The Complete Sha'Ir's Handbook (Al-Quadim Campaign Reference)

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful introduction to elementalist magic for Al-Qadim
Review: If you're a fan of the lavish Arabian world of Al-Qadim, you need this book! Here, we learn the wondrous mystical secrets of that beautiful realm's most exotic and fascinating characters - the Sha'ir themselves. Lore in this book includes: details on the Elemental Sorcerers of Flame, Sand, Water, and Wind, apprentices, rules for sorcerous duels (at last!), The Unseen, powers and enchantments of the Sha'ir (including, best of all, details on the dangerous Djinn), Sha'ir kits (the Ghul Lord is my favorite!), sorcerous socities, new spells and proficiencies (very dramatic), lavish illustrations, and more. Add the mysteries of the desert to your campaign - those arch-mages will suddenly seem boring by comparison!

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful introduction to elementalist magic for Al-Qadim
Review: If you're a fan of the lavish Arabian world of Al-Qadim, you need this book! Here, we learn the wondrous mystical secrets of that beautiful realm's most exotic and fascinating characters - the Sha'ir themselves. Lore in this book includes: details on the Elemental Sorcerers of Flame, Sand, Water, and Wind, apprentices, rules for sorcerous duels (at last!), The Unseen, powers and enchantments of the Sha'ir (including, best of all, details on the dangerous Djinn), Sha'ir kits (the Ghul Lord is my favorite!), sorcerous socities, new spells and proficiencies (very dramatic), lavish illustrations, and more. Add the mysteries of the desert to your campaign - those arch-mages will suddenly seem boring by comparison!

Rating:
Summary: Great Wizard Kits
Review: In a game world where you have to have a kit, this hand book is a gold mine. It has creative wizard kits that can be used in any game world, as well as a full explnation of the Sha'ir and their relationship with various Gen.

Rating:
Summary: Good for players, better for DMs
Review: This book should more appropriately be called "The Complete Al Qadim Wizards Handbook," because a large portion of the book is devoted to new kits for wizard characters. These kits work best as NPCs, because most of them don't use normal spellcasting rules, but new variations which take days, months, or even years of setup. Examples include the Mechanician, who places his spells inside clockwork automatons, or the Spellweaver, who weaves them into tapestries. They are interesting ideas, and DMs will probably want to use them in their game as soon as they can write them up. But it's hard to imagine a player getting excited about them.

Sha'irs are not forgotten, though. There's a large section of the book about details of the sha'ir's gen, and a list of rituals the Sha'ir can undergo to make his gen more powerful. This list is not all-inclusive-- it encourages the player and DM to make up their own ritual if they wish to improve the Gen in a way not listed in the book.

At the end of the book is a list of new spells for Al Qadim mages. There's more here than is contained in the usual AD&D supplement- quite a few spells for every level. New spells are usually interesting, this being no exception.

All in all, a good book.

Rating:
Summary: Good for players, better for DMs
Review: This book should more appropriately be called "The Complete Al Qadim Wizards Handbook," because a large portion of the book is devoted to new kits for wizard characters. These kits work best as NPCs, because most of them don't use normal spellcasting rules, but new variations which take days, months, or even years of setup. Examples include the Mechanician, who places his spells inside clockwork automatons, or the Spellweaver, who weaves them into tapestries. They are interesting ideas, and DMs will probably want to use them in their game as soon as they can write them up. But it's hard to imagine a player getting excited about them.

Sha'irs are not forgotten, though. There's a large section of the book about details of the sha'ir's gen, and a list of rituals the Sha'ir can undergo to make his gen more powerful. This list is not all-inclusive-- it encourages the player and DM to make up their own ritual if they wish to improve the Gen in a way not listed in the book.

At the end of the book is a list of new spells for Al Qadim mages. There's more here than is contained in the usual AD&D supplement- quite a few spells for every level. New spells are usually interesting, this being no exception.

All in all, a good book.