veector's page

First off, this post and discussion may take a nasty turn, I'm well aware of that but I am fully committed to keeping the discussion civil despite the "instigating" nature of this post itself.

What I'd like to discuss is what should the role of 3rd party Pathfinder web sites be?

As part of full disclosure, I run a web site called the Pathfinder Database.

I've also seen sites such as the d20 Pathfinder SRD and the Archives of Nethys and the Pathfinder Wiki.

Now I am fully assuming that we're all playing nice by Paizo's Community Use policy and respecting their Terms of Use. But what I've started to get really confused about is:

How does a site like the Archives of Nethys encourage me to buy any published material from Paizo which includes the same rules? In addition, how does the Pathfinder Wiki encourage me to buy any additional sourcebooks if I can basically gain much of the same information from the wiki.

I've just really been conflicted lately as to whether the ability to publish something on the web for free actually helps or hinders the sales of Paizo's products.

As always, if you think this is irrelevant or a useless discussion please ignore the thread and let it die. However, I would really like to hear a Paizo employee's opinion on the subject.

Free Arabian Font

Pre-Islamic Arabian Mythology (appropriate for Legacy of Fire)

Moroccan Greeting

Moroccan Hospitality

How a dinner is served in Morocco

Moroccan Recipes

Music by Cheb Khaled (Algerian Rai, very appropriate for an NPC bard and both of these are awesome albums in their own right)
Khaled
N'Ssi N'Ssi

Great Moroccan Coffee Recipe

Classic Arabian Oil Paintings (perfect for NPC images)

Bayt al-Kritliyya
This link needs some explanation. In Cairo, there is a classical Egyptian house called the Bayt al-Kritliyya (Cretan House). It's been restored so that tourists can see what Egyptian homes were like in the classical (1600s) period. If you download the PDF available from this link, you'll see the restoration work as well as the layout of the house, which you could use for an important NPC. You'll also get a sense of the woodwork (which was expensive) prevalent in upper class houses.

Religious Architecture
From this link, for a nice mosque layout, try the "Sultan Faraj Ibn Barquq, The Khanqah and Mausoleum of - Cairo" link

I'll try and keep this updated as I find more stuff.

Salam all you Qadirans...

I noticed a few of you with Al- something for last names. Just to clear up any confusion, I thought I'd help with some pronunciation guidelines since I am semi-experienced in Arabic.

When written in Arabic, any word with Al- (referring to the article "the") in the word is written as Al-Shams (the sun). For example, if I was just transposing the letters from the Arabic to the english, Al-Shams would be written Al-Shms (Vowels are sometimes used as accents on consonants and are not present as a letter. In this case, the vowel for a short "A" sound like in cat would be an accent over the letter for "sh".)

That being the case, when pronounced, depending on the letter immediately following the Al-, the word is either pronounced Al-Something or As-Something.

For example, I've taken the liberty of using some members names here:

Samir Al Sa'eed - It would be written in text as it is displayed here. It would be pronounced like: Sameer As-sa'eed

Alia Al-Asraam - It would be written and pronounced the same since there is a vowel after the Al-.

Tabriq al-Tajeeri - It would be written in text as displayed here. It would be pronounced Tabreeq at-tajeeree.

Tarik Al Mansur - It would be written and pronounced the same.

What's the rule regarding what consonants get "doubled" in pronunciation and which don't? Here's a guide...

"Sun Letters" are those letters which double their sound with the article Al-. They're called Sun Letters because the word for sun, as translated above is "Shams" and "Shams" doubles the sh sound.

"Moon Letters" are those which do not double their sound.

Sun Letters: J, T, Th, D, Dh, R, Z, S, Sh, L, N
Moon Letters: A, B, J/G, H, Kh, Ayn (unique sound), Gh, F, K, M, W, Y

Hope that helps!

BTW, my son is named Samir. It means "beloved companion".

It's a series of articles published on Wired. Pretty interesting...

Part 1

Part 2

They even promoted a Paizo product in the second article!

My money's on Ravenloft II: House on Gryphon Hill. When I read it, it didn't make very much sense. When I ran it, I assumed the adventure would work itself out if I followed the instructions.

The PCs took a normal course of action and encountered the BBEG in his lair within the first hour. Mighta been my fault as a DM, but the adventure didn't suggest anything to prevent it.

I laugh at it now because it's like the difference between The Blair Witch Project and the BWP Sequel.