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    Canonfire :: View topic - "arabian" civilization?
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    "arabian" civilization?
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    Adept Greytalker

    Joined: Mar 13, 2008
    Posts: 563
    From: brazil

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    Wed May 07, 2008 4:22 pm  
    "arabian" civilization?

    hi to all, my name is rafael and im kind of new to greyhawk.

    i've just begun a series of adventures, and one of my players ask me if he could do a "arabian" charater.

    As i was readin the "royal honorifics " tables of WoG folio from the 80's, i saw that there is a title called "caliph", so i wonder if someone could help if this question.


    thanks in advance!
    Black Hand of Oblivion

    Joined: Feb 16, 2003
    Posts: 3835
    From: So. Cal

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    Wed May 07, 2008 9:40 pm  

    Greyhawk does have areas with an Arabian feel to them, and these are in the far western lands of the Baklunish- Zeif, Ull, Tusmit, Ekbir, and the Plains of the Paynims.

    Though not originally written for Greyhawk, the adventure "Day of Al'Akbar" has been subsumed into the campaign setting. It certainly is Arabian in feel, though you really can take any adventure and just change the names of places and people, describe the culture and clothing differently, and you have an "Arabian" adventure if that is what you really want. Changing a few key monsters to more "Arabian" ones would work as well. Exchange demons or other extra planar things for djinn, efreet, dao, or marid. For more mundane monsters you can switch them with those you might see in the old Sinbad movies- griffons, giant centaur-cyclops critters, a hieracosphinx, golems, etc.

    Another adventure that can be fit into Greyhawk pretty well is the "Desert of Desolation" supermodule. I liked it much more than “Day of Al’Akbar” by the way. Originally published as a trilogy of setting generic modules, it was then compiled and updated in a collected supermodule form. It is easy enough to change the setting to Greyhawk. The supermodule compilation also added a whole variant alphabet which forms a puzzle for the players to solve. Throughout the adventure the characters will find scraps of writing using this alphabet, and it is up to them to break the code of it, as the various writings the characters find provide clues to some things. I very much enjoyed this aspect of the revamped material, as it made the experience of going through the adventure more immersive. Plus, it gives the DM a good reason to make little props for the game, like fragments of papyrus scrolls or even clay tablets inscribed with the runes. There may also be some Living Greyhawk adventures available for download too, but I am not too familiar with that.

    “Desert of Desolation” PDF link: http://paizo.com/store/brand/forgottenRealms/roleplayingGames/1stEdition/v5748btpy7mcv

    “Day of Al’ Akbar” PDF link: http://paizo.com/store/byCompany/w/wizardsOfTheCoast/byProductType/roleplayingGames/dungeonsDragons/aDAndD1/adventures/v5748btpy7mbz&source=search
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    Adept Greytalker

    Joined: Mar 13, 2008
    Posts: 563
    From: brazil

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    Thu May 08, 2008 3:08 am  

    wow, that was a very complete answer!!

    a good start at the forums, thanks

    he is suppose to be a ranger (we are playing 2ed) from that kind of scenario, but the adventure itself wasnt suppose to be arabian.
    but i will read the one you recommended, for background.

    thanks a lot!
    Black Hand of Oblivion

    Joined: Feb 16, 2003
    Posts: 3835
    From: So. Cal

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    Thu May 08, 2008 4:26 am  

    You could use those adventures as a later surprise for the Arabian style character. For example, the ranger and his companions return to his homeland only to be caught up in the events of one of those adventures. The character will be a cultural fish out of water most places he goes in the east, and in the Sheldomar Valley(Keoland, Gran March, Geoff, Sterich, Yeomanry, parts of Bissel) he won't be trusted or even treated in a friendly manner the Baklunish are old enemies of those who live in the Sheldomar Valley. There is not a lot of Arabian feel in Greyhawk, so it would be nice to put the character back into his cultural element at some later point in time so he can really shine(as it will then be his companions who are then the cultural fish-out-of-water). You could even foreshadow the adventure by introducing NPCs or items that link back to the adventure in some small way, even if it is not important with regards to what the character is doing at the time. This only requires some minor note taking to keep rack of. I have a DM copy of all of my players' characters, and I write notes such as this on them so they are always easy to find.
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    Apprentice Greytalker

    Joined: Jun 06, 2008
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    Fri Jun 06, 2008 9:50 am  

    The Baklun are pretty much arabs.
    Black Hand of Oblivion

    Joined: Feb 16, 2003
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    From: So. Cal

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    Sat Jun 07, 2008 11:31 pm  

    Only later material paints that that way. The Baklunish were originally portrayed to be a conglomeration of Eastern influences- both Middle Eastern and Asian.
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