Al-Qadim is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game which was developed by Jeff Grubb with Andria Hayday for TSR, Inc. , and was first released in 1992. Al-Qadim uses One Thousand and One Nights as a theme and is set in the land of Zakhara , called the Land of Fate . Thematically, the land of Zakhara is a blend of the historical Muslim Caliphates , the stories of legend, and a wealth of Hollywood cinematic history. Zakhara is a peninsula on the continent of Faerûn in the world of Toril , the locale of the Forgotten Realms campaign setting, although Al-Qadim is designed to stand on its own or be added to any existing campaign setting. The basic campaign setting was divided between two game products: Al-Qadim: Arabian Adventures , a sourcebook describing character creation rules, equipment, and spells unique to the setting, and Al-Qadim: Land of Fate , a boxed set describing the land of Zakhara, with separate sourcebooks for the players and the Dungeon Master .
43-478: The first Al-Qadim product, Arabian Adventures , was released in 1992. Arabian Adventures presents only the basic rules for playing a D&D game set in a general Arabian setting, much like the Oriental Adventures book. The specific details of the setting are dealt with in later publications. The Al-Qadim setting was designed with a limited scope, and was intended as a two-year project that
86-487: A paperback reprint of the first edition was released. Oriental Adventures contains rules for ten character classes and three races to be used in place of standard AD&D classes and races. The book presents new versions of the barbarian (here a warrior of the steppes, or a dweller of the forest or jungle) and monk , as well as new classes such as the ninja, kensai, wu-jen , and shukenja. Kensai are weapons masters who "seek to perfect their weapons technique to
129-680: A character's immediate family and ancestors, determines family honor and status, and also provides characters with their birthrights. Also included are detailed rules for karate and other martial arts styles, which enable a Dungeon Master to create new styles of martial arts and techniques using a range of available options. All characters may study martial arts, provided they can find masters to teach them; monks and shukenja start their adventuring lives with some martial arts training. Each character class also has its own unique ki powers, which become more effective as characters advance through each level. The original Oriental Adventures includes
172-524: A cover identity; a ninja must be careful to keep his identity secret, as loss of honor (and sudden death) may occur if the PC is unmasked. The other classes introduced in the book are the sohei , the bushi (peasant warriors), the samurai , and the yakuza. The three new character races are the korobokuru (roughly equivalent to dwarves , without their tempers and greediness), the hengeyokai (intelligent animal beings that are able to shape-change into human form), and
215-510: A full-blown campaign – was well received. Grubb would later say that was because they had managed to hide the setting's potential from 'the suits'". There are a number of important concepts to the Zakharan culture including honor, family, social station, purity, piety, and hospitality. Zakharan society is broken into two main divisions: Zakhara's society is made up mainly of humans, but demihumans such as elves and dwarves are present in
258-644: A lengthy section of background information for the fantasy setting known as Kara-Tur . Kara-Tur was later made a continent of Abeir-Toril . TSR went on to produce eight adventure modules using the Oriental Adventures rules and the Kara-Tur setting. Gary Gygax intended to incorporate the material from Oriental Adventures into revised versions of the Players Handbook and Dungeon Masters Guide , but left TSR shortly after announcing
301-426: A number of character types. Al-Qadim uses the concept of character kits, a more rigid layer atop the traditional Dungeons & Dragons character classes . These kits are generally available to all characters, with certain restrictions based on the race of the character. All standard races are present, including humans , elves , dwarves , half-elves , gnomes , and halflings , although they do not suffer many of
344-491: A significant number of references from one section of the book to another and everything is very linked." However, Foussat admitted that the book excited him and he had his Japanese weapons ready for play. In his 1990 book The Complete Guide to Role-Playing Games , game critic Rick Swan admitted that the game was heavily derivative of AD&D but noted that this publication has "a unique design approach that skillfully integrates game mechanics with background material. It's
387-445: A vivid setting and a fascinating set of rules." Swan enjoyed the character generation process, commenting, "The resulting characters are richly textured, clearly motivated, and a lot of fun to play." Hower, Swan warned that " Oriental Adventures is not for beginners ... a familiarity with AD&D is presumed, and a general understanding of Oriental culture and traditions is helpful." Swan also noted that this product, published in 1985,
430-532: A wide variety of gods , but all recognize the power of Fate, who may cast down the mightiest sultan or raise up the meanest beggar. None can agree on her nature, whether the mother of the gods or an elemental force, but all acknowledge her power. In Dungeons & Dragons game terms, Fate is not given statistics, spells, or priesthoods as are most deities. This pantheon includes Hajama, Hakiyah, Haku, Jauhar, Jisan, Kor, Najm, Selan, and Zann, as well as local deities and demigods such as Bala, Ragarra, and Vataqatal. In
473-491: A year after the rulebook, for the Golden City offers an ideal starting point and base for any AQ campaign." He felt that this boxed set "succeeds where Land of Fate failed in conjuring an appropriate atmosphere". Varney commented on the cover art: "Robh Ruppel's superb cover painting shows Halima gazing placidly from a palace window on the minarets and golden domes of Huzuz, the cat by her side. This quiet piece embodies
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#1732772760606516-537: Is an accessory for the 2nd edition of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game , published in 1993. City of Delights is set in the Al-Qadim campaign setting, which focuses on the fictional land of Zakhara . The book describes Zakhara's principal city, the Golden City of Huzuz – huge, filled with every imaginable item and service, and saturated with intrigue and mystery. Each of
559-643: Is by Raven Mimura , with interior art by: Matt Cavotta , Larry Dixon , Cris Dornaus , David Martin , Raven Mimura, Wayne Reynolds , Darrell Riche , Richard Sardinha , Brian Snoddy , and Arnie Swekel . When WotC published a revision of the 3rd edition D&D rules known as v3.5 in 2004, an official (but not 100% comprehensive) update of Oriental Adventures was published in Dragon #318 (April 2004), pp. 32–48. The book includes: seven playable new races, including nezumi , vanara , and three different types of spirit folk ; five new base classes, including
602-648: Is the title shared by two hardback rulebooks published for different versions of the Dungeons & Dragons ( D&D ) fantasy roleplaying game . Each version of Oriental Adventures provides rules for adapting its respective version of D&D for use in campaign settings based on the Far East , rather than the medieval European setting assumed by most D&D books. Both versions of Oriental Adventures include example campaign settings. The original Oriental Adventures ( ISBN 0-88038-099-3 )
645-476: The Oriental Adventures as #6 on the list of "Top 10 'Orange Spine' AD&D Hardcovers By Jeff Easley, saying "I'm guessing that if there is one book on this list a lot of folks don't own, it is this one, but that doesn’t mean this kind of epic 'in the clouds' duel between a samurai and a ninja isn't worth every penny!" In his 2023 book Monsters, Aliens, and Holes in the Ground , RPG historian Stu Horvath noted
688-492: The samurai , sohei , and shugenja; 17 new prestige classes; over one hundred new spells; and seventy-five new monsters, over a dozen of which (including five types of Naga) were given level adjustments for adapting them into playable races. The featured campaign setting of this edition is Rokugan , a campaign setting originally created for the game Legend of the Five Rings . The reviewer from Pyramid noted that while
731-682: The "Scimitars Against the Dark" article in Dragon #198. These include the Priest Defender (Priest) and Sungazer (Wizard). In addition, the Tomb Robber (Rogue) is adapted from the Burglar kit. Al-Qadim had a number of support products released before the line came to an end. These include: Accessories: Boxed sets: Adventure boxes: Adventure module: Oriental Adventures Oriental Adventures (abbreviated OA )
774-406: The 2nd edition AD&D rules. The book includes an honor system, in which honor points are lost when a character behaves poorly or damages the family name; the player must eventually stop playing that character, if such behavior continues. The personal honor of a character affects the honor of the character's family. The character's family background is also determined by a system which generates
817-713: The 800,000 citizens has a story, such as: how the merchant Khwaja al-Danaf gained his fortune; how the Talking Bird and Singing Tree came to the garden in the Palace of the Enlightened Throne; and how the Caliph's elven concubine Halima gained a winged cat. The book provides hints on what player characters (PCs) may want to do in Huzuz: An Ethoist priest wants to preach in the great Golden Mosque, so
860-462: The Al-Hadhar possess greater diversity. The nomads and city-dwellers, humans and non-humans alike are all united as a single culture under a single religion (a polytheistic pastiche of Islam ) and as subjects of the caliph ; the entire continent is effectively a single empire, although different regions, city-states, and tribes have unique local cultures. Not all inhabitants of Zakhara belong to
903-682: The Mosque entry tells whom to talk to. A sha'ir wants to study with Adnan al-Raqi, Master of the Invisible, the Whisper that Thunders, so the book tells how to find his tower and how to become his apprentice. For the rogue, details are provided on sneaking into the Caliph's harem. City of Delights was published by TSR, Inc. in 1993 as boxed set containing a 96-page locations guide, a 96-page campaign guide, 8 loose Monstrous Compendium sheets, 8 cardstock map sheets, and 2 large color maps. Design
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#1732772760606946-836: The Seven Swords , Ochimo: The Spirit Warrior , Blood of the Yakuza , and Mad Monkey vs. the Dragon Claw ) were released for first edition AD&D. The sixth module ( Ronin Challenge ) was released for the second edition, as was the seventh module ( Test of the Samurai ) which did not have the Oriental Adventures logo. The last three of these modules also had the Forgotten Realms logo. The Kara-Tur: The Eastern Realms boxed set, also for Forgotten Realms,
989-467: The book seemed to be influenced "as much by lurid pulp stereotypes, Yellow Peril propaganda, and the lingering specter of European imperialism ... It's a kind of monolithic mush of fantasy 'Asianness' that verges on parody." TSR released several products with the Oriental Adventures logo. This includes a series of modules numbered OA1 to OA7, the first five of which ( Swords of the Daimyo , Night of
1032-526: The classes from the player's handbook except specialty priests (including druids ) and specialist wizards . Kits described in the core campaign setting are as follows: Additional wizard kits are presented in the Complete Sha'ir's handbook, which include the Astrologer, Clockwork Mage, Digitalogist, Ghul Lord, Jackal, Mageweaver, Mystic of Nog, and Spellslayer. Additional kits are presented in
1075-571: The cultural and social background of the Orient." Costello concluded " Oriental Adventures can really stand on its own, with specialized game rules." In Issue 30 of the French games magazine Casus Belli , André Foussat warned "Playing AD&D in this new environment will require a major effort from the JDM (Japanese Dungeon Master) to integrate the entire rulebook (140 rather dense pages). There are
1118-575: The distant past, a woman known only as the Loregiver penned the scrolls that clearly laid out the laws of the land, some say guided by the hand of Fate. The wisdom of this Lore was immediately recognized and became the basis of law in Zakhara. The vast majority of Al-Hadhar and most Al-Badia are Enlightened in the way of the Loregiver. Player characters in the Al-Qadim setting can choose from any of
1161-485: The exclusion of all else. They are deadly in combat, but cannot use magical weaponry because it detracts from the appreciation of their skill". Wu-jen are spellcasters who must strictly follow their personal taboos to avoid losing all of their spell powers. Shukenja are clerics who become punished if they kill enemies too often. A ninja character must take one of the other classes as well as the ninja class. In keeping with their secret nature, ninja use their normal class as
1204-557: The exotic Al-Qadim campaign better than any fight scene with genies and corsairs." He also felt that " City of Delights excels in its clear view of what player characters (PCs) want to do in Huzuz." He added that "the DM struggling to digest all this will appreciate the clear, useful campaign advice, unique in the Al-Qadim line". Varney concluded the review with his evaluation: "Whether the PCs visit
1247-498: The first edition book was a 144-page black and white text, the third edition book was 256 pages and full color. The second version of Oriental Adventures won the 2002 Ennie Award for "Best Campaign Setting". Wizards of the Coast did not release a new edition of Oriental Adventures for the 4th edition of D&D , but several Oriental Adventures items appeared in 4th edition rules: City of Delights City of Delights
1290-563: The game, Oriental Adventures was the first official supplement devoted entirely to roleplaying in a non-Western setting. Oriental Adventures also introduced a new game mechanic to Dungeons & Dragons ; it was the first official supplement to include rules for non-weapon proficiencies . Every character is expected to possess proficiencies in the noncombat arts with skills such as calligraphy, etiquette, animal handling, iaijutsu (fast draw), and bowyer . Both non-weapon proficiencies and non-European settings were explored in more detail in
1333-446: The honor system was a good touch, and that the real strength of the new martial arts system was that the gamemaster was now able to construct any number of new styles of combat. Shepherd compared Oriental Adventures to rival role-playing game Bushido , and felt that Oriental Adventures was a better choice as a game system. Shepherd concluded by giving the game an excellent rating of 9 out of 10, saying, "By remaining compatible with
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1376-536: The project. Oriental Adventures was TSR's biggest seller in 1985. Little, if any, material from Oriental Adventures was incorporated into the AD&;D 2nd Edition core books, and Oriental Adventures itself was never revised for a 2nd Edition. In Issue 74 of White Dwarf , Ashley Shepherd felt that this game was "a completely new version of AD&D ", adding "The old stand-bys of the AD&;D system are still in
1419-412: The racial prejudices traditional to most Dungeons & Dragons campaign settings. Non-human characters are rarer than they are in other traditional Dungeons & Dragons settings, including the rest of Toril. The City of Delights accessory suggests goblins, hobgoblins, kobolds, lizard men, ogres, half-ogres, orcs, and half-orcs as appropriate PC races as well. Standard classes allowed include all
1462-532: The rest of AD&D , [designer] Dave Cook has written an excellent set of rules which should be very popular. Oriental Adventures has even persuaded me to start playing AD&D again." In the November 1986 edition of Asimov's Science Fiction , Matthew J. Costello noted that although based on AD&D , this product "aspires to more than supplemental status. It contains a tremendous amount of information about bushi , samurai and ninja , not to mention
1505-447: The rules, but the elements have been intelligently modified to produce something that is far greater than the sum of its parts." Shepherd liked the new character classes, noting that the monk was in its proper Eastern context, and that the ninja was the best version Shepherd had seen. Shepherd also liked the new skill system of proficiency slots, and felt these should be extended to all of AD&D , not just this setting. Shepherd felt that
1548-458: The setting as well, as well as humanoids such as orcs, goblinoids , and ogres . Unlike most settings, there is practically no racial disharmony in Zakhara: humans, elves, and orcs alike share the same culture, lifestyle, and social status, and races traditionally considered evil savages, such as goblins , are instead valued members of society. The nomadic Al-Badia are predominantly human, whereas
1591-525: The shared culture, however: there are many tribes of pagan human barbarians who reject the Law of the Loregiver and the worship of the Pantheon, and certain monstrous races—including the yuan-ti, the vile yak-men (or yikaria as they call themselves), and most giants —dwell apart in their own societies. The people of Zakhara speak and write a common language called Midani (represented by Arabic ). Zakhara has
1634-433: The spirit folk (humanoids whose life force is linked to the well-being of a specific location). The book draws on the history of China, Korea, and Japan, and includes information on families, clans, caste, and honor. The original Oriental Adventures introduced two major innovations to the AD&D system. Although previous TSR publications, such as Deities & Demigods , had touched on using non-European settings for
1677-464: Was based on the first edition of AD&D whereas TSR had published the second edition of AD&D in 1989, "so the referee will have to make a few adjustments when switching between systems." Swan concluded by giving the game an excellent rating of 3.5 out of 4, saying, "For experienced players, Oriental Adventures is a delight. A sophisticated, challenging game, it's the best Eastern-flavored RPG ever published." Scott Taylor of Black Gate listed
1720-545: Was billed as an expansion for Oriental Adventures . Also released for second edition was a volume for the Monstrous Compendium series. In order to make Oriental Adventures compatible with the 3rd edition of D&D published in 2000, a second version of Oriental Adventures ( ISBN 0-7869-2015-7 ) was written by James Wyatt and published by Wizards of the Coast in October 2001. The cover art
1763-462: Was by Tim Beach , Tom Prusa , and Steve Kurtz , with a cover by Robh Ruppel and illustrations by Karl Waller . Allen Varney reviewed City of Delights for Dragon magazine #219 (July 1995). Varney calls Huzuz "the Al-Qadim equivalent of Hollywood Baghdad". He comments on its release: "In this excellent 1993 set, three gifted designers summoned Huzuz in all its majesty, creating a true City of Delights. It's regrettable that it appeared over
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1806-421: Was extended one more year beyond that because of its popularity. Shannon Appelcline commented on Al-Qadim's 1992 release as "an Arabic setting that ended up placed in the southern Forgotten Realms. Like the other games of this period it had a strong artistic design, here overseen by Andria Hayday. The 'cultural book' as Grubb called it – trying to suggest that it was an Oriental Adventures like release, rather than
1849-531: Was written by Gary Gygax , David "Zeb" Cook , and François Marcela-Froideval , and published in 1985 by TSR, Inc. as a 144-page hardcover for use with the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons ( AD&D ) 1st edition rules. The book was edited by Steve Winter , Mike Breault , Anne Gray , and Thad Russell. The book's cover art was by Jeff Easley , with interior illustrations by Roger Raupp , James Holloway , Easley, and Dave Sutherland . In 1999,
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