Sense of humor in Talisman
Philosopher is the no-sense character of the game. Let me explain:

Philosopher has a great ability: he uses the philosophy to change the essence of things (faceup adventure cards on the board) in other totally different things (cards from adventure deck).

“Whenever you land on faceup Adventure Cards, you may discard one card of your choice that you do not wish to encounter and draw another card to replace it, which you must encounter.”

Try to imagine it: “Oh, a Demon here, no no. Actually I suppose blablabla… - draws a new card- …. So, you’re a beautiful Maiden, like I said.”

WHAT ABOUT INNER REGION?
Think about this:
Philosopher encounters Hermit in the Crypt:
“No no, you aren’t a Hermit, you are a…… Siren”
Now, in the inner region there isn’t water! Poor Siren!!!

A character leaves an useless Helmet in the Plan of Peril:
“No no, this is not a Helmet, this is a….. Carnival! Yeah!”
And now there is a happy Carnival that goes around with werewolves and vampires! OF COURSE!

Same thing in the space with DEATH himself.
“No no, this is not a Sword, this is a..… Market”
Hello Reaper, we thought this was a great place for our business.

Maybe Philosopher deserves a House rule XD: he can’t use this ability in the inner region XD
t's No-Sense, I love it.

the philosopher class is a clear example of a gamedesigner going "i have this cool mechanic i thought of, i wanna design a character that has it. Uh nothing comes to mind fuxk it ill just call him the philosopher" as such this is the best approach. mechanics should be the starting point flavor is just, well, flavor, and if you start with a character idea you often end up with mechanics that are too strong/weak or dont make sense/are overly complicated...but sometimes you cant help thinking that a few more minutes could have been spent on the flavor.

im not too bothered with it. i mean in talisman a magic ring weighs the same as a suit of armor and 4 goblins can kill a dragon. realism was not, thankfully a big concern when making the game. usually part of the fun of the game comes from interpreting the absurd encounters, certainly dont see why it'd be more absurd for the philoopher to think away things in the inner region than the outer. Dont overthink it, just enjoy the absurdity of the ability

You bring up a funny point about the Philosopher in the Inner Region!

Consider this: Purchase, etc. cards count as Adventure Cards when they are on the board. The Philosopher's ability works on face-up Adventure Cards. So this means if you encounter a Sword from the Purchase deck you can discard it and draw an Adventure Card to replace it.

Now consider this: the Adventure deck of the Inner Region is technically the same one as the Outer and Middle, even though cards are rarely drawn from it. (Example: cast Divination in the Inner Region).

Put the two together: someone ditches objects or followers in the Inner Region (or encounters the Hermit like you said) and the Philosopher replaces it with an Adventure Card.

oooh... how about this tactic? Philosopher goes to Crypt. Ditches his Sword. Turns back to Plain of Peril. Casts Divination. Sees Demon is next. Goes to Crypt. Replaces Sword with Demon. Loses psychic combat, but now other characters need Strength (dice) and Craft (Demon) to pass the Crypt. I think this is legit! lol

oooh... how about this tactic? Philosopher goes to Crypt. Ditches his Sword. Turns back to Plain of Peril. Casts Divination. Sees Demon is next. Goes to Crypt. Replaces Sword with Demon. Loses psychic combat, but now other characters need Strength (dice) and Craft (Demon) to pass the Crypt. I think this is legit! lol

Oh my God!! What happens if I lost against the demon? My turn ends and I don't encounter the crypt. What happens in the next turn?

a) I encounter the demon and then the crypt

b) I move in the Dice with Death

oooh... how about this tactic? Philosopher goes to Crypt. Ditches his Sword. Turns back to Plain of Peril. Casts Divination. Sees Demon is next. Goes to Crypt. Replaces Sword with Demon. Loses psychic combat, but now other characters need Strength (dice) and Craft (Demon) to pass the Crypt. I think this is legit! lol

Oh my God!! What happens if I lost against the demon? My turn ends and I don't encounter the crypt. What happens in the next turn?

a) I encounter the demon and then the crypt

b) I move in the Dice with Death

The Rules state:

The encounter instructions on each space in the Inner Region must be completed before a character can move on toward the Crown of Command.

So, if you lose against the demon, on your following turn you can either encounter the demon again and hope you win or your could turn back, which is always allowed in the Inner Region except for the Crown of Command space.

Personally I think the Conjurer has the most fantastic ability of moving cards to her space. That Fountain of Wisdom way over there on the other side of the board on the same space as a dragon....well it dries up over there and is now over here! That Unicorn that was ditched when someone became a toad....mine now! And likely on their next turn they can loot that Toadified spot again. I was about to write that this would be especially powerful when forced to draw from the Harbinger deck, but since Harbinger cards are not considered Adventure cards until they are on the board, she could not use her ability in this case.

Did we figure out if the Philosopher is a guy or a girl yet?

Did we figure out if the Philosopher is a guy or a girl yet?

Girl. If it were a guy, it would be a Philosophim.

(Seriously, though, I think it's male. But what about the Warlord? I know ... male ... if not it would be a Warlady ... but the art looks like it has breasts).

Pretty sure the warlord is a chick.

Serious though, what gender is the Philosopher

Philosopher: Male

Warlord: Pat

Philosopher: Male

Warlord: Pat

lol

I like the art for the Warlord. It's also an underestimated character, because people always (think they) want the gladiator instead.

But i'm pretty sure the warlord is a woman. An angry woman, but a woman none the less.

Philosopher: Pat.

Here's what makes the Warlord even more difficult: the model. Look at the card art, yep, looks female. Now go look at the model.

Pretty much the same as the art, pigtails and all. Except now the face is more masculine! The boobs are squashed by the breastplate, same as in the art.

Also of note, the philosopher looks more like a guy ala the miniature, but more like a gal in the art. "Women's hairdo, minor boobies."