About to start a 5e game in a custom "1001 Nights" inspired setting with a handful of standard fantasy races and beastfolk. Magic is uncommon among normal people, but the rich and powerful often have access to it. There are factions vying for control of magic and magical artifacts.
I've got a vagabond coyote (re-flavored wildhunt shifter) wizard who scraped together a magical repertoire in order to help his sister, a wild magic sorceress, learn control of her abilities. She was kidnapped in the dead of night without a trace and he vowed to find her. After a few years he tracked down a Djinn and asked to find his missing sister. It refused citing it's own limitations and some kind of abjuration magic. Instead he wished for the strength to find her. The Djinn being a Djinn, twisted the wish out of spite and cursed him with a monstrous form that appears when he is angry (barbarian levels). Now he seeks any artifact that could help him locate her, hoping the curse does not spread and make him a monster forever. Knowing how coveted magic and magical artifacts are he has opted to use a deck of cards as his spellbook. It has allowed him to keep it on his person even in situations where he would be disarmed. His spellcasting will be very Gambit flavored.