"The Seven Voyages of Sinbad,” “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves,” “Aladdin and His Magic Lamp”— these and other classics fill the pages of the Arabian Nights. Each story is told by a very wise and beautiful young woman called Scheherazade, who reveals them night after night to a king with a murderous heart. The first of the thousand-and-one tales is Scheherazade’s own . . .

In a time long ago, there lived a great king of the kings of the Banu Sasaan. This king had two sons, Shahryar and Shah Zaman. Shahryar, the eldest, ascended his father's throne. To his younger brother, Shah Zaman, he bestowed the throne of Samarkand. Twenty years passed, and King Shahryar longed to see his younger brother again. He sent word to Samarkand, asking Shah Zaman to come for a visit. Shah Zaman agreed. He had not traveled far when he remembered something that he had left behind in his palace, and slipped back into his chambers to retrieve it. There he discovered his wife, her arms wrapped round a kitchen slave, both sleeping peacefully upon his own bed-carpets. Shah Zaman drew his scimitar and cut them both into four pieces with a single blow. Then, deeply saddened and shocked, he resumed his journey.

By the time Shah Zaman reached his brother's palace, his body was weak and his color had changed to yellow. Shahryar could see that his brother was sick with grief, but Shah Zaman refused to explain the cause. King Shahryar arranged a hunt, hoping that such an outing would raise his brother's spirits. When the date arrived, however, Shah Zaman stayed behind at the palace, and his brother went off without him.

The next morning, as the melancholy Shah Zaman stared down into a garden court, he spied his brother's wife and her female slaves. They entered the court, completely unaware of his presence in the window above. As Shah Zaman watched, a group of male slaves entered the courtyard, and then all cavorted wildly until the day had nearly passed. Shah Zaman's health improved when he saw that his brother's plight was worse than his own.

When Shahryar returned, Shah Zaman told him what he had witnessed. At first Shahryar refused to believe the bawdy tale. But after Shahryar himself had witnessed a similar event, he ordered that every man and woman involved be slain to the last, including the queen.

Eventually, Shah Zaman returned to Samarkand. King Shahryar proclaimed that he would wed a different maiden each night. Each morning thereafter, he would have the girl slain, so that none could betray him again. This brutal practice continued for three years, until many of his subjects had fled, and no more brides could be found. Finally, only the daughters of his trusted vizier remained: Scheherazade and Dunyazade.

Scheherazade was the eldest, as clever and learned as she was beautiful. She vowed that she would wed the king and live to see his terror ended. With Dunyazade in agreement, she formed a plan.

That night, as Scheherazade lay with the king in his chambers, she began to weep. When the king inquired about the cause of her sorrow, she asked whether her younger sister might be allowed to visit on this, her final night. The king agreed.

Dunyazade appeared and asked Scheherazade to tell a story to entertain her and the king. In response, Scheherazade wove a tale more wondrous than any Shahryar had heard before. When the dawn came, Scheherazade left the end of the tale untold.

The king was so enrapt that he allowed her to live, in order that she might continue her tale the next night. Thus Scheherazade told one story after the other, night after night, until she had entertained her husband for three years. In that time she bore him three children. At last, the king declared that he would not kill her, for he loved her and knew that her devotion was real. The king's heart had mended, and he slew no bride again.

If Scheherazade had continued her tales for a thousand more nights, what would she have described? Perhaps she would have painted another exotic world, much like her own, with spired cities; glittering sands; and vast, sparkling seas. Perhaps she would have filled this realm with magics beyond compare, and then peopled it with daring adventurers who were not only humans but also elves, half-elves, dwarves, gnomes, and even ogres—all living peacefully side by side.

In your hands is the key to that imaginary world. The Al-Qadim rulebook opens the door to a new campaign that weaves threads of Arabian legend with the fantasy of the Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition game. This book includes everything you need to begin: new character classes, new proficiencies and equipment, new rules for adventure, new wizard spells, and a wondrous new power—the power to bend Fate to one’s own desires. You’ll also find an introduction to Zakhara, the Land of Fate, a new setting specially created for the AL-QADIM™ campaign.

Three distinct visions of Arabia have helped give shape to these rules. The first is the historical Arabian Empire, a force which boiled out of the desert and swept through Asia and Africa, eventually encompassing an empire from the Atlantic to India. This historic Araby was the home of great warriors, explorers, and traders, as well as great knowledge and civilization.

The second Araby, more important to these rules, is that of legend—the world of genies and ghuls, mad barbers and magicians, and young women gifted with true sight. The AL-QADIM campaign builds upon these legends, creating a living realm filled with human as well as inhuman creatures.

The third Araby comes from our own culture and its Hollywood movies—films that are occasionally humorous and quite often inaccurate. In the movies, strong-jawed heroes brandish curved swords, battling behemoths that move in stop-animation, winning, at last, the love of some beauteous maiden whose sheer veil scarcely conceals her face. These films offer a third lens through which we can view the world of the Arabian Nights. They are entertaining rather than educational, but this is the Arabian fantasy world that most of us know first, through Saturday TV matinees.

All three of these visions have left their mark upon the AL-QADIM campaign, creating a world that is strictly fantasy. Like Scheherazade’s tales, these Arabian adventures are yours to create, one legend at a time.

Your magic carpet awaits. Let your magical journey begin, and may Fate be with you, for we have no Fate but the Fate which we are given.

Lukaas Hendrix.