Fantasy Flight Games

Brave New World

Published 14 April 2016 | Talisman

Brave New World

Talisman: The Cataclysm Is Now Available

The moment the Black Knight grasped the Crown of Command, the denizens of the realm all began to feel a sudden, irresistible pull towards the Plain of Peril. They abandoned their occupations and began walking across the realm without care for food, shelter, or weather, as if possessed. The only thing that mattered was reaching that destination, and they were prepared to kill anyone standing in their way.

It is time for you to rediscover the realm of Talisman as it recovers from the apocalypse. To explore once-familiar lands that have now become foreign and strange. To meet the determined people building communities in this tumultuous era. To reach for the Crown of Command, and strive to prove yourself worthy of it. The Cataclysm expansion for Talisman is now available at local retailers in the US and Canada, and in our online store.

Transformations, Traces, and Suvivors

In The Cataclysm, the realm of Talisman as you once knew it has disappeared. A new center board opens up a mysterious and transformed space full of possibilities and perils. Once fiery, the Inner Region has been frozen over. The Black Knight has abandoned his Castle and now seeks the Crown of Command. The old stone Sentinel that guarded the Middle Region has fallen, and a demon has taken its place, inhabiting the crumbling ruins of its predecessor’s body. And as people return to the realm, it continues to change. You and your fellow travelers may participate in Rebuilding a town or road. You may even begin to transform, if you acquire a Mutation Spell.

Amid all the change, Traces of the past are ubiquitous. Some are material, like Salvage or a Rusty Boomstick. Others are less so: sometimes an Astral Spirit of someone slain in the apocalypse may appear, momentarily resurrecting a Stranger who has long wandered in silence and death. Through an Astral Rift created by cosmic energies lingering from the apocalypse, a Place from the past may randomly return in a new site.

The inhabitants of this unstable realm fall into two categories. There are seasoned nomads who have wandered here from afar, like the Deadlands Survivor. Then, there are are those who weathered the apocalypse in their youth, like the Old Wizard. There’s much to be gained by interacting with Talisman’s Denizens, from gold and Objects to fate and even Life. But you’ll also find that many of them are as capricious and changeable as the land itself, as likely to turn you into a slimy little toad as help you out. In one alternative ending, the Cult of the Damned, they actually turn against all the characters, and march towards the Plain of Peril as if possessed by a demonic force, single-minded and merciless.

Are You Brave Enough?

The Cataclysm immerses you in a brave new world, unlike any place you have yet encountered in your games of Talisman. You will find there priceless Objects, long-lost Remnants, powerful Spells, willful Denizens, terrible Demons, and even the Ageless Talisman, which will make you nearly invincible if you reach the Crown of Command. Perhaps you have had countless adventures in the realm of Talisman. Perhaps you have even worn its Crown. But are you brave enough to venture there after the apocalypse?

If so, pick up Talisman: The Cataclysm from your local retailer today!

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Talisman are © Games Workshop Ltd. 1983, 1985, 1994, 2007. This edition and its expansions are © Games Workshop Ltd. 2008-2013. Games Workshop, Talisman, its the foregoing marks' respective logos and all associated marks, logos, characters, products and illustrations from the Talisman game are either ®, ™, and/or © Games Workshop Ltd. 1983-2013, variably registered in the UK and other countries around the world. This edition published under license to Fantasy Flight Publishing, Inc. 2008. Fantasy Flight Supply is a trademark of Fantasy Flight Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved to their respective owners.

No Longer Lost

Published 4 April 2016 | Talisman

No Longer Lost

The Remnants and Alternate Endings of Talisman: The Cataclysm

He wandered disappointed through the moss-covered stones and rotting wooden structures of the ruined city. The minstrel had hoped to earn some gold by playing at a tavern that night, but there was not another living soul around. Cursing aloud in frustration, he kicked some rubble on the ground, only to reveal something thin and shining. He bent down and brushed away the rest of the dust—it was a sword in excellent condition, not just gleaming, but radiating with flaming glow. The minstrel smiled, thinking that his evening had just massively improved.

Among the ruins of a civilization ravaged by apocalyptic terrors lie untold treasures, remnants not just of the most recently fallen culture, but of the mysterious others that came before. In Talisman: The Cataclysm, you will unearth those remnants and rediscover items, magics, and even cultures that have been lost for ages.

Our first preview explored the realm of Talisman, utterly transformed and now striving towards rebirth after its devastation. We visited a few sites on the expansion’s new center board and looked at the adventures that lay therein. Our second preview introduced some of the Denizens that now inhabit the civilized areas of the realm, as well as some of the characters that now seek the Crown of Command. Today, we will look at the Remnants that have been scattered throughout the realm and at two of the four alternate endings included in The Cataclysm. We have also uploaded the expansion’s rulebook for you to preview.

Scattered Remnants

The civilization that you once knew has been destroyed. Decades have passed since its fall, and many of its people have fled or passed on, but everywhere, traces of that civilization—and its predecessors—still remain. When you begin a game, Remnant cards are placed facedown on locations throughout the Outer and Middle Regions: the Hills, the Hidden Valley, the Graveyard, the Ruins, and others. You can look at the Remnant Card of a location before deciding to explore any further, but more often than not, Remnants are well worth encountering.

At the minimum, you might discover a Broken Weapon that can be reforged or some Salvage that you can sell to a Denizen for some gold. Hidden somewhere in the realm, however, lies the magical Orb of Time , which grants its bearer extra time to use as he or she wishes, but which cannot be kept permanently. There may be an abandoned library deep in the Ruins or Hills, concealed by overgrown plants and thick mosses, full of Lost Knowledge that could either empower or confuse you. A very fortunate adventurer may even stumble upon an Ancient Vault packed with valuable, and perhaps dangerous, Objects. Your explorations may even bring you towards a Hidden Power that will permanently enhance your Strength and Craft, or you may unearth the fabled Cataclysm Blade that is said to have somehow caused the end of the world.

The Quests Ahead

Four Alternative Endings adapt your games of Talisman to the new circumstances of the post-apocalyptic world. In one, the Denizens of the realm turn against you and form a cult determined to thwart all who seek the Crown of Command. In another, whoever seizes the Crown rapidly drains life from all other characters.

A third encourages you to explore this transformed realm and have as many adventures there as possible. When the Lands of Wonder Alternative Ending is in play, you and your competitors collect the Enemies, Objects, Places, Events, Strangers, or Followers that you encounter and place them facedown. The first character to reach the Crown of Command with twelve different facedown cards wins the game. Therefore, you may want to take on Enemies that otherwise you would seek to avoid, like the infernal Aeon Demon that dwells outside of time, or the Ironscale Dragon , whose natural armor enabled him to survive the apocalypse.

The fourth Alternative Ending is The One Talisman. At the start of the game, a single Talisman is randomly selected from all the decks that are in play. Whenever a character would gain a Talisman, he or she takes the One—even if it is already in someone else’s possession. To win, you must reach the Crown of Command with the One Talisman in hand, even as all your opponents are doing everything in their power to take it from you.

Rediscover the Realm

Perhaps you explored every corner of Talisman as it once was, from the Woodland, to the City, to the Valley of Fire. Perhaps you have achieved the Crown of Command, ruling the realm with magnanimity or with an iron fist. Yet the Talisman of The Cataclysm is a brave new world, at once familiar and uncannily different from the one you know so well. It is time for you to rediscover the realm.

Talisman: The Cataclysm is coming soon. Before it arrives, experience the early stages of the apocalypse with The Harbinger, currently available at local retailers and in our webstore.

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Personal Invitation

Published 22 March 2016 | Talisman

Personal Invitation

Preview the Denizens and Characters of Talisman: The Cataclysm

Toxic, torrential rain had made travel unsafe, so the young boy had taken refuge in the tavern, along with seemingly everyone else. He was quietly eating his stew when a burly, drunken man sat down next to him. “What’re you doing here, kid? Where’s your mum?”
“Don’t have one,” the boy replied, focusing pointedly on his stew.
“Then you gotta learn how to defend y’rself,” the man said. “Here. Try an’ punch me.”
The boy smiled a little. He murmured a few magical words very quietly as he pulled back his fist, then punched the man in the gut, sending him sprawling across the room.
“Oh, I can defend myself just fine.”

The Cataclysm expansion for Talisman takes you to a realm still recovering from the apocalypse. Many of the Strangers who once roamed across the Fields, Deserts, and Forests are gone, either slain in the events of the apocalypse itself or fled to another land. Yet some managed to survive, and some of those who fled are now returning. Today's preview is your personal invitation to meet the tough Denizens who inhabit Talisman now, as well as a few of the Characters who aim to rule the realm during this time of renewal.

Denizens of a Changed Realm

Many things have changed in the realm of Talisman, but the City, Village, and Tavern have weathered the chaos of the apocalypse and the tumultuous years that followed. However, the people you used to reliably find in these civilized places—the Doctor, Blacksmith, Alchemist, and others—may be difficult to find, although rumor goes that they haven’t left the realm. The Chapel, meanwhile, is less a place of worship than a refuge for healers and priests. Some people have also made homes in the decaying Graveyard and at the Castle where the Black Knight used to dwell.

In The Cataclysm, when you arrive at one of these places, you draw a Denizen Card to see who you’ll meet there. Once they’ve appeared, Denizens tend to linger around in their favorite haunts. Over the course of the game the realm’s population will grow, and when you visit places inhabited by its Denizens, you’ll be able to choose who you interact with.

The Denizens of the Tavern, for example, include the Gambler , always up for a game of cards, and the Famous Brawler , eager to give some “fighting pointers” in exchange for gold. Meanwhile, the friendly Barmaid watches over tables and pours pints, serving hearty meals and getting her customers perfectly drunk. You might also meet a lonely Wanderer in the Tavern, eager to share stories about her travels and perhaps road-weary enough to sell you some of her equipment.

Some of the Denizens who frequent the Tavern can also turn up in other locales. In the Village or the Tavern, you might have a chat with the Village Mystic who can change your alignment or enhance your magical powers. Should you choose to visit the City or the Chapel, you risk running into an Inquisitor determined to eradicate all evil from the realm, even if it means harming a few good Characters as well. If you are, in fact, evil, you might visit the Graveyard in search of a Dark Being who can replenish your fate.

Changed Characters

Some of the Characters who first sought the Crown of Command may undertake that quest again in this altered, post-apocalyptic world. Competing with them in The Cataclysm are five others who have never sought it before. Some of them have long inhabited the realm. For instance, the Black Knight has abandoned his castle in the Middle Region to claim greater power. He now rides through Talisman, forcing the other Characters he meets to give him gold or else he’ll take one of their lives. The Mutant has also lived in this realm her whole life, and also remained there through its darkest times, but she is not longer the human that she once was. Magical energies that flared and fluctuated during the apocalypse infected her body so thoroughly that her form, Strength, Craft, and fate have continually changed.

Others have no memories of what it was like before the apocalypse. The Scavenger grew up during the decades that followed and learned how to survive by staying in motion and collecting whatever Objects she could find. The most valuable ones she stashes away so that they cannot be stolen. Youngest of all is the Arcane Scion , born during the outbust of magical energies that transformed the Mutant. Unlike the Mutant, who cannot fully control her mutations, the Arcane Scion has harnessed those energies, using them to wield Magic Objects and cast Spells.

How Will You Transform Talisman?

In any game of Talisman, whoever seizes the Crown of Command gains the power to shape the realm according to his or her will. With The Cataclysm in play, however, you affect the realm from the beginning of the game. You populate the City, Village, Graveyard, and Chapel. You change the landscape, determining where new settlements take root and where new highways lead. No matter your Strength, Craft, alignment, or fate, your choices affect the future of the realm.

Pre-order your copy of Talisman: The Cataclysm from your local retailer today!

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After the Fall

Published 7 March 2016 | Talisman

After the Fall

Preview the Transformed Realm of Talisman: The Cataclysm

When she approached the edge of the cliff, the scavenger stumbled and slipped down it, landing among her myriad belongings on a bed of ferns. She instantly knew where she was. This was the hidden valley she’d discovered as a child so long ago. It used to have a pond in which bizarre, slow, long-necked, dog-sized reptiles lived. Now she could see that the pond had become a lake, and far off she glimpsed a massive reptile, ten times her size, with a neck as long as a tree trunk, grazing on the palm fronds.

Visit a realm transformed in The Cataclysm, the upcoming expansion for Talisman. Decades ago, an apocalypse, heralded by the appearance of The Harbinger, devastated Talisman. Now, at last, the realm is recovering from its fall and undergoing a strange renewal. Those who fled the fires and warp storms of the apocalypse are slowly returning, building settlements and havens. A few beings are even seeking the long neglected Crown of Command. They are discovering that realm is full of as many fresh opportunities as it is inconceivable perils.

The Cataclysm includes much more than the new characters, alternative endings, and Adventure Cards of other expansions. It brings to the game an entirely new center board, populates the realm with Denizens, good and evil, and enables you to change the landscape of Talisman yourself with Terrain cards. Today’s preview introduces you to this realm transformed, its still-changing topography, and a few of the Adventures you may have there.

Overgrown and Grown Cold

Some locations of Talisman are scarcely recognizable in The Cataclysm; others are barely altered at all. The Hidden Valley is now much larger, filled with lush tangles of plant life. The few dinosaurs who once wandered it have matured and evolved into a range of species. The Oasis has also expanded and grown wild. That small spring, its water no longer drained by travelers, feeds a growing ring of palm trees. Now, the Oasis can actually give you life, replenishing what your trek through the desert may have taken away.

The towering stone Sentinel who once prevented passage from the Outer to the Middle Regions has been destroyed, his stones are now eroding in the river. He has been replaced by a new Sentinel, a dragon-winged demon with a Strength and Craft of 8. The most drastic change of all, however, has befallen the Inner Region. Its fires have been quenched and the region is now entirely frozen over. The Vampire, Werewolf, and Pit Fiends who used to dwell there have all fled or frozen to death. A Mutant has taken over the Werewolf’s den, and a bloodthirsty Snowbeast has made the Pits its lair.

A Time for Rebirth

The Cataclysm transports you to a realm that is not only different from the Talisman you once knew, but still in the process of being reborn. It is a time of rich possibilities and new life. Sometimes, that new life takes the form of a rediscovery. The Order of Josephine was absent from the realm for ages but has arisen once more to venerate a long-lost saint of healing and restoration. If you encounter its devotees, they will offer to heal you, as long as you promise to pass on that gift of life to another.

Not only are you traveling through Talisman as it experiences a rebirth, you are actively participating in that renewal as you populate the land with Followers, Strangers, and Objects. Rebuilding even gives all characters a chance to chance to transform the landscape they inhabit by choosing and placing Terrain cards in their region—if they can afford the investment. You may even experience your own Rebirth and suddenly heal back up to full life and full fate.

Nascent Civilizations

Untold thousands lost their lives during the apocalypse, but just as many fled the realm to save themselves, leaving long-enduring civilizations desolate and empty. Now, nascent civilizations are appearing throughout the realm, utterly unlike those that existed before. Within the Forest a barbarous civilization called Blightwood is developing around a mysterious stone shrine that causes strange mutations in others. If you pause there, you can gain Craft or a Spell, but you may lose a Follower. In fact, the mysterious lure of Blightwood is likely to rob of you of more than one of your Followers. They may join the Blightwood Rabble : a fervent group of Cultists that becomes stronger with every Follower who joins it. Or you might encounter a Blightwood Slaver who captures travelers and brings them to the Forest against their will.

While Blightwood absorbs Followers into the Forest, Havenville offers discarded ones a temporary home before they take up other journeys. If you visit Havenville, you can choose whether to let one of its inhabitants join you on your quest. With a Havenville Recruiter at your side, you can take up a new Follower at the start of your turn—but you’ll have to let go of one already in your company. Meanwhile, on the Brakwater (formerly known as the Storm River), a more nomadic civilization has developed. With fortune on your side, you’ll encounter Brakwater Traders willing to sell you a Water Bottle, Haversack, or even a Crystal Sceptre. A Brakwater Diver may descend to the bottom of the river and return with an Object for you, or he may desert you at the sight of the river and swim away downstream.

Remake the Realm. Take the Crown!

More than ever before, The Cataclysm puts the future of the realm into your hands. You have a chance to remake this land even while still on your journey towards the Crown of Command. Imagine the power you could wield once you take that crown and truly rule Talisman!

Pre-order your copy of The Cataclysm today!

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The Cataclysm

Published 14 December 2015 | Talisman

The Cataclysm

Announcing a Post-Apocalyptic Expansion for Talisman

The Elf was only an infant when the earth cracked open, the sky fell, and terrible demons ravaged his forest home. He couldn’t remember the apocalypse itself, only the ruination and chaos that followed in the years after. Now, he is determined to bring order and harmony back to the realm, to revitalize the forests and all nature. That means exploring the realm’s wreckage, meeting its denizens, and fighting its enemies in order to seize the Crown of Command.

Fantasy Flight Games is proud to announce The Cataclysm, an expansion for Talisman that takes place one generation after a terrible apocalypse has devastated the land.

The Cataclysm brings to life a realm that is built upon, but utterly unlike, the Talisman of old. A new game board replaces that of the base game, with every space from the Fields to the Valley of Fire altered by the apocalypse and its aftermath. Remnants of former civilization are scattered everywhere from the Desert to the Graveyard. Much of the former population either died or fled, and only now are people returning to establish permanent settlements. Five more characters enter the quest for the Crown of Command alongside those, like the Elf, who sought it before, and four new alternative endings reinvent that quest for these post-apocalyptic times.

A Realm Renewed

The realm is now a ravaged wasteland experiencing the first stages of renewal. The Outer Region was once temperate and verdant, but now its plains, hills, fields, and woods are filled with the wreckage of buildings and dried-out bones, home to mongrels and scavenging marauders. Strange new life forms flourish in the Hidden Valley and around the Oasis of the Middle Region, but the Castle where the Royal Doctor once practiced medicine is in ruins and overgrown, destroyed when the Black Knight chose to abandon his post.

The Inner Region, once a scorching inferno, is now frozen over. A Snowbeast lurks in the Pits and a chimeral Mutant inhabits the Werewolf’s den. The Vampires long ago left their tower, now called the Frozen Spire and famous for its unnatural, lethal chill. The new game board makes manifest all these changes and their effects upon wanderers. Yet the realm has still not finished transforming with new Terrain cards that continue to alter the landscape throughout your adventures.

Traces of the Past

In The Cataclysm, Talisman is teeming with traces of the past even as the realm’s revitalization begins. The expansion’s Remnants deck scatters fragments of the former world and the apocalypse throughout the Outer and Middle regions. In the Graveyard you may discover Salvage that can be exchanged for Gold or Broken Armour that can be repaired. In fact, many things that were once considered trash have now become treasures. New cards in the Adventure deck enable you to go Scavenging for valuable Objects or take a carrion-sniffing Rotsnout Dog as a follower. You may even find a landfill that has been reinvented as a Trashtown , where heaps of rubbish are inhabited and discarded Objects become useful once more.

Yet the apocalypse still lingers. A Toxic Spring may be the cause of the strange creatures who now inhabit the Hidden Valley, and occasionally an Apocalypse Storm passes through the land, erasing all recent developments and eradicating the Strangers, Enemies, and all those who have spent years struggling to renew a ruined land.

Return of the Natives

Even with the perils presented by storms, demons, looters, and slavers, the former inhabitants of Talisman are returning. The Denizens deck brings these determined people to the City, Chapel, Village and Tavern. Some, such as the Barmaid , are simply trying to eke out a living for themselves. Others, like the Gold Lender , hope to profit at the expense of others. A scarce few, such as the Doctor and his well-intentioned Apprentice Healer , strive to make the realm a better place.

The realm’s current, chaotic state has prompted five characters who never before considered it to seek the Crown of Command. Among them is the same Black Knight who used to once menace travelers near the Portal of Power. Now, he rides throughout Talisman bearing a Spiked Shield , forcing the characters he encounters to either give him gold or give up one of their lives.

What Happens After the End?

The apocalypse wiped out the realm of Talisman as you knew it. That devastation, however, created unprecedented opportunities for transformation, rebirth, and adventure. No one can tell what may happen in this brave new world, but come what may, you have a chance to experience it.

At this moment the dark omens, demons, and warp storms of The Harbinger are ravaging the realm. Your adventures in post-apocalyptic Talisman will begin when The Cataclysm becomes available in the first quarter of 2016.

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The End Begins Now

Published 23 July 2015 | Talisman

The End Begins Now

Talisman: The Harbinger Is Now Available

No one believed her shouted prophecies of imminent apocalypse. Not until it was too late. The blind, ancient man with white hair appeared and swarms of locusts followed him, so thick in the air that you could barely see in front of you. Then the skies blackened, the rivers flowed with mysterious poison, and the dead began to rise from their graves. Thousands were dying around her, but she was fine. She knew what was coming. She had prepared.

The end of days is descending upon the realm. The Harbinger expansion for Talisman 4th Edition is now available at local retailers in the United States and in our online store. Featuring the mysterious Harbinger figure, three new characters, two alternative endings, and a host of demons, angels, portentous signs, and powerful objects, The Harbinger unleashes the terrifying first stages of an oncoming apocalyptic doom.

Prophet of Doom or Creator of Evil?

In The Harbinger, an aged, blind wanderer comes to the realm of Talisman and wherever he goes, terrible things occur. A Plague of Locusts may appear in his wake, consuming everything it finds. The rivers and springs may suddenly turn poisonous and foul , or a grotesque, belching, Demon of Gluttony may occupy your space. No one knows whether the Harbinger simply foreshadows the horrors that follow at his heels, or whether he somehow creates them, wielding diabolical powers far beyond what his tattered clothes and blindfold might suggest.

You can try to avoid the Harbinger and the dangers that surround him, but any Event cards you draw will lure him towards you. If you meet him, you may be forced to draw from the terrifying Harbinger deck, populating your own space or the entire realm with pernicious Enemies and grim Places. He may grant you an extra turn, or grant all characters an additional fate. Only one thing about the Harbinger is certain: He is ushering in the world’s end.

Dark Times and Difficult Terrain

There are other symptoms of the end besides the roaming Harbinger himself. The Harbinger introduces four Omen stacks, each one creating a unique scenario for the onset of doom that progresses through seven Omens. When the last Omen fades from the skies, doom falls and your time is up. The game ends, along with the realm of Talisman– as you know it. Yet even while the various Omens persist, the realm is being transformed. Terrain cards enter the game, turning benevolent fields into gaping chasms, or the Castle into a span of tormentuous Hellpits . In our first preview, you can find more about the apocalyptic scenarios of the Omen stacks and the Terrain cards that will soon cover the realm.

Survival of the Fittest

With so many creatures of darkness and dangerous places filling the realm, even the most powerful competitors for the Crown of Command will be fighting for their survival. The competition grows even fiercer with three new characters joining in: the demonic Possessed who rises from the graveyard, the justice-dealing Celestial who descends from the skies, and the Ascendant Divine, armed with an ever-changing arsenal of divine gifts that can be cast in moments of need. Our second preview reveals more about this formidable trio.

The oncoming apocalypse also affects the nature of the quest for the Crown of Command through two alternative endings. End of Days releases the four Horsemen into the most populated corners of the realm. In order to reach the Crown, you must not only defeat them, but their towering, monstrous leader, The Beast . Armaggedon Crown turns the quest into a brutal struggle for survival, in which the last character alive wins. In these cruel circumstances, anything you can do to take others’ lives, such as visiting the Altar of Wrath, will bring you closer to victory.

Prepare for the End

How will you fare at the dawn of the apocalypse? Are you strong enough to defeat hordes of demons and risen dead? Can you face falling stars, swarms of flies, scavenging beasts and rains of toads? Will you fight only for your own survival, or ruthlessly do whatever you can to take others lives? Now that the Harbinger has arrived in the realm of Talisman, you have a chance to find out.

Download the rules from the support section of theTalisman minisite and pick up The Harbinger today!

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Warriors of the End Times

Published 14 July 2015 | Talisman

Warriors of the End Times

Preview the Characters and Alternative Endings of The Harbinger

Even before the blind, prophesying Harbinger came trailing dark omens and evil demons in his wake, she had worked tirelessly to rid the world of evil. She had used her divine powers to defeat countless wraiths, skeletons, and trolls, capricious faeries, hordes of rats, and heretic priests. Now this possessed, mutated, rabid human being was about to attack her. She would not be overcome, not so easily. Raising her arms high in the air, she shouted an incantation…

Fight for survival as the apocalypse approaches in The Harbinger, an upcoming expansion for Talisman 4th Edition! Even as your heart burns to seize the Crown of Command, your first priority is to stay alive through the oncoming end times. The dead are awakening, demons are rising from their hellish homes, and the world itself is splitting apart, opening up deadly chasms right beneath your feet.

Only the bravest, most tenacious characters will be able to compete under these brutal conditions. In today’s preview you’ll meet the new characters featured in The Harbinger. Whether they fight using weapons or Spells, whether they battle evil or seek to ruthlessly destroy all forms of good, they are all necessarily warriors. But first, we’ll introduce the expansion’s alternative endings, which transform your quest for the Crown of Command into a race against armageddon.

The Armaggedon Crown

With the aged Harbinger wandering throughout the realm of Talisman, there can be no doubt that the apocalypse is imminent. The End of Days alternative ending heralds that apocalypse with the arrival of the four demon Horsemen of War , Famine , Disease and Death , who have taken over the four populated corners of the realm. They all must be vanquished before any character can enter the Inner Region. There in the Valley of Fire awaits the captain of these Horsemen and the most terrible demon of all, The Beast, arisen from the pits of Hell to wreak misery and devastation across the world. You must fight this nearly omnipotent fiend and defeat him to win the game, or else fall dead at his gargantuan cloven feet.

Under the Armagedden Crown alternative ending, the Crown of Command itself becomes an agent of doom, capable of hastening the end times or delaying them. Any single character on the Crown of Command must roll a die for their turn. The result determines whether the present Omen of the Omen stack (discussed in our first preview) is discarded, bringing the end closer, whether a past omen returns, postponing armageddon, or whether all characters simply lose a life. If more than one character is present at the Crown, the two must duel each turn until one defeats the other. The last character alive wins the game.

Good vs. Evil

The battle for the Crown of Command has always had the potential of becoming a fight between good and evil. Yet two new characters embody these rival universal forces more than any others. From the heavens descends the angelic Celestial , who remains good regardless of any alignment-shifting effects. Its craft is equivalent to its fate, as is its life: for every life the Celestial gains or heals, it also gains a fate. The purity of this being’s righteous soul happens to be its deadliest weapon: whenever it attacks an evil or neutral character, it may choose psychic combat and battle using Craft instead of Strength. If it wins, is steals a fate from the character defeated.

The Possessed , however, is always and unwaveringly evil, a humanlike being so corrupted that its feet have become hooves, its eyes, glowing red, its arm, a giant, muscular claw. As the Possessed, your malicious Strength is equal to the number of your lives, and you gain life from destruction. At the start of your turn you can eradicate a Stranger or Place, both eliminating an obstacle and healing a life. Defeating an Enemy in battle also allows you to heal, as you feed on the energy draining from your routed opponent.

The Ascendant Divine is neither good nor evil, but may become either. She begins the game with four Spells – her divine gifts. Each round she can cast one of these gifts as if it were a Spell, and whenever she gains Strength or Craft, she replace any divine gifts that she has used with a new Spell, such as Dispellation. The Ascendant Divine can accumulate and cast other Spells as well, but from her divine gifts gifts she draws her power. With them she can fearlessly encounter any Place, Stranger, or Enemy, and perhaps even rule the world.

Fight to Survive – and Win

In the wake of the aged, prophesying Harbinger come demons, cursed objects, shambling zombies, and ominous signs. You may encounter a Heretic Angel, a Herald of Death, or even Hell on Earth. On top of that, time is running out. As omens pass through the skies, the end of days comes ever closer, and soon the entire realm will be plunged into a horrible and cataclysmic chaos. You must hurry if you want to obtain the Crown of Command, but reaching it has become even more difficult when so many vicious Enemies and calamitous Events threaten your very survival. In The Harbinger, you must fight simply to stay alive, even while you strive to win.

Pre-order The Harbinger from your local retailer today!

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The Shattering World

Published 7 July 2015 | Talisman

The Shattering World

Preview the Dire Omens and Changing Terrain of Talisman: The Harbinger

She’d heard about mages and musicians selling their soul to the devil at the crossroads, but she’d always thought those tales were false. Nevertheless here the devil was before her, larger than any human, grinning wickedly and flipping a coin. The horned creature caught her in his fiery eyes. “I hear you’re looking for a spell that will help you survive these dark times,” he hissed. “Want to make a deal?”

Devils invade the realm of the living, dire omens fills the skies, and the ground itself changes unpredictably in The Harbinger, a new expansion for Talisman Fourth Edition. As the aged, blind Harbinger wanders throughout the land leaving a trail of demons and destruction in his wake, the apocalypse follows close on his heels. You will need the utmost cunning and fortitude to merely survive in these treacherous times, let alone reach the Crown of Command.

The darkened skies and transforming earth are the focus of today’s preview of The Harbinger. You’ll learn about the Omen cards that give shape to your impending doom and the Terrain cards that alter the ground beneath your feet. You’ll also discover a few of the Spells and Magic Objects that you can wield to stave off doom and keep pursuing your quest as the world around you shatters.

Countdown to Doom

There are countless prophecies about the end of the world. Some say that the dead will rise, others that the heavens will open and all-powerful beings will descend to judge and condemn all evil-doers. The four Omen stacks of The Harbinger bring such prophecies to life, creating challenging game conditions and counting down to impending doom. Each deck begins with a unique prophecy, followed by seven Omens that have mysterious effects upon the realm. Once the seventh Omen has passed, doom arrives, the game ends, and everyone loses.

One prophecy states that the stars will align and cause magic to surge like a flood so that even the simplest creatures will be able to wield it. But then, the stars will vanish and magic, too will fade from the world, causing all life to wither and die. The Stars Align Omen stack enacts the intesifying and fading of magic. Under the First Omen, each character gains a Spell and the Spell Limit is increased. Characters continue to gain greater magical abilities until the Fourth Omen appears and casting a Spell costs either a life or a fate. Under the Seventh Omen, characters must discard all their Spells and Magic Objects.

There are ways to fight, ignore, slow down, or even quicken the approach of doom. The Black Astrolabe enables you to ignore the effects of any Omen card, and keep casting Spells even as magic begins to disappear. If you meet a Heretic Angel , you might bring back a previous Omen and delay the end times, or discard the present open and hasten them, depending on the roll of a die. The fiendish Crossroads Devil entices characters to discard the present Omen and shorten time in exchange for a Spell, a life, more Strength or Craft, or the chance to teleport to another space in the Region. Perhaps from him you can gain the Augury Spell, which enables you to look at the top four cards of any deck and rearrange them as you please, shaping the world to your own ends.

Uncertain Ground

According to another prophecy, the entire world rests upon a glacier that has become too warm, and soon the glacier’s ice will crack, causing the world to split into many pieces. Some fragments will survive to endlessly float upon the cosmic sea, but many others will not. If you play with the Shattered World Omen stack, you’ll experience the entire realm of Talisman splitting apart. The terrain randomly transforms as once conjoined lands separate, acquiring new climates and geographies.

Under the First Omen, each character places a random Terrain card on his space. Terrain cards irrevocably change the landscape and a character’s experience of it. A field might become a Crater that could yield up ore or sap your life, the Ruins might become Necropolis where Strangers, Enemies, Objects or Follows you’ve already encountered return to haunt you. As the Omens of the Shattered World pass, the realm becomes less and less stable until, under the Fifth Omen, Terrain cards transform the Chapel, Tavern, Village, and every other landmark of civilization, turning the works of mankind to rubble.

Other forces may also bring Terrain cards into play. The Insane Elemental transforms the land wherever he appears. If you acquire the cursed Worldeater Box , anytime you roll a 1 for movement, you must place a random Terrain card on your space and encounter it. With the Terra Shift Spell, you yourself can cause geographical change by moving a Terrain card to another player’s location. And while there is no defense against these arbitrary changes of the landscape, you can cleverly use the Dark Binding Spell to control another character’s movement and thrust them into the worst possible landscape.

Defy Augury

With the stars aligned against you and the world shattering around you, the quest for the Crown of Command is more challenging than ever. Yet while prophecies of doom may be coming true, you can still overcome them and triumph in Talisman. With enough Strength and Craft, a few Spells or powerful Objects and Fate on your side, you can take matters into your own hands. Defy dark predictions and auguries of the apocalypse. Survive the arrival of the Harbinger and the forces of destruction. Seize the Crown of Command before time runs out.

The end times are imminent. Pre-order your copy of The Harbinger today!

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The Harbinger

Published 29 April 2015 | Talisman

The Harbinger

Announcing a New Expansion for Talisman

Night was falling and the warrior could see city lights ahead across the wheat fields. He was walking slowly, recalling an uncanny blind old man he had met that day who kept prophesying the imminent end of the world. The warrior was laughing to himself about the encounter when the earth violently shook. He tumbled to his knees and waited. When the ground’s trembling eventually ceased, he carefully stood and looked around. Moments ago, the warrior had been surrounded by miles of tall green wheat. Now, he stood in a parched, lifeless wasteland.

Doom approaches in The Harbinger, an upcoming expansion for Talisman 4th Edition. As dire omens fill the skies, demons roam the countryside, and plagues ravage civilization, the Harbinger wanders throughout the realm of Talisman, prophesying the imminent end of the world. If you encounter him, he may help you stave off the end of the world and let you peer into the future, or you may be attacked by demon horsemen and stalked by cursed followers.

Dire Omens

Time is running out. When the Harbinger entered the realm he brought with him a prophecy of impending doom and a series of seven Omens to watch for: when the seventh appears, the end is upon you. The Harbinger features four unique decks of Omen cards, each making manifest a different downfall. In one Omen deck the constellations align, threatening the extinction of magic. In another, the dead rise from their graves and battle to overthrow the living. In another, the time of judgement arrives bringing with it war, famine, death, plagues, and other forms of destruction.

In the fourth, the world shatters into many pieces and the terrain transforms unpredictably. New Terrain cards enter the game and alter the landscape, supplanting fields with barrens, deserts with floodlands, and cities with bogs. As doom draws nearer, more and more of the realm is transformed until the seventh Omen appears and all of Talisman becomes a deadly devastation.

Oracle of Armageddon

No one knows whether the mysterious Harbinger is the cause of the apocalypse or merely a prophet announcing its approach. What is clear is that wherever this aged, blind, ragged man goes, misfortunes follow. He is best avoided, but with doom at hand, it is inevitable that you will encounter him during your quest for the Crown of Command.

When the Harbinger is in your region – even if you’re in the Dungeon, the Deep Realms or the Woodland– you must draw from the peril-filled Harbinger deck instead of that region’s normal Adventure deck whenever you are instructed to draw cards. When you draw an Event, the Harbinger moves into your space, but has no ill effects upon you. However, you move into the space occupied by the Harbinger, you must roll a single die. The result could grant you a second turn, or let you look at the top three cards of any deck you choose. It might force you to populate your space with vicious enemies, treacherous followers, and unpredictable events. Worst of all, your result might cause the current Omen to be discarded, activating the next Omen and hastening the advent of the end times.

The Harbinger deck is full of apocalyptic horrors never before encountered. It introduces a cruel new keyword, Cursed, which compels you to take up undesirable objects such as the devious, black Witch Cat or the lethal Flail of Blood . It also unleashes a new type of Enemy: demons, like the Herald of Death and Demon of Sloth , who have spent aeons waiting patiently for the beginning of the end times. These monsters are now emerging from the dark Abyss to gleefully wreak havoc upon all life in the realm.

The Possessed and the Divine

As civilization begins to collapse around them, three new characters bravely embark upon the journey toward the Crown of Command. One is wholly sacred and good with Craft limited only by the amount of fate he possesses. Another is purely and unchangeably evil, his strength entirely dependent on his life. A third new character begins the game with four Spells, divine gifts that do not count against her Spell limit and that can be replenished over the course of the game.

Two alternative endings are also included. End of Days challenges players to defeat the four Horsemen of the Apocalypse as they haunt the realm. Once they are defeated, you may continue to the Valley of Fire, where must fight the most powerful demon of them all. Armageddon Crown turns the Crown of Command itself into a potentially deadly object. A character on the Crown of the Command rolls a die in his turn, in the hope of ending the world and triumphing in others’ doom. All other characters must draw Harbinger cards and fight for survival as they strive to reach the Crown themselves.

Brave the End Times

In your travels throughout the realm of Talisman you have defeated incredible enemies, and equipped yourself with powerful spells and priceless objects. Yet nothing you’ve encountered can prepare you for a time when dark portents fill the skies, demons fill the countryside, and the very ground transforms beneath your feet. Prepare to undertake a perilous quest during the opening stages of ultimate doom. Only the most formidable can reach the Crown of Command before the end of the world.

The Harbinger is coming to Talisman in the second quarter of this year. Pre-order it today!

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What Lies Beneath

Published 15 January 2015 | Talisman

What Lies Beneath

The Deep Realms Expansion for Talisman Is Now Available

The tavern maid rushed out of the dungeon with enough gold tucked in her skirts to make sure she’d never have to work another day in her life. No, bigger and better things awaited her just on the other side of that rickety wood and rope bridge. She paused and looked back into the darkness for a second, but when she turned around again a towering knight in full armor stood before her. As the knight raised his sword, she looked up at its face, thinking to beg for mercy. Inside the helmet was a skinless, grinning skull.

The Deep Realms, an expansion for Talisman 4th Edition, is now available at your local retailer and in our online store.

Designed by Jon New, the designer of Talisman: The Nether Realms, in collaboration with our own Samuel Bailey, The Deep Realms opens up the dark, haunted, and rat-infested passages between the Dungeon and the City regions. A perilous bridge allows you to travel across the Deep Realms, or you can venture deeper, into the Old Sewers and the Catacombs. These tunnels are filled with tantalizing wealth – and terrifying, life-threatening dangers.

Important: Both The Dungeon and The City expansions for Talisman Revised 4th Edition are required to play with The Deep Realms.

Crossing the Bridge

Perhaps you’ve met trouble in the City and are hoping that the treasures concealed in the Dungeon will solve your problems. Perhaps you have barely survived the Dungeon’s perils and are rushing towards the City for healing, a hot meal, and some rest. The bridge between the Skull Passage and the Rat Run provides a shortcut – but not without its own dangers.

Some unsavory people like to lurk at this gloomy crossroads. As you cross the bridge you might gain a Follower that you never wanted, such as the Jinx. If you’re fortunate, you may stumble upon something valuable left behind by another traveler, such as a Broken Sword that can be reforged, or the Tome of Ages, which lets you to spend fate in order to avoid missing a turn. However, on the bridge you also may encounter rats that have wandered out of the sewers in search of food, or a wraith hunting fresh souls. If the bridge proves too treacherous, you can always turn back and retrace your steps through the Dungeon or the City – or try to find a way out through the dark tunnels below.

The Lairs of Wraiths and Rats

From the Cavern space in the Dungeon you can venture into the Catacombs, a labyrinth of tunnels where evil Spirits are more powerful than normal. If you escape the numerous traps and withstand the horrors, you can progress to the Throne Room and try to wrest some treasure from the monstrous Wraith Lord. If you defeat him, you’ll emerge with your booty wherever you like in the Outer Region. If you fail, you’ll be magically transported back to the Hall of Darkness in the heart of the Dungeon.

If you’re in the City, you may walk from the Thieves’ Alley into the infested Old Sewers, where rats of all varieties gain extra Strength in the dank darkness. Deep within the sewers you’ll find the Rats’ Nest, where their giant, vicious queen sits atop a horde of valuable Objects. If you win a fight against her, you can take an Object from that horde. If she wins, her vermin minions will carry you to the Rats’ Road in the City and leave you there empty-handed.

Delve into the Darkness

The Deep Realms are filled with rodents, wraiths, zombies, harmful Followers, and challenging Traps. Yet those willing to brave the perils of these unlit and inhospitable regions may be rewarded with not only desirable Objects and valuable Treasures, but perhaps even a Talisman to ease their journey towards the Crown of Command.

Find out what lies beneath the Dungeon and the City. Pick up your copy of The Deep Realms today!

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The Deep Realms

Published 14 November 2014 | Talisman

The Deep Realms

Announcing a New Expansion for Talisman

The thief ran from his pursuers, stolen purse in hand, straight into the dead end of the alley. He glanced around, then saw at his feet a grate covering a sewer entrance. Without hesitation he opened it and leapt into the darkness, landing hard, painfully, on hands and knees and dropping the stolen purse. As he fumbled for it, his fingers found a long iron key on the ground. He pocketed it, thinking it might prove useful, but still couldn’t find the purse. Only something warm and furry, maybe a dead dog. No. It was warm, and moving, and not a dog at all. The thief looked up to meet the glowing red eyes of a rat bigger than any dog he had ever seen.

Fantasy Flight Games is proud to announce The Deep Realms, an expansion for Talisman 4th Edition soon to be available through our in-house manufacturing.

Designed by Jon New, the designer of Talisman: The Nether Realm, The Deep Realms allows you to travel between the Dungeon and the City regions by venturing into the dark, dank, and haunted passages that connect them. You can cross through the two corpse-filled and rat-infested Deep Realms by means of a perilous bridge or venture even deeper into an ancient system of tunnels inhabited by rats, feral pets, and much worse monsters. In the gloomy and perilous Deep Realms you will certainly encounter tremendous danger, but you may also find tantalizing wealth – or even a Talisman.

Important: Both The Dungeon and The City expansions for Talisman Revised 4th Edition are required to play with The Deep Realms.

A Bridge of Perils

Perhaps you are headed for the City and are rich with gold and trophies that you have gathered in the Dungeon. Or, you may be rushing into the Dungeon, well-armed, fearless, and eager for adventure. One route between the two realms is The Bridge, which connects the garish Skull Passage to the Rat Run. In either of these spaces, you must draw two Bridge cards to reveal what you encounter there. A Skeleton Key may be lying on the ground that will ultimately help you unlock the Portal of Power, or you may meet a Trapsmith, capable of solving any Trap that troubles you and willing to accompany you on your journey. However, if you are less fortunate, you might find yourself face to face with the armoured Zombie Knight, eternally searching for his next meal.

Of course, if you can make it over the Bridge, so can many other creatures. Entire packs of hundreds of Rats may be have made their homes in the thousand nooks and crannies of the Skull Passage. A Dragon Wraith, wandering far from the tomb where its decaying bones rest, may haunt the Rat Run, no longer able to breathe fire but terrifying enough to make even the bravest, most experienced adventurers go insane.

Tunnels Without Light

From Thieves’ Alley in the City and the Cavern space in the Dungeon you can enter the lower part of the Deep Realms, the tunnels where the grotesque Rat Queen and the dread Wraith Lord dwell. In that utter darkness, escaped pets have become feral and grown to monstrous sizes, while golems, sphinxes, and other nightmarish creatures are at their most powerful. You cannot use the tunnels to go between the Dungeon and the City, but you may be fortunate enough to find there the fabled and sinister Stygian Talisman.

When you enter the Catacombs or the Old Sewers, you draw three Tunnel Cards and encounter the first one that turn. On your next two turns you can either escape back to the light of the City or the Dungeon’s labyrinths, or you can continue and see whether an Enemy, such as a Living Statue, or a Magic Object, such as the deadly Horn of Dread, lies in your path.

If you choose to persist still, you will enter either the Throne Room or the Rat’s Nest, depending on which space you came from. In the Throne Room, you must fight the Wraith Lord in psychic combat. Those who muster enough Craft to defeat him receive a treasure from the Dungeon before moving on to the Ruins in the Outer Region. Awaiting you in the Rat’s Nest is the giant Rat Queen, who has a Strength of three. If you can conquer this vermin, you will be rewarded with an Object from the City’s Armoury or Magic Emporium before you return to the City.

The Secrets of the Underground

The sunless Catacombs, haunted Skull Passage, and the dank, decaying Old Sewers are not for the faint of heart. In addition to the ubiquitous rats and grasping wraiths, there are traps throughout the Deep Realms that may not only delay you, but take your life. There are disembodied souls that will drain your sanity and disgusting slime that will cling to your weapons, rendering them useless. Yet if you can muster the courage to face these terrors, the rewards are more than worth the risk.

Talisman: The Deep Realms will open up for your exploration soon.

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Into the Woods

Published 19 September 2014 | Talisman

Into the Woods

Talisman: The Woodland Is Now Available

The Woodland, an expansion for Talisman Revised 4th Edition, is now available at your local retailer and in our online store.

For centuries the faeries kept their forested home closed to mortals, but now you can step from the Outer Region of Talisman into their secret and perilous realm. There, paths shift unpredictably, fate can earn you a king’s hatred or a queen’s favor, and, in the heart of the woods, your destiny awaits.

The Realm of the Fae

The Woodland features a corner board depicting a mysterious and uncouth forest, governed by mischievous faeries and inhabited by all ilk of mystical creatures. You may encounter there not only mercurial faeries, but also enchanted animals that fight with Craft instead of Strength, and talking trees eager to share the secrets of the Woodland with you.

We explored the landscape of the Woodland and some of the its Places, Events, and Strangers in our first preview. From infamous and mischievous Puck to the old, hunchbacked witch Baba Yaga, the inhabitants of the Woodland are reliably unpredictable, and will decide what to do with an outsider according to their own changeable whims– or according to your fate.

Light and Dark Fate

As discussed in our second preview, The Woodland brings into play a difference between light and dark fate tokens. While fate tokens in Talisman have always had two sides, one golden and one dark blue, only with The Woodland do the sides take on different effects: you can spend a light fate token to reroll one of your own die rolls, or a dark fate token to reroll another player’s roll.

Inside the Woodland region, fate takes on an even larger significance. The savage King Oberon, kindly Queen Titania, cruel Queen Mab, and many other faeries will judge you based on the amount of fate you have, and whether you have more light fate or dark fate. Light fate is not in any way better than dark fate, but wandering in the Woodland without any fate at all could doom a character to torment and even death.

Meandering Paths and Ultimate Destinies

Our third preview explored the Paths that guide you through the Woodland and the Destinies that you can gain there. Upon entering the Woodland, you choose one of three Path cards that give your character advantages (and disadvantages) during your journey through the woods. Path cards also determine what foe you encounter in the Meeting with Destiny space in the heart of the Woodland. If you reach that space, and defeat whatever danger awaits you there, you can earn a Destiny to aid your character throughout their journey in Talisman.

Brave the Wild Woods

The Woodland brings five more characters to the game of Talisman – three of them, the Ancient Oak, the Leywalker, and the Spider Queen, are introduced in our fourth preview. These characters, particularly suited to brave the ever-changing and treacherous Woodland, can thrive and triumph in any region.

Three game-transforming alternate endings are also included in this expansion. One pits you against either King Oberon or Queen Titania as the two Fae monarchs struggle for dominance, another sends you traveling the far reaches of Talisman to prove your worth, and the last forces you to stand before the Three Fates as they judge whether you are worthy to hold the Crown of Command.

If you can withstand the faeries’ whims and find a path through the shifting trees, you may be rewarded with incredible Strength or Craft, powerful Magic Objects and helpful Followers, or a Destiny to guide you in your quest for the Crown of Command. Prepare to venture into the dark, deep, enchanted Woodland.

Check out the rules on the Talisman support page, and pick up your copy of The Woodland today!

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Out of the Woods

Published 11 September 2014 | Talisman

Out of the Woods

Preview the Characters and Rules of Talisman: The Woodland

From the moment you enter the graveyard, with its crumbling tombstones and piles of skulls, all you can think of is leaving it as soon as possible. So you start running – only to fall flat on your face after a few steps, legs tangled in spiderwebs. From behind a tombstone crawls not a ghoul or vampire, but a giant spider the size of a wolf, all eight of its eyes focused on you. You struggle and tear at the sticky threads binding you, unable to break free as the creature leans in and begins to open its jaws…

In The Woodland expansion for Talisman 4th Edition, you venture into the realm of the Fae, a mysterious forest haunted by mischievous faeries and filled with enchanted artifacts, where fate is worth more than gold and even the mist has a mind of its own.

Our first preview introduced some of the capricious creatures that dwell in the savage Woodland and the uncanny encounters that may occur there. You met Titania and Oberon in our second preview, which also explored the new rules for fate introduced in this expansion. Most recently, we looked at the Path and Destiny cards that shape your journey inside the Woodland and beyond.

Today’s preview highlights three of the new characters featured in The Woodland. In addition, we’ve added the rules for this expansion to the Talisman 4th Edition support page. You can download them (pdf, 2.3 MB) by clicking on the thumbnail on the right.

The Strength (and Craft) of an Oak

Emerging from the forest space in the Outer region, the Ancient Oak may at first seem an unlikely candidate for the Crown of Command. But living for thousands of years has given this tree almost infinite understanding and strengthened his resolve. Since the Ancient Oak can heal a life simply by being in a Woods or Forest space, he is almost invincible and immortal.

Trees grow until they die, and this one is no exception. As the Ancient Oak you can earn leaf-shaped Growth tokens whenever you turn in trophies. Each Growth token on your card gives you an additional life and increases either your Strength or your Craft value by one. With the red side faceup, the Growth token adds to your strength, with the blue side faceup, it adds to your Craft. At the start of each turn, you can flip the tokens to whichever side you wish, bending your Strength and Craft for to suit your present situation. This adaptability allows the Ancient Oak to thrive in any region of Talisman.

Portals of Power

Running through Talisman are currents of magical energy called ley lines, which fuel spells and other forms of magic. The ethereal Leywalker is so advanced a magician that he can travel along ley lines, teleporting from space to space free from the laws that normally govern movement. As the Leywalker, whenever another character casts a Spell outside of the Inner Region, you can place a Portal token on that character’s space. Then, at the start of your turn, you can choose to teleport there instead of rolling the die to determine your movement.

Gifted with such outstanding Craft, the Leywalker has little need to develop physical Strength. In combat he can discard a Spell to fight with Craft instead of Strength. Spells are easily expendable for this creature: the Leywalker gains a Spell upon entering a space where he has placed a Portal token, and whenever he lands in the Runes. By taking advantage of Talisman’s rich magical resources, the Leywalker can overcome any difficulty.

Webspinning

Delighting in sticky traps and creeping terrors, the compassionless Spider Queen seeks power for its own sake. Like the Leywalker, her Craft is greater than her Strength. But instead of casting Spells, she sends her treacherous webs and arachnid minions throughout Talisman to ambush and cripple her opponents. As the Spider Queen, you begin the game with six double-sided Spider tokens. Once per turn, you can place a Spider token, web side facing up, on any space with a character on it.

If you enter a space with a Spider token, you may remain there for the turn or continue on. If another character enters a space with a Spider token, he must end his movement there and face the evil that awaits him. Once another character has entered a space with a Spider token, you flip it to the Crawler side. You can add or subtract 1 from one roll that character makes in that space before removing the Spider token. The Spider Queen has better control over her own movement than most players have, but she truly excels in ensnaring and weakening other characters. Adventure Awaits

The Ancient Oak, the Leywalker, and the Spider Queen, although not native to the unpredictable and perilous Woodland, are particularly well-equipped to travel through that region. They are all capable of surviving the numerous dangers found throughout the realm of Talisman, all capable of winning the struggle for the Crown of Command. These characters and the others introduced in The Woodland can also be played in any game of Talisman, independent of the other parts of the expansion. Whether you scatter spiders across the Woodland, or travel across Talisman as a thousand-year-old tree, unknown adventures await you.

Download the rules from the support page, and pre-order your copy of Talisman: The Woodland from a local retailer today!

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A Meeting with Destiny

Published 5 September 2014 | Talisman

A Meeting with Destiny

Preview Paths and Destinies in Talisman: The Woodland

At last you reach the heart of the Woodland, an eerie and unsettling expanse of dry earth, decaying stumps, and scorched trees. Far beyond, you glimpse a forest filled with sunlight – the forest you left when you entered this strange and haunted realm. You run towards those fields, only to find your path suddenly blocked by a crowned faerie clothed in black robes and spiderwebs, terrifying and beautiful. “Foolish mortal,” she hisses. “Did you think you could escape without meeting your destiny?”

Journey through a treacherous and enchanted forest in The Woodland, an expansion for Talisman Revised 4th Edition. In the realm of the Fae, you will encounter capricious faeries, powerful relics, talking animals, and shifting trees. You may be randomly transported across the region by mists, turned into a toad, or blessed by the faeries’ queen.

In today’s preview, we will explore the Path Cards and Destiny Cards introduced in this expansion. The routes through the Woodland are winding and changeable, but whoever follows a path to its end gains a destiny to guide the rest of their journey.

The Chosen Path

Upon entering the Woodland, you must choose a Path from one of three laid out before you. Paths give your character abilities and limitations that last as long as you remain in the Woodland. They also determine what happens when you reach the Meeting with Destiny space at the Woodland’s center.

A Path can provide both advantages and disadvantages. The Warrior’s Path offers extra strength during battle, but requires you to fight the nightmarish Queen Mab in psychic combat in order to gain a Destiny. The Secret Path allows you to evade creatures with a Strength or Craft higher than five, but an unknown Enemy awaits you at the Meeting with Destiny space. The risky Path of Folly forces you to subtract one from every die result, which may benefit you or cause you serious harm. Either way, it promises you a Destiny if you manage to survive your tumultuous journey.

The Woodland is an unpredictable place and may force you to suddenly change your Path. If you encounter a Faerie Trod, you must discard your Path and choose another. At the Crossroads, a roll of the dice determines whether you switch Paths or continue on your current one. No matter which Path you choose to take, no matter what happens to you along it, they all lead towards a meeting with destiny.

Fate and Destiny

If you follow your Path to its end and overcome whatever challenge awaits you in the heart of the Woodland, you earn a Destiny that will shape your journey through Talisman. Destiny is a powerful force that transcends even death. If a character is killed, any Destinies that character possessed are passed on to the next character which that player takes up. And while you can choose your path, you cannot choose your destiny.

Your destiny is inextricable from your fate, and all destinies increase your fate value by one. As our second preview mentioned, The Woodland introduces a difference between light and dark fate: spend light fate to reroll a die that you rolled, dark fate to force another player to reroll a die. Destinies are also light and dark. Light destinies allow you to easily replenish light fate and focus on strengthening your character. Dark ones keep you supplied with dark fate and encourage you to hinder and harm others.

If your destiny is The Enlightened, a light destiny, you can replenish one light fate whenever a character casts a Spell. In turn, you can spend a light fate in order to draw a spell, so that your fate is inextricably linked to the mystic arts. The Wealthy turns your light fate into gold, and gives you light fate whenever another characters gains gold. With The Immortal, the lives of your character and others are tied to your dark fate: when others heal or gain a life, you are rewarded with a dark fate that you may then spend to prevent your own loss of life. The Dreaded allows you to replenish dark fate whenever you win in combat, and use it to take other characters’ lives.

The ability to transform fate into gold, Spells, lives, or even Strength and Craft constitutes a remarkable advantage. A destiny could mean the difference between victory and defeat in combat, between receiving a talisman and missing your chance, or between acquiring the Crown of Command and languishing in the outer region of the realm.

Take the Path To Destiny

Your journey through the Woodland may be perilous and meandering, but if you can survive the faeries’ whims, you will gain the unique and wondrous Destiny that awaits you at the wood’s end. Are you prepared to follow your Path into the innermost depths of the Woodland towards Destiny?

Learn more on the Talisman minisite, and look for Talisman: The Woodland at your local retailer soon!

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Tempting Fate

Published 7 August 2014 | Talisman

Tempting Fate

Previewing Light and Dark Fate in Talisman: The Woodland

The sounds of pounding drums and raucous laughter fill your ears. Suddenly, the woods in front of you part to reveal a shadowy glade, crowded with mischievous Piskies, cackling Boggarts, darting Storm Sylphs and other faerie creatures. Seated above them all on a throne of black antlers is King Oberon, smiling at the chaotic revels. Upon seeing you, he speaks with a thundering but amused voice, “Mortals are not often welcome at my court, intruder, but perhaps you may be. It is a question of fate, and the wrong answer may cause you to lose your life.”

The Woodland expansion for Talisman 4th Edition opens up for you the realm of the Fae. In this uncouth forest you may discover splendid Objects, acquire helpful Followers, and develop your Strength and Craft. If you have bad luck, however, the mischievous faeries may steal your possessions and cause you to become lost in the woods. The Woodland is governed by its own particular laws: animals possess Craft, paths often shift, and Fate takes on greater significance than ever before.

Today’s preview reveals how this expansion transforms the rules for fate both inside and outside of the Woodland region. You will also learn more about the fearsome and spiteful King and Queen of the Fae, Oberon and Titania. All the Fae, but especially their King and Queen, judge you by your fate. Chances are that you will be welcomed by either the King and his court or the Queen and hers – but certainly not by both.

Light and Dark

Fate tokens in Talisman have always had a dark blue side and a gold side, but the color of your fate token made no difference: it permitted you to reroll one of your own die. The Woodland introduces a difference between light fate (the golden side faces up) and dark fate (the blue side faces up). Spending a token of light fate allows you to reroll a die that you rolled, but spending a token of dark fate allows you to force another player of your choice to reroll a die.

A character with more light fate than dark is lightbound, and one with more dark than light is darkbound. Equal amounts of dark and light fate make you unbound, and if you are entirely without fate, you are fateless. Many spaces and cards in The Woodland region affect you differently based on your fate, and being lightbound does not necessarily mean that good things will befall you. Unbound characters often go unaffected by cards in The Woodland, but fateless characters must typically resolve the negative effect of a card. Wandering through the Woodland without any fate could quickly sap away your character’s lives.

At the beginning of the game, and when gaining fate outside of the Woodland region, you may choose what color of fate to gain, taking a step towards ultimately becoming lightbound or darkbound. Your choice may not last long inside the Woodland, however, since Events and Strangers in the faerie realm can alter your fate as they please. Perhaps you have mostly light fate when you encounter the Wyrdling. Since you are lightbound, the Wyrdling causes you to lose all of your light fate and forces you to fight it in battle. Having lost all your light fate, you are now either darkbound or fateless. The Storm Sylph, a dark faerie, causes darkbound characters to gain more dark fate and lightbound characters to lose their fate.

The Mask of the Moon, if you are fortunate enough to come upon it, provides some defense against outside manipulation of your fate. This Magic Object enables you to change the color of a fate token once per turn, enabling you to become darkbound If you anticipate encountering Oberon in the future, or unbound if you simply want to pass through the Woodland unscathed.

Fell and Wrath

The dark Fae have eternally despised humans and tormented them for sport. As ruler of the dark Fae, Oberon shares their contempt, but will occasionally grant favors to a darkbound mortal who may further his own designs. Darkbound characters who encounter Oberon therefore profit from the meeting, gaining one Strength and stealing a Follower or Object from another character. Towards lightbound and fateless characters Oberon is ruthless and cruel, taking away their light fate, a possession, and half of their lives.

Similarly Oberon’s Gate and Oberon’s Bow only benefit darkbound characters: Oberon’s Gate allows you, if darkbound, to teleport to any space with a faceup Enemy on it, in any region except for the Inner Region. If you are lightbound or fateless, however, the character to your left chooses where you will move. Oberon’s Bow allows the darkbound to spend a dark fate to take a life from a nearby character. Casting your lot with Oberon and the dark Fae enables you to harm others, but be careful: Oberon won’t protect you against harm or against his own faeries’ mischief.

A Spirit of No Common Rate

Proud Titania, beautiful and deadly, leads the light Fae. Like all of her subjects, she is innately well-disposed to mortals, generous to her admirers but certain to punish any who offend her. If you encounter her when lightbound, she gives you Spells, Objects, additional Craft, and even Lives. From the darkbound, she takes Spells, Lives, and fate.

Titania also delights in doing the opposite of her husband, so whatever Oberon does for the darkbound, she seeks to invert or undo. Oberon’s Gate forces a darkbound character to encounter an Enemy; Titania’s Gate sends a lightbound character towards an Object of his choice. Oberon’s Bow allows you to take life from other characters; Titania’s Wand grants you the ability to cast whatever spell is placed upon that card by spending a light fate. The quarrel between the King and Queen is ancient and eternal, and you may get caught in the middle of it. If you can play them off against each other, encountering Titania and Oberon one after the other may make you extremely powerful. If they choose to take their anger out on you, it could entirely consume your fate and your lives.

Face Your Fate

The new rules for fate introduced in The Woodland can be played in any game of Talisman: use light fate to change the outcome of your own dice rolls, and dark fate to change the dice rolls of other players. Only within the Woodland region, however, can you experience the full effects of light and dark fate. Whether you seek to control your fate, or prefer to give yourself up to fate’s twists and turns, you will find your journey in every region of Talisman enriched by this innovation.

Keep checking the minisite for more information about this expansion and pre-order Talisman: The Woodland at your local retailer today!

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No Ordinary Walk in the Woods

Published 25 July 2014 | Talisman

No Ordinary Walk in the Woods

Preview the Creatures and Landscape of Talisman: The Woodland

Ahead lies a sunlit meadow of tall grasses and wildflowers, where glowing, winged creatures are flitting about in the air. The path seems to be taking you there, but soon the meadow disappears from view, and the altered path now leads towards a dense, sunless thicket. You feel a chill as you pass through a gate of black branches entwined and twisted like tortured limbs – then suddenly you’re back in the swamplands where you met Puck not long ago. He’s still there, and unfortunately he starts laughing when he sees you…

Discover the perils and enchantments of the deep woods in The Woodland, a new expansion for Talisman Revised 4th Edition. Long closed to mortals, the forested realm of the Fae has reopened. If you dare approach them, the faeries may favor you with extraordinary gifts – or they may put you through unspeakable torments.

In today’s preview, we’ll venture into the Woodland and take a look at some of the spaces on the new corner board, and meet some of the Strangers, Objects, Places, and Enemies that you may encounter on Woodland Cards.

The Forbidding Forest

Once you’ve entered the Woodland, you must either persistently move forward towards the Meeting with Destiny space at the woods’ edge, or else turn around and flee– although it is doubtful that the shifting trees will permit you to exactly retrace your steps. Arrows on the board serve as trail markers, and you must move directly with or directly against them. It is forbidden to leap in other directions, from the Swampland to the Faerie Ring, for example.

The Woodland is fond of disorienting mortals who wander within it. It may prevent you from moving forward to the place you intended, or make it impossible for you to return to a place you’ve been. Bogs slow you down, Swamplands detain you against your will, and many spaces affect movement in unpredictable ways: the Witch Tree will propel you forwards or backwards depending on whether you roll an even or odd number. The Mystic Glen may teleport you into either the Swampland or the Faerie Ring. The Crossroads may even teleport you to a Woods space outside of the Woodland itself.

Near the edge of the woods lies Mab’s Lair. Skulls of her animal, faerie, and human victims litter the ground – it is clearly the most dangerous space of all. There, you must confront the terrifying Queen Mab herself, creator of all dreams, who has a Strength of ten and a Craft of ten. If you defeat her, she will give you a vision of your true purpose. If you cannot, she will haunt you with the darkest nightmares she can create.

Shrewd and Knavish Sprites

In the realm of the Fae you draw Woodland Cards instead of Adventure Cards, since the rules governing that land are unlike those of the mortal world. Like its paths, the Woodland’s Strangers and Events are naturally changeable and capricious. Outside of the Woodland, a Market card permanently establishes a Market where you can buy useful Objects. Inside the Woodland, a Faerie Market may occur. You cannot buy things in a Faerie Market. Instead, every player must give a possession and a piece of gold, a fate token, or a life to the player on the right.

The Mysterious Mist may teleport you to a new location or grant you a Spell, depending on what you roll. The Greenman could give you a life or take one away. If you can defeat the Thieving Piskies, you can send them to steal from another character. The wicked and deformed Baba Yaga may kill one of your Followers, or even your character, or demand one of your objects as a payoff. Her chicken-legged hut is likewise troublesome. Upon encountering it, the hut captures you inside and speeds off, so that as long as you have it as a Follower, you always move exactly five spaces.

The trickster Puck, known for laughing at others’ harm, can transform a character of your choice into a Toad – or he may decide to turn you into one instead. In fact, Baba Yaga could turn you into a Toad as well, as could numerous others. So many of the Woodland’s inhabitants and events can turn characters into Toads that you may become accustomed to amphibian life.

Luck of the Faeries

With fortune’s favor, you will find some protection in the Woodland against its many perils, perhaps a Magic Object once belonging to a long-forgotten king. If you have enough Strength to wear it, Nuadu’s Torc will add to that Strength and keep you from losing it or becoming a Toad. Lugh’s Cloak, an incredibly powerful Magic Object, allows you, if you have a craft of at least five, to avoid being affected by the Strangers and Events that you encounter.

Since how you fare in the Woodland depends heavily on your luck with the dice, the most desirable object in the realm may be the Lucky Charm, which lets you choose your result instead of rolling a die. Mab’s Charm also invites you to change your luck, by allowing you to reroll an Enemy’s attack, making the original result into nothing but a dream.

Into the Woods

The woods may be fearful, deep, and dark, but they also reward those who wander through them in unforeseeable ways. If you can survive the faeries’ dangerous whims and the trials of the enchanted trees, you will emerge from The Woodland a character of proven fortitude, ready to pursue the Crown of Command.

Prepare for your journey through these wild woods, and pre-order Talisman: The Woodland from your local retailer today.

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The Woodland

Published 6 May 2014 | Talisman

The Woodland

Announcing an Upcoming Expansion for Talisman

For the first time in endless ages, the mystic Woodland has returned from beyond the mortal realm. Wealth and powers past comprehension can be found among the towering trees and along the twisting trails of the forest, but dangers skulk there as well. King Oberon and Queen Titania, ageless rulers of the fae, will not brook invasion of their realm lightly.

Fantasy Flight Games is proud to announce The Woodland, a new expansion for Talisman Revised 4th Edition! The unearthly Woodland is the home of the fae, and beneath its watchful boughs, you’ll uncover treasures and threats beyond your wildest dreams. You’ll find new Alternative Endings as five new characters join the quest for the Crown of Command, but will your path through the Woodland lead you to your destiny, or does your fate hold something far different in store?

Into the Woodland

The Woodland introduces a new corner board to Talisman, inviting you to journey beneath the trees, encountering open glades and dense thickets, eerie witch trees and uncanny faerie villages. The groves and pathways of the Woodland are unlike anything you have ever encountered before. In fact, your characters will never encounter Adventure Cards while traveling in the Woodland, drawing Woodland Cards instead. Woodland Cards function the same as Adventure Cards, but instead portray the vast variety of creatures, monsters, and fae that you may meet on your travels.

The Woodland holds many strange Enemies within, including the Totem Bear. This monstrous bear is an Animal, but instead of fighting you in battle, you must engage it in psychic combat. Another Stranger your characters may encounter in the Woodland is the legendary Toad King. The King of all Toads possesses great power, and if you happen to have been transformed into a Toad, he will end the enchantment and grant you a raised Strength or Craft. If you are not a Toad, however, contact with the Toad King immediately turns you into a Toad!

Face Your Destiny

Your journeys through the Woodland are not aimless, however. A powerful motive inspires every character that sets foot to those verdant trails, guiding his wanderings. When you first choose to enter the Woodland corner board, you must choose one of three revealed Path Cards. This card determines the rules of your path to the birthplace of Destiny at the center of the Woodland. For example, if you enter the Woodland and choose the Runebound Path card, you can no longer cast Spells while you bear that Path Card. In addition, no Spells other than the Command Spell will affect you. When you reach the Meeting With Destiny space, every character must discard all Spells. If three or more Spells were discarded, you gain a Destiny Card and immediately move to any Runes space.

The Destiny Cards that you can gain offer a purpose to your character, helping to determine some portion of your future. Some characters destinies will lead them towards darkness, whereas others bring the character closer to righteousness. For example, you may receive the Destiny Card entitled The Dreaded. This destiny increases your Strength value and your fate value by one, and whenever you win a battle or psychic combat, you may replenish one dark fate. (Dark and light fate are explained below.) In addition, when you will engage a character in battle or psychic combat, you may spend one dark fate to force your opponent to lose a life!

On the other hand, your Destiny Card may be The Wise, increasing your Craft value and your fate value by one. While you hold The Wise Destiny Card, you may replenish one light fate whenever an event card is drawn, and when drawing Adventure Cards, you may spend a light fate to discard any of those cards and draw an equal number of cards to encounter. These Destiny Cards help to shape your character’s development, sometimes tipping them towards a certain style of play over another.

The Twists and Turns of Fate

The return of the Woodland to the lands of mortals has drastically shifted the natural laws of fate in Talisman. The Woodland introduces enhanced rules for fate, utilizing both light and dark fate. When a die is rolled, fate may be spent to reroll it, whether the die was rolled for movement, an attack roll, or for some other effect. Spending a light fate allows you reroll a die that you rolled, but dark fate allows you to manipulate your opponent and force him to reroll a die.

For fate that you receive at the beginning of the game and through some game effects, you may choose whether you wish to receive dark or light fate. Not only do your fate tokens interact closely with your destiny, but the type of fate tokens you collect has important ramifications in how fae creatures approach you.

Bound by Fate

A character with more light fate than dark fate is lightbound, and a player with more dark than light fate is darkbound. If you have equal numbers of both dark and light fate, you are unbound and immune to many of the effects that may plague other players. A player with no fate whatsoever becomes fateless, and has no control over how certain Woodland Cards will affect them. Many Woodland Cards have lightbound and darkbound effects, and you must resolve the effect corresponding to you. Unbound characters are unaffected by either darkbound or lightbound effects, but fateless characters must resolve the effect lower on the card.

An example of a Woodland Card with fatebound effects is the Breeze Sylph. If you defeat this enemy in battle, you resolve the effect corresponding to you: if you are lightbound, you will gain one light fate, but if you are darkbound, you will lose one dark fate. Another Woodland Card with such effects is the deadly Sidhe. If you are defeated by her and are lightbound, you must lose one additional life, but if you are defeated by her and are darkbound, you are killed! Manipulating whether you are darkbound or lightbound is vital to surviving the treacherous paths within the Woodland.

Between the Trees Fate and destiny alike run wild beneath the trees of the Woodland. Your character may walk his path to the end and face his destiny, but the dangers that wait within are unlike anything you’ve yet encountered. Steel your resolve and enter The Woodland in the third quarter of 2014!

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Enter the Firelands

Published 28 February 2014 | Talisman

Enter the Firelands

The Firelands Expansion for Talisman Is Now Available

The appointed time has arrived, and Talisman lies in peril with the fiery onslaught of the Ifrit. Your quest for the Crown of Command just became a lot hotter with the release of The Firelands expansion for Talisman Revised 4th Edition, now available through our webstore and at your local retailer!

Wreathed in Flame

The Firelands introduces a host of danger to the realm of Talisman, and if you take too long on your journey, you may feel the fire licking at your heels. The Ifrit – once enslaved to create the Crown of Command – have risen to attack the land of Talisman, burning everything in their path.

In our first preview, we looked at some of the most deadly new Adventure Cards: those featuring the Ifrit. The Ifrit are not content to merely engage you in battle or psychic combat. Their ultimate goal is the destruction of Talisman, and many cards included in The Firelands instruct you to burn cards, removing them completely from the game! If you fail to confront these mighty foes, your most needed resources may burn away, leaving you defenseless before a tide of fire.

But burning your cards is not the limit of the Ifrit’s potential. The Ifrit also spread fireland tokens across the Regions of Talisman, and any character that enters a space with a fireland token must lose a life. The Ifrit are ready to burn all of Talisman to ash and bone, and you must face their fire if you wish to complete your quest.

Hope for Rain

You’ll find more in The Firelands than danger, however. Other new Adventure and Spell Cards give you the opportunity to defend yourself against the Ifrit’s volcanic assault. Some Objects and Spell Cards even give you the opportunity to reshape the land of Talisman by laying Terrain Cards over a space. However you use this power, it’s certain to change your adventures dramatically.

New characters also become available to you in The Firelands, as we saw in our second preview. The Warlord can conscript Followers into her army, giving her great resilience in battle. The Jin Blooded flits across the board, gathering fate and Spells, binding Spells cast against him and taking them as his own. The Nomad wanders endlessly, and her knowledge of the world keeps her out of much danger. Finally, the Dervish spins, quick and fearless in battle, and proficient with Weapons. One of these characters, noble and foul, just might be the one you can lead to the Crown of Command!

Finally, The Firelands expansion offers a host of variants with three new Alternative Ending Cards! Alternative Ending Cards change the rules of the game by replacing your goal of claiming the Crown of Command and destroying your opponents with new objectives. If you use a Revealed Alternative Ending, all players know their new objectives, but if you choose to use a Hidden Alternative Ending, the endgame remains secret until one player reaches the Crown of Command… and they may find a nasty surprise waiting for them there!

The Fire Rises

The Firelands lie open to you, offering adventure and danger. Are you ready to face the threat of the Ifrit and rise a hero of the land of Talisman? Pick up your copy of The Firelands at your local retailer today!

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A Hero Rises

Published 17 February 2014 | Talisman

A Hero Rises

Preview New Characters from The Firelands Expansion for Talisman

New terrors and challenges arise throughout the land of Talisman in The Firelands, an upcoming expansion for Talisman Revised 4th Edition! The power of the Ifrit is rising, and as their flames grow hotter, the realm itself may be burnt to ash. In the midst of the chaos, you and your fellow adventurers must pursue the quest for the Crown of Command. Time is not your friend, however, and those who delay may find themselves trapped without resources in a burning land.

In our last preview, we looked at some of the powerful new Enemies that will oppose you in The Firelands – deadly Ifrit who consume everything they touch in flame. We also examined an Alternative Ending Card that throws you and the other players into a race to keep ahead of an inferno spreading throughout Talisman. Today, however, we’ll look at two of the four new characters introduced in The Firelands, as well as another Alternative Ending Card.

A Heritage of Fate and Magic

One new character you’ll meet in The Firelands possesses power reaching beyond mere human existence. This character is the Jin Blooded. Drawing on his heritage, this character possesses great Craft and begins each game with two Spells, representing the magical learning he inherits.

Although the Jin Blooded possesses powerful magic abilities, he is wise enough to know that continuing in the same state is impossible. Always ready to adapt to the situation, the Jin Blooded may discard one of his Spells to gain one fate at the beginning of his turn. Gaining fate may give the Jin Blooded the tools he needs to survive in The Firelands, but if he needs more Spells, he may spend a fate token to draw a Spell card at the end of his turn, giving him even more options for next turn.

The Jin Blooded’s knowledge of Spells and fate extends beyond his own magic. Whenever another character casts a Spell on the Jin Blooded, his space, or one of his cards, he may either gain one fate for the new magical knowledge he has acquired, or else spend two fate to bind the Spell. If the Jin Blooded binds a Spell, it has no effect on him, and he may immediately cast it on a new target, ignoring both Region and timing restrictions! Your opponents will surely beware of casting a Spell on the powerful Jin Blooded, lest that Spell be turned back upon them.

The World is a Path

Another new character arrives in Talisman in the person of the Nomad. Always on the move, the Nomad has no one place to call her home, so she begins the game in any space in the Outer Region of the board, choosing the most advantageous place to start her quest for the Crown of Command.

The Nomad’s many travels have brought her much experience of the world. Because of her great experience, the Nomad may ignore the printed text on any space not in the Inner Region. Instead, she encounters the space as if it read, “Draw 1 Card. Do not draw a card if there is already one in this space.” The Nomad can often avoid many dangers that may lie in wait throughout Talisman by using this ability. As an added bonus, whenever the Nomad encounters a Place card, she may choose to ignore it, using her worldly wisdom to keep out of danger.

Sometimes, even a Nomad will find someplace that deserves extra attention. By spending a fate, the Nomad may stay in her current space and encounter it again instead of moving normally. This gives you a second chance at anything the space has to offer, whether gaining cards or defeating Enemies. The Nomad cannot deny her nature for long, though, and she cannot remain in her current space if she chose to remain on her last turn.

Wreathed in Flame

As we examined in our last preview, Alternative Ending Cards are split into two categories: “hidden” and “revealed.” Revealed Alternative Ending Cards are open knowledge to all players from the beginning of the game. Hidden Alternative Endings, however, remain a secret until one player reaches the Crown of Command, and sometimes the player that uncovers it has a nasty surprise waiting for him.

Crown of Flame is a new Alternative Ending Card from The Firelands. When it is revealed, the character who encountered it places a fireland token on his character sheet as the Crown of Flame. Then, each character in the Inner Region must teleport to a space in the Middle or Outer Regions that does not contain a character. The player with Crown of Flame must attempt to give it to another player by entering a space containing another character and ending his movement.

Whenever a player begins his turn with the Crown of Flame, he must lose a life and burn one Follower, one Object, and one Spell, removing them from the game. If a character is killed, the Crown of Flame is passed to the player on his left, and the game continues until only one character has escaped alive!

Smoke Leads to Fire

Are you prepared to risk everything in the pursuit of the Crown of Command? New characters await, offering the opportunity to tell new stories, but new Enemies approach as the land of Talisman burns. Prepare for your adventure, and preorder The Firelands at your local retailer today!

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From the Flames

Published 12 February 2014 | Talisman

From the Flames

Preview an Upcoming Talisman Expansion

The land of Talisman is heating up as a new and deadly threat emerges in The Firelands, a new expansion for Talisman Revised 4th Edition! The Ifrit have come to Talisman, intent on burning the land to ash and cinder. Your quest for the Crown of Command remains, but time itself is against you as the Ifrit’s inferno consumes more of the realm every day.

In today’s preview, we’ll take a closer look at some of the new dangers you might encounter on new Adventure Cards, as well as one of the new Alternative Ending Cards included in this expansion.

Across the Embers

As you journey through the realm of Talisman, new foes emerge to confront you. The Ifrit were enslaved by a mighty wizard to create the Crown of Command, but now they have escaped from their underground caverns to exact terrible vengeance: destroying the world the wizard created. The Ifrit are powerful in combat, but avoiding them might be even more dangerous, as we’ll see below.

Chief among the new Enemies you must face is the Ifrit Sultan. Because he possesses a Strength/Craft value, this Enemy can be engaged in battle or psychic combat, but no matter how you fight him, he remains one of the most powerful Enemies in The Firelands. But the Ifrit Sultan must be defeated sooner or later, because any character in the same Region as the Sultan must either place a fireland token in his space, or burn one of his cards at the beginning of each turn! Fireland tokens cause any character who ends his turn in that space to lose a life, whereas burning cards removes them from the game. If you don’t attack the Ifrit Sultan, you’ll have to watch as the land and your resources are devoured by the fire.

The Sultan isn’t the only Ifrit foe you face in The Firelands, however. Fireland tokens spread out from the Ifrit Sheikh whenever another Ifrit Enemy is drawn. If the Ifrit Sheikh is allowed to continue unchecked, the spaces around him will become fully ablaze, putting any nearby character at risk of losing life. The Ifrit Shapeshifter, on the other hand, only becomes more powerful as the land burns. Whenever an Enemy card is burnt, the Ifrit Shapeshifter adds one to his attack roll until he is defeated!

Restoring Rains

All is not lost in your journey to the Crown of Command, however. Aid can arrive from the most unexpected places, including Adventure Cards like the Djinn Sultan. The Djinn Sultan is powerful, and he offers you an array of options in your time of need. These options range from gaining gold or life, to killing an Enemy, to stealing an Object, Follower, or random Spell from another character. With so many opportunities for getting exactly what you need, a wise adventurer seeks out the Djinn Sultan wherever he can be found.

Some new Objects offer unusual abilities in addition to their power. The Inferno Spear, for example, adds two to your Strength during battle, but its power doesn’t stop there. Whenever you defeat another character in battle and choose to take a life, that character must also burn one of his Objects if you have the Inferno Spear! Other Objects, like Winter Oil, offer protection from the flames. Winter Oil fireproofs all your Objects for one turn, making them impervious to burn effects. Once it has been used, Winter Oil becomes available in the City by visiting the Alchemist, allowing any character to take advantage of its powers.

A Race Against Fire

Alternative Ending Cards offer a different way to experience Talisman. Rather than racing for the Crown of Command, players must complete other conditions to claim victory. In one variant, the Alternative Ending is revealed to all players, but in the hidden variant, the Alternative Ending is kept secret until one player reaches the Crown of Command!

One of the hidden Alternative Endings offered in The Firelands is Spreading Flames, which casts you and the other players into a race to keep ahead of the fire. When this Alternative Ending is revealed, all players teleport to a space in the Outer or Middle Regions, and you must place a fireland token on each space adjacent to you. At the start of every turn, a player must place a fireland token in his character’s space, before he moves. With every turn, the realm of Talisman grows progressively more dangerous as characters lose lives from fireland tokens. Ultimately, the last character left alive wins the game!

A Flicker, A Flare

The Firelands expansion will shake the land of Talisman, placing you in the center of danger. Can you escape the flames long enough to rise victorious? Pre-order The Firelands expansion at your local retailer today!

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