Talisman Boardgame 2nd Edition FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
David Alex Lamb
Last-Modified: Sat Jul 8 12:34:45 1995 by David Alex Lamb
Archive-name: games/talisman/edition2
Version: 0.75
This is a draft of a regular posting about Talisman, a fantasy board game from
Games Workshop. This message covers the older second edition. A companion
posting covers the third edition, released in the Spring of 1994. Both FAQs
are available on the World Wide Web (WWW) via URL:
http://www.qucis.queensu.ca/home/dalamb/Talisman/
The WWW versions are the master copies; these posted FAQs are derived from
them.
[Note: July 1995: This is significantly reformatted because of new
automated generation from the WWW pages. I still have about 120
messages which have arrived since September 1993 that haven't made it
into the FAQ yet]
Each item starts with a Subject field, which many news readers let you find
quickly (in rn/trn use the "control-G" command). Most also have a Date field
saying when I last changed it.
SUBJECT: WHAT DO I GET IN EACH BOX?
Date: 17 June 1993
From: Nicholas...@att.com
This is a list of components in the 2nd Edition TALISMAN game and all
its expansions. Thanks to Dave Katleman, katl...@corp.sun.com, for
the TALISMAN DRAGON listing.
* TALISMAN Game Components
* TALISMAN EXPANSION SET
* TALISMAN ADVENTURE
* TALISMAN DUNGEON
* TALISMAN TIMESCAPE
* TALISMAN CITY
* TALISMAN DRAGON
Subject: TALISMAN Game Components
These are components for the original game; you need this to play at
all.
* CHARACTER CARDS(14): Assassin, Druid, Dwarf, Elf, Ghoul, Minstrel,
Monk, Priest, Prophetess, Sorceress, Thief, Troll, Warrior,
Wizard.
* SPELL CARDS(24): Acquisition, Alchemy, Counterspell(2), Destroy
Magic, Destruction(2), Divination, Healing(2), Hex, Immobility(2),
Invisibility, Mesmerism, Nullify, Preservation, Psionic Blast(2),
Random(2), Teleport(2), Temporal Warp.
* ADVENTURE CARDS(104):
+ Event(14): Angel, Blizzard, Book of Spells, Cursed by Hag,
Devil, Evil Darkness, Imp, Magical Vortex, Market Day,
Mephistopheles, Pestilence, Poltergeist, Raiders, Storm.
+ Enemy: Animal(6): Ape, Bear, Boar(2), Lion, Wolf.
+ Enemy: Monster(10): Bandit(2), Giant, Goblin(2),
Hobgoblin(2), Ogre(2), Serpent.
+ Enemy: Dragon(3): Dragon(3).
+ Enemy: Spirit(5): Demon, Ghost(2), Spectre, Wraith.
+ Stranger(9): Enchanter, Fairy, Healer, Hermit, Mage, Phantom,
Siren,Sorcerer, Witch.
+ Object(25): Armour, Axe, Bag of Gold(13), Helmet, Mule, Raft,
Shield, Sword(2), Two bags of Gold(3), Water Bottle.
+ Magic Object(13): Amulet, Cross, Holy Grail, Holy Lance,
Magic Belt, Orb of Knowledge, Potion of Strength, Ring,
Runesword, Solomon's Crown, Talisman(2), Wand.
+ Follower(10): Alchemist, Gnome, Guide(2), Maiden, Mercinary,
Pixie, Prince, Princess, Unicorn.
+ Place(9): Cave, Fountain of Wisdom, Magic Portal, Magic
Stream, Market, Marsh, Maze, Pool of Life, Shrine.
* PURCHASE CARDS(28): Armour(4), Axe(4), Helmet(4), Mule(4), Raft,
Shield(4), Sword(3), Waterbottle(4).
* MISCELLANEOUS: Main Board, Talisman Cards(4), Toad Cards(4),
Alignment Change Cards(4), Stands(6), Counters(40 Strength, 40
Craft, 40 Gold, 20 Life), Rule Book.
Subject: TALISMAN EXPANSION SET
* CHARACTER CARDS(14): Amazon, Barbarian, Gladiator, Halfling,
Hobgoblin, Knight, Leprechaun, Merchant, Necromancer, Philosopher,
Pilgrim, Ranger, Rogue, Satyr.
* SPELL CARDS(6): Barrier, Brainwave, Displacement, Metamorph, Mind
Steal, Slow Motion.
* ADVENTURE CARDS(36):
+ Event(6): Astral Conjunction, Earthquake, Halloween, Patrol,
Taxation, Volcano.
+ Enemy: Animal(1): Giant Lizard.
+ Enemy: Monster(5): Berserker, Doppleganger, Gargoyle, Goblin,
Golem.
+ Enemy: Spirit(3): Banshee, Lich, Shade.
+ Stranger(8): Centaur, Cyclops, Demigod, Judge, Magician,
Outlaw, Pegasus, Sphinx.
+ Object(6): Bag of Gold(3), Casket, Map, Shovel.
+ Magic Object(2): Rod of Ruin, Winged Boots.
+ Follower(2): Champion, Genie.
+ Place (3): Arena, Idol, Secret Door.
Subject: TALISMAN ADVENTURE
* CHARACTER CARDS(8): Centaur, Ninja, Orc, Samurai, Soldier, Warrior
of Chaos, Witch Doctor, Woodsman.
* SPELL CARDS(11): Finger of Death, Fireball(3), Gust of Wind,
Lightening Bolt, Misdirection, Reflection, Speed, Summon Storm,
Water Walking.
* ADVENTURE CARDS(37):
+ Event(4): Fool's Gold, Jester, Werewolf, Whirlwind.
+ Enemy: Monster(4): Band of Zombies, Cave Troll, Griffon,
Harpy.
+ Enemy: Dragon(1): Chinese Dragon.
+ Enemy: Spirit(4): Ghast, Shadow, Vampire, Vampire Bats.
+ Stranger(3): Instructor, Leper, Pedlar.
+ Object(10): Bag of Gold(3), Concealed Pouch, Golden Statue,
Horse(2), Horse and Cart(2), Warhorse.
+ Magic Object(5): Ancient Artifact, Bag of Carrying, Staff of
Mastery, Talisman(2).
+ Follower(5): Archer, Familiar, Man-at-Arms, Porter(2).
+ Place(1): Tomb.
* MISCELLANEOUS:
+ Rule Sheet
+ Character Sheets(6), for keeping track of attributes and
possessions.
+ Alternate Ending Cards(6)
Adds the alternative endings: when you get to the Crown of
Command space, you choose a card to determine the endgame.
o Crown of command: as normal
o Demon lord: fight a craft 12 demon with 4 lives, one
psychic combat per turn; other characters can't enter
the Valley of Fire.
o Pandora's box: each turn take D6 spells and D6 adventure
cards to inflict on your opponents.
o Belt of Hercules: your total strength becomes 12 (or
current, if higher than 12); you get 5 lives (or
current, whichever is higher). Each turn you can
teleport to the location of another character and fight
"to the death" (combat continues until one of you loses
all lives).
o Horrible back void: first person to the Crown gets
tossed out of the game (or sent to the Timescape if you
have it); the Void card is then replaced with one of the
other endings
o Dragon King: strength 12 craft 12; his reaction is
random, leading to 6 possible sub-endgames
Subject: TALISMAN DUNGEON
Adds the Dungeon board with its own adventure deck.
* CHARACTER CARDS(14): Conjurer, Dark Elf, Inquisitor, Gypsy,
Highlander, Martial Artist, Pirate, Saracen, Scout, Sprite, Spy,
Swashbuckler, Swordsman, Zulu.
* ADVENTURE CARDS(4):
+ Place(4): Dungeon Doorway(4).
+ DUNGEON CARDS(36):
o Event(7): Cave-In, Fire, Green Mist, Magic Mirror(2),
Slaver, Trap Door.
o Enemy: Animal(2): Giant Rat(2).
o Enemy: Monster(8): Crawling Slime, Giant Beetle, Giant
Spider(2), Giant
o Worm, Goblin(2), Living Statue.
o Enemy: Dragon(1): Bronze Dragon.
o Enemy: Spirit(2): Nightmare, Phantom Hound.
o Stranger(1): Lone Dwarf.
o Object(5): Bag of Gold(2), Decree of Banishment,
Torch(2).
o Magic Object(2): Crystal of Power, Gauntlet of Might.
o Follower(2): Dog, Wiseman.
o Place(6): Altar, Chest, Gong, Secret Passage, Snake Pit,
Tunnel.
* MISCELLANEOUS: Dungeon Board, Rule Sheet, Question and Answer
Sheet.
Subject: TALISMAN TIMESCAPE
Adds the Timescape board with its own adventure deck.
* CHARACTER CARDS(8): Archeologist, Astronaught, Astropath, Chainsaw
Warrior, Cyborg, Scientist, Space Marine, Space Pirate.
* SPELL CARDS(2): Warp Gate(2).
* TIMESCAPE CARDS(42):
+ Hand of Fate(10): Dimensional Rift(4), Orks, Supernova(4),
Warp Storm.
+ Enemy: Alien(10): Astral Hound, Alien Spores, Behemoth, Star
Predator(2),
+ Sun Worm, Psychic Parasite, Space Vampire, Will o Wisp(2).
+ Stranger(2): Omnipotent Being, Time Travelers.
+ Object(17): Alien Artifact(4), Anti-Grav Platform, Battle
Armour, Chameleon Suit, Combat-Enviro Suit, Force Shield,
Gyro Compass, Jet Pack, Medikit(2), Mining Laser, Power
Glove, Psi-Helmet, Warp Belt.
+ Follower(3): Battle Droid, Star Sprites, Symbiote.
* PURCHASE CARDS(12): Chain Sword, Combat-Enviro Suit(2), Gyro
Compass(2), Jet Pack(2), Mining Laser(2), Power Axe,
Psi-Helmet(2).
* MISCELLANEOUS: Timescape Board, Timescape Data Sheets(4), Rule
Book.
Subject: TALISMAN CITY
Adds the City board, which replaces the City location on the main
board.
* CHARACTER CARDS(2): Minotaur, Valkyrie.
* SPECIAL CHARACTER CARDS(4): High Mage, King's Champion, Master
Thief, Sheriff.
* SPELL CARDS(10): Craft, Feeble Mind, Magic Shell, Mini-Vortex,
Restoration, Spell Call, Spell Turning, Syphon, Temporary Change,
Weakness.
* ADVENTURE CARDS(7):
+ Event(2): River Barge(2).
+ Event: Law(2): County Patrol(2).
+ Object(3): Broken Shield, Broken Sword, Damaged Armour.
* DUNGEON CARDS(3):
+ Object(3): Broken Helmet, Broken Shield, Broken Sword.
* CITY ADVENTURE CARDS(72):
+ Event(15): Conscription, Cutpurse, Drunken Revelry,
Employment(2), Festival, Gambler, Heretic Priest, Horse
Thief(2), Lost!, Market Day, Master Thief, Plague, War!.
+ Event: Law(10): Corrupt Sheriff, Honest Deputy, Watch(8).
+ Enemy: Animal(2): Dog Pack, Giant Fly.
+ Enemy: Monster(7): Bravo, City Rat(2), Drunken Soldier,
Militia Man, Press Gang, Thug.
+ Enemy: Spirit(7): Air Elemental, Earth Elemental, Fire
Elemental, Ghoul, Gremlin, Mummy, Water Elemental.
+ Stranger(10): Baker, Barterer, Beggar(3), Butcher, Grifter,
Grumpy Wizard, Salesman, Street Sage.
+ Object(9): Bag of Gold(4), Broken Helmet, Damaged Armour,
Dog, Money Belt, Stiletto.
+ Follower(7): Dancing Girl, Dragon Master, Druid, Errand Boy,
Game Keeper, Urchin(2).
+ Place(5): Dungeon Door(2), Library, Side Show, Wishing Well.
* PURCHASE CARDS(20): Doughnuts(4), Dragon's Bones(4), Full Face
Helm, Great Axe, Horse(2), Horse and Cart, Kite Shield(2),
Mule(2), Plate Mail, Two-Handed Sword, Warhorse.
* MISCELLANEOUS: City Board, Warrant Cards(5), Loan Cards(5),
Stands(6), Rule Book.
Subject: TALISMAN DRAGON
The official board, not David Katleman's "DRAGON'S LAIR".
* CHARACTER CARDS(4): Dragon Priest, Dragonrider, Dragon Slayer,
Questing Kight
* ADVENTURE CARDS(87):
+ Event(12): Deadly Rivals, Dragon Dawn(2), Dragon Rage(2),
Dragon Raid, Dragon Sleep(2), Electrical Storm, Shaman's
Bones, Surprise Attack(2)
+ Enemy: Monster(3): Wyvern(3)
+ Enemy: Dragon(17): Amber Dragon, Blue Dragon, Cloud Dragon,
Dragon's Lair(2), Dragon Prince(3), Emerald Dragon, Frost
Dragon, Gold Dragon(2), Mountain Dragon, Red Dragon, Sea
Dragon, Shadow Dragon, Storm Dragon
+ Enemy: (3): Dragon Cultists(3)
+ Spirit: Dragon(1): Zombie Dragon
+ Object(6): Dragon Eggs, Dragon's Tears, Lance, Morning Star,
Treasure Chest, Wyvern Staff
+ Magic Object(32): Arcane Scroll, Book of Dragon Lore,
Bracelet of Might, Crown of Domination, Dragon Amulet, Dragon
Bane, Dragon Blood, Dragonhelm, Dragonscale Shirt, Dragon
Skull, Dragonskull Wand, Dragon's Teeth, Dragon Venom,
Dragonwing Cape, Exorcist's Blade, Golden Gauntlet, Grimnir's
Axe, Healing Potion, Horn of Horror, Magic Arrow, Magic
Banner, Magic Harness, Magic Helmet, Magic Mace, Magic Ring,
Magic Shield, Magic Tankard, Phoenix Potion, Psionic Wand,
Ring of Command, Rod of Dragon Fire, Wand of Terror
+ Follower(5): Dragon Rider, Dragonet, Dragonslayer, Goblin
Fanatic, Storm Giant
+ Place(8): Alter of Dread, Black Temple, Cave of Bones,
Eagle's Lair, Sacrificial Stone, The Great Portal, Treasure
Hoard, Wizard's Tower
* MISCELLANEOUS: Dragon King, Rule Card, Stands(4)
SUBJECT: TALISMAN 2ND EDITION OFFICIAL ANSWERS
Date: 4 January 1993
From: 113...@hogpa.ho.att.com (Nick Sauer)
Nick Sauer (113...@hogpa.ho.att.com) send a list of questions to
Games Workshop and got back the following answers; they should be
considered as official as anything gets until GW publishes another Q&A
sheet.
* Talisman
* Expansion Set
* Adventure
* Dungeon
* Timescape
* City
* Combat vs Psychic Combat
Talisman
CHARACTERS
1. Can the Sorceress use her fourth special ability to take a
follower that is an Enemy: Monster? (e.g. Could she take a Goblin
from the Hobgoblin?)
Answer: No
SPELLS:
2. Can Mesmerism be used to take a follower that is not normally a
follower?
Answer: No
ADVENTURES:
3. If a Character draws the Raiders while in the Oasis does he get to
pick up all of his equipment assuming he doesn't lose his turn and
defeats all Enemies in the Space (the Raiders card says that the
Character's possessions are placed in the Oasis immediately)?
Answer: Yes
Expansion Set
ADVENTUERS
1. Does the Astral Conjunction stay on the space it was drawn in
until it is over (like the Blizzard does)?
Answer: Yes
2. Doppleganger
1. When a Character defeats the Doppleganger, does he get to
keep him to trade for additional Strength later?
Answer: No
2. If you use the Staff of Mastery on the Doppleganger what
value is used for its strength in the next Combat you fight?
Is it equal to:
o a) Your Strength at the time you absorbed it with the
Staff.
o b) Your opponent's Strength in the next Combat you use
it in.
Answer: b
3. Does the Patrol return Characters to:
+ a) Their Starting Space as listed on that Character's Card.
+ b) The space that they started that Turn from.
Answer: a
4. May Taxation be Evaded (as it has a figure on the card)?
Answer: No!
Adventure
CHARACTERS
1. In the first Q&A sheet you specified that the Centaur DOES get to
keep Enemies killed with his bow for Strength gains. However, the
Samurai, Archeologist, Space Marine, or any Character using the
Archer Follower DO NOT get to do this. Does the Centaur get to
keep Enemies killed with his bow?
Answer: The first Q&A sheet is wrong. The Centaur does not get to
keep the enemies for Str.
ADVENTURES
2. Familiar
+ A) How does the Familiar work? Once you give him a life and
gain two Craft do you:
o a) Immediately draw three spells and choose the one you
want.
o b) Draw three spells and choose one whenever you gain a
Spell?
Answer: b
+ B) In either case, do the two unchosen Spells go to:
o a) The discard pile.
o b) The top of the Spell Draw Pile.
Answer: b
3. If you defeat a Character who owns the Golden Statue do you:
+ a) Have to take the statue.
+ b) Take the statue only if you force the other Character to
lose a Life.
Answer: a
Dungeon
CARDS:
1. May a Character strike the Gong (and thus place it on the discard
pile) even if there are no other Characters on the Dungeon Board?
Answer: Yes
RULES:
2. When a Character enters the Dungeon he must discard any Horses,
Horse and Carts, or Warhorses that he has. Does he:
+ a) Leave them on the Space that he entered the Dungeon from
(as with entering the Timescape).
+ b) leave them on the Dungeon Entrance Space.
+ c) Place them on their appropriate discard piles.
Answer: a
Timescape
CHARACTERS:
1. Under the Archeologist's second special ability it says he may add
one to his die roll on the Planetfall Space of the Timescape
board. Is this supposed to read the Deathworld Space (as you don't
roll a die on the Planetfall Space)?
Answer: Yes
2. Can the Astronaut replace any of the Objects listed under his
first Special Ability if there are none left in the Timescape
Purchase Deck?
Answer: No
3. If the Scientist uses his second Special Ability to repair the
Ancient Artifact does it add four to his Strength in Combat?
Answer: Yes
CARDS:
4. If a Character defeats all of the Orks, can he keep them for
additional Strength (they are an Event)?
Answer: No
5. If a Character with equal base Craft and Strength encounters the
Sun Worm, does he roll randomly to determine which the Worm
attacks (as per the Chinese Dragon)?
Answer: Yes
6. A) If a Character encounters the Warp Storm, does the turn that he
drew it count as his lost Turn (as per the Talisman rules section
15:4)?
B) If not, and he is on Planetfall, does he still get to encounter
both Timescape Cards drawn?
Answer: He encounters any other cards and misses his next turn.
City
CHARACTERS:
1. For the Valkyrie's fourth Special Ability, who are human Enemies?
Answer: 'Pure-strain' humans only (no orks, elves, etc.).
SPECIAL CHARACTERS:
2. If a Character becomes one of the Special Characters does he keep
his original Character's Special Abilities as well (it is not
explicitly stated whether he does or not in the City rules)?
Answer: Yes
3. For the King's Champion's last Special Ability, should Outlaw and
Raiders be replaced with Bandits?
Answer: Yes
4. Can the Sheriff use his fifth Special Ability, to teleport to any
Space in the City:
+ a) From any other board (e.g. can he teleport from the main
board, Dungeon, or Timescape to any Space on the City board).
+ b) Only while on the City board.
Answer: b
ADVENTURE CARDS:
5. After the Air Elemental has moved itself and the Character
encountering it to one of the two fields Spaces, must the
Character then fight a Psychic Combat with it?
Answer: Yes
6.
+ A) If a Character who draws Conscription opts to defeat
another Character in Combat and fails to do so (either due to
lack of other nearby Characters or he loses the Combat) does
he get to choose one of the three remaining options to avoid
Conscription?
Answer: No
+ B) If a Character loses three turns, does the Turn that he
drew Conscription on count as his first lost Turn (again, as
per rule 15:4)?
Answer: Yes
7. Will the Cutpurse become a follower of a Character who is the
Master Thief?
Answer: Yes
8. If a Character uses the Dancing Girl to Evade an encounter does
she:
+ a) Stay on the Space that the Character used her in.
+ b) Go to the discard pile?
Answer: b
9. Should the Dog be a follower rather than an object (like the Dog
in the Dungeon Cards)?
Answer: Yes
10.
+ A) If the Dragon Master captures a Dragon for you, does the
Dragon increase your carrying capacity to that of the
Anti-Grav Platform or Horse and Cart (the Dragon Master's
Card seems to imply this)?
Answer: Yes
+ B) Will the Dragon carry a Warhorse?
Answer: No!!
11. If a Character with the Druid enters the Timescape, City, or
Dungeon does he:
+ a) Leave the Druid in the Space that he entered from.
+ b) Is the Druid discarded.
Answer: b
12. If the Earth Elemental moves a Character to the Dungeon, must the
Character then fight a Psychic Combat with it?
Answer: Yes
13. If a Character encounters Employment, does the Turn he drew it on
count as his lost Turn (again, as per rule 15:4)?
Answer: Yes
14.
+ A) If a Character loses to the Fire Elemental does he lose
any Objects on a Horse and Cart?
Answer: Yes
+ B) If so, does he lose the Horse and Cart, also?
Answer: Yes
+ C) If a Character loses to the Fire Elemental does he lose
any Objects on an Anti-Grav Platform?
Answer: Yes
+ D) If so, does he lose the Platform, also?
Answer: Yes
15. If you defeat the Gambler, do any unclaimed objects:
+ a) Stay on the board.
+ b) Go to their respective discard piles.
Answer: b
16. If the Ghoul (Enemy: Monster), taken as a follower by the Ghoul
Character, is used in Psychic Combat, and loses, is it placed on
the discard pile?
Answer: Yes
17. If a Character is Lost, does the Turn he drew it on count as his
lost Turn (again, as per rule 15:4)?
Answer: Yes
18. If a Character with an Urchin leaves the City, does he:
+ a) Leave the Urchin in the Space that he left the City from.
+ b) Discard the Urchin.
Answer: b
19. Does War remain on the City Gate for the rest of the game?
Answer: Yes
20.
+ A) Will the Watch arrest a Toad (for having no Gold)?
Answer: No
+ B) Similarly, if a Character is turned into a Toad while in
the City does he have to draw for the Watch at the end of
each of his Turns as a Toad (for having no Gold)?
Answer: No
21. If a Character loses to the Water Elemental, does he:
+ a) Choose which follower to lose.
+ b) Roll randomly.
Answer: b
BOARD:
22. When a Character uses the Enchantress Space to enter the
Timescape, does he:
+ a) Roll two dice under his starting quota of Craft and
Strength (as per the Timescape rules).
+ b) Roll two dice under his current quota of Strength and
Craft (as stated on the Space)?
Answer: b
RULES:
23. Can a Toad rob the Bank?
Answer: No!!!
24. As the rules are currently written, a Character with a Warrant
does not have to draw for the Watch at the end of his Turn while
in the City (having a Warrant does not violate any of the statutes
of the City). Is this correct?
Answer: Yes it is. Breaking the law causes a 'hue & cry' which may
bring the watch. Simply carrying a warrant will not (though you
may encounter them normally).
25. If a Character with a Warrant is defeated by another Character in
Combat, that Character can opt to move the defeated Character to
the Donjon Space on the City board. Does this work:
+ a) While Characters are on the City board, only.
+ b) While Characters are on the Dungeon or main board, also.
Answer: a
26. If a Character rolls poorly for judgement, and is forced to make
an escape, does he still retain his Warrant even though he rolled
for judgement?
Answer: Yes
27.
+ A) If a Character draws a Horse, Warhorse, or Horse and Cart
from the Adventure Deck, does he replace it with the
appropriate Purchase Card (as per rule 20:1)?
Answer: Yes
+ B) If this is the case, does any Character who draws an
Adventure Card of an item that is not currently in the
Purchase Deck get nothing?
Answer: Yes
28. Finally, when a Character enters a City location he must leave any
Mules, Horses, Horse and Carts, Warhorses, or Dragons on the
Street Space outside of the location. On his next Turn may the
Character:
+ a) Move back to that Space automatically and reclain his
Objects (as a person with the Horse may reclaim followers).
+ b) Must he roll for movement normally.
Answer: a
SUBJECT: COMBAT VS PSYCHIC COMBAT
From: sh...@selway.umt.edu (Scott Hensley)
Date: 27 October 1993
During a debate on whether the term "Combat" (sometimes) included
"Psychic Combat", Scott reported:
I wrote GW about his very exact same question (the 'Combat', 'Psychic
Combat' distinction). Their reply was as follows...
'Combat always refers to Strength based combats... Psychic Combat
always refers to fights using Craft. They should never be
mistaken.'
SUBJECT: TALISMAN 2ND EDITION HOUSE RULES
"House Rules" means none of these are official - use the ones you
like, drop the ones you don't. Sometimes these are "interpretations"
of the official rules in places where the official ones were ambiguous
(or at least non-obvious).
A rule marked "Heli N" is the N'th rule from Rick Heli's gaming
group's FAQ (Rick...@Eng.Sun.COM), the April 6 1992 edition. One
marked "Mill N" is the N'th rule from The Mill Gaming Dudes' house
rules (contributed by Ned Utzig ). Several contributions came from
Howard Kim (hk...@cs.cornell.edu) in the summer of 1993, with the aid
of Sten Drescher (s...@floyd.brooks.af.mil), Doug Gibson
(do...@abby.chem.ucla.edu), Kurt Grossman (Ku...@yang.earlham.edu),
Dave Katleman (katl...@corp.sun.com), Jay Lorch
(lo...@cs.berkeley.edu), and Petri.Maaninen (Petri.M...@hut.fi).
* Principles for resolving issues ("meta" house rules)
* Talisman "Dragon's Lair" expansion set
* Tournament Rules
* Cycling through spells
* The Amazing Warp Belt Trick
* The Ninja's Secret Attack
* The Warhorse and charging into combat
* Centaur
* Warrior of Chaos
* Followers
* Priest
* The Bandit
* Spell casting restrictions
* Amulet
* Order of encounters
* Witch Doctor's curse
* Genie
* Ghoul
* Events left on the board
* the Idol
* "before rolling the die for movement"
* Attacking strangers
* Staff of Mastery
* The Demon Lord
* Dragon King
* Magic Pouch
* Supernova
* Loans
* The Town Square
* Entering the City
* Leaving animals at the Stable
* City offices
* Dungeon doors
* The Watch
* Anarchist's Guild
* Leaving the City
* Dancing Girl
* Ninja versus Knight
* Isn't it too easy to become the High Mage?
* When you leave the Donjon, where do you go?
* Crown of Command
* Multi-creature cards
* Doppelganger
* Losing lives to creatures with special attacks
* Questing Knight
* Characters adapted to the City board
* The Horse
* Teleporting in/out of the City
* The Siren
* Snake Pit
* Great Portal
* The Sentinel
* Strengthening monsters
* Enemies that Move
* The Zulu
* The Familiar and Extra Spells
* Unwanted followers
Subject: Principles for resolving issues ("meta" house rules)
From: dal...@qucis.queensu.ca (David Lamb)
Date: 27 October 1993
Having been involved in a few Talisman rules arguments lately, I
thought I'd propose some guidelines for helping resolve such disputes.
1. Be clear about whether the argument is about resolving an
ambiguity in the "official" rules, or about defining a new "house"
rule.
1. If you're resolving an "official" rule, then the rules as
written are definitive (including the official answers in the
previous section). Check the official rules! Arguing from
memory, or from your own group's house rules, is probably
counterproductive.
2. If you're defining a "house rule" it makes sense to point out
that it contradicts an "official" rule if the other party
doesn't seem to know about the official rule, but once it's
clear they don't like the official rule and are trying to
define a house rule, harping about the official rules is
pointless.
2. Combat vs Psychic Combat. A lot of people, including me, tend to
think of "Combat" as being generic for both "(Strength) Combat or
Psychic Combat". Psychologists and sociologists will tell you
about "marked" versus "unmarked" terms and point out there'd be
fewer misinterpretations if the "unmarked" term "Combat" meant
both kinds, and there were 2 marks, e.g. Strength/Craft, or
Normal/Psychic, for distinguishing the two forms of combat.
Unfortunately that does not appear to be what Games Workshop chose
to do: Combat, unmarked, means combat with Strength. "Combat or
Psychic Combat" is what they say when they mean the combat in the
generic sense. So: if a rule or card says Combat, unadorned, it
means exactly "Combat based on strength". Thus for example we can
deduce:
1. Armour doesn't protect against losing a life in psychic
combat.
2. A creature you "save" to use in the next "combat" can only be
used in the next strength-based combat.
3. The astropath can evade Combat, but not Psychic Combat.
Of course, you can always reject this "meta house rule" and substitute
one that lets "combat" include "psychic combat" whenever you feel
like it - but bear in mind it's just that, a house rule.
3. Any rule change that increases the power of spell-cyclers (those
who "always have K spells") is probably "wrong" (meaning "makes
the game less fun for most players").
Subject: Talisman "Dragon's Lair" expansion set
From: David.K...@Corp.Sun.COM (David Katleman)
Date: Thu 29 July 1993
While waiting for the official Dragons release, David Katleman
developed a "Dragon's Lair" expansion set; contact him directly at the
above address if you want a copy. Basically, the Dragon Adventure deck
cards are now considered the entrance to the Dragon's lair and are
considered places. The expansion is still in a Alpha, maybe Beta test
state.
Subject: Tournament Rules
From: bl...@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Brian G. Greenberg)
Date: 27 October 1993
Since the game can be very unbalanced, my group runs a tournament. We
have five in our group and we deal out nine characters to each of us.
We keep these characters hidden from each other. (We write them down
and have my mom initial the peice of paper). We do not allow a
character to have more that one spell caster. If this happens those
without one may bid as to how many characters to show the person with
the extra spell caster and let that person choose two of the shown.
Then we play six games. Whoever wins the most is the Champ. If there
is a tie there is a tie breaker game. A player who uses all nine
characters is then allowed to draw two from those not chosen; the
other players choose which one to play. The only time the High Mage is
in the game is if two or more spell casters are played in a game or if
a six is rolled on one die before the game (after characters are
picked.) Because we think the Dragon King (from Dragons expansion) is
too easy to beat, we use the alternate endings. Once one is picked it
cannot be picked again until the fifth game, when we recycle them.
Because the Great Portal and the Cave of Dragon Bones can be very
cheap wins (a character may not have enough natural strength to get
past the crypt), we only allow each player to use either of these
once.
Subject: Cycling through spells
Date: 11 March 1993
Characters who "always have a spell" can really take over, since so
many of the spells can be cast "when needed" (that is, just about any
time). So they can cast a lot of spells on their own turn, then cast a
lot more on the next person's, and so on. How can we fix this without
being too unfair to the spell cyclers?
1. (GW in Talisman City): cast spells only on your own turn, except
for defensive spells
2. (GW in Talisman City): cast only one spell "at a time" [DAL - it's
unclear what they mean by this, but presumably either "one spell
per turn" such as one on your own turn, one on the next person's,
and so on]
3. [LondonTowne Gaming Gang]: Make "always have N spells" true only
at the start and end of the spell caster's own turn, at which time
the caster can freely discard spells, then draw enough to have N
spells.
4. [Jeremy Gates ] To cast a spell it must be able to take effect
(eg. Heal - subject must be not fully healed). Secondly the player
can only get his new spells via the "always have a spell" at the
start of his turn.
Aside: in the "standard" rules the only way to get rid of a spell is
to
1. cast it
2. discard it if you acquire more spells than your limit.
So a spell-cycler can get "trapped" with an uncastable spell (e.g.
counterspell, if no one ever casts a spell on the cycler).
Subject: The Amazing Warp Belt Trick
From: KU...@EARLHAM.BITNET
Date: 20 October 1994
If you have the Warp Belt, or if you are the Astropath, you can choose
to follow the Red line from the Negative Zone to the Time Loop,
returning to "the space you came from" - where you draw another
Timescape card. This lets you get all the treasure fromthe Timescape
Deck!
1. Do nothing. It's not necessarily so bad if you do this with the
Warp Belt, since you also cycle through all the Monsters in the
Timescape deck, such as the Str 12 Behmoth or Cra 12 Space
Vampire. The Astropath, on the other hand, gets a 2/3 chance to
Evade the Behemoth (though not the Vampire), and doesn't even need
to find the Belt, so he's even worse.
2. Limit people to a small number of loops, e.g once. Thereafter they
roll normally for what path to follow.
Subject: The Ninja's Secret Attack
Date: 11 March 1993
From: KU...@EARLHAM.BITNET
Can the Ninja make a Secret Attack in an endgame where you have to
fight, such as against the Dragon King?
1. No. It says against an upturned Enemy card or player; several of
GW's Q&A items show they mean Enemy to refer to cards with the
word Enemy on them, and not fixed monsters like the Sentinel, the
Spirit at the crags, the Brigand in the forest, the Warp Demon,
and so on.
Subject: The Warhorse and charging into combat
Date: 11 March 1993
From: wrr...@tamsun.tamu.edu (Rick Russell)
The Talisman Rules and Q&A state that the Warhorse allows you to add
your Craft to your Strength for *any* combat in which you would
normally use Strength. Hence, the Warhorse is exactly equivalent to
the Monk's special ability and the spell Psionic Blast. For a measly
price of 5G in the City, or for free if you pick it out of the
Adventure Deck, the Warhorse seems like an inordinately powerful
object. The Warhorse will allow most Strength 2 and 3 characters to
take on Dragons and Giants with ease, given a sword and a spot of good
luck. Later in the game, characters fortunate enough to have a
Warhorse become extremely powerful. In a 2 player game, this is
practically a ticket to the Crown of Command.
1. Note the rules and Q&A sheet for some standard limitations: If the
owner of the Warhorse loses a life in combat, the Warhorse is lost
instead. The Warhorse may not be used more than once per combat
round; this is important when the character using the Warhorse is
fighting the Pit Fiends, Zombies or characters who have the
ability to fight or re-fight a second round of combat.
2. The Warhorse *only* allows you to add your Craft to your Strength
when you land on/encounter a face-up Adventure Card or Character.
When you are attacked, the Warhorse is useless (i.e. you don't
have the opportunity to charge). Comment: This rule is good on the
face of it, but has some problems. In the center of the board, the
*second* character to enter the Crown of Command space will get to
charge, and on their attack they can steal their opponent's
Warhorse. The first character is dead meat. If the character at
the center gets the Belt of Hercules, then they can do the same
thing by teleporting on top of another character.
3. The Warhorse works as originally specified, but you may *only*
take Life away from your opponent, not Gold or Objects. Comment:
Makes a certain amount of sense, since it would be difficult to
use a Warhorse for subdual combat. It still allows low-strength
high-craft characters to kick the rear out of dragons and such,
which doesn't seem sensible. Instant strength for weak characters.
4. The Warhorse adds a random Charge Bonus (1d6) to your Strength in
every standard Combat, whether you attack or are attacked. Instead
of rolling one die and adding to your Strength, you roll two dice.
Comment: Easy to implement, simple to understand. On average, the
Warhorse will provide a Strength bonus of 3 or 4 at a cost of 5G,
slightly better than two-handed weapons at a cost of 4G. About the
same as the Mercenary. Provides no guarantee of easy success in a
given situation.
5. Same as (4), and in addition the Warhorse will not necessarily be
killed by attacks which would normally take a Life. The player has
the option of allowing the Warhorse to be killed instead of losing
a Life in Combat. Comment: My personal favorite. Since the
Warhorse no longer provides a constant Strength bonus in combat,
it seems unfair to kill it anytime the Character loses a combat
while using the Warhorse.
6. Same as (4) or (5), but the Warhorse only provides a bonus if the
Character encounters/lands on a face up Adventure Card or
character. Comment: Another sensible variation of (3) and (4).
7. By itself, the Warhorse provides adds 1 to your Strength in
Combat, and it may be combined with any normal weapons (Axe,
Sword, etc) and Armor. A new weapon is introduced into the game:
The Lance. The Lance may be purchased at the City Armoury for 3
gold. It is a one-handed weapon which adds 1 to your Strength
while in Combat. When the Lance is used with a Warhorse in Combat,
both items used together provide a net bonus of +4 to your
Strength. When used *against* a Character with a Warhorse, the
Lance provides a +2 bonus to your Strength in Combat (then you
might call it a Polearm). The Holy Lance works just like a normal
lance, except that it is adds 3 to your Strength in Combat with
Enemy-Dragons and when combined with the Warhorse provides a net
bonus of +6 to your Strength in Combat against Enemy-Dragons.
Comment: It would require printing up some new Purchase cards, but
otherwise it's a really neat idea. I haven't playtested anything,
so I don't know if it's a well-balanced solution.
8. [jjoh...@ccscola.Columbia.NCR.COM (Jeffrey H. Johnson)] Tone it
down by:
1. It adds your craft or 6, whichever is less.
2. You may only use it against face-up cards and characters you
land upon.
3. You may not use it against foes that you land upon via
teleport, etc.
This addresses most of the problems save the Crown of Command. We play
that you can only take items which you can use, and since you
can't use two warhorses, you can't charge someone already on the
center space AND take his warhorse. You only get the charge when
you enter the space.
Subject: Centaur
Date: 26 Oct 1993
What "plains" space does the Centaur start in?
Answer Player's choice. Can the centaur use his +2 movement in the
dungeon?
Answer No
Can he "outrun" his followers, as does someone using the Horse?
Answer Yes, but he can return to them next move, as with the Horse
Can he ride a horse or warhorse?
Answer No (this being an extension of the Q&A that suggested
reasonable limits on how big an object the Mule might carry)
Subject: Warrior of Chaos
Date: 12 July 1993
If the Warrior of Chaos is turned Good, e.g. by the Mystic, can he
still corrupt other characters to Evil?
Answer Yes; whenever possible, it's simplest to assume 'change of
alingment' has no effect on special abilities.
The Chaos Gift ability is very powerful; to tone it down, make the
Warrior first pass a roll of 2D6 >= the characteristic just used in
combat.
Subject: Followers
Date: 27 October 1993
[Heli 1] The Minstrel may have an unlimited number of animal
followers.
[Heli 12] Creatures turned into Followers via special abilities (e.g.,
the Minstrel's Animal, Ghoul's undead, etc.) can be stolen like any
other Followers (e.g., via Mesmerism or the Sorceress' special
ability), but these followers are left face up in the space where the
former owner is.
[Heli 23] The Mercenary, Man-at-Arms and any other followers who add
Strength do not count when firing a bow at an Enemy or another
character.
Followers cannot use objects (although the Porter can carry some).
Followers that "add to strength" (e.g. Unicorn) count when opening the
Portal of Power and Crypt. Those that "add to strength in Combat"
don't count. (And similarly for "add to craft" and the Mines).
Subject: Priest [Heli 2]
Date: 6 April 1992
The Priest, when he automatically destroys a Spirit in the space he
lands in, does not count it as an encounter; he encounters the space
as normal. The Priest has a starting Craft of 6. When the Priest is of
Good alignment and is visited by the Angel, instead of the normal
benefits of the card, he may choose to receive either two Strength,
two Craft or a teleport to any space in the same region.
Subject: The Bandit [Heli 3]
Date: 6 April 1992
When gold is surrendered to the Bandit, it remains there until
recovered by the character who defeats the Bandit. If the Bandit card
is destroyed with the Destruction spell, the gold is destroyed also.
Subject: Spell casting restrictions
Date: 6 April 1992
[Heli 4]: The following spells cannot be played unless they are the
first spell cast by the player in a given turn: Acquisition, Barrier,
Craft, Destruction, Fireball, Mesmerism, Misdirection, Random,
Teleport, Temporal Warp
[Heli 7]: The Counterspell, Reflection Spell and Spell Turning must be
played immediately after the spell is played and before any other
activity occurs. A Counterspell, Reflection Spell and Spell Turning
may not be used to counter a spell cast by the same player.
[Heli 9]: The Immobility and Destroy Magic Spells may be used to
prevent casting of the Command Spell. In addition, a Character at the
Crown of Command may not the cast the Command Spell if currently a
Toad.
You need to decide on a house rule for whether Destruction can remove
an Event. Some groups play yes, others no. Destruction can remove "any
card on the board". So it can't destroy possessions that are off the
board, on the character's sheet. We don't know why the Amulet says
Destruction cannot be cast on the holder.
W.D. Bradford's group (wdb...@cus.cam.ac.uk) allows Destruction to
apply to any card in play, including those in characters' possession.
However, this strengthens spellcasters, whom many believe to be too
powerful already.
Subject: Amulet [Heli 5]
Date: 25 March 1993
The Amulet protects the owning player from the following spells:
1. those listed on the Amulet card.
2. the following from Talisman City: Craft, Feeble Mind, Magic Shell,
Mini-Vortex, Restoration, Spell Call, Spell Turning, Syphon,
Temporary Change, Weakness
Subject: Order of encounters [Heli 6]
Date: 6 April 1992
When encountering Adventure Cards bearing the same number, the player
decides the order in which he will enounter them.
Subject: Witch Doctor's curse [Heli 8]
Date: 6 April 1992
When cursed by the Witch Doctor, the cursed player must move so as
never to end his move further from than his destination than he
started. If he overshoots the target, he must overshoot the minimum
possible distance, i. e. may not use horse, boots or other means to
increase movement. The player remains cursed until he lands directly
on the Chapel (or Ruins if evil).
Subject: Genie [Heli 10]
Date: 6 April 1992
The Genie is not a Player; hence its spell is not affected by the
Magical Vortex. Likewise, the Prophetess does not get to see the spell
(unless she owns the Genie, of course), and it cannot be stolen by
Mindsteal or Nullify.
Subject: Ghoul [Heli 11]
Date: 6 April 1992
The Ghoul decides in which Combat to use any of his zombie Followers.
That is, they do not automatically fight in the next combat. Also, the
Ghoul can NOT raise defeated Spirits (for feeding to the Vampire,
say).
Subject: Events left on the board [Heli 13]
Date: 6 April 1992
Note that some Events (Astral Conjunction, Blizzard, etc.) count,
until they expire, toward the total number of cards on a Draw Cards
space. This does not apply to Spells such as Hex and Barrier.
Subject: the Idol [Heli 14]
Date: 6 April 1992
If enslaved by the Idol, you re-encounter the space with whatever
effects that implies.
Subject: "before rolling the die for movement" [Heli 15]
Date: 6 April 1992
Whenever an instruction says you may (or must) do something "before
rolling the die for movement", interpret it to mean that the action
takes place just before the Movement phase of the turn, regardless of
whether you actually roll the die. Thus, for example, you can cast
Destroy Magic during the Blizzard.
Subject: Attacking strangers [Heli 16]
Date: 6 April 1992
Despite what the character or adventure cards may say, Strangers may
not be killed by bow and arrow. The GW Q&A sheet says no one can ever
attack strangers.
Subject: Staff of Mastery
Date: 20 October 1994
[Heli 17]: When a player loses the Staff of Mastery, the Enemy under
control reverts to normal and is placed in the current space.
[Heli 18]: Neither the Demon Lord nor the Dragon King may be mastered
with the Staff of Mastery.
An enslaved Enemy gets used in the next combat in which it could
participate; thus a Strength monster doesn't get discarded after a
Psychic Combat.
Subject: The Demon Lord
Date: 25 October 1993
The Demon Lord may not be automatically defeated with the Cross or
with the Priest's Special Ability, or anything else that automatically
defeats other spirits. [Heli 19, Mill 4]
If the Demon Lord slays a character, what happens to their
possessions?
1. [impliction of normal "fight first, pick up cards after" rule]:
Discard all such possessions; there's no way for anyone to pick
them up until they've defeated the D.L and thus won the game.
2. Let the next character to reach the Crown of Command space pick up
the items before fighting the D.L.
Subject: Dragon King
Date: 17 June 1993
[Mill 4] Characters, Magical Items / followers, etc. that
automatically defeat Dragons do not defeat the Dragon King. Items that
add plusses for Dragons still apply, however. Thus for example [Heli
20] the Holy Lance does add 3 to the Strength of its user when
fighting the Dragon King.
[Mill 6] If the Dragon King decides to eat one of your followers and
you have none, you lose a life instead.
Subject: Magic Pouch [Heli 22]
Date: 6 April 1992
The Magic Pouch may only contain 1 object. It may not contain
aggregate objects, e. g. the Horse and Cart. Objects in the Pouch may
not be used, they are in the Pouch. To put something into the Pouch or
take something out is a transfer. Only one transfer is allowed per
turn. When it is carrying another object, the Magic Pouch does not
count against object carrying limits.
Subject: Supernova [Heli 24]
Date: 6 April 1992
The Supernova causes the character to advance along the blue warp
line, not the red as stated on the card.
Subject: Loans
Date: 6 April 1992
[Heli 25]: Leaving the City (regardless of method) without repaying an
outstanding loan causes the character to be turned into a toad. The
Loan card is removed from the game.
[Heli 34]: The Bank will loan out money only to the extent of its loan
cards; when these are all out, no further loans are available.
Subject: The Town Square [Heli 26]
Date: 6 April 1992
If simply landing in the Town Square, draw one City card unless there
is one there already.
Subject: Entering the City
Date: 6 April 1992
[Heli 27] Do not count weapons in your strength total when wrestling
with the guard to obtain entry to the City. You may still count items
such as the Potion and Magic Belt which confer basic strength,
however.
[Heli 39] When bribing the guard to enter the city, a roll of 6 means
that entry is denied.
Subject: Leaving animals at the Stable [Heli 28]
Date: 6 April 1992
Other players may not pick up animals which you leave at the stable.
If your character dies, discard any cards left at the stable.
Subject: City offices
Date: 6 April 1992
[Heli 29]: A single character may only hold one of the City offices
(High Mage, Sheriff, Champion, Master Thief) at a time.
[Heli 31]: The Sheriff and the Champion may disregard any pre-existing
Warrants upon taking office, but may still not discard these Warrants
in the event that they later lose the position.
[Heli 32] When your character holds a City office, this becomes the
character's new alignment for all purposes until something (Mephisto,
Mystic, Anarchist's Guild, Temporary Change) causes that alignment to
change. Even if the character loses the office, he still retains the
current alignment.
Subject: Dungeon doors [Heli 33]
Date: 6 April 1992
The new dungeon door cards in the City card deck still count against
the maximum two dungeon door cards which may be visible at any one
time.
Subject: The Watch
Date: 6 April 1992
[Heli 35] The Market Day card in the City deck allows trading of items
between players just as the Market Day card in the Adventure Deck
does. Note however that Trading is deemed illegal in the City (without
a license); thus, characters currently in the City who trade must
thereafter draw a City card to check for the Watch.
If you have multiple offences in the same turn (e.g. fighting and
being a Troll), you only draw once for the Watch. If you fight the
watch, you draw again for the new fight, though.
Subject: Anarchist's Guild [Heli 36]
Date: 6 April 1992
The Anarchist's Guild automatically changes the alignment of any
character using its services to Neutral.
Subject: Leaving the City [Heli 38]
Date: 6 April 1992
When you are taken to the City Gate as a result of Judgement, you are
not allowed to retrieve your animals from the stables.
Subject: Dancing Girl [Heli 40]
Date: 6 April 1992
The Dancing Girl can be used on human enemies only.
Subject: Ninja versus Knight [Heli 43]
Date: 6 April 1992
When the Ninja fights the Knight, whoever initiated the attack has his
power take precedence.
Subject: Isn't it too easy to become the High Mage?
Date: 11 March 1993
1. [Heli 41] To become the High Mage, in addition to turning in a
magic object, the player must roll his Craft or less on two dice.
If successful, he becomes the High Mage. If unsuccessful, he must
still discard the Magic Object.
2. [LondonTowne Gaming Gang] Donate N magic objects, then roll D6
less than or equal to the number of object donated. You can donate
several objects at once, but can only make one roll per turn. If
you fail you can come back later and donate more, counting both
the old and the new donations toward the number you must roll.
Subject: When you leave the Donjon, where do you go?
Date: 12 July 1993
When escaping from the Donjon, or when found not guilty:
1. [Heli 37] Roll a die for movement in the subsequent turn as
normal, counting the Royal Castle as the first space entered.
2. Start in Imperial Avenue, and assume your horses (if any) have
been left there (if you didn't leave them at the stable already).
3. When escaping (only), start in any square adjacent to the Donjon
(you're escaping, after all).
Subject: Crown of Command
From: ut...@mast.enet.dec.com Date: 17 June 1993
[Mill 1] The Crown of Command spell affects ALL players when cast, not
a single player. (text on the C-of-C conflicts w/ the rulebook..)
[Mill 2] Loss of life from the Crown of Command Spell cannot be
prevented by items such as shields, armour, helmets, etc.
Counter-spells may negate the C of C spell, however.
Subject: Multi-creature cards
Date: 25 October 1993
If you fight an Enemy that consists of several creatures that you must
fight in sequence (e.g. Band of Zombies), if you defeat a few before
they kill you, the next time someone lands on that card, the Band is
back to full strength.
Subject: Doppelganger
Date: 25 October 1993
Fighting the Doppelganger seems always to be a straight roll-off of
D6's, since the card says you fight with the same TOTAL strength,
including strength from weapons, followers, potions, and so on. Things
that "add craft to strength", e.g. Warhorse or Monk's ability, don't
get around this - they add to your strength, and thus the D. gets the
same total strength as you. The one exception *might* be the special
ability that "subtracts your craft from your opponent's strength"
which is phrased not to change your own strength, but many people
regard that the D's ability overrides even that.
You can't save the D. for strength (see official answers from GW).
If the D. shows up on the same square as another tough creature, so
that you get to fight "yourself" at big minuses, the best hope is to
attack the Doppelganger with a missile weapon or Fireball from a
different hex.
Subject: Losing lives to creatures with special attacks
Date: 27 October 1993
If a moster, such as the Air Elemental, does something special, such
as taking you out of the city, when it defeats you, does it *also*
drains a life first?
1. In the case of the Air Elemental, there's an official answer: if
it takes you out of the City, you then fight a normal Psychic
Combat (and similarly for the Earth Elemental).
2. For other cases, take your pick of interpretations:
1. Yes. The only exceptions are creatures whose descriptions say
"instead of taking a life".
2. No. It only has the effect stated on the card.
Subject: Questing Knight
Date: 25 October 1993
Why should the QN start the game with Helmet, Shield, and Armour,
since you can only use one of the three, presumably Armour, in any one
combat (question 5 in the Q&A).
1. Treat it as another special ability, letting him use each in turn.
2. Treat the Helmet and Shield as Alchemist fodder.
3. Treat the Helmet and Shield as spares, in case someone steals the
Armour.
Subject: Characters adapted to the City board
Date: 26 October 1993
From: hk...@cs.cornell.edu (Howard Kim) and Kurt Grossman.
The Thief description dates from before the City expansion. How should
he steal from shops in the city?
1. Take an object at random [straightforward extension of Thief card]
2. [variant of Master Thief] Roll D6:
+ 1-2: Successful, take an item of choice.
+ 3-4: Successful, take a random item.
+ 5-6: Failure, lose 1 life.
The Merchant can trade with shops in the city.
The Inquisitor's victim automatically goes to the Donjon; the
Inquisitor's power supersedes the "judgement" that normally happens at
the Donjon.
Subject: The Horse
Date: 26 October 1993
From: hk...@cs.cornell.edu (Howard Kim)
The horse can "outrun" followers. Does this apply to the Hag, Jester,
and Poltergeist?
1. No. These can never be outrun.
2. Yes.
3. Yes to the hag and jester, no to the Poltergeist. The Poltergeist
prevents you from moving +3 with a Horse, so prevents outrunning.
If the player uses the +3 movement, then he/she leaves his/her
followers behind unless they have horses. Certain followers like the
unicorn do not seem to be logical candidates as horse riders. Should
these followers have to have a horse to follow a player w/ a horse?
1. Strict interpretation of the rules says they can't follow.
2. A house rule can say these followers need not have a horse:
Unicorn, Familiar, Spirits, and Animals.
Subject: Teleporting in/out of the City
Date: 26 October 1993
From: hk...@cs.cornell.edu (Howard Kim)
Since spellcasting is illegal in the city, is teleporting in/out
illegal?
1. Draw to see if you get a Law card when you teleport in, but not
out. [Kurt Grossman, Petri Maaninen]
2. Neither is illegal. For "out" you're not in the city at the time
you would draw, and for "in" you weren't in the city when you cast
the spell.
Subject: The Siren
Date: 27 October 1993
Non-human characters generally appear to be immune to the Siren.
Non-human characters added in expansions usually list "immune to
Siren" as a special ability. If you're creating a nonhuman character,
think about whether they should be immune.
One exception appears to be the Sprite. Consistency might suggest
making her immune - but she's already quite powerful, and doesn't need
to get any better!
Subject: Snake Pit
Date: 26 October 1993
From: hk...@cs.cornell.edu (Howard Kim)
The snake pit only stops those who land on it; it doesn't stop players
passing it.
Subject: Great Portal
Date: 20 October 1994
May a character drink the Dragon Blood (lose one life, but double your
strength for one turn) and then attempt to open the Brian> Great
Portal and defeat the Dragon King?
Answer: Yes; fighting the Dragon King is immediate after moving
through the Great Portal, so is still on the same term.
Subject: The Sentinel
Date: 20 October 1994
If a player attempts to pass the Sentinal and does not beat him it
says that he remains on the space. Does he encounter the space? i.e.
Pick a card if there is not one already there or fight an existing
card?
1. No. You already made a choice as to which aspect of the space you
were encountering, and decided on the sentinel.
2. Yes. You would encounter the space at the end of your move if you
won, so why not encounter the sentinel space if you lose?
Subject: Strengthening monsters
Date: 20 October 1994
From: wdb...@cus.cam.ac.uk (W.D. Bradford)
Monsters quickly cease to be a threat to strong characters. We've
tried a number of ways to reverse this such as Double Strength
Talisman, +1d6 Talisman, and the following scheme:
When a monster/animal/dragon/spirit/alien is encountered, roll 1d6 and
consul the table below:
1. Strength/craft halved (round up)
2. Strength/craft doubled
3. Strength/craft as normal
4. Strength/craft normal + 1d6
5. Strength/craft at least equal to yours (i.e doppelganger if
weaker, normal if stronger)
6. Strength/craft at most equal to yours (i.e doppelganger if
stronger, normal if weaker)
In all cases the normal strength value applies when enemies are kept
for strength. If 1 and 6 seem too wimpy, then instead rolls of 1-3 can
indicate normal strength, while 4,5,6 indicate +1d6, double, and "at
least" respectively. This type of system really makes the early stage
of the game tense - boars and apes are no longer "breakfast" and
dragons can be truly terrifying! Even at the end of the game any enemy
potentially poses a serious threat, and you never get to the point
where picking up Adventure cards becomes a tedious (and pointless)
chore.
Subject: Enemies that Move
Date: 20 October 1994
Enemies that move after combat, such as the Berserker and Vampire
Bats, don't encounter the character(s) they land on.
Subject: The Zulu
Date: 20 October 1994
If the Zulu routs a character, the character does not encounter the
space to which s/he is routed (by analogy with the Satyr's panic).
Subject: The Familiar and Extra Spells
Date: 20 October 1994
If the Philosopher has the Familiar as a follower, how many spell
cards does he draw before deciding which one he wants?
1. 4. His special ability gives +1 and the Familiar's gives +2, for a
total of +3.
2. 3. This is the maximum of his own ability and the Familiar's.
What happens to the extra cards?
1. There's an official answer: the top of the spell draw pile.
2. Some people play that you discard them.
Subject: Unwanted followers
Date: 20 October 1994
Several mechanisms let you get rid of normal followers: you can outrun
them with the horse, the Dark Elf can drain their lives, the Saracen
can enslave them. Do these apply to the "unwanted" followers: hag,
jester, poltergeist?
* The horse was handled above: you can choose whatever rule you
like.
* No; these uses of special abilities would make those characters
immune to the unwanted followers.
SUBJECT: TALISMAN 2ND EDITION HINTS, SUGGESTIONS, AND STRATEGIES
This page gives hints, suggestions, and strategies for playing
particular Talisman characters. In particular it covers:
* Are some characters more powerful than others?
* Dwarf
* Abusive Combinations
* Scout
Subject: Are some characters more powerful than others?
Date: 11 March 1993
Some people don't think so - in that every character *can* win, luck
being such a big part of the game. It certainly seems that for most
characters, by the end of the game it's the "stuff" you've acquired
during the game (objects, followers, extra strength and craft) that
matter, not your special abilities (except possibly for spell-cycling
("always have a spell"), which seems very powerful).
Others think there's a definite split between "strong" and "wimpy"
characters. The LondonTowne Gaming Gang splits characters into the
Tough and Wimp decks, and lets each player choose one of 3
randomly-dealt Tough characters, with the option of choosing any
character from the Wimp deck. Their Tough characters include: Amazon,
Astronaut, Astropath, Centaur, Chainsaw Warrior, Cyborg, Dark Elf,
Elf, Gypsy, Gladiator, Highlander, Knight, Leprechaun, Monk, Ninja,
Philosopher, Prophetess, Soldier, Sprite, Swashbuckler, Swordsman,
Troll, Valkyrie, Warrior, Warrior of Chaos, Wizard, Woodsman, Zulu.
Rick Heli's group rates the characters as follows:
Weak:
Amazon, Druid, Ghoul, Halfling, Highlander, Hobgoblin, Martial
Artist, Minstrel*+, Orc, Pilgrim, Pirate, Priest+, Ranger,
Samurai, Satyr, Thief*, Warrior
Average:
Archaeologist, Assassin, Astronaut, Barbarian, Centaur,
Chemist[H], Collector[H], Conjurer, Cyborg, Dark Elf,
Dragonlord[H], Dwarf, Elf, Gladiator, Inquisitor, Leprechaun,
Merchant*, Minotaur, Necromancer, Ninja, Rogue*, Saracen,
Scientist, Scout, Soldier, Space Marine, Space Pirate, Sprite,
Spy, Swashbuckler, Swordsman, Torturer[H], Warrior of Chaos,
Witch Doctor, Woodsman, Zulu
Powerful:
Astropath, Chainsaw Warrior, Gipsy, Knight*, Mechanician[H],
Monk, Philosopher, Prophetess, Sage[H], Sorceress*, Troll,
Valkyrie, Wizard
* means becomes more powerful with more players
+ means becomes more powerful with additional rules (Heli's rules for
these particular characters; see previous sections).
[H]
is a special character invented by Rick Heli's group; for details,
contact Rick...@eng.sun.com.
Subject: Dwarf
Date: 11 March 1993
The dwarf seems weak to some people, but, if he is lucky enough to
gain an extra few points of craft before others get very powerful, can
try for a quick win via the Craft route because of his Special
Abilities 4 and 5.
Subject: Abusive Combinations
From: jd...@nmsu.edu (Jonathan Dean), gitz...@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Jim
Gitzlaff), bl...@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Brian G. Greenberg)
Date: 23 Jun 1993 15:44:59 GMT
Sometimes characters get one or two cards that make them nearly
invincible or untouchable. For example:
1. The Ghoul with the Runesword. The Ghoul will gain a life at the
end of almost every combat.
2. The Valkyrie with the Champion. If the Valkyrie does want to fight
she puts forth the Champion. If he dies then she picks him up as a
follower again. Thus, she does not need to fight any non-psychic
battle.
3. The Astropath with a chameleon suit. If the Astropaths inate
ability to evade fails then it has the chameleon suit to fall back
on.
4. The Conjurer High-Mage. Always has two spells and can discard one
spell while casting another. Eventually he will get the Finger of
Death spell. "I cast Finger of Death at you and throw away
Alchemy." We limited him to casting one Finger of Death per
encounter...
5. The Sprite (or other always-has-a-spell character) with the
Familiar. Minimum of two spells at all times, and gets to examine
the top three (!) each time one is cast. Limit them a bit by
placing the 2 unclaimed spells back on the unused pile, not the
discard.
6. The Scientist with the Ancient Artifact. Actually, this seems to
be part of his design. He'd get +4 in every combat - but starts
off quite weak.
It may not be necessasry to "tone down" these combinations. Particular
cards "will appear eventually" only if the game goes on for a long
time or there are a lot of players - there are a *lot* of adventure
cards if you have all the expansions (275 according to numbers in the
FAQ). If they occur very late, other characters may have already
become quite powerful before the "abusive" one gets this chance. Also
there may well be some way to take the object or follower away -
Mesmerism, theft, defeating the character in combat or psychic combat.
Subject: Scout
Date: 20 October 1994
From: David Wildstrom
Hide both dungeon doors, and whenever a stream of life, magic stream,
or fountain of wisdom pops up, hide it. You can get all the strength,
wisdom, or life from the waterays to yourself, and you have your own
little "hideaway" (the dungeon). You need the hideaway because as soon
as you start hiding things, the other players are going to focus all
their abilities on killing you.
SUBJECT: NEW CHARACTERS
The following are character descriptions submitted by people from the
Net. Some contributors have asserted claimed copyright, noted in the
individual entries, but have given permision for this work to be
included in the FAQ. Playtester comments are not included in the
copyright.
* Hero character
* Robot character
* Sentinel character
* Space Knight character
* Space Ork character
* Timelord character
Subject: Hero character
Copyright: 1993 Nick Sauer (113...@hogpa.ho.att.com)
Date: 25 Oct 1993
Updated because of playtesting information from Kurt Grossman.
Start:Vortex Alignment:Good Str:4 Cra:3
1. You start the game with a sword.
2. You may enter the Timescape at any time from the Main board or the
Dungeon.
3. In the Timescape you may move to the Vortex as your next move.
Discussion: seemed quite powerful to one playtester, but perhaps not
compared to, for example, the Sprite. #3 let him avoid the Warp Demon
- but evasion, e.g. via the Chameleon suit, or the Warp
Belt/Astropath's select-lines ability, also do the same (and more).
Whether #2 is too powerful depends on whether you see the Timescape as
too generous - you can get good stuff there, but also run into 12-Str
or 12-Cra creatures, too.
Subject: Robot character
Copyright: 1993 Nick Sauer (113...@hogpa.ho.att.com)
Date: 12 July 1993
Start:Space Port Alignment:Neutral Str:5 Cra:2
1. No spells may be used against you.
2. You may not use any spells.
3. If you encounter or are encountered by another player he may not
use any magic objects against you in combat.
Playtester comment: not bad.
Subject: Sentinel character
Copyright: 1993 Nick Sauer (113...@hogpa.ho.att.com)
Date: 25 Oct 1993
Start:Sentinel Outpost Alignment:Neutral Str:3 Cra:3
1. You may encounter other players in the Timescape.
2. When you encounter another character in the Outer or Middle
regions or the Timescape, instead of fighting him you may arrest
him. Arrested players go to Donjon or the Castle (whichever is in
the same region) as their next move. Arrested players in the
Timescape go to the Vortex as their next move.
3. You may look at the top Timescape card at any time.
Playtester comment: interesting. Automatic arrest may be too powerful.
Subject: Space Knight character
Copyright: 1993 Nick Sauer (113...@hogpa.ho.att.com)
Date: 25 Oct 1993
Updated because of playtesting information from Kurt Grossman.
Start:Space Port Alignment:Good Str:3 Cra:3
1. Every time you lose a life in combat you gain 1 Craft.
2. If you aquire a sword it adds two to your stength in combat.
3. When you draw an Adventure, Timescape, or Dungeon card you may
attempt to use the force. If you roll 2d6 under your current craft
you discard the current card and draw a new one. You may only do
this once per turn.
Subject: Space Ork character
Copyright: 1993 Nick Sauer (113...@hogpa.ho.att.com)
Date: 12 July 1993
Start:Space Warp Alignment:Evil Str:4 Cra:2
1. If you draw the Space Ork Timescape card they become your
followers and fight for you until they are all destroyed.
2. You are uneffected by the siren.
3. You are safe in the Rad Zone and need not roll the die there.
Playtester comment: pretty quiet - comparable to some "average"
existing characters. Nick replied: yep, just like the ordinary Orc.
Subject: Timelord character
Copyright: 1993 Nick Sauer (113...@hogpa.ho.att.com)
Date: 25 Oct 1993
Updated because of playtesting information from Kurt Grossman.
Start:4th Dimension Alignment:Neutral Str:2 Cra:4
1. You start the game with 6 lives. This is your full quota for
healing purposes
2. When you land on another player you may take one of his followers
or give him one of yours (this includes the Hag and the
Poltergeist).
3. You need only roll 1 die vs. Craft at the Portal of Power and 2
dice vs. Craft in the Mines.
4. Whenever you roll a 6 for movement, roll again and move according
to the following chart:
+ 1-4 Move six normally
+ 5 Move to the warp gate
+ 6 Move to any space in the region you are currently in (or in
the Timescape, if on the Timescape board). All your followers
go with you.
Discussion: Doctor Who would have been Good, and had more Lives, but
it's too easy for Good characters to get healed back to starting
quota.
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