Al-Qadim is a Forgotten Realms setting published in 1992 for AD&D 2nd edition (with some support for D&D 3.5 edition via Dragon Magazine). The setting, designed by Jeff Grubb, is a D&D-style 1,001 Arabian Nights 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 leadership at Wizards of the Coast is content to let Al-Qadim remain in its genie’s bottle. Enter Chris Pramas, President of Green Ronin Publishing, and his “old RPG group” to start a fan project: An unofficial conversion of Al-Qadim to use with Green Ronin’s Fantasy AGE.
“We are trying to revive our old RPG group and after a discussion last week, an idea I hadn’t expected (early 90s D&D setting Al-Qadim) proved most popular. I decided to run it with Fantasy AGE though, as I didn’t want to run AD&D and if I’m going to spend time converting things, I’d rather do it for my own game than 5E. Many of the old kits convert easily enough to FAGE specializations. An Al-Qadim Corsair is just the Pirate specialization, a Rawun is a Bard, etc. Other things will require more work, so I’ll be designing things like a Sha’ir specialization and a Sand arcana. We’ll see how it goes!”
– Chris Pramas, Facebook, September 9th, 2019
NOTES
Before we get into this review, there are several caveats I want to make clear. First, this is an unofficial hack of Al-Qadim; it is not available to purchase anywhere. But, it can be read about here. Second, it is not a complete conversion, instead it is Chris Pramas adding flavor that Fantasy AGE does not already cover. Third, Jeff Grubb, designer of Al-Qadim, approves of this enough to share the link to it on his social media. It’s not blessed by WotC, but getting Grubb’s approval is a win all on its own. Fourth, if you’re interested in more details about the AGE System, I’ve looked at the Modern AGE (here).
What is Al-Qadim?
“Magic 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.
The Al-Qadim campaign will enchant role-players for a thousand and one more
You are about to discover an exotic realm inspired by the tales of Sinbad, Ali Baba, and other classics from the Arabian Nights. The first in a series of products, this volume features everything DM’s and players need to launch the Al-Qadim campaign.”
– From the Al-Qadim: Arabian Adventures (2e) on the DMsGuild
You can read Shannon Appelcline concise history of the setting here.
As mentioned, it’s a Forgotten Realms campaign setting that opens up a pseudo-pre-Islamic Middle East to your D&D gaming table. There’s 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 “inspired-by” setting, it takes liberties in translating Arabian culture into a made-up world.
What is Fantasy AGE?
I’ve looked at Green Ronin Publishing’s World of Lazarus for Modern AGE based on Greg Rucka and Michael Lark’s Image comic book series, Lazarus (here). While Modern AGE is not the exact same as Fantasy AGE, they share the same DNA. Both systems utilize easy action resolution that offers innovative perks. The AGE System’s 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’re doing (make a better product or deal bonus damage). It’s a fast and fun system that lets your actions evolve unexpectedly. To read more about it, check out Green Ronin’s page (here).
“I converted the sha’ir from D&D’s Al-Qadim setting to my own Fantasy AGE RPG. I’ve put the rules up on my blog if you’d like to take a look.”
– Chris Pramas, Facebook, September 23rd, 2019
What’s Being Converted?
As of this writing, Chris has written on his blog (here), specific rules for the sha’ir wizard (a Mage specialization) and the Genie Arcana (consisting of four gen-summoning spells so far) for the FAGE system. On Facebook, he’s suggested using FAGE specializations for the Corsair (Pirate specialization) and Rawun (Bard) to give your Fantasy AGE campaign an Al-Qadim feel. It’s not a ton of material, but it’s the key ideas for you to create your own Al-Qadim AGE options. As Chris stated, “Many of the old kits [AD&D 2e speak for subclasses in D&D 5e] convert easily enough to FAGE specializations.”
How Good Is This?
Jeff Grubb shared the link to Chris post and that speaks volumes. I asked Jeff what he thought of Chris’ work:
“I liked it. I am not an AGE player, but it seems to address the class rather well. Were I to do the class again for 5E, I would agree with the idea of giving the sha’ir base magical abilities and making its genie-related powers more like special abilities.”
– Jeff Grubb, designer of Al-Qadim
That’s a solid blessing.
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 from 1998 to 2002. Those years should reassure fans that his work springs from the same design sense as Jeff Grubb’s efforts in the 90s. Since the AGE System is Chris’ 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 mechanics of weak low-level mages. By that, I mean that he’s updating the sha’ir to be more versatile than that option was in 2e. Specifically, he gives this Mage specialization more options so the player will have more fun at the table.
“[C]ut down the amount of time it takes gen to find spells for the sha’ir. 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’ir 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’ir abilities require both an arcana and a specialization though, I don’t think they’ll overpower other kinds of mages.”
– Chris Pramas, President of Green Ronin Publishing, from his post on his blog.
What’s Next?
Chris has promised that the next post will provide the gen with stats.
Beyond Chris’ efforts, my hope is his work will spark a grassroots Al-Qadim AGE fandom to provide homebrewed options and articles that will give this setting a second lease on life. Much as Richard A. Knaak’s Rex Draconis provides a Dragonlance variant to Dungeons & Dragons 5e (you can read my thoughts on it here), this FAGE option is an oasis in the desert that is the long buried collection of D&D 2e settings. It is easy to imagine fans taking this up and creating a vibrant community around this setting/system. I’d love to see an unofficial Al-Qadim AGE community come to life and create a wondrous fan-developed setting for the Land of Fate.
To learn more about this conversion, check out Chris Pramas’ blog here. To learn more about the Fantasy AGE, check out Green Ronin’s page here or their DriveThruRPG page here. For more on AD&D 2e’s Al-Qadim, check out the DMsGuild here.
Articles may includes affiliate links. As a DriveThruRPG Affiliate/Amazon Associate/Humble Partner I earn from qualifying purchases. If you’re enjoying the articles on d20 Radio, consider supporting their Patreon here.
Latest posts by Egg Embry (see all)
- New Gamemaster Month 2023 - January 20, 2023
