Customer Reviews

GURPS Arabian Nights: Magic and Mystery in the Land of the Djinn (GURPS: Generic Universal Role Playing System)

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The book is a very good reference for historical facts and characters. It describes the medieval arabian culture and society very well. However, it is not a book for present Arabia, only for the periods before 1.300 a.C.

The book does a good job in the "fantasy" side, introducing elements of Thousand and One Nights, such as monsters and races (complete sheets of the legendary Djinns, Rocs, Persian Dragons and such). The Magic and Magic Itens section is average. It's not as "fantastic" (or "sparky", or "flashy") as al-Qadim, but in the end it's an advantage (there, the Great Caliph is served by hundreds of Djinns!)

The book could have more details about the dangers and facts of living in the desert, handling camels, cooking and surviving, just like GURPS Imperial Rome, which details the life in the court. Also, it could modify more things in magic, just like GURPS Celtic Myths, to improve the interference of "destiny and fate" and the arabian flavor.

In the end, it's a great book! Worths very well the money paid for it.

The Arabian Nights is a series of tales about people from all walks of life. From Sultans, to fishermen, to merchants, to beggers. It isn't limited like so much of legend, to the doings of warlords and warriors. And it has one of the best heroines of literature. Sherenazerade is devoted, beautiful, intelligent, and knows one-thousand and one tales. Why do mad sultans get all the luck?
This Gurps book is a well-written piece about the collection of coffeehouse tales that became The Arabian Nights. And about the world they took place in. It gives cultural details of Medieval Arab society-enough to do a realistic game in that setting. It also has bits about general Arab folklore. And information about other elements of eastern legend, such as the Epic of 'Antar.
Like most Gurps it gives sample campaigns. In this case the one I liked most was "The poet, the slave, and what was not theirs." This gives an adventure in the fictional city-state of Dhuliban. In point of fact I thought the plot mediocre but I greatly liked the setting and Dhuliban caught my imagination.
Arabian Nights was a fine piece and one of the better of the Gurps books.