Talislanta is a fantasy role-playing game created by Stephen Sechi. Talislanta: The Savage Land is a recent kickstarter that takes place right after the disaster that in the original rules took place centuries in the past. Stewart Wieck was the sponsor and publisher of this newest version. The game will be full color and available in five games systems: the original rules, D&D 5E, Pathfinder, Savage Worlds, and Open D6. Mr. Wieck worked hard to bring visionary RPGs to gamers everywhere and he will be missed. I am sorry for his family’s loss.
Free PDFs of everything published for previous editions can be found at talislanta.com. This review covers The Talislanta Handbook & Campaign Guide Second Edition, a 152 page rule and setting book. Set in a unique world shaped by a magical cataclysm, Talislanta is filled with a large variety of people, cultures, and customs. Players choose from over one hundred professions. Illustrations for each are included. Characters include merchants, nobles, scouts, shamans, and many more. Races include multi-hued humans as well as bird, plant, and reptilian races. Dozens of cultures include the likes of the artic Mirin and the desert dwelling Dracartans.
The rules are driven by a simple action table rolled against using a d20 plus skill. Mishaps, partial successes, and crits are all possible. The skill list covers combat, magic, performance, scholarly pursuits, thieving talents, trades and crafts, and wilds skills.
Magic is skill based. Casters can cast from a written source but it takes longer, or cast from memory a limited number of spells in a shorter time. Many lost spells can found in old ruins and dusty libraries.
Several kingdoms cover a continent and are built on the remnants of an ancient magical empire that destroyed itself centuries before. Many cultures can be traced back to this empire. The land itself was warped and reshaped by the empire’s fall.
A sophisticated urban game of diplomacy and trade could be set in the Seven Kingdoms and include a colorfully tattooed Thrall warrior, a dual-brain using Sindaran collector, and an avian Ardua river warrior. Another campaign could focus on smuggling and freeing slaves with a Farad wizard, a Mandalan mystic warrior, and a reptilian Araq warrior who struggles to keep his blood lust in check. More details on the world and the kingdoms can be found in the Talislanta Worldbook.
The corebook does not include monsters (found in the Naturalist’s Guide to Talislanta) but has three pages of quick stats. Normal animals are not found in Talislanta so there are no horses, dogs, wolves, or bears. Instead, a variety of unique animals take the place of mundane animals and fantastic monsters like the equs mount and the winged batranc. The book also includes a sample adventure and thirty six adventure ideas.
Talislanta is unique, free, easy to learn, and has enough depth to support campaign play. I have run successful campaigns including realm building in the Seven Kingdoms and ruin raiding in frozen L’Haan. A whole world awaits exploration in Talislanta.
Free PDFs of everything published for previous editions can be found at talislanta.com. This review covers The Talislanta Handbook & Campaign Guide Second Edition, a 152 page rule and setting book. Set in a unique world shaped by a magical cataclysm, Talislanta is filled with a large variety of people, cultures, and customs. Players choose from over one hundred professions. Illustrations for each are included. Characters include merchants, nobles, scouts, shamans, and many more. Races include multi-hued humans as well as bird, plant, and reptilian races. Dozens of cultures include the likes of the artic Mirin and the desert dwelling Dracartans.
The rules are driven by a simple action table rolled against using a d20 plus skill. Mishaps, partial successes, and crits are all possible. The skill list covers combat, magic, performance, scholarly pursuits, thieving talents, trades and crafts, and wilds skills.
Magic is skill based. Casters can cast from a written source but it takes longer, or cast from memory a limited number of spells in a shorter time. Many lost spells can found in old ruins and dusty libraries.
Several kingdoms cover a continent and are built on the remnants of an ancient magical empire that destroyed itself centuries before. Many cultures can be traced back to this empire. The land itself was warped and reshaped by the empire’s fall.
A sophisticated urban game of diplomacy and trade could be set in the Seven Kingdoms and include a colorfully tattooed Thrall warrior, a dual-brain using Sindaran collector, and an avian Ardua river warrior. Another campaign could focus on smuggling and freeing slaves with a Farad wizard, a Mandalan mystic warrior, and a reptilian Araq warrior who struggles to keep his blood lust in check. More details on the world and the kingdoms can be found in the Talislanta Worldbook.
The corebook does not include monsters (found in the Naturalist’s Guide to Talislanta) but has three pages of quick stats. Normal animals are not found in Talislanta so there are no horses, dogs, wolves, or bears. Instead, a variety of unique animals take the place of mundane animals and fantastic monsters like the equs mount and the winged batranc. The book also includes a sample adventure and thirty six adventure ideas.
Talislanta is unique, free, easy to learn, and has enough depth to support campaign play. I have run successful campaigns including realm building in the Seven Kingdoms and ruin raiding in frozen L’Haan. A whole world awaits exploration in Talislanta.
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