard this time, or multiclass it later...

 

[Matthan]

[MENTION=6855204]tglassy[/MENTION] Wait for the play test docs so you know all your options. The bard or one of the rogue subclasses may be exactly what you're looking for.