Quote from: Mjollnir;1126861If they do remake Al-Qadim it will be the most insufferable hectoring you've ever seen masquerading as an RPG supplement.

More likely it would just be more of the same. Mostly tiny little meaningless things. And only two or three at best. Maybee four. Thats the current pattern do far from the stuff I have from them. Aside from Curse of Strahd none of its been in your face and even in Strahd after the initial spiel its overall low key again.

So I'd suspect youd get something like on page 10 a little line like "the sultans son walks by. She is 18." or "The jewel merchant and his husband are tending the store." which is what most of these have been. One sentence and zero to back it up. Which is why I label them meaningless.

Quote from: JeremyR;1126775FWIW there's a very nice Arabian themed OSR book, The Thousand Year Sandglass

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/244365/The-Thousand-Year-Sandglass--Book-1

Sort of a B/X (it's based on LL) and Al-Qadim mashup.

This looks amazing! Here's a link to a review. It uses Labyrith Lord rules, and the setting is a world encased in a giant hourglass.

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There are three kingdoms: one run by evil wizards, another which is a Baghdad clone, and another which is (possibly) Indian flavored. There are three non-human races: elf, cat person, and lizard person. Dex bonus to AC is doubled to reflect that armor's not really part of the flavor. The book contains several adventures, which are mainly dungeons.

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Quote from: Nerag;1126878Help I'm being oppressed! This straw man is oppressing me! I'm on the verge of doing some interesting work on a middle east inspired setting but a bunch of SJW scarecrows marched in, arrested me and sent me to SJW jail. You have to wonder why absolutely everyone we have talked about this far who recently did a take on the subject isn't in SJW jail with me... but that's not important. I am a strong, independent man who takes no crap and I am being oppressed somehow.

Your post is literally the definition of a straw man.

Not sure if it counts. But what about Chult for FR? Its got that weird Arabian Knights meets Land of the Lost vibe to it.

Quote from: Nerag;1126877I don't recall inter-temporal bin Laden being a thing. I thought it was time traveling Obama because he didn't prevent the 9/11 attacks when Bush Jr was president, or didn't do something he couldn't have done due to not being in government at the time etc

Not a Future Man fan?

Quote from: Mjollnir;1126885Your post is literally the definition of a straw man.

Help my strawman of a strawman is being strawmanned by a strawman. I'd respond but I am in SJW prison for making obscene threats to a scarecrow.

Quote from: Shasarak;1126889Not a Future Man fan?

Just reading about Future Man. Sounds pretty funny but where does Osama come in?

Quote from: Nerag;1126892Just reading about Future Man. Sounds pretty funny but where does Osama come in?

Season 3.

Quote from: Nerag;1126768Since we are stroking boners, did you write professionally or for a personal game? If it was personal I wouldn't mind seeing your... uh... contributions.

During 3e I was tasked to do an official feature for Al-Qadim (the only 3e material for it as far as I know) for Dragon Magazine when they did an issue that covered all their major settings. I gave them so much information they ended up doing two or three features in other issues, from the same piece. One of the them made it into the last Best of Dragon.

Quote from: Nerag;1126768I think Al-qadim is a good subject to change the way priests and divine magic is treated philosophically, as opposed to mechanically. This has been touched on in 3E when they proposed having a monotheistic setting with a God of everything... I was thinking that there are aspects that embody parts of the divine and people venerate all aspects, but Priests are specialists. So.. if you are going on a sea journey you might venerate the aspect of storms, but if you want to meet your true love by moonlight you might pray to the moon maiden aspect...etc

I don't know if they expanded things because I only remember the core book, but I always through the Gods in Al-Qadim were lacking.

I'd also want to have multiple faiths, so you could have one influenced by zoroastrianism. I'd also want to do one based on sufi mystics but frankly I think the RPG version would be more staid then the ones IRL.

Personally I think it would be better to update 2e than overhaul 5e to do what you're suggesting.

The left can't meme, or bantz apparently.

Quote from: Nerag;1126879Hell yes. The original mythology seems so interesting and D+D really doesn't seem to go into it much at all. I just had a look at Capharnaum which seems to have a few things to say about them. Its a arabia/middle east setting as well, but you can also play the equivalent of a European I think.

The "jinn" is the go-to term for any paranormal phenomena. The angel and devil on your shoulder? The personification of various natural phenomena? A magical girlfriend from the mysterious land of Jinnistan? Hidden folk and their magical animals? Jinn.

In fact, several translations of Arabian fairy tales I found use fairy as a translation of jinn. (e.g. "The story of Prince Ahmed and the fairy Paribanou")

I've been doing some research (ok on Wikipedia but this isn't something I'm going to publish or send to a university) and the origins are quite fascinating and contradictory because every ethnic group has their own variants. The one I quite like is the Assyrian version that makes the Jinn like the Shedim, who were said to be spirits who were descended from an angel and a demon. This makes the Jinn a bit like the Grigori (giants) descended from the Nephilim and mortal women in certain apocryphal biblical texts. This makes me think that my idea of linking the Giants and the Jinn as part of the same heritage was a good idea.

So in my 5E version of al-qadim all giants, djinni, marid, efreet and dao are Jinn and they are all inter-related. They would all have the ability to travel to the elemental worlds and maybe have etherealness as well. To balance this they should have a vulnerability to being commanded and bound. Maybe anyone with an arcane background should be able to command or bind them using the cleric's rules for turning and destroying undead.

Quote from: Mjollnir;1126942The left can't meme, or bantz apparently.

This is a letter from Nerag's legal representative.

He instructs he is currently restrained from engaging in the 'bantz' process, due to his incarceration by 'hordes' of 'leftists' who have currently detained him in 'SJW jail' because you said this would happen.

He apologizes for any inconvenience.

Regards,

Mr Law, Lawman
Lawyer

Quote from: tenbones;1126927During 3e I was tasked to do an official feature for Al-Qadim (the only 3e material for it as far as I know) for Dragon Magazine when they did an issue that covered all their major settings. I gave them so much information they ended up doing two or three features in other issues, from the same piece. One of the them made it into the last Best of Dragon.

Personally I think it would be better to update 2e than overhaul 5e to do what you're suggesting.

I think I have that issue somewhere...

Quote from: Nerag;1127010Regards,

Mr Law, Lawman
Lawyer

I would have hired Lawie McLawface myself.