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Needed, Map of Arabian style Palace

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Wed, 2011-01-12 00:24
#1
Jack of tears
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Needed, Map of Arabian style Palace

My party recently found themselves in Al-Qadim trying to rid themselves of the curse of the All Seeing Eye of Yasmin Sira - and seeking treasure along the way like any good plane hoppers - and while there I fully expect to need a map/floorplan of an Arabian style palace. Problem is, none of the settling material I have provides one, and I haven't managed to find any online thus far. So can anyone here direct me toward a usable map; detailed enough so I can keep track of the parties movements and make notes for my own edification on encounters and such? It doesn't need to be something that would accommodate miniatures, as I don't make use of them myself, mostly just something setting appropriate.

Thanks in advance for the assist.

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Wed, 2011-01-12 06:59
#2
Jem
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Re: Needed, Map of Arabian style Palace

The Alhambra is a famous Moorish palace in Spain for which there is lots of art on the Web you could show your players. There is a large-scale map of the grounds at http://www.spainparador.com/AlahambraMap.gif , and a smaller blueprint-detailed map of part of this palace at http://www.almunecar.com/sitewide_images/gifs/map_alhambra.gif . Note that the second is upside down with respect to the first!

A much larger, military installation is the Red Fort of Agra, which is from Mughal India. A plan can be seen at http://lh5.ggpht.com/_8iNPq_Q4dpk/SsY21QY9cpI/AAAAAAAACc0/_NK5VH-3ko8/ag... , complete with scale. Also plenty of images available. This was the place from which Shah Jahan ruled -- he who built the Taj Mahal as the tomb for his beloved wife, which is visible from the fort.

Wed, 2011-01-12 13:06
#3
Palomides
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factotums
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Re: Needed, Map of Arabian style Palace

This leads me to the following thought...

I know because Islam is montheistic and is still practiced, it doesn't make an ideal fit for the pantheastic, gods-with-quirks deities one finds in Planescape. But is there anywhere on the Outer Planes that is a harbor for an Arabaian-influenced culture? Or is that exclusively the domain of the genies on the Inner Planes?

Are there any sub-Saharan groups on the Outer Ring? A Morrocan-influenced Casabah in the deserts of Pelion, etc.?

Just curious.

Fri, 2011-01-14 21:06
#4
Hyena of Ice
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Re: Needed, Map of Arabian style Palace

I believe there are some Arabic-style deities, yes. Though he's of the Greyhawk pantheon, I think Alakbar is one, along with Alzoraq.

As for African deities, there were some in the 2E Dragon magazines, though of the 2-3 sets, only one group was assigned home planes. I do not think divine realms were assigned, though.

Mon, 2011-02-14 16:38
#5
Evil
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Re: Needed, Map of Arabian style Palace

Being a muslim, I prefer to keep my religion and gaming separate. However, there is no way I can pass up on such a good theme to use on Planescape. If anyones still interested, I can also offer some advice on how to run a more realistic oriental (let's say, Ottoman style) palace.
-Palace is divided to Harem(where the owner's private life ensues) and the Selam (where the public life, business dealings, everything else takes place). The division between the two is very clear and very physical.
-In addition to serving as a goverment office, most palaces serve as colleges for promising children. They are raised to be loyal, and will probably come to occupy a high position in the government one day.
-If you want to be realistic, (and boring) you may portray the Harem as a very strict, solemn, spartan school for young girls. They practice arts and music, do cleaning and other household services in the harem, learn poetry and languages, etc... If your characters break into the harem expecting a sleazy scene with exotic bimbos, you may surprise them with this version instead.
-Ottoman places are rather different from european palaces, they are divided into many smaller buildings with distinct purposes (instead of the single huge building with many wings that I've seen in europe). Look up Topkapi palace to see what I mean.
-During its classical period, Ottoman princes would be sent to a different city each, both to educate them in how to run a state, and to keep them away from the capital so they didn't have any ideas about overthrowing their father. Of course these princes had palaces in those cities, so you can use one of these too.
hope these were useful.

Mon, 2011-03-07 02:46
#6
Jack of tears
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Re: Needed, Map of Arabian style Palace

I will be able to make some use of this information - though since I'm running a Sinbad style Arabian setting I think I'll avoid being too realistic with the Harem (though I did take a course in middle eastern history and knew the reality behind the myth) - thanks for the insight.

Mon, 2011-03-07 19:53
#7
kencheques
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Re: Needed, Map of Arabian style Palace

I prefer to keep my religion and gaming separate.!!!

Why?

Are your religion don' t compatible with fun?

Thanks for sharing. Really anyway I preciate your point of view.

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Wed, 2011-03-09 12:03
#8
Hyena of Ice
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Re: Needed, Map of Arabian style Palace

There are Persian and Sumerian/Babylonian/Mesopotamian mythos, as well as some deities from Al-Qadim, which was a 2E Middleastern setting set on Toril (same planet as Forgotten Realms and Kara Tur). The setting is based heavily on 1001 Arabian Nights.

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