Ajami (Alien Wizard)[]
These wizards are outlanders-strangers to the Land of Fate whose abilities lie outside the realm of native magics. More a label than an actual kit, this group includes any spellcaster whose origin is beyond the borders of Zakhara. Alien wizards may be "standard" mages and specialists straight from the Player's Handbook, as well as members of the various kits listed in The Complete Wizard's Handbook (provided the DM allows them). Those classes and kits may still operate in the AL-QADIMTM campaign, but do so under limitations.
Requirements: None. All races and either gender are eligible. The unisex title is ajami (ah-ZHAH-mee, a Zakharan idiom, having the soft "zh" sound of "rouge"). The optional feminine title is ajamiya (ah-ZHAH-mee- ya). The plural is ajamis (ah-ZHAH-meez). Like most plural titles, this one has been anglicized.
Role: Ajamis are treated with suspicion. Even the most cosmopolitan citizens of Zakhara harbor a distrust of strangers who hail from beyond the borders of "civilization"; those who wield magical power are doubly distrusted. Whether a native of the icy North, of the oriental lands of the East, or from space itself, a wizard who exhibits powers outside the limitations set by Fate is considered a potential danger.
Weapon Proficiencies: Ajamis bring the weapon proficiencies of their original character class or kit with them when they come to Zakhara. Once in the Land of Fate, however, they cannot learn proficiencies that are not available here. Further, if a weapon proficiency only exists in Zakhara, it may not be taken initially, but may be acquired later. (For example, ajamis cannot begin the campaign proficient in the use of the jambiya, which is an Arabian weapon related to the dagger but requiring a different proficiency for accurate use.)
Nonweapon Proficiencies: All ajamis may begin the campaign with proficiencies normally available to their native group, class, or kit. If a proficiency is not available in the Land of Fate, then a character may not pick it up after the campaign in Zakhara begins. If a proficiency is available only in Zakhara (such as haggling), it may not be taken originally, but may be acquired later on.
Equipment: Ajamis may choose equipment within the limits of their original class or kit. Not all equipment is available in Zakhara, however. Unless the character comes equipped, items commonly purchased in an alien wizard's homeland may exist only as a curiosity in Zakhara—costing five times the normal price if they're available at all.
Special Benefits: Ajamis continue to learn and use new spells, including new spells that are designated "universal" in Chapter 8 of this book.
Special Hindrances: Alien wizards cannot learn spells that are not available in Zakhara, even if those spells were available to them in their homeland. Nor can ajamis learn spells from any of the elemental provinces while in the Land of Fate. Ajamis cannot learn fireball here, for example, even if they could in their homelands; in Zakhara fireball is the work of a mage with access to the province of flame. However, ajamis who already know such spells can still memorize and cast them in Zakhara. And wizards who import a scroll containing fireball (or another forbidden spell) can still use that scroll in the Land of Fate, or even add the spell to their spellbooks.
Elementalists (first introduced in the Tome of Magic) are an exception. They can learn elemental spells in Zakhara, but only those linked to the element in which they specialize.
Wealth Options: Ajamis receive (1d4+ 1) x 10 gp initially.
Races: Racial restrictions match those of a character's original class or kit.
Conversions: It is possible for ajamis to recognize the "error" of their ways and convert to one of the three native wizard kits of Zakhara. They need only declare the superiority of the chosen kit, and then announce their intention to convert. Automatically the alien wizards abandon their original class or kit for the sha'ir, elemental mage, or sorcerer kit.
Spells that aren't suited to the new kit are lost forever. For example, ajamis who become sorcerers or elemental mages lose any spell that now belongs to forbidden elemental province. However, other spells not native to the campaign are retained.
Likewise, alien wizards who become sha'irs must destroy all their old spellbooks—usually by fire—to symbolize their intentions to the genies. At that point, the new sha'irs lose their old ability to learn spells. Instead, they gain the spell-like abilities of the sha'irs. The level of those abilities corresponds to their former experience level as alien wizards.
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