Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Al-Qadim 5th Edition Patch: Races

I thought I was taking over running a game here, but it turns out I was out of town and two opportunistic DMs who are already running games have decided to run additional games on alternating Thursdays. So... Al-Qadim prep wasted. Oh well. I figure I'll maybe post some of my thoughts at least. Also, since getting Necromancer's Book of Lost Spells and the release of the Elemental Evil Players' Companion, Al-Qadim seems much more viable in terms of the spells.

So I talked before about modifying skills, kits as backgrounds, and the hakima and sha'ir. Here's races. I'm still going through the spell stuff, but I think the 2nd edition approach will work with few problems: assign spells to provinces, spellcasters get 1-2 provinces. This does mean some classes will lose access to a few spells, but we'll see.

Basically everything should work just fine. Al-Qadim was always more human-centric, but racial differences didn't matter in the setting. All the basic races seem to work just fine. I like the interpretation of Genasi as half-genies or genie-blooded. I might consider Goliaths to be Ogres though, since I like the idea of racial tolerance leading to ogres or goblins being integrated in society. It's not in the main Al-Qadim book, but suggested in City of Delights.


Common Races


  • Human
  • Dwarf
  • Elf
  • Halfling
  • Ogre (Goliath, EE)

Uncommon Races


  • Aarakocra (EE)
  • Genasi (EE)

  • Gnome
  • Half-Demon (Tiefling)
  • Half-Elf
  • Half-Orc

Rare Races


  • Half-Dragon (Dragonborn)
  • Half-Angel (Aasimar, DMG)


If I had the gumption, I might also create a goblin race or steal a homebrew version from somewhere. Just because I like the idea that Ogres and Goblins mix with the other races equally in the setting. I've reflavored Tieflings and Dragonborn and Aasimar as mixed races, but  that's maybe something to collaborate with the players on since it could have zero impact on the setting or a whole bunch of impact. Easier to play with one character of fiendish heritage (Tiefling) though than be forced to integrate a whole community of them. Then again, the Tiefling story in the Players' Handbook might fit will with Al-Qadim, though they'd almost certainly list them as related to the Ruined Kingdoms of Nog and Kadar which I have other plans for.

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