Yeah, I went with your suggestion for Mamluk earlier, but it was easy to miss. Maybe you can help me with the legions. My thought is that since the Sheikh took him into his household and raised him to be loyal to him, it makes sense for him to be a Mamluk. But, I feel like his loyalty is to the Sheikh foremost and the Grand Caliph second (not that he's against the Grand Caliph, he's just very loyal to the Sheikh). It was difficult for me to parse which legion would fit him or that the Sheikh would desire him to be in. Defender would make sense if it was defense of Tajar, but he's never been to Qudra. Dutiful might work, but he's loyal to the Sheikh over the Grand Caliph. Do you have any insights you can share?
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D&D 5E [5e] QL's Al-Qadim Game
- Thread starter Quickleaf
- Start date
Quickleaf
Legend
Well, it's interesting, in the Land of Fate boxed set none of the mamluk societies have a strong presence in the Pearl Cities (of which Tajar is one).
And the description of the armed forces of Tajar doesn't really suggest ANY mamluk presence...
[SECTION]Armed Forces: 4,000-man city guard; 3,000-man cavalry patrol, which is built around a core of Bakr desert riders, an elite force of 800 men. In addition, Tajar has 300 jann of the High Desert on retainer.[/SECTION]
So it's entirely possible Husam is one-of-a-kind, like his father was. I'm imagining his father owed a life debt to the wicked Sultan who once ruled Tajar, but somehow managed to extricate himself from it and help overthrow the wicked Sultan along with Sheikh Ali's father & Sheikh Ali (who took a ship to Huzuz and returned with mamluk support to force the wicked Sultan's surrender).
So...maybe the facial tattoos were a sign of honor bestowed upon him by the mamluks who helped liberate Tajar? Sort of making him an honorary member of the Dutiful, with the understanding that his allegiance is first to Sheikh Ali, then to the Grand Caliph.
I can roll with that. I didn't realize that the Mamluk's weren't present in the region. I'm 85% sure that I have the Al-Qadim box set at home somewhere. I'm hoping to find the time next week to dig through my boxes and track it down. I found my City of Delights (I think that was the name) box set, but that's specific for the Grand Caliph's city.
How are Mamluk's thought of in the setting? Are they looked down upon or is it a special honor to be considered one of their number?
Quickleaf
Legend
Yeah, I've made my AQ collection completely digital now. I gave away the boxed sets to my friend's younger brother. Man, do I miss those.
Mamluks are usually respected as an essential part of the civil service, but beyond that views may wildly diverge. For example, in Qudra they are revered, while in Liham or Utaqa their presence is grudgingly tolerated, and in the Pantheist League their loyalty to the virtues of the Pantheon is valued more highly than loyalty to the Grand Caliph. In the Pearl Cities, mamluks are rare and probably seen as elevated slaves with a penchant for sticking their noses where they don't belong.
Ancalagon
Dusty Dragon
I realized I addressed your second question but not this one. One with the universe is a mystical belief, but it's also how Lal "rages" , he taps into the energies of the Universe. By partially joining with said universe, he enters a harmonious state of flow, dodging blows and dealing tremendous ones in return effortlessly.
It also explains other barbarian features, such as advantage on initiative, he is in tune with everything.
I don't anticipate it having any in game benefits, although I could imagine the GM using this to allow the hermit to do something wondrous and completely impossible at a suitably dramatic moment...
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Ancalagon
Dusty Dragon
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