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Al-Qadim<\/em> is a Forgotten Realms<\/em> setting published in 1992 for AD&D 2nd<\/sup> edition<\/em> (with some support for D&D 3.5 edition <\/em>via Dragon Magazine<\/em>). The setting, designed by Jeff Grubb<\/a>, is a D&D-style 1,001 Arabian Nights<\/em> fantasy campaign setting. Many of its fans await the restoration of the faux Arabian land to its state of splendor of a quarter century gone by. However, the current Dungeons & Dragons<\/em> leadership at Wizards of the Coast is content to let Al-Qadim<\/em> remain in its genie\u2019s bottle. Enter Chris Pramas<\/a>, President of Green Ronin Publishing<\/a>, and his \u201cold RPG group\u201d to start a fan project: An unofficial<\/strong> conversion of Al-Qadim<\/em> to use with Green Ronin\u2019s Fantasy AGE<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are trying to revive our old RPG group and after a discussion last week, an idea I hadn\u2019t expected (early 90s D&D<\/em> setting Al-Qadim<\/em>) proved most popular. I decided to run it with Fantasy AGE<\/em> though, as I didn\u2019t want to run AD&D<\/em> and if I\u2019m going to spend time converting things, I\u2019d rather do it for my own game than 5E<\/em>. Many of the old kits convert easily enough to FAGE<\/em> specializations. An Al-Qadim<\/em> Corsair is just the Pirate specialization, a Rawun is a Bard, etc. Other things will require more work, so I\u2019ll be designing things like a Sha\u2019ir specialization and a Sand arcana. We\u2019ll see how it goes!\u201d<\/p>\n – Chris Pramas, Facebook, September 9th<\/sup>, 2019<\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/p>\n NOTES<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n What is Al-Qadim?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cMagic carpets, ghoulish vixens, genies rising from the sand in a whirlwind of smoke and fire – such wonders, spun into tales by fabled Scheherasade, enchanted a king for a thousand and one nights.<\/p>\n The Al-Qadim<\/em> campaign will enchant role-players for a thousand and one more<\/p>\n You are about to discover an exotic realm inspired by the tales of Sinbad, Ali Baba<\/em>, and other classics from the Arabian Nights<\/em>. The first in a series of products, this volume features everything DM’s and players need to launch the Al-Qadim<\/em> campaign.\u201d<\/p>\n – From the Al-Qadim: Arabian Adventures (2e)<\/a><\/em> on the DMsGuild<\/p><\/blockquote>\n You can read Shannon Appelcline concise history of the setting here<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n What is Fantasy AGE?<\/strong><\/p>\n I\u2019ve looked at\u00a0Green Ronin Publishing\u2019s<\/a>\u00a0World of Lazarus for Modern AGE<\/em>\u00a0based on Greg\u00a0Rucka\u00a0and Michael Lark\u2019s Image comic book series,\u00a0Lazarus<\/a><\/em>\u00a0(here<\/a>). While Modern AGE<\/em> is not the exact same as Fantasy AGE<\/em>, they share the same DNA. Both systems utilize easy action resolution that offers innovative perks. The AGE System\u2019s<\/em> stand out mechanic is the core roll and Stunt Points. All actions require the player to roll 3d6 + attributes and bonuses against a Target Number. If they succeed and duplicate numbers on any two of the dice are rolled, you check the stunt die to see how many Stunt Points you receive. You spend those Stunt Points on actions that enhance whatever you\u2019re doing (make a better product or deal bonus damage). It\u2019s a fast and fun system that lets your actions evolve unexpectedly. To read more about it, check out Green Ronin\u2019s page (here<\/a>).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n – Chris Pramas, Facebook, September 23rd<\/sup>, 2019<\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/p>\n What\u2019s Being Converted? <\/strong><\/p>\n As of this writing, Chris has written on his blog (here<\/a>), specific rules for the sha\u2019ir wizard (a Mage specialization) and the Genie Arcana (consisting of four gen-summoning spells so far) for the FAGE<\/em> system. On Facebook, he\u2019s suggested using FAGE<\/em> specializations for the Corsair (Pirate specialization) and Rawun (Bard) to give your Fantasy AGE<\/em> campaign an Al-Qadim<\/em> feel. It\u2019s not a ton of material, but it\u2019s the key ideas for you to create your own Al-Qadim AGE<\/em> options. As Chris stated, \u201cMany of the old kits [AD&D 2e<\/em> speak for subclasses in D&D 5e<\/em>] convert easily enough to FAGE<\/em> specializations.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n How Good Is This?<\/strong><\/p>\n “I liked it. I am not an AGE<\/em> player, but it seems to address the class rather well. Were I to do the class again for 5E<\/em>, I would agree with the idea of giving the sha’ir base magical abilities and making its genie-related powers more like special abilities.”<\/p>\n – Jeff Grubb<\/a>, designer of Al-Qadim<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n That\u2019s a solid blessing.<\/p>\n Chris Pramas and Green Ronin Publishing are a force in the RPG industry; I say “force” because of the quality of their products and their fanbase. Among his two-and-half decades of professional game designing, Chris worked for Wizards of the Coast on D&D <\/em>from 1998 to 2002. Those years should reassure fans that his work springs from the same design sense as Jeff Grubb\u2019s efforts in the 90s. Since the AGE System<\/em> is Chris\u2019 engine, this cements him as the perfect individual to take on this work. Chris is developing this for modern gaming and not holding to the historic preconceptions of the AD&D 2e<\/em> mechanics of weak low-level mages. By that, I mean that he\u2019s updating the sha\u2019ir to be more versatile than that option was in 2e<\/em>. Specifically, he gives this Mage specialization more options so the player will have more fun at the table.<\/p>\n \u201c[C]ut down the amount of time it takes gen to find spells for the sha\u2019ir. This at least gives a chance for a mage to get a Novice spell during a combat encounter, though more powerful spells must be sought during narrative time. Second, since sha\u2019ir is simply a specialization for the mage class, this means they will have regular spells to cast. Basically, I wanted to make sure they had something more than arcane blast to play with while the gen was off fetching other spells. Since the core sha\u2019ir abilities require both an arcana and a specialization though, I don\u2019t think they\u2019ll overpower other kinds of mages.\u201d<\/p>\n – Chris Pramas<\/a>, President of Green Ronin Publishing, from his post on his blog<\/a>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/p>\n What\u2019s Next?<\/strong><\/p>\n Chris has promised that the next post will provide the gen with stats.<\/p>\n Beyond Chris’ efforts, my hope is his work will spark a grassroots Al-Qadim AGE<\/em> fandom to provide homebrewed options and articles that will give this setting a second lease on life. Much as Richard A. Knaak\u2019s Rex Draconis<\/em> provides a Dragonlance<\/em> variant to Dungeons & Dragons 5e<\/em> (you can read my thoughts on it here<\/a>), this FAGE<\/em> option is an oasis in the desert that is the long buried collection of D&D 2e<\/em> settings. It is easy to imagine fans taking this up and creating a vibrant community around this setting\/system. I\u2019d love to see an unofficial Al-Qadim AGE<\/em> community come to life and create a wondrous fan-developed setting for the Land of Fate.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n To learn more about this conversion, check out Chris Pramas\u2019 blog here<\/a>. To learn more about the Fantasy AGE<\/em>, check out Green Ronin\u2019s page here<\/a> or their DriveThruRPG page here<\/a>. For more on AD&D 2e’s Al-Qadim<\/em>, check out the DMsGuild here<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Articles may includes affiliate links. As a DriveThruRPG Affiliate\/Amazon Associate\/Humble Partner I earn from qualifying purchases. If you\u2019re enjoying the articles on d20 Radio, consider supporting their Patreon here<\/strong><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.d20radio.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Al-Qadim-01-243x300.jpg\")
<\/a>Before we get into this review, there are several caveats I want to make clear. First, this is an unofficial hack of Al-Qadim<\/em>; it is not available to purchase anywhere. But, it can be read about here<\/a>. Second, it is not a complete conversion, instead it is Chris Pramas adding flavor that Fantasy AGE<\/em> does not already cover. Third, Jeff Grubb, designer of Al-Qadim<\/em>, approves of this enough to share the link to it on his social media. It\u2019s not blessed by WotC, but getting Grubb\u2019s approval is a win all on its own. Fourth, if you\u2019re interested in more details about the AGE System<\/em><\/a>, I\u2019ve looked at the Modern AGE<\/em> (here<\/a>).<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.d20radio.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Fantasy-AGE-01-231x300.jpg\")
<\/a>As mentioned, it\u2019s a Forgotten Realms<\/em> campaign setting that opens up a pseudo-pre-Islamic Middle East to your D&D<\/em> gaming table. There\u2019s a great deal of emphasis on genies, fate, flying carpets, and desert adventures. It is heavily influenced by Western imagery of the era and, as an \u201cinspired-by\u201d setting, it takes liberties in translating Arabian culture into a made-up world.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.d20radio.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Al-Qadim-03-228x300.jpg\")
<\/a>\u201cI converted the sha\u2019ir from D&D\u2019s Al-Qadim<\/em> setting to my own Fantasy AGE RPG<\/em>. I\u2019ve put the rules up on my blog<\/a> if you\u2019d like to take a look.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.d20radio.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Al-Qadim-05-226x300.jpg\")
<\/a>Jeff Grubb shared the link to Chris post and that speaks volumes. I asked Jeff what he thought of Chris’ work:<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.d20radio.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Fantasy-AGE-02-231x300.jpg\")
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