Al - Qadim Al - Qadim ( literally , " The Old " in Arabic ) is an " " - themed campaign setting for the " Dungeons & Dragons " role - playing game . The setting was developed by Jeff Grubb for TSR , Inc . , and was first released in 1992 . Al - Qadim is set in the land of Zakhara , called the “ Land of Fate . ” Thematically , the land of Zakhara is a blend of the historical Arabian Empire , the stories of legend , and a wealth of Hollywood cinematic history . Zakhara is a peninsula on the continent of Faerûn in the world of Toril , the locale of the " Forgotten Realms " campaign setting , although " Al - Qadim " is designed to stand on its own or be added to any existing campaign setting . The basic campaign setting was divided between two game products : " Al - Qadim : Arabian Adventures , " a sourcebook describing character creation rules , equipment , and spells unique to the setting , and " Al - Qadim : Land of Fate , " a boxed set describing the land of Zakhara , with separate sourcebooks for the players and the Dungeon Master . Important concepts . There are a number of important concepts to the Zakharan culture including honor , family , social station , purity , piety , and hospitality . Zakharan society is broken into two main divisions : Zakhara ' s society is made up mainly of humans , but demihumans such as elves and dwarves are present in the setting also , as well as humanoids such as orc s , goblinoid s , and ogre s . Unlike most settings , there is practically no racial disharmony in Zakhara : humans , elves , and orcs alike share the same culture , lifestyle , and social status , and races traditionally considered evil savages , such as goblin s , are instead valued members of society . The nomadic Al - Badia are predominantly human , whereas the Al - Hadhar possess greater diversity . The nomads and city - dwellers , humans and non - humans alike , are all united as a single culture under a single religion ( a polytheistic pastiche of Islam ) and as subjects of the Grand Caliph ; the entire continent is effectively a single empire , although different regions , city - states , and tribes have unique local cultures . Not all inhabitants of Zakhara belong to the shared culture , however ; there are many tribes of pagan human barbarians who reject the Law of the Loregiver and the worship of the Pantheon , and certain monstrous races — including the yuan - ti , the vile yak - men ( or " yikaria , " as they call themselves ) , and most giant s — dwell apart in their own societies . The people of Zakhara speak and write a common language called " Midani " ( represented by Arabic ) . Zakhara has a wide variety of gods , but all recognize the power of Fate . Fate may cast down the mightiest sultan or raise up the meanest beggar . None can agree on her nature , whether the mother of the gods or an elemental force . All acknowledge her power , however . In " Dungeons & Dragons " game terms , Fate is not given statistics , spells , or priesthoods as are most deities . In the distant past , a woman known only as the Loregiver penned the scrolls that clearly laid out the laws of the land , some say guided by the hand of Fate . The wisdom of this Lore was immediately recognized and became the basis of law in Zakhara . The vast majority of Al - Hadhar and most Al - Badia are Enlightened in the way of the Loregiver . Characters . Player character s in the " Al - Qadim " setting can choose from any of a number of character types . " Al - Qadim " makes use of the concept of character kit s , a more rigid layer atop the traditional " Dungeons & Dragons " character class es . These kits are generally available to all characters , with certain restrictions based on the race of the character . All races are present , including humans , elves , dwarves , half - elves , gnomes , and halfling s , although they do not suffer many of the racial prejudices traditional to most " Dungeons & Dragons " campaign settings . Non - human characters are rarer than they are in other traditional " Dungeons & Dragons " settings , including the rest of Abeir - Toril . Kits described in the core campaign setting are as follows : Expansion products . Al - Qadim had a number of support products released before the line came to an end . These include :