How to Play in 5 Minutes

Talisman Worlds replaces the game boards used by Talisman with individual hexagonal tiles. This ensures that every game of Talisman has a completely different setup, whilst also laying important foundations for more easily introducing new expansions that are not just limited to the four corners as they are in traditional games.

This mod has been built and tested for Talisman 4th Edition (revised) by Fantasy Flight Games.

The Original Board

As a reference, the original core board has the following spaces:

• Outer region = 24 spaces
• Middle region = 16 spaces
• Inner region = 9 spaces
• Crown of Command = central space
• Total of 50 spaces

Converting spaces to hexagons around a hidden ending tile results in the following four-ringed board, which requires exactly 61 hexagonal tiles to complete:

• 4th ring (24 hexes) — randomly place all 24 outer region tiles face-up
• 3rd ring (18 hexes) — randomly place 18 river region tiles face-up
• 2nd ring (12 hexes) — randomly place 12 middle region tiles face-up
• 1st ring (6 hexes) — randomly place 6 of the 9 available inner region tiles face-up
• Middle — randomly place one of the eight available ending tiles face down

An additional 14 tiles must be added to the middle region choices to account for missing hexes, whilst also creating the infamous river that separates the outer and middle regions:

• 10 water tiles (cannot be crossed without a raft)
• 4 additional desert tiles (act as desert spaces from original Talisman)

Rules

The only required changes to the rules are as follows:

• Restrictions to movements based upon the region a player starts their turn
• Newly introduced river region (between the outer and middle regions)
• Newly introduced river tile — which players may not end their turn on
• Tweaked desert tile and more of them — which players may not end their turn on

This modular board system not only results in a different setup every time, but also lays important foundations for more easily introducing new expansions in the future.

Movement

Some movement rules are consistent, regardless of the region:

• Players can only cross river tiles by using a raft
• Players can only cross deserts by using a water bottle
• Players cannot end their turn on a river tile
• Players cannot end their turn on a desert tile

Some movement is restricted based upon the region a player starts their turn.

Outer Region

• Players roll a D4 for movement
• Players can choose any tile up-to the maximum they rolled
• Players can only freely access the middle region from the sentinel
• Players cannot use the oasis or hidden valley tiles as part of movement

River Region

• Players roll a D3 for movement
• Players can choose any tile up-to the maximum they rolled

Middle Region

• Players roll a D3 for movement
• Players can choose any tile up-to the maximum they rolled

Inner Region

• Players may only move to an adjacent inner region tile
• Can only freely access inner region from portal of power (middle region)
• Can only access ending (middle tile) from valley of fire (by discarding a talisman)

Tiles

Endings

Randomly choose one of the ending tiles and place it face down in the middle of the board. All ending tiles use the rules as printed in Talisman 4th Edition.

1. Crown of Command
2. Horrible Black Void
3. Battle Royale
4. Dragon King
5. Demon Lord
6. Eagle King
7. Hand of Doom
8. Thieves Guild

Inner Region

The first ring surrounding the ending are six inner region tiles, chosen randomly from the nine available. All inner region tiles use the rules as printed.

1. Valley of Fire
2. Crypt
3. Death
4. Werewolf’s Den
5. Mines
6. Vampire’s Tower
7. Pits (may be excluded to reach exactly six)
8. Plain of Peril
9. (One tile excluded at random each game)

Middle Region

The second ring surrounding the inner region are the twelve middle region tiles. All middle region tiles use the encounter rules as printed.

1. Portal of Power
2. Black Knight
3. Hills (draw 1 card)
4. Cursed Glade (draw 1 card, cannot use magic)
5. Runes (draw 1 card, enemies get +2 x3)
6. Chasm
7. Warlock’s Cave
8. Temple
9. Woods (draw 1 card)
10. Castle
11. Sentinel
12. Plain of Peril

River Region

The third ring surrounding the middle region are the eighteen river region tiles:

• River Tiles x10 — can only cross with raft, cannot end turn here
• Desert Tiles x6 — can only cross with water bottle, cannot end turn here
• Oasis — draw 2 cards, can only go one way (outward)
• Hidden Valley — draw 3 cards, can only go one way (outward)

Outer Region

The fourth ring surrounding the river region are the twenty-four outer region tiles. All outer region tiles use the encounter rules as printed.

• City
• Village
• Tavern
• Chapel
• Ruins (draw 2 cards)
• Fields (draw 1 card) x6
• Plains (draw 1 card) x4
• Woods (draw 1 card) x3
• Hills (draw 1 card) x2
• Sentinel — if crossing from outer then must win fight, then roll next turn
• Graveyard
• Crags
• Forest

The graphics used for stickers to be placed on 90mm hexagons can be seen on Moddable.Games. Talisman cards fit in 90mm hexes.

Variations

Some of these variations are published elsewhere, others are modified by our team:

• Warlock Quests — players must complete one quest per player to gain a talisman. All other talismans are removed from the game or replaced by “extra life” if printed.

• The One Talisman — remove all but one talisman from the game. Add two to both strength and craft whilst holding talisman. Warlock quests result in talisman teleporting.

Warlock Quests

The following D20 collection of quests provides an alternative to both the original warlock cave as well as the warlock quest cards that were introduced in future expansions.

1. Kill a dragon
2. Deliver a magic item to two different woods
3. Deliver five gold coins to the tavern
4. Deliver prince or princess to the castle
5. Deliver any enemy spirit to graveyard
6. Deliver three fate to the chapel
7. Meet the ranger (forest)
8. Meet the barbarian (crags)
9. Get enslaved at the temple
10. Deliver two weapons to the alchemist
11. Get teleported somewhere
12. Deliver three followers to the castle
13. Become a toad
14. Deliver an axe to the cursed glade
15. Change alignment
16. Safely guide at least three followers (in one go) across the chasm
17. Deliver an axe to the sentinel
18. Deliver a water bottle to the oasis
19. Enter the valley of fire without a talisman
20. Lose all your lives, then get replenished to starting lives

Players may only perform one quest at a time. In order to remove the current quest, players must get drunk in the tavern and miss a go. They may then visit the warlock for a new quest.

Upon completing a quest, the player must then return to the warlock’s cave to gain their talisman. If playing the one talisman variation, it is at this point that the talisman teleports.

The Dungeon

The following official Talisman 4th edition expansion has worlds support:

Replace the dungeon board with a new fifth ring of tiles with the following movement rules:

• Players roll a D6 for movement
• Players can choose any tile up-to the maximum they rolled
• Players can only enter the dungeon from the entrance or newly discovered portals
• Players can only exit the dungeon from the entrance or treasure chamber

Dungeon Region

The fifth ring of tiles surrounding the outer regions become the thirty dungeon region tiles. All dungeon tiles use the encounter rules as printed in the Dungeon expansion, with the following layout:

• Cavern (draw 2 cards) x4
• Corridor (draw 1 card) x6
• Tunnel (draw 1 card) x6
• Vault (draw 3 cards) x3
• Cell — leave a follower and take a follower
• Dungeon Entrance (draw 1 card)
• Guard Room — bribe (2G) or fight (5S)
• Hall of Darkness
• Kitchen
• Library
• Monster Pit
• Summoning Circle — move closest enemy here or draw card if no enemies
• Torture Chamber — pay 1G or lose 1 strength or 1 craft
• Treasure Chamber — fight Lord of Darkness (S12/C12)
• Mountains x2 (newly added) — cannot access this region (used for reaching 6th ring later). Also used to separate the dungeon entrance and treasure chamber to force players to go all the way around the dungeon in order to reach the end. Dungeon entrances found later in the game lead to spaces beside them, as opposed to the dungeon entrance.