>>69098789
Final boss is a drawing of Muhammad.

Freaky looking djinns, overrunning the land?

>>69098841
You're probably shitposting but I am going to engage with you anyway because a variation of that could be a good idea. The final boss could exist because some dumbfuck broke the taboo of depicting sapient beings and made a big fuckoff bronze/iron/whatever metal or stone is coolest statue of the prophet, which came to life/got possessed by demons/whatever and has tricked the people into worshipping him instead, going full demiurge and warping the faith into a means for him to satisfy his egomaniacal lust for power.

>>69098857
The thing is that I really don't know how to make Djinns freaky. They're like multicolored dudes who are sometimes like a gas or something right? I don't really have a handle on how to turn that into stuff as visually interesting as the usual old testament eldritch angels meme.

>>69098789

what sort of technological level are you looking for? I assume vaguely medieval, but the geometric armour, coupled with the featureless masks, and cubes/domes make it seem like it would fit a sci-fi setting? idk

also

> eternal war against a vague foe

is the background/setting for Orwell's 1984?

>>69098881
Cool idea anon. And of course this false or real idol makes the blood of the defenders of the faith boil with rage by the mere fact it exists.
Can also be the starting reason the character engages in his holy war, or jihad if you will, both internal and external. That can lead to interesting interrogations and motivation evolution throughout the setting.

>>69098961
>what sort of technological level are you looking for? I assume vaguely medieval, but the geometric armour, coupled with the featureless masks, and cubes/domes make it seem like it would fit a sci-fi setting? idk

Islamic art is focused heavily on geometry so it wouldn't make sense for them to go with ornate decorations like in Christian cathedrals with all the angel statues and wonky detail and shit. Everything would be smooth, orderly, and simple. Maybe some fancy patterns atop it but those would be geometric configurations as well.

I'm personally shooting for like an Islamic Golden Age (as in the time period, if you want to debate whether it was an actual golden age go to /his/) era setting but you know, with fantasy stuff out the ass and everything's all exaggerated. Look at the trailer for Blasphemous and imagine it with Islam.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seGW4vdfL7A

>>69098985
That could work yes. The PCs could've been tasked by the Imams in the know to assassinate the false idol, but can't act directly due to its current power, having duped most of the institution with its charisma.

>>69098902
Picture an ISIS member, now picture them with a 140 IQ, the same rape/murder/control intentions, and phenomenal cosmic power but a territorial desire for a single city-state/region. Basically a bunch of Satans running around.

>>69099062
I thought Djinn could be good or evil though instead of just evil? I'd focus more on them being fae but with less faffing about in nature and more ambition and interaction with mortals. I think they can also assume animal/partial animal forms so that opens the way for neat hybrid monsters.

>architecture just geometric shapes
Maybe the interior decorations, but the outside should be all kinds of stuff. Look at La Alhambra or the Hagia Sophia and such.

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>>69099285
>La Alhambra
Basically cubes
>Hagia Sophia
Basically domes

I don't mean that in a bad way just that they definitely still have geometric themes even on the outside, though I'll admit they have a lot more detail than just straight up one big shape. I was just thinking how to exaggerate the concept to be more fantastical. Another way to do that is to have important buildings be made out of impossible geometries or detailed, crystal-like designs.

>>69099035

don't play vidya, so I hadn't seen that trailer before; looks cool.

I think the differences between core "themes" of Christ's and Muhammad's lives are pretty important for this:

> Christ was born of immaculate conception, the Son of God, lived as perfect and as sinless a life as one possibly could, and sacrificed Himself for the sins of humanity - it's a perfect and epicly impossible ideal to live up to.

> Muhammad on the other hand, (not too familiar with Islam, so this may be incorrect) lived a fairly ordinary life, although orphaned - travelled around a lot when young, became a merchant, got married and had children. It's not until Muhammad is 40 that He starts Islam, has the Night Journey, wins the wars and completes the conquest of Mecca. He then dies a fairly ordinary death - It's certainly very different, and more grounded. Muhammad is never portrayed as anything more than Human, so it's the sort of life one could attain.

I forget what my point is exactly, but maybe it can help you.

>>69099343
>Muhammad is never portrayed as anything more than Human, so it's the sort of life one could attain.
He is a prophet though, so he's basically peak human, religiously speaking

>>69099384

> He is a prophet though, so he's basically peak human, religiously speaking

of course yeah, still a lot to live up to - but not impossible.

I also remembered the point I was trying to make:

Christ's life, and by extension Christianity, is tragic. This tragedy has inspired much art - and it naturally lends itself to a Grimdark setting.

Muhhamad's life, and by extension Islam, is triumphant. Islam's stance on iconism has meant that art is expressed in a more abstract manner. As Titus Burckhardt said, "Islamic art aids man to be entirely himself" - I think Islam would fit a Nobledark setting more easily.

Anyway, good luck dude. I'll keep watching the tread and throw out any other ideas I get encase they help you

Related question: what RPG or novel would you recommend to someone looking for a similar, Christian-inspired grimdark setting?

>>69099250
They're almost always evil in Islam.

>>69099250
>I thought Djinn could be good or evil though instead of just evil
This is how it is believed. There are Muslim Djinns and infidel ones. Infidel ones are the one doing evil djinn stuff. Also according to Islam Satan was not an angel but a djinn.

>>69098789
Islamic people have no traditions resembling heretical Catholic repentance. Nor in fact did most Catholics seeing how it was eventually deemed heretical due to the high risk of suicide from self flagellation.

>>69099927
Muslims also have flagellants.

>>69099343
>>69099563
These are good points. I'm still going to try and aim for a grimdark setting simply because that's the tone my table wants but I could have the NPCs be more idealistic rather than morose, maybe. Something something hubris.

>>69099741
>>69099843
I see. Either way I'm veering towards them as being like, just multicolored people but then they hulk out into animal hybrid warforms.

>>69099927
>Islamic people have no traditions resembling heretical Catholic repentance.
I mean yes, I'm not asking for the same thing but Islam-themed, I'm asking what the EQUIVALENT weird grimdark heretic aesthetic would be for this religion. Obviously it would be different, but I don't even know where to start.

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>>69098789
>How would you make a Blasphemous-type setting for Islam?
bacha bazi. Literally boy prostitutes.

There's a loophole of sorts in Muslim law: homosexual relationships are forbidden, but homosexual sex isn't.
...Or at least carries a much lower punishment, since homosexual relationships will get you killed, while homosexual sex will get you the equivalent of a slap on the wrist.
Most muslims are raised to believe that women are disgusting, unclean, and you should only have sex with them for the purposes of reproduction when you absolutely must.
This has actually created a culture of "boys look great, while women are grotesque".

I personally refluffed them to be more or less like geisha: entertainers, dancers, companions, singers, poets, et cetera.

I totally didn't do it because I like ladyboys, i swear

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>>69099984
>asking what the EQUIVALENT weird grimdark heretic aesthetic would be for this religion
I would like to help but I don't understand the premise since I didn't play this game. What is "weird grimdark heretic aesthetic" in this game.

As for exaggerate geometric designs as a theme doesn't really fith well imho. Islamic art and architecture is ornate in its own way. Realistic depictions are haram but you can do simplistic stuff. Repeating ornate patterns even decorate Quran. There are examples of these miniatures depicting even the prophet.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persian_miniature
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottoman_miniature

What you want for an Islamic aesthetic is repeating elaborate geometric shapes and liberal use of Arabic scripts ornating them. Or use of arabic script as a painting tool (pic related). Calligraphy is an important aspect of Islamic art.

>>69100311
>Locon
I see right through you, comrade.

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>>69099984
>>69100378

Forgot to add calligraphy link.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_calligraphy

>>69098789
Maybe going back in time to defeat abu bakr and muhammed on the field of battle?

>>69100378
>I would like to help but I don't understand the premise since I didn't play this game. What is "weird grimdark heretic aesthetic" in this game.

Ok so you know how people love to do cool and original subversions of Christianity where everything is dark and metal and riddled with symbolism and shit? Focusing on stuff like the Crusades and the Spanish Inquisition and burning heretics and such? Gothic architecture out the ass and a focus on torment and suffering, you know like that whole deal, making it all edgy basically.

How do you take Islam and twist it so that you suss out all the cool imagery and aesthetics that the faith carries and then twist and exaggerate it it until it is edgy and fantastical? If you were told to redesign Dark Souls so that it was Middle Eastern instead of European derived, how would you do it? Think of that, and then throw religion into the mix.

>>69100311
>How do get some bad ass bleeding knights Catholic knights for my Islamic themed game
>INTRODUCE PEDOPHILIA, AND MALE PROSTITUTES AT THAT!
KYS you dick riding faggot.

>>69100460
>How do you take Islam and twist it so that you suss out all the cool imagery and aesthetics that the faith carries and then twist and exaggerate it it until it is edgy and fantastical? If you were told to redesign Dark Souls so that it was Middle Eastern instead of European derived, how would you do it? Think of that, and then throw religion into the mix.
Read some Islamic themed fantasy novels. Also
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulIx-8KiH0A

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>>69100537
>Read some Islamic themed fantasy novels.

Where does one find grimdark Islamic high fantasy novels

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>>69100497
>How do I make grimdark islam fantasy?
>point out actual muslim practices
>OMG THAT'S TOO GRIMDARK 4 ME
It's clear that your parents loved you so much they gave you an extra chromosome.

>>69099927
What the fuck are you talking about in that second sentence dude. The game is explicitly about Catholicism not Christianity as a whole. In fact Lutheranism and its descendant heresies are entirely built on rejecting the sort of material works style penance that the game is built around. Yes the most extreme elements are now seen unacceptable the underlying beliefs and profound motivation by guilt are still at the core of the Catholic experience. Hence why the game was made by Spaniards whose only real Christian population is Catholic, instead of Amerifats.
>>69098789
If you wanted to I'd suggest steering clear of mainstream Sunni Islam which does not have any similar guilt or penance based traditions. Instead I'd go with Khawarij and their Ibadi descendants. they joined with Ali in the succession crisis of early Islam but then assassinated him when he offered to negotiate with the other side. After all he was going against God because God would determine the winner of a war but arbitration put the decision in the hands of mortals. So they ended up having most of the same beliefs as Shia Muslims but with the added wrinkle of having killed their prophets successor because he failed to measure up to their standards.

Fuck this vidya was ported to PC by a drunk heroin addict using exclusively his left buttock.

>>69100573
Read his actual request you fucking faggot.

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>>69100640
If you could be as clever as you wanted, what would you write?

>>69100562
Unfortunately I'm not too sure about that. I read a great one in my youth that, but that was decades ago and I can't even begin to remember who the author was. Just look up middle eastern themed fantasy novels and you should find some good stuff. I know the Lone Wolf books also featured some dark middle eastern themes in a few of their novels, too.

>>69100573
That anon isn't me. But I don't see that stuff as particularly fantastical or like, religious-y. It might come up but not as a central theme.

>>69100624
>If you wanted to I'd suggest steering clear of mainstream Sunni Islam which does not have any similar guilt or penance based traditions.
It doesn't necessarily be about penance. I'm not talking about underlying themes, I'm talking about aesthetic. A dark and scary and perverse interpretation of Islam may very well be an entirely different beast than dark and scary and perverse interpretations of Catholicism.

Like, instead of having a focus on penance, and I'm just talking off the top of my head here, scary grimdark Islam could be about the total erosion of art and music and expression because in this world that shit is actually Haram and summons demons to possess your instruments and paintings so people have to find more roundabout ways of creating art in a world where creativity is permanently suppressed by inviolable laws of the universe.

>>69100497
I mean I get that he presented it wrong, but there is a kernel of good idea there. You don't have to have actual gay sex occurring just the unsettling aspect of familiars and summoned servants of more secular opponents taking the shape of young boys whenever in traditional fantasy they would take on the same of attractive women. I say secular because as the previous anon said, it's a loop hole. All but the densest motherfucker knows its against the spirit of the law and thus would be an immediate sign of decadence and willfull attempts to get around God's will.

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>>69100694
The erosion of art doesn't really work for either the themes or the ascetics of Islam. If you wanted to go with the fear of haram eroding stuff then I'd probably focus on its replacement still being art but alien. In the way that actual Sunni Islamic art is covered in geometric shapes and overt censoring of faces. So enemies could look like the white aligned clerics in Mtg's Scouge set or Iranian art of Muhammed's family. "Angels" could looks like the geometric shapes that adorn mosques and are used to cover up old Christian iconography in southern Spain.

>>69100759
You pedophilic fuck. KILL YOURSELF.

>>69100859
>If you wanted to go with the fear of haram eroding stuff then I'd probably focus on its replacement still being art but alien.
Yeah this is basically what I mean. Speaking from a secular perspective, Islam's prohibitions on certain foods, instruments, artistic depictions, and other things are kind of depressing because they cut off so many avenues of expression. But you know what would be really depressing? Having all that shit be 100% true, or taken to the utmost extreme. Imagine never being able to hear a piano because the sound of haram instruments invites demons into your head. Imagine a sculptor spending his life to recreate a perfect statue of his dead lover only for it to come to life and kill him because making a depiction of a sapient being is just asking for trouble. Imagine if certain animals were declared haram because they actually WERE evil/foul/whatever. Now like half the ecosystem is actively aligned with evil. Suddenly life is a whole lot more miserable. People are just trying to find some way to bring joy to their lives that doesn't accidentally kill their whole family. You'd have whole organizations which exist only to destroy beautiful things before they become monsters or wipe out entire ecosystems after they become infested with unclean creatures.

I'm sure there are other aspects that could be similarly distorted for narrative purposes but this is all I can think of at the moment.

>>69098789
Read the quran and/or the life of muhammad.
Tone it down and avoid the magical realm.
You're done.

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>>69098789
This arab fantasy starter kit might help:

http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/18350298/

>>69100954
Is 40k pedophilic for having cherubs being used to signify that same fetishization among the decadent Imperium?

>>69101009
>People are just trying to find some way to bring joy to their lives that doesn't accidentally kill their whole family
There is no font of joy more righteous and true than veneration of Allah, who is wise above all, and grants endless joy to those who know him to be so and sing his praise, purging themselves of wickedness.

>>69101222
Cherubs are vat grown and do not have all their genetiles, nor are they for fetish practices. Try again.

>>69101009
You can always consider Shiites, dudes in all seriousness have a holiday where they beat themselves with chains with HOOKS. And the most radical of them believe that the Archangel Gabriel confused the prophet Mohammed with Ali since they looked like two ravens, so you can make them birdmen. And the prophet Ali himself has been sitting in the well for dozens of centuries, well, like Alma.

>>69098789
>Real life does not apply to this discussion save for how it can be applied to games of dice-assisted pretend.

So it applies 100%?

>>69101222
Kill yourself you fucking pedophilic fuck. There's nothing sexual about cherubs real or their stylistic undead variant found in 40k. The absolute SHAME of the Islamic and Catholic faiths are not what OP was asking for and sure it as fuck doesn't appeal to anyone that isn't a degenerate of the lowest sort!

>>69098902
Go more the elemantal ifrit route.
Show burned bodies ( actual burn instead of just reddish bodies)

>>69099285
Horror vacui can be fucking disturbing for insjde rooms

>>69101245
That may be true but humans are gonna human, which means there will always be dipshits trying to make pretty things which don't involve praising Allah and next thing you know there's another djinn uprising or some bullshit.

>>69101386
This could work.

>>69101300
I'm probably gonna use this too yeah

>>69101431
To add to this yeah, I wanted some of that abstract horror of emptiness/nothing as doctrine dictates that all things not Allah are slowly gotten rid of. Maybe this is actually the only way to keep people safe or maybe the church is overzealous and nihilistically erasing their own god's creation in an attempt to please him, idk.

>>69100460
>Focusing on stuff like the Crusades
Well, we have jihads but they are not really same.

>torment and suffering
Correct me if I am wrong but according to Christianity, hell is basicly absence of god. This whole fire and brimstone imagery exists because of Dante's Inferno. Islam isn't like that. Hell is an essential part of it with many different flavours and temperatures. And even some believers ought to burn before entering to heaven if they did actually believe but didn't commit enough good act while they were alive.

So, I suggest literal and from time to time out of context interpretation of Islam for your game. Let's see what we have here.

>A lot of sins have penance in form of releasing slaves.
You basically have divinely sanctioned slavery.
>You can take women as female slave and have sex with her. This is allowed and it is not limited to 4 like amount of wife you can take.
Divinely sanctioned sex slaves. This is also how Harems are allowed
>Jihad
God commands you to slay infidels and expand reach of Islam by sword.
>Favour of Allah.
All stuff you do, work, science, music, art, yadda yadda, if you are not doing it for Allah it is haram. If you do it for Allah it it counts as worship though.

If you want something more political though consider this. While Papacy was a state unto itself, post Abbasid Caliphate Muslim rulers declared theirselves as Caliph left and right. There was no central authority of Islam like papacy. And even if you are not a Caliph, you didn't sit on your throne by grace of Vatican. Head religious guy was under you. For example Ottoman Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror forced Shaykh al-Islām to give a fatwa to allow killing of his blood relatives to prevent a civil war with justification of doing it for Allah because this state was for Allah. This become default way of Ottoman succession and when a new sultan raised he killed all of the pretenders.

>>69098789
Give women and gays rights

>>69101499
>Correct me if I am wrong but according to Christianity, hell is basicly absence of god.
Yes, but with an additional caveat. It is the absence of God after having known God. So for instance demons are always in Hell regardless of their current physical location.

>>69101499
>If you want something more political though consider this. While Papacy was a state unto itself, post Abbasid Caliphate Muslim rulers declared theirselves as Caliph left and right. There was no central authority of Islam like papacy. And even if you are not a Caliph, you didn't sit on your throne by grace of Vatican. Head religious guy was under you.
This is also how it was for the Orthodox in the Eastern Roman Empire.

>>69099343
You forgot the sensless backstabbing and murder, and the pedophilia, but otherwise yea.

>>69098789

Not Muslim either, but I do know a bit about their theology so here are some comments:

> Not really sure of the significance.
> Crescent Moon is really more of an Ottoman thing and doesn't have anything to do with Islam per se.
> Not sure it's about sentience per se, but rather the idea being that Man was made in God's image so since graven images of God are forbidden in the Ten Commandments, depictions of Man are similarly forbidden.
> Islam places less emphasis on repentance than Christianity or Judaism due to its rejection of the idea of original sin. The idea seems to be more about submitting to the will of God through obedience to the teachings laid down in the Koran.

>>69102173
>> Crescent Moon is really more of an Ottoman thing and doesn't have anything to do with Islam per se.
I was referring to the miracle where the prophet splits the moon apart. So the moon in this setting should be just permanently fucked.

I believe I found a decent idea for grimdark Islamic setting.

According to Islam we have evil djinns working with Iblis - aka Satan aka the prime Shaytan. These are basically Islamic demons. They are around every human, trying to tempt them to commit sin. However, mentioning Allah, reciting Quran will make them scatter. We will warp this a part a bit to create foundation of the setting.

Instead of only tempting humans, these djinns now allowed to more. And simply mentioning Allah or reciting Quran won't save you. Unless you have under Allah's favour you are free game for evil djinns.

According to Islam, if you believe the six beliefs of Islam you are a Muslim and you will end up in heaven soon or later. There are some differences on how to worship, when to fast, ritual purification, and so on but these do not deny you from favour of Allah. Allah is easy going about these stuff and things like putting your hand in wrong place during a prayer by mistake has no repercussions. We will change this too for our setting.

Now, Allah is really strict about these stuff. We still are not sure correct way to do these worshipping though.

So, what do we get?
Invinsible, uninteractable djinns attack people left and right and people can do nothing about it.
Being under Allah's favour will save your from these attacks, however keeping Allah's favour is really hard.
Society strictly adheres religious tenets from every madhab possible in most literal way to keep themselves safe.
Same also holds true for stuff pleasing Allah.

For example
You can wake up and find your mother went mad due to djinn fuckery on single moment of wavering faith or your uncle now cannot walk because he skipped a prayer. (Adjust level of strictness depending on your taste.)

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>>69100497

>>69098789
Just take Islam and make it ridicolously edgy
So just have Islam as it is

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The Koran calls for both men and women to 'cover and be modest'.
As with many other religious scriptures, the reference to dress is open to interpretation and has been shaped by centuries of cultures in different nations.

The Koran does not explicitly say you have to cover yourself in this manner. Some scholars argue that it is a religious obligation, particularly the more conservative factions within the Muslim world. There are many variations and interpretations.

>>69102473
This is some interesting stuff, so let's think. You've got random djinn possessions, extreme strictness from !notAllah, and a shismatic religion fractured over how to best interpret the ancient law, with no way to verify which is true or secretly a front for a djinni cult until there's no escape. Given that Islam considers depictions of humans haram, I think statuesque golems channeling djinn sorceries would be a decent mid-end threat. Dogs and pigs are also held as haram, right? Maybe gnolls and pig-orcs could be always-evil monstrous races opposing humanity, with the gnolls being matriarchal javelineers from the arid southwest and pig-orcs being clannish horse-archers from the frozen northeast. It goes without saying both are cannibals and cowardly when they aren't enraged or outnumbering their foes.

i haven't seen the art and i don't really know what blasphemous is but i can imagine
personally i see fertile ground for horror in islam's predominant occasionalism. bear always in mind that the ultimate god of this setting is also the ultimate devil, but he's always right even when he contradicts himself. he/it acts more or less without rhyme or reason and it is up to his mortal devotees to keep faith regardless.
obviously there are theologically determined reasons why, in the islam that is practiced irl, god would not decide to turn you inside out for celestial jollies, or turn off your ability to feel happiness or love, but this isn't the real world. this is a world that exists on the whim of an autistic totality that is as responsible for the evils you face as for the good deeds you do, and to hold this against said totality would be, by definition, wrong. no matter how cruel it seems to you, or how petty, that is the right thing to do, because god wills it.
there is no free will, no independent causation. fire doesn't always feel hot, but it may still burn you. water will sometimes break your teeth when you drink it. your teeth may reassemble, they may sprout legs and run away. hot snow falls up, every now and again. everything is arbitrary and the only thing that will save you is piety.

>geometric style armor

look at turkish, iranian, arab and indian armours and then extrapolate based on that. personally i would go for something minimalist and austere. 'rounder' than the typical christian medieval aesthetic, but vaguely insectoid. the most lavish mosques in the world aren't so much defined by the geometrical patterns of the interior as by harmony and elegance, at least as i see them.

>>69103157
>shismatic religion
Main source of this is hadith. Hadith is words and acts of prophet. Problem is hadiths were mostly kept with oral tradition until people started to collect them in books and we have contradicting hadiths. Maybe you can use this some way idk.

>Dogs and pigs are also held as haram, right?
Touching dogs removes your ritual cleanliness for some madhabs. Ritual cleanliness is easier to regain and you are encouraged to do it before every prayer anyways. Not liking dogs for a Muslim society doesn't come from Islam. We like dogs in where I am from. However, you simple don't get them as pets. You should have a work for them, like guard dog, shepard dog or service dog.

Eating pig and pig derived stuff is haram. That is it. Under no circumstances you are allowed to make an animal suffer because they are pig, dog or whatever. Muslim nations developed this pig hatred for some retarded reason. There are a lot of animals which are haram to consume which does not trigger them like pigs. All animals are created by Allah and they worship Allah (yeap, pigs too) in their own way. Unless there is a djinn fuckery an animal or animal inspired enemies won't fit. There are some meme tier hadiths about reptiles though, if you want evil animals use them.

Muslims like cats and revere spiders. Cats, because prophet loved cats and spiders, because one of them helped prophet to hide in a dire situation.

>>69098789
So what is this game about?

>>69099285
Hagia Sophia was a Christian Church

>>69103676
Well so far it's shaping up to be agents of the anti-djinn beauru going on monster of the week adventures slaying demons spawned from fools doing haram things and likely destroying priceless works of art the creator poured their life into in the process, but this is a necessary sacrifice. Also, there are Djinn crawling around everywhere tempting people to sin and creating apostate empires, fighting in monstrous chimerical forms that mock the creations of god. Lastly, the main villain is a sapient construct created in the form of the prophet who claims to be the prophet himself, and has been slowly leading the faith away from what is true to fuel his self-destructive power trip.

Also, the land is suffering due to some nebulous jihad with infidels or whatever so times are even harder.

You are going to be killed. They are not civilized people. They will actually kill you in real life.

>>69103739
I don't care. I'm just going to run this with my friends but if I ever publish it I won't let some crazies stop me.

>>69103721
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Masih_ad-Dajjal
Check this for main villain.

>>69103810
Oh yeah, this is good. He could be the spirit inhabiting the construct of the prophet. I think I'm getting a bit tunnel visioned on the art prohibitions but I just really like the idea of not being able to depict images or statues of humans/sapient beings/animals maybe because they will become possessed by demons and cause shenanigans. Lots of potential for drama and tragedy there, along with the prohibitions on dancing and instruments and such.

>>69098789
Not Muslim myself, but I do know a bit about their theology and history so I'll black hat a few of your ideas.
> Not sure of the significance you imagine.
> Crescent moon is more of an Ottoman symbol and as such disliked by many Muslims who view its use (in a religious context) as idolatry.
> Not sure sentience has anything to do with it. IIRC, the logic does like this: Ten Commandments forbid graven images in the likeness of God. Man was made in the image of God. Ergo, graven images of Man are forbidden.
> Repentance doesn't seem that important in Islam which rejects the idea of Original Sin. Instead, the emphasis is on obedience to the Will of God by adherence to the teachings given in the Koran.

Clearly do what they did with inability to depict sentient beings - creatures of calligraphy and geometry. Especially the former. You can in fact make that a central schtick of it - ink becoming living things, perhaps a ornate fresco of a caligraphic panther suddenly leaping off the wall.

>>69099741
I wish I had the book on hand that covered it but they vary widely within the Islamic world. It's less "Islamic djinn" and more arab djinn, turkisjh djinn, Persian djinn, Indian-Pakistani djinn, ect.

>>69100859
Beings of light like that seem like a pretty solid concept. It's just a light glowing silhouette.

>>69103551

Presumably spending any time around pigs would be enough. Awful animals!

>>69103899
>> Not sure of the significance you imagine.
well yeah but it's cool
> Crescent moon is more of an Ottoman symbol and as such disliked by many Muslims who view its use (in a religious context) as idolatry.
Mentioned this before but I'm talking about the moon-splitting miracle.The moon could just be like in pieces.
>> Not sure sentience has anything to do with it. IIRC, the logic does like this: Ten Commandments forbid graven images in the likeness of God. Man was made in the image of God. Ergo, graven images of Man are forbidden.
I mean, images of man being forbidden still has potential
> Repentance doesn't seem that important in Islam which rejects the idea of Original Sin. Instead, the emphasis is on obedience to the Will of God by adherence to the teachings given in the Koran.
see >>69100694
>It doesn't necessarily be about penance. I'm not talking about underlying themes, I'm talking about aesthetic. A dark and scary and perverse interpretation of Islam may very well be an entirely different beast than dark and scary and perverse interpretations of Catholicism.

>>69098789
As a suggestion, have slave classes frequently present and give them a completely different aesthetic. For instance, let's say you choose to have the Muslims have their face and general physical form covered by long, flowing robes that obscure their physical form to not disrespect God because that'd be like depicting a sentient being (or something, I don't know, just for example). Then you would have a slave class constantly present doing work for their Islamic slavemasters, perhaps work they themselves can't do. Perhaps you have Zoroastrian inspired bard types who are clothed in flame like (perhaps actually burning) cloth to entertain their overlords via song and dance. I could see the heavy use of chain imagery in the subject persons' depictions. Song and dance being considered forbidden (consistent with how some Muslims view things). You could have all sorts of these groups to represent the slaves (Dhimi or otherwise) from Hindus, Buddhists, many sorts of Christians, and more. Slavery is historically very big in Islam, as is the use of subject peoples, so I think that should be represented.

The City of Brass story from 1001 nights might not be a bad idea. It puts me into somewhat of a Dark Souls/Bloodborne mood:

- Some bored noblemen go on an adventure
- efreeti captured in metal bottles that can be interrogated (you may need to defeat them first if it's that kind of game, or just use them for exposition/to freak players out)
- concept of a cursed city, surrounded by a huge wall
- anyone who climbs the wall and sees the city is under magical compulsion to jump to their death
- there are (almost) no remaining people there, just brass statues
- trying to take some of the treasures or tresspass in certain places makes the statues animate and try to kill you

>>69103880
>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Masih_ad-Dajjal

I'm thinking something related, but kind of different. For example, a tribe or city, not wanting to be without spiritual guidance, tries to "enshrine" the remains of a beloved scholar or judge into a new body, and a mage develops a ritual to bring some of his conscience back. However, whether through an imperfection of the ritual or some other reason, the once fair judge becomes an immortal tyrant, who pushes for an ever stricter interpretation of the law, leaving the people to suffer. Basically going full ISIS mode. Yet to most of these people, he has been the voice of the Law for generations.

>>69104410
I mean yeah but imagine a living statue of bronze with eyes of fire who towers into the heavens and proclaims new edicts with a booming voice that resounds across the capital, accompanied by thunderclap and the cries of his adulators as he sits atop a throne the size of a lord's palace. Even though as a graven image of the prophet he is the highest sin himself few can muster the courage to doubt something of such awe-inspiring prowess could be anything but the true return of their savior. Surely this one time it is good, right? An exception made by heaven? How could it be anything else, with such power at its call? And the ones that do cause trouble vanish in the night, dragged off by the secret Djinn bound to the false idol's will who serve as his secret police and perpetrators of perpetual instability. Less people will think to question when the threat of demonic incursion ever-looms from the borders.

>>69103551
Makes sense. Perhaps there are multiple transcriptions of the oral record that each vary enough to warrant conflict over them, but so slightly from the truth that !notAllah acknowledges that each is at least somewhat (rarely infallibly) effective at warding djinn.

So dogs are more service-than-companion oriented and considered intrinsically unclean. If slavery was going to be implemented as per the history, I think an undercaste of dogfolk would be a decent way to go about it. More distant from !notAllah than humans, more vulnerable to the influence of djinn, and because of both flaws, less able to form a functioning civilisation without human oversight. Hence, slavery that could range from idealistic or brutal depending on the player group's taste, but I imagine making houris out of them would be tantamount to bestiality, with all the uncleanliness and societal scorn that entails.

Pigs are thematic, I feel all the connotations of filth, cunning, and wrathfulness could make them a decent infidel stand-in, whether that's something similar to the historical huns or a bastardisation of stereotypical crusaders. I don't know how well it fits outside of the popular anti-pork cliche, I just feel a tabletop setting needs a tangible external threat for the players to oppose. Lizards could work, but their cold-blood and psychopathy don't lend themselves well to a distant foreign foe, more local nomadic raiders or dangerous but solitary monsters.

I was already aware of cats being intrinsically good in Islam, but now that you mention it, their presence being a way to detect/deter lesser djinn seems nice. Large, domesticated spiders producing silk, eggs, and outwardly exotic but normal-in-setting mounts could be cool.

>>69103902
>Beings of light like that seem like a pretty solid concept. It's just a light glowing silhouette.
Instead of having things getting darker and darker, they are brighter and brighter until they are unbearable for mortal. A strong light is just a blinding as a deep darkness.

>>69104671
As for graven images maybe people/monsters could go as far as considering themselves blasphemous images aping god and try to hide, and then erase, their own face. First hiding them behind masks and then using more mystical and horrifying processes.
Or you could go the other way since you have a blasphemous possessed idol. Maybe its followers could try to emulate it by wearing masks of saints thinking it will make them more like them but only opening themselves for more possessions.

In Mali there’s a tomb of a muslim saint

The door was closed for centuries in the belief that it would open at the start of the apocalypse

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>>69105006
>As for graven images maybe people/monsters could go as far as considering themselves blasphemous images aping god and try to hide, and then erase, their own face. First hiding them behind masks and then using more mystical and horrifying processes.
>Or you could go the other way since you have a blasphemous possessed idol. Maybe its followers could try to emulate it by wearing masks of saints thinking it will make them more like them but only opening themselves for more possessions.

The group could play as a form of inquisition. They patrol the local region, and enforce the laws of the religion and hunt down the demons that would people away from the religion.

Another interesting idea could be that those who abandon the religion devolve into hideous monsters (the religion is necessary to keep ones humanity) that reflect one of the religions sins.

>>69105357
>those who abandon the religion devolve into hideous monsters
This helps build an us vs them mentality. If there is only a small group of humans residing in the last holy city where the rest of the world fell to ruin against the demons could also lend itself the style your looking for.

>>69099984
Djinn is basically, as near as I can tell, the regional umbrella term for "nonhuman magical sapient", like fairy, or troll, or yokai. Ghuls, for example, are a type of djinn.

As for the human dimension leading to the Blasphemous-ian grimdark? Use the Mongol invasion of the Middle East, and the cultural reactions to Mongol rule, as a jumping off point. The intellectual forerunners to Al Qaeda et al? They were theologians writing in the aftermath of the Mongol invasions, saying that the Mongols' crimes were beyond forgiveness and the subsequent generations of Mongols who converted to Islam are not real Muslims. That even after accepting the tenents of Islam, their souls would always be marked by the crimes of their fathers and grandfathers.

>>69098789
"It is written" fatalism could be seen as pretty grimdark, it also ties into the souls style eternal recurrence. Maybe lean on angels not having free will? There's also the aversion to lying, many stories have the prefix "it is said but only Allah knows" to give the polite fiction that the storyteller is not knowingly sharing something fabricated. The idea of nested stories and possibly fates is also interesting, perhaps a method to trap djinn in the very art they seek to subvert?

Ibn Battuda wrote that pilgrims would proclaim allegiance to Abu or Ali and use handles to shake whole minarets, claiming it a sign of Allah's favour. A good place for gravity defying fights. The tower of an astronomer dirven mad by hubris and bent on calling down another black stone to grace the earth would be good too. And of course there's always Irem's many pillars emerging from the sands like the bones of a great beast.

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>>69098789
See: the Arabian Nights expansion from MTG. Much inspiration to be found that Wizards of the Coast themselves have barely capitalised on.

One thing tho
>>Instead of ornate gothic armor and such everyone is wearing geometric style armor. Like imagine Pyramid Head-tier stuff, but like with cubes too or something. Probably a lot of blank face masks with simple circular or slit eye holes or no eye holes at all. Same with ruins. No fancy cathedrals, just really big cubes/pyramids/domes half-buried in sand.
Why? Muslims also had their own unique styles of medieval armour and architecture. Focusing entirely on the iconoclastic geometric decor would completely miss out on a lot of great aesthetic opportunities.

Also remember that calligraphy is also a huge thing in Islamic aesthetics. I think it'd be cool to have some kind of demon/angel/divine being that was literally just a mass of letters, or if you're actually planning on making a platforming game like Blasphemous a level inside a cursed book where all the platforms and enemies are letters.

>>69105733
>Why? Muslims also had their own unique styles of medieval armour and architecture. Focusing entirely on the iconoclastic geometric decor would completely miss out on a lot of great aesthetic opportunities.
What would high fantasy islamic warriors look like then? The more intimidating the better.

>Also remember that calligraphy is also a huge thing in Islamic aesthetics. I think it'd be cool to have some kind of demon/angel/divine being that was literally just a mass of letters
this could be neat

>>69105788
>Warriors
Whirling. Dervishes.
>Letters
Penmanship and Qu'ran recitation should be the go to tools for "magic".

>>69105862
How about Mamaluks in addition to Dervishes? Give a beefy counterpart to the Dervishes

>>69106361
>>69105862
Yeah, I'm down for some dervishes but big scary guys with oversized weaponry would work too. How do you think platemail would look in the Islamic world? Like, late medieval level stuff.

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>>69106385
They didn't have "Plate Mail" like Europeans did, they had Llamelar, Coats of Plate, and Chain-mail due to how fucking hot it was.

>>69106419
Well yeah, which is why I'm wondering how it would look if they did.

>>69106419
That's not the only reason, the armoursmiths threatened to go on strike if their higher-ups wouldn't pay them for the expensive craftsmanship necessary for forging ringmail.

>>69098789
Basically, refer to Frank Miller's 'Holy War' and '300'. Faceless, terrifying creatures, leering djinn, suicide bombers, child-molestors.

>>69098789
blasphemous focuses around guilt and suffering
Islam is more submission to god no?
go with that maybe

>>69106600
Who hurt you, baby?

>>69106714
Submission to god is good. Maybe the higher up the chain of command you go the less free will or even distinguishing features the people seem to display, becoming increasingly more inhuman and identical as one gets closer to Allah, their souls utterly subservient to his will.

>>69106715
OP asked for the most grimdark and unpleasant interpretation possible, he gave it.

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Just based on what you're describing OP, I think you should read up on other Mideast religions, especially Zoroastrianism.

>>69098789
You want something Islamic themed for Islam/Arab type of setting?

Try Arab Posting:

>https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-uAZdIJIl8o

>Bruh moment لحظة بروح when you poop in toile لعبة ملحمة 69 أسبوعين punjab movie sex free dowlod simsons 1992

>free 144p fortniet fun game :) :) الاباحية الطفل هو المفضل لدي

>Sounds of crying trafficked children heated

Honstely if you are looking for something Islamic grimdark. Then look no further than Arab Posting

>https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yoZEZGQM3o4

>https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=UXUz-GPAo20&t=68s

Isn't there an actual word for "clueless virtue-signaling westerner that helps bring islam over to their countries" in arabic?

>>69098789
Read A Star-Reckoner's Lot for some Islamic fiction. New stuff not like classic

>>69099343
According to some apocrypha, he achieved bodily ascension, and the Malaika (angel in the form of a winged horse) appeared and took him straight to Jannah.
source - crazy old "fiver" (as in five pillars) was my neighbor, he was a faith-healer and a consummate bullshit artist, but that's besides the point.

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>>69101300

Stay mad, nasibis

>>69108020
"Dhimmi" works.

>>69106715
Isn't that what you were asking for? Holy Terror is really good at depicting what a confusing, surreal and thoroughly nightmarish look at Islam is. Seriously, it's extraordinary. The scenes where not-Catwoman is in the mosque are great.

>>69098789
Make it take place in a drawn out version of the apocalypse with some djinn thrown in. Maybe Jesus is MIA and you must fight through the forces of Al-Masih ad-Dajjal and his army of shaitan to figure out what happened.

>>69108020
Al-cuclodi

>>69098902
Djinns are the third race, created along with angels and humans. They are like humans in most respects, including free will but are made of smokeless fire rather than earth and possess much greater power

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>>69098789
As another Anon said, Zoroastrianism would make for a cooler basis for this. This might contradict one of the goals of your post, but Islam is honestly a creatively barren religion. There's almost no iconography unique to itself (its main symbol is just the Arabic script for 'God') so this is a difficult task you've set yourself. I'd make the Muhammed equivalent an enigmatic superpowered entity with a burning black void for a face who never leaves his star metal cube-fortress. Maybe expand the geometry thing by making the world a Blame! style self-replicating honeycomb labyrinth that not!Muhammed set in motion (represents the present day scope of the religion far and away outstripping its initial conception as a spiritually unifying force for Arabs).

>>69098789
You could do something with Quarmatians. These guys sacked Mecca and they denounced the practice of going on hajj.

>>69098881
Thank you for taking some fedora tipper's post and turning it into a nice idea anon

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>>69098789
You're in the right direction, specially with the Moon-splitting.
A good rule of thumb for worldbuilding it's taking the ocean and sky (or space) into consideration.

That's why I would advise to look up the pre-Muhammad myths.
Phoenixes, ocean monkeys, dragons...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konrul
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simurgh
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Sea_Apes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuvash_dragon
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zilant

And my favorite:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kujata_(mythology)

A fucking shoggoth-bull floating in space, whose breathing controls the oceans.

>>69099285
Speaking of La Alhambra.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tales_of_the_Alhambra

This book it's pretty well known, but, for those few who don't, it's basically an anthology of legends around that place and time, written by some burger dude who got a little too obsessed with the place.
A few of those tales are really haunting.
My favorite being one about an enchanted tower.

>Granada is in constant danger of surprise attacks
>Ruler it's old and paranoid
>One day, some random immortal wizard arrives from Egypt
>Wizard offers his help, in exchange of some pimp-ass bunker palace, built inside a cave, with an astral observatory and all
>Granada's ruler orders the cave-palace to be built
>Wizard likes it
>Wizard gives orders to build a tower
>At the top of the tower, he places a veleta (one of those rooster-wind things... I think you anglos call them "vanes"?)
>The veleta it's shaped like a moor warrior riding a horse
>Said moor figure it's enchanted, so that it always points towards the "enemy"
>Wizard also built some fucking D&D voodoo table, whose actions also happen IRL
>This proves to help a lot
>Until it suddenly doesn't
>Tower runs out of magic
>They try to go back to the wizard, but the fucking cave it's gone

>>69105788
Motherfucking Sonic the Hedgehog did this, and it was unironically great

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDHljVFzvcs

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>>69099035
If I was making it as a video game, there's a clear and obvious homage I would simply have to include.

>>69109368
>>69110115
No reason you can't file off the serial numbers and mix and match

>>69106419
I find it hard to believe that it would be significantly easier to wear that thing in a warm place. I guess the lack of gambeson helps, but it's still locking yourself in metal plates. Is Turkey even that warm? I doubt they used this in the middle east.

>>69110115
Interesting stuff, anon.

>Motherfucking Sonic the Hedgehog did this, and it was unironically great
Timestamp?

>>69110115
>sonic
uh, timestamp doc?

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>>69112041
>>69112069

A few are 1:15, 3:56, 7:30, 3:14:40, 3:16:50, 3:19:40, and 3:21:55

Pretty much the whole game.
HOWEVER, it's less of a visual theme, and more of a concept.

The plot consists of Sonic going inside the world of the Arabian Nights.
Said world it's treated... weirdly.
Like, you see how sometimes media treats digital worlds?
Being literally made of solid data?
This game does something similar... but with words.
Everything in that version of the Arabian Nights it's made of arabic symbols.

It is not shown for most of the game, however.
In fact, the timestamps are pretty much it.
Still kinda nice, however.

Make god female. Works for a lot of religions actually.

>>69112310
this is actually really cool, good reference if trying to make something arabian nights- inspired

>>69112310
>Like, you see how sometimes media treats digital worlds?
>Being literally made of solid data?
Grey Knights novel Dark Adaptus. The data-daemons.

>>69098789
bump

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>>69098789
Pic related as final boss or tough boss battle?

>>69108002
Arab memes are honestly some kind of SCP. I refuse to believe humans made those.

>>69117381
>Arabs
>human

>>69110115
Huh thank you for the wiki binge.

>>69098789
>a Blasphemous-type setting for Islam?
America

>>69098881
No, it'd be the fucking Kabbah.

WITH ARMS.

But you gotta get past the fucking flying Minorets with the guy belting out the call to prayer so hard it deafens and knock you for shit if you mistime the jumps, and fight the twelve angels made of moonlight who keep the pillars of islam guarded and free the wives of muhammed to pelt the pillar of shaitan.

And you ahve to deal with Kujata the cosmic bull, who surfs aroun on a giant fish called Bahamut.

And Iblis, the islamic version of satan, who was a former Jinn, made of fire, who worshipped god briefly alongside the angels before being like "nah, gonna tempt humans to do shit" who sells you the really OP items for angel bucks you're supposed to give to the poor as Zakat.

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>>69122145
>No, it'd be the fucking Kabbah.
>WITH ARMS.

>>69102280
Pauline christanty was a mistake

The story can depict hajj from distant middle asian country. Add sufism, local believes of involved countries, astrology and don't forget to look into Hodja Nassredin stories.

>>69117381
Scp is too sjw for those sorts of jokes now

>>69098789
Hell on earth, with iblis winning his bet with allah?

>>69099250
Shaytan are the djinn that side with with iblis in defying the will of allah.

>>69098789
What the fuck are you talking about

>>69098789
This thread has some potentially good ideas.
I will lurk and see if it goes full /pol/, or whether old /tg/ shines once more.

>>69129059
>has an entire thread to scroll through to find context
>acts retarded anyway

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>>69129059
>not reading the thread
>even after most people gave actual, helpful advice

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>>69105733
>Also remember that calligraphy is also a huge thing in Islamic aesthetics. I think it'd be cool to have some kind of demon/angel/divine being that was literally just a mass of letters, or if you're actually planning on making a platforming game like Blasphemous a level inside a cursed book where all the platforms and enemies are letters.
I could see the objective of a protagonist being "restoring the words". Bad guys have corrupted the words, written fake scriptures that disrupt the order of the world.

>>69129118
Typically you're good until they start false flagging as SJWs and arguing with themselves.

>>69105041
Yeah both is definitely good here. The world is full of conflicting ideologies after all.

>>69129118
This thread was over in the first 80 posts, now it's just creatively barren simps bumping it to the top of the board ad nauseam.

Someone should archive this thread. It’s been pretty neat.

>>69098881
I like