The desert resounds with the hoofbeats of raiders as they descend upon a lonely outpost. Sails snap and unfurl as explorers journey toward treasure and treachery on the Crowded Sea. In the Grand Bazaar of golden Huzuz, merchants haggle over silks and spices and rings of silver, their words merging with the din of the crowd. Then the gongs of the mosques begin to sound. A hush passes over the city as the priests call the faithful to prayer. While the enlightened masses bow their heads, miles away—among the ruins of the Haunted Lands—a whirlwind rises, shifting the sand to reveal another idol, another tribute to some nameless, forgotten god.

Welcome to Zakhara, the Land of Fate...

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Al-Qadim has been a long-time favorite of mine. With the recent release of Tasha's Cauldron of Everything and the genie-patron warlock becoming official, it's got me thinking of the Land of Fate once more.

In this game I hope we'd get to travel well-worn trade routes, establish new trade routes, discover lost crypts, sail on the Crowded Sea, explore long-forgotten cities buried beneath the sand, engage in the courtly politics of the Grand Caliph, visit the House of the Loregiver, and make treacherous journeys across the desert wastes.

The game would be a character-driven sandbox that will hopefully be roughly balanced between interaction, character development, exploration, and combat. Immersion and story are far more important than rules. I have a zero-tolerance policy for power gaming and min-maxing. All options from Tasha's are available.

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There are three main changes to the setting you should be aware of. First, my version of Al-Qadim is far more cosmopolitan than the stock setting. Non-humans are just as common, if not more common, than humans. Second, traditional gender roles don't exist. There are men who keep the house and raise the children and women who run the business and mind the finances. Women can and do hold any job or position that men can. Third, slavery is scaled back from the standard setting. It still exists, but it mostly reserved for large debts, even to society as a whole, and slaves are closer to indentured servants than the historical chattel slavery.

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Would there be any interest?

Trying again? Okay. Yes, still interested.

Always interested in Al-Qadim.

Any 5e game will attract players. I’m not familiar with this setting but would happily take a look.

Also very interested...

I'm certainly intrigued.

Color me interested!

Anything that is not a medieval setting will always immediately have my interest.

Certainly interested

I wanted to play this way back in AD&D.  I'd be interested.

Oh, I remember this! I'd still be interested! :)

Okay, so clearly there’s enough interest. Good.

Al-Qadim 5th Edition D&D over here:
This message was last edited by the user at 23:21, Wed 02 Dec 2020.