Well, so much for consistency. Let's try this again. We're back to the Arabian Adventures kits, and this time we're looking at the wizards. There are only three wizard kits in Arabian Adventures, four if you count the 'outlander' wizard kit. Two of the kits are pretty standard wizards, but the third is Al-Qadim's signature class, and one of the best design concepts TSR ever came up with.
We'll do the easy ones first. The sorcerer is the bog-standard wizard, or at least as close to it as you get in this game. Wizard spells in Al-Qadim are divided into five categories: the four elements of flame, sand, sea, and wind, and the 'universal' category, where everything else fits. Sorcerers get to use any spells in the universal category, and also pick two elements to use. Unlike the 'normal' elements of air, earth, fire and water, there are no opposing elements in Al-Qadim; a sorcerer can pick any two elements, such as fire and water, if that's what he wants. However, they can never use spells from the other two elements, no matter what. Or at least, they can't ever 'learn' them, but perhaps a scroll or a wand would be permitted. That should be a DM's call, but I'm inclined to widen the ban just to keep the character's theme intact. Otherwise, you end up with 'my sorcerer specializes in wind and sea spells, but he carries a wand of fireballs just in case.' Yeah, we'll make that a wider ban.
Sorcerers are the most common wizards in Zakhara, although they aren't hanging out on every street corner (unless you really want to do that). They're also the most socially accepted of the wizard classes, having the least damaging reputation compared to the other two. Any race allowed to have magic-users can be a sorcerer, and of course there are no gender limits, because women could and were sorcerers in the Arabian Nights stories.
Next up is the elementalist. There are really four of these kits, one for each element, but their abilities are functionally identical regardless of the element they choose. Each of these can use universal spells, and only one element. However, they get some nice bonuses with their element, adding +2 to any saving throws or proficiency checks related to their element, as well as +1 to damage inflicted with it. They also reduce the target's saving throws by -2 when attacking with spells of their element. Conversely, if they are attacked by magic using their element, they get two points taken off of the damage done.
Now, for the downside. Elementalists are the most feared of Zakharan wizards, thanks to the reputation of one particular group of elementalists: The Brotherhood of the True Flame. These are called out as one of the big bad organizations of Al-Qadim, being a sort-of magical mafia that takes down not only any mages of other elements, but even fellow fire elementalists who don't join their ranks. And they are not a nice group at all; even flame elementalists who aren't part of the Brotherhood have a tendency toward evil alignments. So fearsome is their reputation that any elementalist is going to be looked at sideways, regardless of how nice they might be. Most people don't differentiate between True Flame elementalists and any other group. It might be possible to use that reputation in social circumstances, but overall, it's a definite negative. Thanks to the reputation and predatory nature of the Brotherhood, elementalists are a rare breed in Zakhara.
The ajami is the outsider wizard, the foreigner who has no culture and no manners by Zakharan standards. Note that western elementalist wizards (from the Tome of Magic) are considered ajami, not elementalists, in Zakhara. There's nothing special about these guys, although they can replace the 'ajami' kit with one from another source (such as the Complete Wizard's Handbook).
Finally, we get to the big guy: the sha'ir. These are, as mentioned earlier, Al-Qadim's signature class, the one class that definitely screams 'Arabian Nights' tales. These are the genie masters (or genie worshipers, or genie servants, or whatever relationship they have with the genies might be). They are unlike other wizards in that they don't study scrolls and spellbooks and memorize their magic ahead of time. Instead, they each have a small familiar called a 'gen', a tiny elemental of one of the four (Arabian) elements. The gen is a spell-fetcher, going out to 'find' a spell for its master and bringing it back so the sha'ir can cast the spell.
It's a pretty neat concept, but it seems pretty limited. After all, the gen can only get one spell at a time, and it takes a while to get them. However, there are some serious advantages to this method of spell-casting.
First, the sha'ir isn't restricted to spells in his spellbook; he can get any spell he wants. And I do mean any spell, including cleric spells. Mind you, those ones can (and do) take longer to retrieve. However, it's still a big deal when your sha'ir can pull out a neutralize poison to save your dying cleric.
Second, the sha'ir has a special bond with genies, and gains special abilities related to them. These won't be detailed until a later chapter, but they can be pretty significant, especially at higher levels. Let's just say that now we know where efreet bottles and rings of djinni summoning come from.
Sha'irs are usually loners, but some will serve as advisors to powerful rulers. And, unlike sorcerers and elementalists, anyone can be a sha'ir; dwarven and halfling sha'irs are permitted, although they have significant level restrictions.
And there we have the Arabian wizards. Ja'far from Aladdin would probably be a sorcerer, since he used both sand and flame magic, and he really didn't have much of a relationship with the Genie.
Next up, the rogue kits!
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