Somewhere in one of these threads someone suggested the idea of having restrictions on when/how players can enter the big map expansions. I'm too lazy to find the post, so I'm just going to start a thread. I'm sure someone will dig it up.

The basic gist is that characters cannot enter the big map expansions until something happens that draws them into it. Of course, how you can get into the Highlands and the Dungeon is different from how you can get into the City and the Woodlands, but I think it can still be done. Here's what I've been kicking around in my noggin the last couple of days:

• Dungeon: you cannot enter until your character encounters either a Trap Door or a Dungeon Door or loses a battle with a Burrow Worm. Once you find your way in then you can freely pass in and out through the Ruins.
• Highland: you cannot enter until your character encounters either a Landslide or a Highland Trail or gets teleported through the Magic Gateway.
• City: you cannot enter until your character encounters one of the NPCs on the City space on the main game board. Starting on the City space doesn't count. (That is, you must travel back to the City and encounter something before you can enter.) Also, all shops in the City map are closed at night. [As I've typed this and thought about it some more, I think a gold minimum might be better for entrance to the City. You must have at least 6 gold. (This keeps the Alchemist from running right into the City.)]
• Woodland: you cannot enter until your character lands on the Forest and rolls a 5 or a 6. (There's got to be some challenge to it, so a 4 just isn't good enough.)

There are other unusual ways of getting in, but they typically require another character to already be in the expansion to trigger a chain of card draws that would permit an outsider to come in. For example, if someone is already in the Highland and draws a Rune Gate, another character could pass through another Rune Gate to get there. Or if someone in the City draws Traveling Bazaar and Shortcut moves to the main Adventure Deck, then someone else could get in.

I've just noticed anymore that players just make a bee line right for the extra maps. I'd like to see the main game board get played a bit more, thus making it a bit more challenging to build up a character rather than running for the easy stuff. You should have to work for it.

What do you think?

We played like this a couple times, we did it where things like Dark Denizens and Eerie Vanguard would open the board in addition to the dungeon door etc, and the city would open once a character was forced to move to the city by a card or space. We didn't open the woodland until drawing a woodland specific card, like faerie trod. It was fun.

Somewhere in one of these threads someone suggested the idea of having restrictions on when/how players can enter the big map expansions. I'm too lazy to find the post, so I'm just going to start a thread. I'm sure someone will dig it up.

Definitely more than one person. I recommended it, but I also remember reading someone else recommended it as well. An idea that seems to be getting popular lately.

Dungeon: you cannot enter until your character encounters either a Trap Door or a Dungeon Door or loses a battle with a Burrow Worm. Once you find your way in then you can freely pass in and out through the Ruins.

Highland: you cannot enter until your character encounters either a Landslide or a Highland Trail or gets teleported through the Magic Gateway.

Potential problem with those two is they are entirely deck dependant. Meaning that if you play with all/most expansions and have 500+ cards in the deck, chances of going to the dungeon or highland are loooow.

I've just noticed anymore that players just make a bee line right for the extra maps. I'd like to see the main game board get played a bit more, thus making it a bit more challenging to build up a character rather than running for the easy stuff. You should have to work for it.

Same here. Additional benefit with this approach would be alchemist no longer broken.

What do you think?

Good idea, but you have to make sure the odds of getting access to corner boards aren't too low or too high.

I play the same way, but in my game to get to corner boards you have to encounter a specific denizen (from Cataclysm). I made four new ones and replaced some strange random ones that didn't serve any purpose anyway.

Somewhere in one of these threads someone suggested the idea of having restrictions on when/how players can enter the big map expansions. I'm too lazy to find the post, so I'm just going to start a thread. I'm sure someone will dig it up.

Definitely more than one person. I recommended it, but I also remember reading someone else recommended it as well. An idea that seems to be getting popular lately.

Dungeon: you cannot enter until your character encounters either a Trap Door or a Dungeon Door or loses a battle with a Burrow Worm. Once you find your way in then you can freely pass in and out through the Ruins.

Highland: you cannot enter until your character encounters either a Landslide or a Highland Trail or gets teleported through the Magic Gateway.

Potential problem with those two is they are entirely deck dependant. Meaning that if you play with all/most expansions and have 500+ cards in the deck, chances of going to the dungeon or highland are loooow.

I've just noticed anymore that players just make a bee line right for the extra maps. I'd like to see the main game board get played a bit more, thus making it a bit more challenging to build up a character rather than running for the easy stuff. You should have to work for it.

Same here. Additional benefit with this approach would be alchemist no longer broken.

What do you think?

Good idea, but you have to make sure the odds of getting access to corner boards aren't too low or too high.

I play the same way, but in my game to get to corner boards you have to encounter a specific denizen (from Cataclysm). I made four new ones and replaced some strange random ones that didn't serve any purpose anyway.

Everything in Talisman is dependent upon the draw of the cards. I experimented with this system in a local game tonight, and Mountain Trail appeared in the second round. Trap Door appeared in about the 10th round.

But what also happened is characters died faster. There was more interaction, and as a result there were faster deaths.

I'm not so concerned about the odds. The potential is there, and if more Adventure Deck cards are being drawn, we'll get to them eventually. Or someone will win the game. That's the way the story goes sometimes.

If the point is to space out the introduction of expansions, there are other ways, like open a random expansion when some predetermined milestone is met, such as when a character gains a total of ten strength and craft, or open the city once someone gets 5 gold, or set a timer, lot of ways to do it.

If the point is to space out the introduction of expansions, there are other ways, like open a random expansion when some predetermined milestone is met, such as when a character gains a total of ten strength and craft, or open the city once someone gets 5 gold, or set a timer, lot of ways to do it.

The drawback to this solution is there's another thing to remember. Doesn't sound like a problem but in actual game with so much going on people forget little things constantly.

I'm not so concerned about the odds. The potential is there, and if more Adventure Deck cards are being drawn, we'll get to them eventually. Or someone will win the game. That's the way the story goes sometimes.

If that works for your group, you should go with it - other than odds I see no problems with it.

I like the sound of locking them until later in the game. For 3 of the 4 corner boards, things like the Dungeon Door, Landslide, Fairie Trod etc. opening them works, but I think having alternatives to going inside without those specific card draws could be nice as well.

For the Highlands and Woodlands, rolling a 6 on the Crags/Forest respectively could allow a player to travel to those boards on their next turn. For the Dungeon, add a caveat that if a player defeats an Enemy or Enemies with Strength or Craft 6 or greater in a combat at the Ruins can go to the Dungeon on the next turn.

The City presents the problem that it hasn't any Adventure cards to trigger entrance, plus it is a Region that makes certain characters a bit too strong in the early going. If the City is locked off from entry like the other corner Regions, then the only way to gain entrance should be to bribe the guards at the gate with 5 Gold. Pay to play, so to speak. The other way in would be the Deep Realms, if the Dungeon has already been accessed.

If you are playing with all expansions simultaneously, the Dragon and Harbinger expansions can make life rather difficult when you have nowhere to run, so those should only unlock in time as well. As Oberon has suggested before in other threads, only start drawing Dragon Scales once a Dragon has been drawn and placed on a board, to delay their appearance.

The Harbinger is trickier, but here is a list of Events I've compiled that could trigger an Omen Stack and introduce the Harbinger NPC. Once triggered, that is the Omen Set used for the duration of the game.

Armageddon - Pestilence, Prophesy, Fate Bound, Fallen Angel, Fright Night, Eruption

The Rise of the Dead - Evil Darkness, The Gathering, Howl of the Wendigo, Discordant Dirge, Restless Dead (Blood Moon), Flame Rift

Shattered World - Storm, Earthquake, Ragnarok, Moon Mist, Emerging Volcano, Apocalypse Storm

Stars Align - Magical Vortex, Astral Conjunction, Ymir's Glow, Witching Hour, Magma Storm, Dead Magic

The City presents the problem that it hasn't any Adventure cards to trigger entrance, plus it is a Region that makes certain characters a bit too strong in the early going. If the City is locked off from entry like the other corner Regions, then the only way to gain entrance should be to bribe the guards at the gate with 5 Gold. Pay to play, so to speak.

I had this same idea. Pay 5g to get in.

I also had the idea that if Dark Denizens is in play (for two rounds you draw from the Dungeon deck) then you may freely enter the Dungeon.

So also, if Eyrie Vanguard (three Highland cards to the Adventure deck) is in play then you may freely enter the Highlands.

There are little tweaks that can be done to this system, but I think it is definitely going to go into play for my games.

I toyed with the idea of having two Denizens in the deck that sell maps(trinkets) to the corner regions drawn at random.

Each denizen would sell these maps and you would draw one at random from the deck of 10 cards, 2 for each region and 2 false maps. People could steal them and all that good business.

The false maps would cause you to lose a turn.

The Harbinger is trickier, but here is a list of Events I've compiled that could trigger an Omen Stack and introduce the Harbinger NPC. Once triggered, that is the Omen Set used for the duration of the game.

Armageddon - Pestilence, Prophesy, Fate Bound, Fallen Angel, Fright Night, Eruption

The Rise of the Dead - Evil Darkness, The Gathering, Howl of the Wendigo, Discordant Dirge, Restless Dead (Blood Moon), Flame Rift

Shattered World - Storm, Earthquake, Ragnarok, Moon Mist, Emerging Volcano, Apocalypse Storm

Stars Align - Magical Vortex, Astral Conjunction, Ymir's Glow, Witching Hour, Magma Storm, Dead Magic

Yeah, good luck remembering that. Even if you write it down.