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The Banned and Buried History of Al-Qadim

Exits Examined

124,363 views

Intro: 0:00
The World, Lore, & Culture : 2:26
Races, Spells, & Skills: 13:55
Controversy & Cancellation: 17:29
History in DnD, & Publications 20:42
Adaptations or LACKTHEREOF: 26:06
Future, Fandom, & Conclusion: 28:26

Before Critical Role, before Faerûn dominated every D&D shelf, there was Al-Qadim—a dazzling, imaginative setting inspired by the tales of the Arabian Nights, full of genies, golden deserts, and spell-wielding corsairs. So why did it vanish from the spotlight? In this video, we’re diving deep into the rise and fall of Al-Qadim, from lore, cultural influences, and the bit of a messy legacy it left behind. Strap onto your camels and grab your scimitars.

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MUSIC & DESIGN:

Thumbnail Design by Dabi: https://dabigraphics.my.canva.site/

Hard Boiled, Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Rising Tide, Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Celtic Impulse, Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Vibing Over Venus, Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

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SOURCES:

https://web.archive.org/web/200810021...

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/produ...

5E Fan conversion: https://www.dmsguild.com/product/3415...

https://archive.org/details/tsr02129m...

image sources 5e conversion had alot of CC
https://www.dmsguild.com/product/3415...

20 Comments

@ohadbik 1 year ago

I played a 6 year campaign in al-qadim.
HASSAN CHOPS!

@johnvincentcomedy 1 year ago

Glad that modern Wizards of the Coast moved away from controversial themes such as these, and focussed on hiring the Pinkerton detective agency to shake down their fans instead

@repentantsinner7472 1 year ago

As an Arab-American teenager in the 1980’s I can honestly say that TSR including these settings was amazing. I loved the Emirates of Ylarum and Al-Qadim. It helped me show off my culture to my friends. Whenever anyone claims that these settings were racist, insensitive, or controversial I get very offended. The worst criticism that you could level is that some of the depictions are clumsy by today’s standards but you have to remember that hardly anyone in the US knew anything about the Middle East back then. There was no internet. Research was impossibly hard. The creators at TSR should be commended for even attempting a non-European High Fantasy setting. I will be forever grateful to old TSR for highlighting a fantasy Middle Eastern setting. This is a game where dragons are real, so please spare me the criticism related to the lack of realism. This was a fantastic and fun setting and by the way, so was Kara-Tur and my Asian American friends from the 80’s would echo my sentiments for that setting as well. The modern overly sensitive WOTC crowd have done nothing as original or inspiring as what the geniuses at TSR were able to accomplish with less money and resources.

@ltcinsane 1 year ago

Honestly i was a tad sad that Al-Qadim & Kara-Tur didn't get as much love.

@markmunroe-hz8rf 1 year ago

Robert E Howard's Conan the Barbarian was set in a pseudo historical fantasy world with Asian, European and African nations.
The world building was fantastic and Earthsea was created as a reaction to the generic European medieval fantasy worlds.

@norl55 1 year ago

As someone who owns every supplement (minus a few Dragon Magazine issues), I can attest that this is one of the best adventuring settings ever made. Is it perfect? Nope. But given when it was written the writers tried very hard to build a world that was based off the stories of the source material.

For those wanting to try running some games in the setting, I highly recommend using some from "A Dozen and One Adventures" for some short adventure ideas, or "Golden Voyages" for a slightly longer adventure. Having said that most of thence the supplements are great (caravans I thought was sub par).

@Jetwolf 1 year ago

There's slavery in most fantasy settings, even beyond D&D. The Slave lords modules are set in Greyhawk; Darksun had slaves aplenty; In Mystara, Alphatia is known for harsh treatment of slaves, while Thasian has codified slave rights. As mentioned in the Vid Al Quadim is connected to Forgotten Realms. Slavery exists in the world of Lord of the Rings, primarily among the forces of darkness. Slavery exists in Conan, Star Wars (Kenner Leia action fig in Slave costume kids?)... I dunno if it's a stand-out thing with this setting is all. I never played in this world, but I'd say your flavour and what's included in a game or not is going to rest more on your GM and group, rather than what Wizards of the Coast choose to publish, gloss over or omit in their settings. I really enjoyed this video despite the sensational Title and premise, thanks for uploading. 👍

@andrewlustfield6079 1 year ago

Al-Qadim and Dark Sun, etc are the kinds of worlds that can be imagined and realized when game writers are allowed to show courage

@Zeithri 1 year ago

24:04 — Missed opportunity to show the scene from Conan the Barbarian where he punches a Camel.

@zosonte 1 year ago

Honestly Otto my man I never expected so many DnD settings would feature on this channel but I'm glad they do, it's fascinating to hear about these worlds as someone who doesn't play DnD. I could listen to you describe a divorce because you're so good at it. Here's to 100k by next year.

@crimfan 1 year ago

One of the best D&D campaign settings ever written.

@Shadowslave604 1 year ago

the perfect aladdin, sinbad setting. loved this as much as dark sun. also my first experience with a Raksasha.

@ladyofthedrgns 1 year ago

I can picture a GM being able to slap together a Disney-style setting for this. The whole setting sounds like so much fun! I know my saying that not republishing a setting like this to be respectful of a culture can come across as racist as well. Like the publisher is saying that acknowledging that culture's existence is not ok. To me, playing a setting in the Thousand and One Arabian Nights, Sinbad, or any of the mythological stories sounds like a lot of fun!

@Lornext 1 year ago

"Problematic" = Actually cool, unapologetic, authentic, epic, diverse, interesting

@eclectic_nerd 1 year ago

I bought some Al Qadim recently, I appreciated that they noted that the inspiration for the setting was taken from historical sources, legends, and Hollywood.

@ZeZign79 1 year ago

Al-Qadim was on of the first second addition settings I played as a kid. I really loved it. It was enough different to Darksun, that it had its own niche. I still have my second addition campaign setting in my attic.

@PRGidaro 1 year ago

It was, and is, a great game setting. It is not a horrible problematic setting.

@themartianVA87 1 year ago

I definitely feel like WOTC throws some babies out with the bath water, setting-wise. We got Eberron and some great ideas to work with, but lost Al-Qadim and Jakandor, two of my favorite settings as a small nerd. I know that’s a common gripe, but there’s great stuff in both of those corners of the setting that are truly unique while wearing influences on their sleeves.

@richardl3310 1 year ago

The Complete Sha'ir Handbook was amazing. It gave a new class which worked differently from all who came before, added flavor which allowed people worldwide to imagine what it was like to live in a pre-Islam/early Islam middle eastern society. and was *actually balanced*.

I do not say this as an owner of the original print. I say that you should find a digital copy, as legitimately as you can.

@JamesRichardsPlays 1 year ago

43 year old gamer here: The Al-Qadim setting was fantastic! I took it fo rwhat it was, a fantasy setting not meant toi represent real world peoples, but it was a nice nod to a very exotic area of the world. I had the opportunity to visit Makkah as part of touring package when my father was stationed in Germany for a short while back in 1989. I seem to remember aroudn mid 2001 there was talk about an internal playtest sourcebook (very rough draft)being passed around by WotC folk (before Hasbro destroyed the culture there) and then the World Trade Center fell. Youc an guess why the sourcebook went away if it existed at all. I was SO looking forward ot it. Instead I joined a forum that had people working to convert the AD&D material to 3.5 edition rules. I hope WotC or another enbtity brings it back.The "Problematic" parts were one of the biggest reasons to play the setting and gave it that special flavor. No setting has ever truly risen to that level.