So this is what I use in games of Talisman with my group, thought I'd share it and see what other talisman fans think.

The original static points system didn't make sense to me from a character progression perspective or from a pacing perspective.

The pacing always seemed to be a little too slow at the outset, and completely out of whack by the endgame. The lategame situation where a player draws a monster/spirit card, doesn't even need to roll to defeat it, and automatically hoovers up a new point of craft or strength was dull for the player and duller for everyone watching.

At the moment I'm trying out a system a little more in line with something like D&d. Everyone starts at level 1. To progress to the next level, you must accumulate that number of trophy points - ie, 2, then 3, then 4, then 5.

Players will find themselves gaining the first 5 or 6 levels quite quickly, making for a pacey introduction to the game. However, when you are getting to level 10+, suddenly hoovering up creatures isn't the most cost-effective way of building a character up to take the crown of command - you'll have to look for alternative solutions, and forcing PvP encounters for juicy +2 stat items suddenly becomes much more attractive.

It also helps to level the playing field a little, preventing players from completely running away with the lead and leaving everyone else envious in the dust.

We use the standard rules but with one caveat: if a character is 6 or more points above an Enemy before battle or psychic combat takes place, then the Enemy cannot be taken as a trophy and must be discarded instead.

One way to scale is to use triangular numbers based on your current stat. Hence to go from STR 3 to STR 4 would cost 1+2+3= 6 STR, whereas to go from CRA 6 to CRA 7 would cost 1+2+3+4+5+6 = 21 CRA.

We tend to play the same way as James, you need one more than your current stat level so the start of the game is faster (useful with kids as you feel your getting somewhere quicker though it gives them the false idea they can start tackling the Portal of Power and such)