Since Castalia House has been so kind as to link to my previous post, I suppose it's high time I write the next one in this series. I really, really need to get more consistent on this.
So, Chapter 2 of the Arabian Adventures rulebook discusses Characters. Specifically, PC races and classes. The ability scores get a two-sentence paragraph that says 'look at the Player's Handbook for this info'. That's easy enough; there are no special rules for ability scores in Al-Qadim.
Races are likewise the same as they are in the PH, although humans dominate the culture. Elves don't stick to the forests (which is good, since Al-Qadim has a lot of desert terrain), dwarves aren't restricted to living in the mountains and hills, and humanoids (orcs, goblins, gnolls, even ogres) can be found in the cities.
Here's the part that doesn't jive well with me. "Despite their small numbers, nonhumans suffer almost none of the prejudices found in most "Western" AD&D campaigns. In comparison, Zakhara is an egalitarian society. Here the standard “racial hatreds” of the AD&D game—such as the antipathy between dwarf and elf, or hatred between gnome and goblin—no longer exist. Zakharan elves deal with orcs and dwarves as easily as they deal with humans (though it’s true that many elves ultimately prefer to deal with other elves)."
Well, that's a noble, very modern Western viewpoint. Without getting political, I'm going to point out that the Islamic culture on which this is based has no such egalitarianism at any point in its history. So, this is very much a Westernized, idealized fantasy version of the world. I'm sure there are people who enjoy playing in that sort of game, but it just cuts against the grain for me. One of the fun things about playing the demihuman races in D&D is the fact that they are different, and they get treated differently by the normal people in society. Can you imagine if Drizzt Do'Urden had surfaced in Zakhara instead of Icewind Dale? I mean, aside from the constant heatstroke he'd be suffering. But there goes all that story potential of a drow on the surface; he'd be treated as a religious outsider, but being a drow wouldn't faze anyone, not even the elves.
No, the racial issues being handwaved away by the sheer awesomeness of the Law of the Loregiver isn't a good take, in my opinion. Better to just leave the demihumans out altogether, or create new ones.
Oh, and the racial harmony in Zakhara means dwarves and gnomes don't even get their combat bonuses against certain humanoids. We also learn that dwarves and gnomes can actually become wizards in this setting, although dwarves are restricted to the sha'ir kit, can't multiclass, and are restricted to 10th level. Gnomes aren't forced to be illusionists, since the normal specialist wizards aren't available in Zakhara.
Speaking of kits, this is one of the highlights of the book. There are no generic 'fighters' or 'wizards' in Zakhara; every character must take not only a class, but a kit as well. There are no druids or, as mentioned above, specialist wizards in Zakhara, unless they are foreigners. And even the foreigners get their own kits. Multi-class characters must also take kits, one for each of their classes. So, instead of an elven fighter-wizard, you might have an elven corsair/water elementalist, which would be a pretty potent combination.
Each kit has a special statistic called 'station,' which ranks from 1-20 and determines your place in the social pecking order; the higher, the better. The highest station a PC can start with is 12, for one of the three kits of priests (Pragmatist, Ethoist, and Moralist). Beggar-thieves can't start higher than 3. NPCs can, of course, go higher. Station can be improved through experience or money. If your experience level is higher than your initial station score, your station automatically moves up to match. I just had a vision of a 20th-level beggar-thief now dealing on equal terms with the Sultan of the realm.
Station has gaming effects; the highest-station person in the party is assumed to be its leader/spokesperson, and interruptions from their lessers (other PCs with lower station scores) will impact the speaker's station. Being a criminal, enslaved, or too broke to buy a meal will negatively affect your station, of course. Station can be masked, although you risk being found out, which will have negative consequences.
In some parts of the Land of Fate, station is fixed in a caste system. You can fall, but you can't rise. There is no specific such land indicated here (since the setting hasn't been put together yet), but the DM can include such places if he wants. In caste systems, don't speak to people too low on the station totem pole, or your own will drop.
Next up, names. There are some example names taken from the Arabian Nights as well as actual Middle Eastern names, with examples of how to construct surnames. There's also a note that 'Abdul' is not a name; it means 'slave of the', which is nonsensical and doesn't work.
And that does it for chapter two; next up, the big chapter on kits. Which I will do this week, period.
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