With the recent announcement of a new expansion coming our way, my thoughts turned back to...what next? I guess I just can't imagine a future without a city expansion, and I'm sure that it will be beyond even anything I could come up with. Having said that, I am hopeful that it combines the best elements from the 2 preceeding City Expansions, such as the City Laws from the 2nd Ed. I'd like to see these printed on their own cards (similar to the Warlock Quests) so that each player could collect one upon entering the city, a separate Law Enforcement Card Deck (with 'The Coast is Clear' cards, City Patrols of varying strengths, maybe even a Corrupt Sheriff or 2). and maybe even a 'Lookout' follower that would allow you to always know the top card in the LECD. With that, I'd expect to see a return of the Stables, where you leave your horse/warhorse/horse & cart/etc while in the City. Also, bring back Warrants! They were very cool!

I'm sure I am not alone in hoping for Master-level Characters (High Mage/King's Champion/etc), but maybe there's room for a Bounty Hunter MLC? A character that can execute warrants outside the City has inrigued me for some time! Of course, there would have to be new weapons available to purchase, such as Great Swords/Battle Axes/Bows & Arrows, maybe even a Mace (for the High Priest/Monk/Cleric?).

Some places that I hope make the cut include...Town Square, The Stables, The (original) Donjon, The Docks. I had a great idea for the Docks too, before you board a boat to the destination of your choice along the Storm River, you should roll a dice to see if you get mugged of all your gold and left on the docks to 'sleep' it off, or stowaway to earn free passage, or sign on as a deckhand and earn gold on your way to your destination. I have more ideas, but I'll the City talk there for now!

After that, I would love to see a half-forest/half-village board for the 4th corner! That would make me happy...

Talisman fans are great! Always thinking ahead.

I like the notion of the half and half Forest plus Village.... but I don't hold out a lot of hope.

Okay, so I might be a wide-eyed optimist, but I actually believe that the powers that be @FFG actually read these forums and take note of good ideas! I think that a half-forest, half-village board is a good idea, and is worth some serious thought.

I think that the Village has been long overdue for an expansion, but there's no way it warrants a board equal in size to the (as yet unannounced) City...and what better place to locate a village than next to a forest? There could be 2 entry points, one for the Forest (the Forest square obviously) and one for the Village (take a wild guess where the Village entry point should be)...but there could also be a back gate out of the Village into the half-way point of the Forest. I actually think the 3rd Ed Forest expansion was too big anyway - so this is a workable solution!

There are plenty of characters that would suit this expansion too...I have even designed a couple (including a Blacksmith - though he was better suited to the 3rd Ed as he could repair broken weapons).

Maybe if Mr Goodenough thinks it is good enough, he might give me an advance copy of it too...though that might be the wide-eyed optimist coming out in me again!

Thank you kind sir! Love your website btw! (AND I'm hanging out for another competition...)

Me I'm eagerly awaiting the half City / half Timescape expansion. I'm only kidding - I actually think the half Village half Forest is a neat idea.

The City and forest I never actually liked thematically. The Dungeon and Highland (and even Timesacpe) boards are extra regions outside the main board, whereas City and Forest are blow-ups of spaces already present within the outer region. I prefer the former to the latter, so I won't be sad if none of the corner boards are the City. Likewise I hope the Forest is named something different, so that it's an extension of the Forest space and not a zoom-in.

As for when we'll get the City, I have the impression that a lot of people we're never fully pleased with the City expansion from 2nd or 3rd. Lacking a quality bases from a past edition, the City could end up being the most difficult board for FFG to make. If this is indeed the case, they might be wise leave this expansion till the last - that way they have more time to win over the fans of old editions before potentially producing a potential disapointment.

I must admit, the city expansion for the older editions of the game were the least frequented by the players in our group. It didn't have the pizzaz that the Dungeon or Timescape had, where exciting and mysterious things would happen to the characters who went in them. In the city, the events and outcomes seemed too prosaic for a fantasy boardgame. If FFG does a city board expansion like the Dungeon or the Highland expansions, I hope they introduce more fantastical elements rather than making it too true to the form and function of a medieval city. Master-level character templates are OK, but there has to be more than one reason for players (and characters) to spend their time on the expansion board instead of the main board.

crimhead said:

Back in the days of yesteryear, my gaming group never really warmed-up to the City expansion in 2E. It just seemed that the designers were trying much too hard to make it "realistic" at the expense of making it "fun". That was a shame, as we weren't looking for a simulation we were here for a game! We found it took too much time to accomplish anything interesting within the City, such that characters who tried to do so were actually at a net loss of time & experience while everyone else was bashing the hell out of enemy monsters (and one another!) on the other boards.

Roughly speaking, for every 6 characters in our group that went thru the Dungeon during a gaming session, perhaps 4 would chance the Timescape and (at best) 2 would venture into the City if it was being used. As a result, we never used the Master-level characters very often. That was a good thing for us, as we found the 2E implementation of the High Mage to be too imbalanced for our taste at the time.

Should FFG decide to create a City for 4ER, I pray that they don't sprain themselves in the effort to make it drably realistic. Spice it up and make it fun, I beg you! This isn't meant to be a grim medieval elegy to some Minas Tirith knock-off. It's supposed to be enjoyable, surprising, rewarding, reasonably fast & free of needless obstacles to fun.

If the present planning for a possible 4ER City expansion is for something very close to the older versions, I'd just as soon hope that FFG cease forthwith and concentrate instead on a newer version of the Timescape. Yes, I'm serious!