Talisman Adventures Fantasy RPG - Tales of the Dungeon continues exploring the dark fairy tale world of Talisman Adventures Fantasy RPG. As the best supplements do, it both widens and deepens both the setting and the rules. There are additional details on existing locations alongside brand new places. There are also new ancestries and races but also more in depth rules for traps and additional advice on rewards. Plus an adventure to round it all out.
My thanks to Pegasus Spiele for sending me the PDF to review. As with the core rulebook, this book is full color with excellent dark fairy tale coupled with dirty deadly dungeon art and a user friendly layout.
Famous dungeons of the Realms include a description along with a story seed, a dozen in all. For example, a GM can use the Deep Realms as an option for PCs to use to get to some truly hard to reach location in the Realms. The Deep Realms connect all the various dungeons but time and distance are warped. So sometimes is much quicker to travel the dangerous halls to get somewhere far distant and/or inaccessible.
Minotaurs and vampires are new ancestries and tomb robber and necromancer are new classes. Vampires can turn into bats and they do have to drink blood or lose Life. Tomb robbers can not only disarm traps but also create them, a handy ability which pairs well with the additional rules for traps. The connection between a new class and the new trap rules shows both great game design and editing. These are not just random new rules. They tie thematically to dungeons and work with the other new rules in the book.
GMs get new Strangers like a fugitive fiend who seeks to bargain with Neutral or Evil PCs for gold, Life, and Fate. A lantern sprite brings a bit of chaos and could bring a new item to PCs or lead them into combat. Followers get a new option called Curse. For example, the Hag (an old hated favorite from the board game) can force Followers to desert a PC until they visit the Mystic in Villedoc. This Follower directly catapults PCs to take on a quest to travel to Villedoc. It is also a great homage to the board game. Many of the Followers don’t have a Curse. The Porter for example will carry gear or a torch and even makes meals. And is also another homage.
The next three chapters are all about dungeons with the final seventh chapter an adventure in a dungeon. There are new exploration rules used when exploring large dungeons. The role of Guide from the wilderness rules in the core book are expanded to work underground. The roles of Watcher and Hunter also get additional details.
Traps also get a large update and expansion. These details make sense in a book about dungeons and include nearly 30 trap examples. Hazards also get an expansion with 10 new options including the blood stained stalagfrights and the pit of bones. These traps and hazards are frightening, dangerous, and challenging.
An entire chapter covers new gear, weapons, and armor. A character can now wear brigandine and wield a zweihander. There are also several new magic items like the Shield of Faith which in addition to other abilities can also defend against psychic attacks without risking getting destroyed. The Lightning Hammer can knock down foes, steal a single spell point, and bring down the thunder to cast the Lightning spell. That magical weapon is flavorful, interesting, useful, and a great addition to the game.
Designing a dungeon gives advice on dungeon design and how to work with your players to create a great adventure. This information may seem basic, like incorporating PC goals into adventure design, but can really help new GMs and remind experienced hands of important tenants of GMing. Solid work.
The adventure is a three level dungeon against goblins with a nice twist on who the actual foe is. It is a perfect example of what the preceding six chapters were leading up. This dungeon is big and GMs might choose to connect it to the Deep Realm. This adventure is a winner for GMs wanting to challenge their table with a good well-thought out dungeon.
This book wraps up with a few new monsters and Followers, Strangers, and Rewards that can be found in a dungeon. The monsters include a decent variety and I particularly like the Special Ability of Unstoppable Fury which increases the number of attacks as Life decreases.
This book expands the setting and rules of Talisman Adventures going both more in depth and creating new options as well. The theme of dungeons is followed throughout the book, both building on concepts in the core rules as well as connecting different sections in this new book. Tales of the Dungeon provides strong design, interesting setting details, and a useful addition and deepening of the core rules, not just more options. This book is one I’ve been waiting for and I can’t wait for it to debut in print. If you enjoy Talisman Adventures you will want Tales of the Dungeon.
My thanks to Pegasus Spiele for sending me the PDF to review. As with the core rulebook, this book is full color with excellent dark fairy tale coupled with dirty deadly dungeon art and a user friendly layout.
Famous dungeons of the Realms include a description along with a story seed, a dozen in all. For example, a GM can use the Deep Realms as an option for PCs to use to get to some truly hard to reach location in the Realms. The Deep Realms connect all the various dungeons but time and distance are warped. So sometimes is much quicker to travel the dangerous halls to get somewhere far distant and/or inaccessible.
Minotaurs and vampires are new ancestries and tomb robber and necromancer are new classes. Vampires can turn into bats and they do have to drink blood or lose Life. Tomb robbers can not only disarm traps but also create them, a handy ability which pairs well with the additional rules for traps. The connection between a new class and the new trap rules shows both great game design and editing. These are not just random new rules. They tie thematically to dungeons and work with the other new rules in the book.
GMs get new Strangers like a fugitive fiend who seeks to bargain with Neutral or Evil PCs for gold, Life, and Fate. A lantern sprite brings a bit of chaos and could bring a new item to PCs or lead them into combat. Followers get a new option called Curse. For example, the Hag (an old hated favorite from the board game) can force Followers to desert a PC until they visit the Mystic in Villedoc. This Follower directly catapults PCs to take on a quest to travel to Villedoc. It is also a great homage to the board game. Many of the Followers don’t have a Curse. The Porter for example will carry gear or a torch and even makes meals. And is also another homage.
The next three chapters are all about dungeons with the final seventh chapter an adventure in a dungeon. There are new exploration rules used when exploring large dungeons. The role of Guide from the wilderness rules in the core book are expanded to work underground. The roles of Watcher and Hunter also get additional details.
Traps also get a large update and expansion. These details make sense in a book about dungeons and include nearly 30 trap examples. Hazards also get an expansion with 10 new options including the blood stained stalagfrights and the pit of bones. These traps and hazards are frightening, dangerous, and challenging.
An entire chapter covers new gear, weapons, and armor. A character can now wear brigandine and wield a zweihander. There are also several new magic items like the Shield of Faith which in addition to other abilities can also defend against psychic attacks without risking getting destroyed. The Lightning Hammer can knock down foes, steal a single spell point, and bring down the thunder to cast the Lightning spell. That magical weapon is flavorful, interesting, useful, and a great addition to the game.
Designing a dungeon gives advice on dungeon design and how to work with your players to create a great adventure. This information may seem basic, like incorporating PC goals into adventure design, but can really help new GMs and remind experienced hands of important tenants of GMing. Solid work.
The adventure is a three level dungeon against goblins with a nice twist on who the actual foe is. It is a perfect example of what the preceding six chapters were leading up. This dungeon is big and GMs might choose to connect it to the Deep Realm. This adventure is a winner for GMs wanting to challenge their table with a good well-thought out dungeon.
This book wraps up with a few new monsters and Followers, Strangers, and Rewards that can be found in a dungeon. The monsters include a decent variety and I particularly like the Special Ability of Unstoppable Fury which increases the number of attacks as Life decreases.
This book expands the setting and rules of Talisman Adventures going both more in depth and creating new options as well. The theme of dungeons is followed throughout the book, both building on concepts in the core rules as well as connecting different sections in this new book. Tales of the Dungeon provides strong design, interesting setting details, and a useful addition and deepening of the core rules, not just more options. This book is one I’ve been waiting for and I can’t wait for it to debut in print. If you enjoy Talisman Adventures you will want Tales of the Dungeon.
