Why are the Arabian Nights settings so fucking underrated?

People tend towards things they're familiar with. The unfamiliar is nice for novelty, but it's very rare that it'll become their standard fare.

That being said, there are some great traditional games. The Tales of the Arabian Nights board game being an excellent example, still probably the greatest storytelling board game ever made.

>people keep posting but the poster count doesn't go up

Weird huh

Having bigger things to worry about doesn't stop the dumb animals from detonating when they see a picture of Mohammed.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camel#Domestication

They were possibly anachronistic to the Torah, they were however well established by the time of Jesus, and hence Mohammed also.

They have the right to try to tell their husbands stories that are interesting enough that they wont be beheaded because he wants to hear the next part.

shantae game when

Because Muslims a shit

>playing in a modern setting
piss taste

Sequel to PoP 2008 when?
A good SoT-inspired PoP game when?

>People in the middle east have bigger things to worry about than dumb games
They made a fuss about Ocarina of time containing a Islamic prayer, they complained about pages of the koran accidentally being in a stack of papers that was dropped on Fireman Sam.

Muslims are never too busy to complain about stupid shit, and when one of them notices something like that, there is sure to be a fatwa to follow if you don't remove that shit ASAP.

Because muslims are shit people.
Non-muslim arabs love sharing and showcasing their culture, but militant muslims are to middle-eastern culture what puritans were to western-european culture.
Same with India, non-muslim indians want to share their culture, but pakis stone their women for wearing traditional indian clothes.

Because I'm trying to make a Sinbad: Legend Of The Seven Seas campaign.

>people complain about Muslims ruining their Arabian Nights settings
>somehow conveniently forget that OP posted Prince of Persia as an example, which managed to pull off the "fairytale" aspect flawlessly with everyone loving it
Okay.

>People in the middle east
Are not the problem, the problem are american losers that think acting like they belong to ISIS will unfuck their lives.

The big thing is I would love to play a game set in Arabian Nights or Al Qadim, but I don't see myself DMing for lack of familiarity. My only experience with the arabian setting is Aladin and a really crappy CG Sinbad movie.

Because as with any non-european fantasy setting, it isnt 'safe'. I dont mean in any political way, but that 95% of Fantasy is set in Not!Europe, so the GM will usually take inspiration from this instead of having to work essentially from scratch.

Without a GM who really wants to run a non European setting of his own devising, at most you'll get a Weeb-cliche filled Japan.

It's easy to forget, but even classic D&D stuff includes elements of that cultural mythology. The City of Brass has been a part of it since 1987.

>le /pol/ bogeyman
Yes Muslims are entirely reasonable people with no bad apples. I mean it's not like there was a shooting in Dallas over a Muhammad cartoon :^)

So ISIS doesn't exist in the middle east? ISIS wasn't seizing entire cities just last year?

What could be some good fodder/encounter creatures?
Desert bandits, wandering Djinns, giant scorpions, snakes and lizards?

Shantae is cute and not for lewd

>People in the middle east have bigger things to worry about than dumb games
Oh really?

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reactions_to_Innocence_of_Muslims
>Over 50 deaths
>Nearly 700 injured
>Over an incredibly shitty movie that has "grandpa using his 1970 camcorder in his basement" quality

abandon thread
reality leaking into fantasy discussion
abandon thread

Why do adults say this shit

Holy fuck are you literally develomentally retarded to the point that your thoughts take the form of shitty anime memes?

It's depressing. Although also kind of a perfect answer to OP's question.

We can't discuss a beautiful, fascinating and influential cultural mythology because of... Well. All this bullshit.

Nobody in the Middle East makes tabletop and nobody else is interested in all that sand.

>People in the Middle East have bigger things to worry about than dumb games
Then why does Iran have at least one videogame studio? They released some Uncharted ripoff a few years ago.

I think they're memed more than underrated? But the ones that we have are enjoyed. PoP, Sinbad movie, Al-Qadim, 1001 Nights, Nightmares Underneith are all fairly acknowledged as interesting stuff of the top of my head. Dune too in a way.

Because the middle east and the people in it, regardless of the ignorance of /pol/ idiots, is an incredibly varied place with a huge disparity in quality of life, culture and social norms.

But I thought you said they had bigger things to worry about than dumb games.

Racists hate it because it puts the focus on brown people.
SJWs hate it because it stereotypes brown people.

>undermeme'd

One of the musical tracks in LittleBigPlanet originally contained two lines from the Qur'an, and it resulted in a worldwide recall. Negative reactions to games (and absolutely to other entertainment as well) are not at all without precedent. Not to say that's the sole, or even primary reason there aren't more middle eastern settings, but let's do away with the false pretense. There is basis in reality here, and besides that, even just the perception itself that it could be politically insensitive will be enough to dissuade many creators. Anyway,

This is likely the primary culprit. Simple supply and demand. Compound with the aforementioned political sensitivity, and creating such a setting looks commercially untenable. Which then leaves things in the hands of enthusiastic GMs who, let's face it, probably won't do such a tremendous job all on their own, and certainly their setting isn't getting published to a wider audience.

The City of Brass seems pretty warm. Is it large enough to set much of a game in, though, or more a location to visit?

>influential
On who? Certainly nobody reading this.

>no white people have ever killed anyone in the USA for a shitty reason
:^)

>not beheading people over a board game means no game development exists in the entire region

>Killing is a-okay because other people did it at some point.

That's not what you said, user my little habibi. You said they didn't have time for games. Yet they do.

Yes, Americans are entirely reasonable people with no bad apples.

>Holy fuck are you literally develomentally retarded to the point that your thoughts take the form of shitty anime memes?
Says the guy expending energy to complain about it

He actually said "people in the Middle East don't have time for games", not "no people in the Middle East have time for games".

That's a semantics argument. The term 'people', without any qualifiers, is presumed to apply to the entire group being spoken of. Grammatically, he did not need to specify any further to cast a wider scope, yet he would have to specific if he meant a narrower scope.

>Why do adults say this shit
Why do you think the poster was an adult, user.

Summer is here, after all.

>getting thus buttblasted because someone proved you wrong

...

My buddy DM'd an Arabian Nights flavored D&D 1E (I know...) It was actually a nice change of pace, although the Cleric of our group ended up leading us on a righteous Jihad and most of the time was spent taking turns mulching townsfolk and paladin armies. Girls did not mind the setting, but one had to be a horrible recluse sand witch and the other just played as pimp exotic animal trading charisma dude.

How does that affect your life directly?
That's a politica problem for politicians to solve.
What can get a middle-class american nerd hurt for playing make believe dice games in the arabian nights, are idiots who use those political problems as a justification for their murder-suicide.

>american

>How does that affect your life directly
>what is terror attacks being orchestrated abroad
Gee user I don't know.

>How dare these people act like man children on my board about playing pretend

What's your point, other than being hysterical for the fun of being hysterical?
The thread says playing anything that even remotely resembles Islam is problematic because ISIS is a thing, and even if ISIS isn't a thing in your western country ISIS inspired local terrorists are still a thing.

hows about arabian nights,
in space!!

kickstarter.com/projects/1192053011/coriolis-a-sci-fi-rpg-from-the-makers-of-mutant-ye

Muslims blow themselves up if you draw an picture of Mohammad in Paint. It's not irrational to be afraid.

That was actually Nintendo on their own. They have a strict no-religious-imagery rule, and took it out once they realized what they had done.

The other stuff is true, though.

Niggaa it's an Arabian nights-lite thread the fuck are ya talking about

>it's "muh Islam" episode on Veeky Forums
Meanwhile, people have mentioned settings that are clearly "Arabian Nights"-inspired yet contain zero references to Muslims.
Shantae, Prince of Persia, Echoes of the Astral Empire, Magi etc. hell, even fucking Sonic has a proper "Arabian Nights"-inspired game - and that's just games/anime shit, not even movies or books.

The main point of the Arabian Nights setting was never the fact that it's set in an Arabian setting - that's a requirement, but not the focus. The focus is that the setting is treated as a wondrous fairytale storybook, full of mysticism, adventure and grandness.
The grandiose palace architecture, the ancient demons, the mystical and majestic creatures like the Roc bird or the various beetle variations, the beautiful hanging gardens contrasted by the barren deserts, the mirage oasis that can be seen at the horizon - these are what defines an Arabian Nights setting. And not fucking Islamic religion.

If you're taking Islam out of the setting entirely, then it can hardly be called an Arabian setting. It is innately and deeply tied into the cultural substrata in myriad ways. Those settings that do not mention the religion, still have its cultural practices ingrained into the displayed society, they just decline to mention where those practices came from.

Yes, and? What the problem of not mentioning Islam directly in your setting?

Complaining about Islam is not so much complaining about a religion for existing, as it is a negative reaction to its cultural practices and the poor behaviors of its followers inspired by those practices. Those would still exist even if you decline to specify there is a religion behind it, and thus nothing would really change.

So barbaric and feudal practices that are prevalent in medieval settings are somehow better?

>being hysterical for the fun of being hysterical
I answered your question you fucking sperg. We've had 2 terror attacks in the UK in just a few weeks. It isn't irrational fear when it is actually happening. Bury your head in the sand if you want.
>Islam is problematic because ISIS is a thing
No you stubborn dick, you said "People in the middle east are not the problem" but you're fucking wrong because these problems originate from the middle east. Anyone who says all Muslims are the problem is just as big of a fuckhead as people like you who say "lol ISIS aren't muslims".

Generally. Especially when most settings tone them down.

What stops you from toning them down in an Arabian Nights setting?

Excellent point attempting to reverse his own argument against him.

For instance, I can't remember any point in time since 9/11 and the War on Terror that the U.S. hasn't been heavily criticized constantly for its involvement in the international arena, from literally everyone, including itself. Nearly every action that the U.S. has taken has come under incredible scrutiny from the international arena, especially it's more violent and quasi-legal actions that have led to the destabilization of several countries.

It's almost like, if you're fucking up, people will call you out on it. It's just that now, some people feel the need to say that certain groups of people can't be criticized, especially if that critique is coming from rich white people aimed at darker skinned, colored people.

Sure, they may have some life experience to lead them to believe that such actions by rich white people may lead to violence against their dark-skinned, poor people and therefore it would make sense that they would want to fight against and stand contrary to any such actions taken by rich white people. It's a rather reasonable reaction, honestly.

I just think it's odd that if the tables are reversed and you've got darker skinned, poorer people assaulting the culture, country, economy, or creed of richer white people the reaction is "SHUT UP YOU BIGOT!!!". I mean, it's not like the entire Western world hasn't had to live with nearly constant terrorist activity perpetrated by Muslim groups and Muslim lone-actors for over a decade. But it's utterly unreasonable to assume that the darker skinned, poorer people are also a threat despite the extended history of that not being the case according to people like you.

Eat shit, you sententious, pseudo-intellectual, platitude spouting fuccboi. You don't even know what logic or reason is. You're either a contrarian or a butthurt darky who wants petty revenge against a perceived injustice.

I don't think you can tone them all down without losing any claim they're an Arabian setting.

I hope you are not referring to the Dreamworks movie of Sinbad, that shit was legit

>A dog
Absolutely haram. Dogs are filthy creatures unworthy of love, respect, or care. It is a sin to associate with a dog outside of when it is absolutely necessary.

Too many brownos pal

This is also part of it, Arabian settings would have to have things that are thought of as quintessentially "Arabian" like Harems, and probably a Not!Islam religion.
Otherwise you may as well just play a generic fantasy game set in a desert.

So you can tone the feudal practices down without losing any claim it's a medieval setting?
Sorry, mate, but that's just bullshit. There is no basis to saying one is okay and the other isn't.

Considering all you gotta do is not punish heretics so bad for a feudal society? Yeah, it's much easier.

And all you gotta do is not behead for benign offenses or consider women property for an Arabian society.

Those are pretty big societal changes, hombre.

You also have to account for things like dogs being disgusting scum you are to kill on sight, now that I think about it.

Don't forget removing the hands of thieves.

And you think that medieval settings are not awful enough when considering them realistically? You know, like treating peasants as your property? Or burning people at stake just because you are a corrupt priest who wanted to seize someone's property?
Hell, I don't even think things like "behead for benign offenses or consider women property for an Arabian society" should be removed. Toned down and not shown as prominently? Sure. But it sets the tone that the society is strict about shit. Same about removing the hands of thieves, as mentioned.

Removing the stake thing is downplaying punishment of heretics, user. I mentioned that.

You basically cannot ignore the women thing because your players need to know specifically why they can't play a woman.

>Friend pulls this out
>okay sure
>2 hours later everyone else has been turned into a woman or a dog
>I have a giant pile of treasure and the love of Allah

felt good man

I wonder which is worse. /pol/acks that come here to derail thread or the idiots that help them.

So when public hangings are seen as a reason for a social gathering by most families it's not morbid?
So when an inbred noble fuck abuses his privileges and rapes his servants, and if you do shit about him, he'll just be replaced with someone worse it's not morbid?
There is a lot of fucked up shit about medieval times that is not immediately noticed, because we don't focus on it. Why you think we can't choose not to focus on fucked up shit in Arabian settings is beyond me.
I'm pretty sure my players can handle the fact that they can't play a woman in a setting where women have restricted rights (or play a woman with what amounts as basically "kill-on-sight" warrant on her head), if they can handle the fact that they can't play a human in no-humans setting.

It seems like the problem here is drawing the line between aesthetics and stereotyping when the stereotypes are generally pretty extreme but the aesthetics are poorly defined.

Medival settings are simple; castles, knights in armor, swords, and wizards if you want to get more fantastic. Things like the crusades, plagues, and the grittier details of war like fecal-tipped arrows are redacted or skipped over. Arabian setting generalized is usually , spices, camels, curvy swords and fire weapons. However that doesn't cover enough bases to feel relatable or "complete" as a setting from just that much.

No one goes through a list of cultural references and recommended political ideology before buying a videogame. People also don't usually expect every videogame to include total accuracy, but at least a generalized snapshot of the relevant real-world elements.

The idiots, as they will attack you for being /pol/ for making jokes and cheeky comments that has been on Veeky Forums since the beginning like:

Your first example is true unto the modern day, in a way. And your second is not a cultural phenomenon, it's an individual one.

>My players
I wasn't aware your players were all players.

> And your second is not a cultural phenomenon
Peasants being treated as property is not an individual phenomenon, it's a cultural one.

A noble raping his servants is an individual one, user. You were too specific.

Fine, replace rape with beatings or something. The point still stands.

It is a question of who's at fault, the thief or the homeowner who left the door open.

I mean if you remove either the problem would probably be solved. Although you argue /pol/ might be worse as even if you remove the idiots, they might still find ways to derail the thread.

Also an individual thing. You're conflating individual abuses for societal practices.

So you're saying that disproportionately punishing your servants for minor offenses was an individual issue, not a societal one? Are you and I living in different timelines or something?

Yes, because without a legal proscription for punishments, the punishment is always going to be up to an individual's whim.