@talismanisland, @Lorinor

Very true. I suppose I was exaggerating a bit in lieu of all players who play this game, however in regards to our gaming sessions, it has been the case that particular player(s) did not have enough time to catch up due to a critical component of the game gone missing. My only gripe with that is Talisman to me is usually a very close game, where everyone generally gets close to the same power level around the same time and its a mad dash to the Crown of Command with only one player being completely left out due to lack of power, this versus your typical Monopoly or RISK setup where one player dominates and the rest of the game the other players just roll dice knowing the game is basically already over for them... I don't care too much for the latter style of play, but this is what happened to our gaming group twice due to terrains so, "game-ender" is a relevant term I suppose. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy them, and they helped me win both of those times I mentioned , however I feel they could be balanced better is all I'm saying. Time will tell.

@talismanisland, @Lorinor

Very true. I suppose I was exaggerating a bit in lieu of all players who play this game, however in regards to our gaming sessions, it has been the case that particular player(s) did not have enough time to catch up due to a critical component of the game gone missing. My only gripe with that is Talisman to me is usually a very close game, where everyone generally gets close to the same power level around the same time and its a mad dash to the Crown of Command with only one player being completely left out due to lack of power, this versus your typical Monopoly or RISK setup where one player dominates and the rest of the game the other players just roll dice knowing the game is basically already over for them... I don't care too much for the latter style of play, but this is what happened to our gaming group twice due to terrains so, "game-ender" is a relevant term I suppose. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy them, and they helped me win both of those times I mentioned , however I feel they could be balanced better is all I'm saying. Time will tell.

Do you have the option of keeping the board on the table as it is? - If yes, you could gain more time by continuing the game at a later date.

Also, if you don't mind writing down a crap ton of information, you could set the board up as it was the next time.

Other than that, I don't want to criticize any player without knowing all the details, but I'm having a hard time thinking of a situation with kind of no outs to do something else to progress further, even if it's not the fastest way...

Sometimes Talisman just litters your way with traps (bad stuff) to step into and at the same time another player is taking a walk in the park,

but if you want to press on (/win), your only option is to deal with it (or die trying).

I think getting Cursed by the Hag is gonna suck real bad now, since the Village Mystic will only be available sometimes. Good times

I think getting Cursed by the Hag is gonna suck real bad now, since the Village Mystic will only be available sometimes. Good times

...or the one who doesn't let you use fate before visiting the enchantress. And they might not even be in their usual place either if I understand everything correctly.

Don't know if it matters but Amazon has been saying Mar 31, now it says apr 14 :/

This is not correct! Amazon says nothing!

The information is coming from collecTOYbles , offering The Catalysm on amazon.com.

I have put the Cataclysm in my saved searches for ebay and nothing so far (except an overseas pre-order which is expensive for a UK player like me).

Also had a read of the rulebook.

Seems like I'll have to throw in a house rule or two for an all expansions sesh.

At the mo, it's using the original board and replacing it with the Cataclysm board when the last Harbinger omen has been discarded.

I am curious how we (2 player games) will use this. This would possibly be the first time that an expansion (Harbinger) would not be used, since -

We've hardly played since H came out; my wife can't stand it. She is too fussy of a player; She even hates it more than Dragons, which we finally house - ruled to her pleasure.

Haven't figured out to make H more palatable to her.

We tried: Giving each of us a Riding Horse to start, so (mostly she) can get out of the region that H appeared in. We may try placing rune gates in each region too to help with the ummm, escape route (they don't discard after use, only when another rune gate is drawn in the same region).

We also will try 'delaying' the H by having an arbitrary event or card having to show, first, before H's mechanic starts: Designate a certain card(s) that must play, before H is activated; we chose Harbinger Wraith from Deep Realms and Harbinger of Flames from Firelands.

Does anyone have any ideas for me? (I know, find a less sissy-like player, lol)

The Harbinger is tough. That little expansion is a total lube-free butt-****** experience..... In all my Talismaning years it is the first expansion that anyone groans at being included; although we all stick to our guns and go all-in! With this expansion it has been common for us to be on our 3rd or 4th character by games end. But then again we all play in an evil manner.....attacking and killing each other. We have 2 players that really never play to win....they play "death match" running around trying to kill other players. This is commonplace in our groups whether role-playing or gaming....kill or be killed trying. I really need to reevaluate my circle of friends. :-)

I have to agree with your wife on this one; you two seem to have fun going on quests in two-player affairs so I would just leave it out except for special occasions.

We also will try 'delaying' the H by having an arbitrary event or card having to show, first, before H's mechanic starts: Designate a certain card(s) that must play, before H is activated; we chose Harbinger Wraith from Deep Realms and Harbinger of Flames from Firelands.

Does anyone have any ideas for me? (I know, find a less sissy-like player, lol)

I like this idea. Also, if you play Blood Moon, what about making Events trigger the H only if they also flip the time card to either day or night? That would theoretically cut down on half of the events triggering...

You could also maybe limit the Harbinger being activated on Events drawn only from the main Adventure Deck? You *might* occasionally get the Harbinger in one of the regions (if AD cards get put in a a region deck or if some other activity triggers a card being drawn from the AD instead of your region deck), but that doesn't happen all that often.

Or it only triggers if a Fireland token is in play? Or only if no one has an active Warlock Quest?

Just seen a UK seller offering the Cataclysm on ebay.

Not bought it since the official website says "Not yet released".

Think I'll wait.

Just ordered my copy from Games Lore, it's listed under new releases (11th April)

Oberon,

Maybe try giving the Harbinger a more localized effect.

He appears on the board as normal, but you only have to draw from the Harbinger deck if you are within 3-4 spaces of him (on either side).

The rest of the region is unaffected.

Or - when the Harbinger is in the region - roll the dice and you only draw a Harbinger card on a roll of 1-2 (or whatever). Otherwise, draw from the Adventure Deck as normal.

You should be able to find a way dilute the Harbinger's impact while still including him in the game.

In our games, we include the Harbinger himself, but don't use the Omens etc.

We've hardly played since H came out; my wife can't stand it. She is too fussy of a player; She even hates it more than Dragons, which we finally house - ruled to her pleasure.

I agree with your wife's perspective, buddy, Harbinger played with the Omens Dynamic and him scooting around the regions is a big exercise in 'Get Rekt'. I could only tolerate him as an expansion by making him a stranger card that replaces all cards drawn with harbinger deck cards, added to all decks at a ratio I worked out (which meant printing a lot of homebrew cards). The Omens I just don't play, they break the game (meaning about a quarter of harbinger deck has to be placed aside). Worst Expansion ever.

My plans for Cataclysm is to reintroduce the Omens as a trigger for replacing the main board and wipe all cards from it once it hits. But I haven't yet seen everything in the pack and don't know when my pre-order's coming. So my mods are gonna have to wait until I see the playing experience untampered with.

OMG OMG, I will get mine on Monday! :-D

I thank you all for the great ideas and encouragement/agreement. Bowlwoman and Triple A's ideas will definitely get a test run. Thanks again.

OMG OMG, I will get mine on Monday! :-D

#jellus.

Jack who did you order from

Now ordered my copy on ebay.

Should get this some time over the next 7 days.

There is a Timescape reference in the Cataclysm rules.

...and finally!

http://www.talismanisland.com/?p=6611

It's finally available from Amazon, prime shipping and ships out Apr 14 so will have it by the 16th!

Just got my copy

Question - I own EVERYTHING Talisman - but with this one - do we just shuffle in the spell deck and the 104 adventure cards to the 47 adventure cards in Cataclysm? or just use the 47 new cards?

Confused.

Hi Zombiekhan, I received my copy today also and myself and my wife were wondering the same thing. We proceeded to mix the spell and adventure cards with the Base games only as we wanted to keep it themed to The Cataclysm cards. It worked perfectly.

I noticed in the rules that there is specific mention made of being able to visit the Village Mistic Denizen card in order to discard the Hag. This would seem to confirm that you are supposed to mix the adventure cards together.

Really enjoyed our first game and love the mechanics of this excellent new expansion.

yeah took all the basic cards out and mixed in the new cards and playing it like that now

Now got my own copy.

Having a look, I think I'll keep this as a stand-alone rather than keeping it mixed in with the other expansions in terms of storage.

Will keep the character and alternate endings with the others.

One thing I noticed is the Portal of Power space where you add 2 to your dice rolls if you have an unfulfilled Warlock Quest.

Sort of resolves the terrained Warlock Cave conundrum, or any Warlock Quests impossible to fulfill (which once happened during a core game only sesh), as I reckon this would be a good house rule.

Would one of you be a dear and post the Barbarian or upload a pic?

As for the board, could someone list all the differences of the spaces compared to the "old" main board?

Thanks in advance.