Tell me about your Al-Qadim game

[Kunimatyu]

So recently, partially inspired by Sandstorm and partially inspired by re-reading the original 1001 Nights(or the 1932 translation, whatever) I'm interested in the Al-Qadim Arabian Adventures setting. I'm curious particularly about 3.0/3.5 Al-Qadim campaigns -- what did they consist of? How were they different from "normal" (ie. faux-Tolkien/medieval) campaigns in plot, villains, objectives, monsters, PC actions, etc? Did the players really get into the feel of the setting, or were they just Europeans in a different setting?

 

[der_kluge]

I've not ran a 3e/3.5 game of Al-Qadim, but would love to do so some day, but I don't think there have been any solid 3e conversion rules created for it to date. As such, I think you'll be hard pressed to find anyone here who's played AQ recently, unless they did so with 2nd edition rules.

When I ran my 2nd edition Al-Qadim campaign, my players really got into the flavor of the setting. I ran it as a highly-fantastical game with djinnis and lots of magic. It's a very vibrant setting, and will always be one of my favorites.

 

[Kunimatyu]

Interesting. I note that you say it was very fantastic, with lots of magic. I'm somewhat curious how Iron Heroes -- which, while fantastic, probably won't be known for its magic -- could mesh with AQ. Many of the classic 1001 Nights heroes -- including Sinbad, among others -- weren't magic users, despite interacting with a very magical world. Perhaps IH heroes, along with more story-based magic items(not really the player-boosting variety) could make an interesting Al-Qadim game.

 

[cignus_pfaccari]

Our AQ group, right now, is all casters, all the time. We've got a shugenja/hakima, a sha'ir, and a warmage/war wizard of Huzuz as regulars.

It's quite nice, actually. There're lots of little subplots, and we get to blow things up quite often.

Brad

 

[Savage Wombat]

For my Al-Qadim campaign (many many years ago) I just took two of the boxed sets, "A Dozen and One Adventures" and "Ruined Kingdoms" and twined them together. Worked very nicely - there's some great stuff in those modules.

Khadijah the Sha'ir, Djuhah the Paladin and the holy sword Breaker of the Ninth Chain have now started their reunion tour adventure, as a matter of fact.

 

[Dr. Strangemonkey]

Interesting. I note that you say it was very fantastic, with lots of magic. I'm somewhat curious how Iron Heroes -- which, while fantastic, probably won't be known for its magic -- could mesh with AQ. Many of the classic 1001 Nights heroes -- including Sinbad, among others -- weren't magic users, despite interacting with a very magical world. Perhaps IH heroes, along with more story-based magic items(not really the player-boosting variety) could make an interesting Al-Qadim game.

You could do it, but you would probably have to do a lot of tweaking to the arcanist or just follow the proper conversion rules for brining in magic using classes. Or a bit of both. The warrior classes would likely fit pretty well, it's just that they're missing the geographical emphasis that went with the fighting styles of the corsair, mameluke, or desert rider.

There was a book called Dry Lands: Empires of the Dragon Sands that had a lot of pretty good Al-Quadim-esque classes for 3.0.

I haven't run anything with it, but I sure would love to. Man I would love a good 3.5 Al-Quadim game. The Dragon magazine article on it was a heartbreaker in terms of how dissapointing it was.

 

[Turanil]

I'm curious particularly about 3.0/3.5 Al-Qadim campaigns

Try the following free PDF that you can find on this D&D Downloads Webpage (I mean: the first and second files in the "Campaign Settings & Pantheons" section, which are both two different adaptations of Al'Qadim to 3E).

Otherwise, my suggestion would be of adding some Arcana Evolved (by Monte Cook) stuff to Al'Qadim. I think that Lithorian (lion-like humanoid race) and Sibeccai (jackal-like humanoid race with an Egyptian outlook) would fit better than gnomes, halflings, and elves in an Arabian setting. Likewise, many classes would fit well there, such as the Champion.

 

[Li Shenron]

I am still hoping that WotC releases a 3rd edition Al-Qadim campaign sourcebook, even if they don't support it with supplements...

 

[Spell]

but I don't think there have been any solid 3e conversion rules created for it to date.

you might have missed this ...

 

[der_kluge]

you might have missed this ...

Apparently, you're right. I'll have to look over that. I see they're using the Sha'Ir from Dragon magazine, which a lot of people didn't agree with...