Al Qadim (Playing)

The Player Characters
Suhran Ath'Thalithah
Lazar Tariq
Raven Something-Or-Another
A map of the known world.  Includes the settings of Zakhara, Midgard, Golarion, Dragonlance, and Nyambe.  The world is commonly believed to be a flat surface surrounded by the world serpent.  Many empires are ruled by dragons and their kin, although Zakhara remains primarily under the influence of geni-kind rather than the elemental dragons.

The campaign premise.  

At the north-western edge of the Haunted Lands, on the very knees of the World Pillar Mountains, lies a wide crescent of waste stained red and black from the detritus of a thousand eruptions. The ages have seen the pumice crushed to grit, fit only to be blown about by winds from the gray crags high above. But wind is not the only thing that comes down from the mountains to disturb the lands below. 

The World Pillar Mountains are the redoubt of the race of beast-headed men who enslave all they lay eyes on, from the mightiest Dao to the lowliest gnome. From their mighty mountain fortresses they command the unfortunate inhabitants of the lands below, taking a tithe of every family's offspring as slaves or as sacrifices to their forgotten god. Travelers who stray too close to their lands are considered forfeit, as are those who attempt to stand up against their terrible mystic power. These beast-men call themselves the Yikiria, but the rest of the world calls them by a name that matches their appearance: the Yak-Men. 

Either as a traveler or as one of the unfortunates who dwell in the shadow of their fortresses, you have been taken as a slave to these creatures. As their chattel, you can generally expect to be treated decently--if not well--for slaves are the currency among these monstrous barbarians, and to kill or ruin a slave is to destroy one's wealth. The exception is the slaves who are sacrificed daily to the Yak-Men's god, either by being thrown to the winds from atop one of their high temples, immolated in the fires beneath the mountains, drowned in an icy river, or buried alive beneath the earth. Fortunately, you are not yet among those who have been selected for sacrifice.

Instead, you have been marched southward with about 150 other human and demi-human slaves for the purpose of clearing out the entrance to a newly discovered temple, located in the steaming jungles on the edge of ancient Nog. At the moment you possess few belongings, other than the clothes on your back, the digging implement in your hands, and the chains on your arms and legs. Any holy symbols, spell components, weapons, or armor you wish to obtain will have to be gotten the hard way--by means of your own wit and fortitude. 

And be warned: among the Yak-Men's slaves it is considered poor luck to be selected for such an expedition, for--either for good or for ill--those who get involved in these ventures tend not to come back. 

Good luck!