Lands of Fate PBEM

Lands of Fate PBEM

A PBEM game using the Al-Qadim CampLands of Fate PBEMaign setting for the AD&D 2nd edition game system.

The Current Adventure:

"All the Gems under the Burning Sun"

"All The Gems under the Burning Sun" is a full-length campaign adventure

written by Curtis Bennett and ran as a PBEM game on the

[email protected] Egroups mailing list. The game is designed to take

characters from roughly 2nd level to 12th+ level and beyond. The setting is

Al-Qadim, the land of fate. Our intrepid adventurers get caught up in an

adventure of epic scale, and get caught up in the twists of fate. They

don't call it the land of fate for nothing.

Story Progression:

The game itself will start with some low-level modules that will serve as an

introduction to the world and will help players work together as a team.

The first module will be somewhat lengthy, but it is a very good module.

The second module is more light-hearted, and also very enjoyable. The third

module will be the actual starting module for the "All The Gems under the

Burning Sun", although the PCs (and the players) will not be overly aware of

anything beyond the scope of the module. The 4th module, which is more of

an encounter at this point, will continue with the storyline. From this

point, new modules will be written until the climax of "All the Gems" is

complete, which should take the characters to 12th-15th level. The ideas

are there, just not on paper form. After each module is completed, the

complete module will be "published" to the Al-Qadim PBEM mailing list.

These modules can then be ran for your own group.

For this PBEM, we will be using 2nd edition rules for simplicity, since all

the Zakharan monsters, and rules are still in 2nd ed. format. The rules are

secondary, as our number one rule will be to just have fun and to tell a

good story. Many of these modules are very light on combat. The PBEM

itself is starting with 9 players (at last count) and lurkers are more than

Curtis Bennett is a 28 year old software engineer, who lives with his wife

in Kansas City, Kansas. Curtis has been a DM for 10+ years, and has DM'd

Al-Qadim, Planescape, Forgotten Realms and Ravenloft. Curtis has DM'd at

conventions as well, including GenCon.

A few words from the DM:

"I recognize that PBEMs move very slow. I've played in a few, and ran a

few. They always fall apart, I think, due in part to the speed at which

they progress. Real life inevitably interferes (as it does with RL gaming),

but seems to take its toll on PBEMs even more so. For this reason, the game

will move very fast. I will try to ask for player interaction as little as

possible, since a single encounter can take a day or more as the moves

filter back in from the players. I also will not wait for players to make

moves when moves are required. If a move is not received, I will play for

the player. This will speed things up immensely. The purpose of these

modules is the story first and foremost. The combat is minimal, and I think

they will translate to PBEM effectively. At some point, it will be

necessary to upload .bmp images to the list for maps, and other visuals.

While I'm no artist, I'm certainly very proficient with paintbrush, so this

shouldn't be a problem.

If people drop the list, or it slugs to the point that it's not being ran

any more, or for some reason I can't continue to run it, I may opt to let

someone else take over as DM if someone so desires. At any rate, I'll let

the list have all the modules in their entirety if the list dissolves.

Because I'll be running the list from where I work (hey, all work and no

play...) I'll probably keep the dice rolling and rules officiating to a bare

minimum. I mean, I am at work after all. If I _have_ to roll dice, I'll

probably write a program to do it. :)

I hope everyone has as much fun playing in these modules as I did writing

them. I've ran some of them several times, and they only get better every

The Characters and their players

Azim ibn-Mamood (Peter)- a Sha'ir Wizard

Dalana Bint Khalil, archaeologist (Goetz)- a Corsair

Djuhah min Bahr (Derek)- a Faris (Paladin)

Effinidih (Carl)- a Bard

Farid (Fabio)-an Elemental Mage

Haqim (Rodrigo)- a Barbarian

Khoraj (Jeff)-a Warrior

Azim ibn-Mamood (peter)

Class: Sha`ir Wizard

Loyal and trustworthy, prefers not to spare the rod (thus spoiling the child), but knows the forgiveness found in the Enlightenment, inquisitive, yet a little crotchety and sarcastic. Azim comes from a wealthy and devoutly enlightened family. At the point in Azeem's life when he was to get trained to work in the family business, they had hit hard times but still wished to make a proper donation to their mosque. In lieu of a donation of money, books, labor, etc. they offered Azeem for work in the mosque. He had hoped to eventually take the family business as his own and even move into Wasat and Hiyal, but this was not his fate... and he came to accept it, and even enjoy his life in the mosque. He learned the parables, the lessons, the life of the prophets and the first caliph, not to mention the structure of the mosque and the imams. He soon became rather knowledgeable for his age. He is certainly not wanting for food, shelter, and good company.

Azim was soon sent by the mosque to a local wise man, Jafar al-Dalil. Jafar in fact studies the genie arts as well as the Enlightenment and theology. Azim became Azim's mentor as soon as Jafar recognized his talent and knowledge.

As Jafar's apprentice and servant Azim was expected to minister to the poor, the sick, and of course the wicked. He preferred to work with the budding youth in his neighborhood to help keep them on the straight and narrow, but prefers to see that they find the error of their ways on their own... making for a much better lesson.

(For anyone who has seen Brother Cadfael, I have found a little inspiration from those stories.)

Dalana Bint Khalil, archaeologist (Goetz)

Khalil the Black, captain of the caravel "Black Dog", was a minor, yet

respected pirate operating in the seas between Rog'osto and the Isle of the

Elephant. A bear of a man, Khalil was said to be as strong as his cutlass

was swift, and he was fiercely loyal and kind to his crew. In fact, it is

said that only his own personal honor prevented him from being a more

successful pirate, as Khalil and his crew only took what they deemed

sufficient and never killed for sport.

Then, almost thirty years ago, Khalil's ship raided a small, luxurious

galleon traveling towards Rog'osto. The ship's design was obviously foreign,

and as it was Khalil's decree, once the ship was boarded, Khalil parlayed

for the surrender of the ship to avoid unnecessary bloodshed. And parlayed

he did, for the ship's owner was a moon elf of alabaster-skin and pure

silver hair, and her beauty instantly melted Khalil's heart, and likewise,

she was struck by this handsome, strong, dark-eyed stranger. And so, after

five hours of "negotiations" in the captain's quarters, both ships set sail

to Rog'osto without a drop of blood shed, and a lot of head-scratching could

be seen on both decks, as the crewmen wondered what mischievous genie might

have possessed those two.

And so it came to pass. Nenselde the moon elf was an Archmage, over four

centuries old, traveling to Rog'osto, the most magical city in Zakhara as

myth has it, for research and expeditions into the Kingdoms of Nog and Kadar

to study the ancient culture, artifacts, and magic of the Geomancers. Fate

bore Khalil and Nenselde a daughter, Dalana, and while she had her father's

black hair, she had her mother's alabaster skin and apple green eyes. Both

Khalil and Nenselde were overjoyed, not realizing the tragedy that sure most

come of a human/elf relationship. And while Nenselde continued her research,

Khalil and his crew set their sails again (although under Nenselde's kind

heart and soft hand, his occupations shifted more towards honorable

professions - smuggling of spell components, rare herbs and plants and

various relics into Rog'osto). Life was good and prosperous, and Dalana

became a first a girl, then a young woman, who inherited some of her

mother's magic talent. She spent equal times with her mother studying the

arcane and pearl-diving than with her father on the "Black Dog", learning

seamanship and how to wield a cutlass, as well as using her magic to

influence the winds and the sea - indeed, when the old caravel finally had

to be scrapped and the ship was replaced by the galleon "Mother of Pearl" -

built with the help of Elvish artisans known by Nenselde, a majestic vessel

held in white and gold - Dalana became a full-fledged member of the pirate

crew. And while some of Khalil's old pirates thought he had finally lost it

("What kind of name is 'Mother of Pearl' for a pirate ship anyways. and any

sailor worth a damn knows that women and children are bad luck on a ship.),

but Dalana was old Khalil's daughter, and the crew would follow Khalil to

the nine hells and back. But while Dalana was not much of a pirate, she had

her father's love for the sea and her mother's love for knowledge. Dalana's

interests were in expeditions and archaeology, in particular those of lost

cultures or sunken ships.

In the words of a crewman: "So we followed Ala'I and his blasted horde of

low-life pirates all the way north before finally sinking that blasted

caravel on the coast of the Ruined Kingdoms, and Dalana says: 'I have a

hunch.' and she wanted to make us go into the damn jungle in hopes of some

riches of the geomammas, or something like that. of course it was nuts, but

she was daddy's daughter, and daddy happened to be the captain, so we spent

four days in those mosquito-infested jungles searching for whatever it was

that she wanted. by the Gods and the genies, I did not become an honest

pirate to have monkeys throw stones at me in some godforsaken jungle,

digging up dirt! So after four days we finally find a broken vase with runes

no one can read, and Dalana is all excited and locks herself in her quarters

for hours at a time, for a piece of pottery! We all think they're nuts,

Khalil and his daughter. but none of us complains. A week ago, the tropical

storms became so violent, I almost thought the 'Mother' was breaking up and

we're all goin' under, and Dalana steps on deck, spreads her arms and

murmurs somethin' no one can understand until the wind and the waves calm

down. Ain't never seen nothing like that in my life, a hundred-pound fragile

little girl saving a ship of veteran sea dogs! The girl's got somethin',

that's for sure, but it sure isn't common sense. sometimes I look at Khalil,

the proud mariner, and wonder how the old man feels that his only child

spends most of her time digging and diving for stuff and reading books, but

then Khalil turns to Dalana and smiles, and the girl smiles back, and I

cannot help but feel happy for the old man. we have no fate but the fate we

Yet as Dalana grew up, Khalil grew old, and Nenselde the Elf did not. Being

unable to watch her husband grow old, wither and die in while she remained

youthful, Nenselde heard the call, as she put it, and retreated to Evermeet.

Khalil and Dalana neither fully understand nor forgave her for this. In

fact, Khalil's bitterness was such that he let it out on sea. Gradually, the

'Mother of Pearl' and her crew drifted towards piracy again, and Khalil and

his crew became more and more violent, much to Dalana's dismay. One

particular night, Khalil and Dalana had an argument about Khalil's return to

piracy and brutality, and the 'Mother of Pearl' left Rog'osto without

Dalana. Dalana never knew what became of her father, as the ship was never

seen or heard of again.

Alone, Dalana took part on several expeditions into the Ruined Kingdoms and

the Grey Jungle, as well as hired passage on several expedition ships.

Dalana was making herself a name as a superior archaeologist, uncovering

several minor relics from the jungles as well as retrieving treasure from

two sunken ships, beneath the crowded sea. Thought she would never see her

parents again, Dalana one day woke up and discovered a ring on her finger, a

ring carved from a sapphire! Dalana found that she could not remove the ring

by any means, and directed her research towards this strange item. At the

present time, she has only gathered that the ring can only be removed in

event of the wearer's death, at which point the ring would appear on the

hand of a designated heir. Having never seen this ring on her parents'

hands, Dalana is unsure whether this ring comes from either one of them - if

it did, she grieved, it means the sure demise of one of them. She will not

rest until she has unraveled more secrets about this ring, and now has one

more motivation to pursue her archaeology.

Dalana's hair is long and black, usually tied together, her skin is alabaster-white, and her eyes apple green. She is very pretty, but not vein, and does little to enhance

her natural beauty. She usually wears light corsairs' clothing, with soft

leather boots (when in the wilderness) or barefoot (if on deck). Dalana has

a bright and colorful parrot familiar named Pauly.

Djuhah min Bahr (Derek)

Class: Faris/Paladin

Djuhah is a wandering Faris from the Crowded Sea. He reveres Zann and Najm simultaneously, possesses a short, well-trimmed black beard, a scimitar across his back, and a jambiya sheathed at his chest. He is often silent, exuding a patience often lacking in the passionate, impetuous faithful of Najm. A closer look at this often-smiling fellow reveals a dangerous, angry glint to his eyes. He gets along well with the ever-present saluks of Zakhara, being understanding about their admitted self-interest. Throughout his travels, Djuhah has learned most adventurers are normally good sorts who, while lining their pockets with the fruits of their adventures, unearth great knowledge and even greater wonders that benefit the people of Zakhara and bring greater glory to Learned Zann. The "quest", as an action furthering knowledge in Zakhara and aiding the good people under the rule of the Enlightened Throne, is Djuhah's lifeblood.

Effinidih (Carl)

Effinidih does not know her place of birth: she was abducted by slavers as a child of six. She only knows that she was not happy there. Soon after her abduction, she was sold to the sea mage Zarastro. She grew up on his remote island stronghold as a handmaiden to his three daughters.

While there, she learned some of Zarastro's magic, but no enough to become a true sorceress; rather she became a sa'luki bard, a nanny, dancer, entertainer, trickster and dabbler all in one.

Effinidih loved Zarastro as a father, but detested the younger daughters. As they grew up, her situation became more and more intolerable, and she finally decided to run away. This she did with the help of a fisherman who came to sell his catch. She now owes the old man a debt and has a terrible secret, all in one.

Effinidih has grown up in a very sheltered environment, and knows next to nothing of the outside world. This gives her a certain charming naiveté. At the same time, she can be stubborn and cocksure, as she has never encountered serious opposition. She has no real survival skills and no plan on how to survive in the world. She is trusting and honest, and willing to do domestic work as long as it is not too onerous or heavy; she will not do any professional work or manual labor and expects the menfolk to heave in with the heavier chores, such as carrying her rather extensive luggage.

Having heard stories of Huzuz since childhood, Effinidih decided that her courtly graces would do best there. At the same time, she is fearful that Zarastro will demand her back, so she tries to keep out of the public eye.

Class: Elemental Mage

Height: 5' 4'', 160cm

Weight: 165lb, 80kg

he is a handsome man. Son of Umar the barber (one of the 34 Umar "the barber" of Huzuz) he had learned the secrets of magic from an elemental mage called the "Zaphire", an old friend of his father's adventuring days. Farid dresses often a blue aba, the color of his eyes, and wear a white keffiyeh. After years of study Farid is ready to travel the world, to realize his dreams and those of his beloved father... Farid's dreams: Go away from the city, he loves the magic element of air, he wants to see the desert and the sea, the places where the Wind is the stronger force, where he can improve his powers. Meet many women, this is why he loves Huzuz, here he has a great number of lovers (and enemies), but he knows that somewhere in Zakhara there is some exotic beauty that is waiting for him!. The father's dreams: He wishes to see the day of glory for his son, see him rich and powerful, a respected person in the city (not the daredevil who run the streets of Huzuz every night). Farid is a nice person (from his point of view), sometimes he likes to play the role of the mysterious wizard (especially with young girls), but he's open and friendly. Aside magic & women he's an expert of Zakharan birds

Class: Barbarian

Haqim has always worked as bodyguard for great sultans, as all his family.

But, his not much smart, so he decided that live in a great house, with

many women, all the money and alikes isn't so good. So, he go travel for

all the world to gain more knowledge (if is possible for him...)

Khoraj Ibn Mahjid is a Professional Soldier. He has a light complexion with dark brown hair and eyes. He is the third son of a well-known scholar who teaches at the University in Huzzuz. Befitting his parentage he is of above average intelligence, literate and has a keen interest in history. In his early youth, Khoraj spent several years as the bookkeeper aboard his uncle's merchant ship and became a skilled sailor. Following his completion at the university he was granted a commission as an officer of Infantry. Following his service Khoraj has remained a professional soldier. His intelligence and fortitude have been instrumental in gaining the friendship of his peers and the loyalty of his subordinates to whom he is known as an honest and fair officer. His weapon of choice is the Halberd but he is skilled with the scimitar, mace, and horsebow as well. Khoraj has served as a bodyguard and as the guard captain on several mercantile ventures. Though Khoraj was raised as an academic and has a definite appreciation for the arts and finer things in life, he enjoys the outdoors and will admit that the thrill of combat and leading men into battle is an intoxicant for him.