THE CITY – MASTER LEVEL CHARACTERS

Rules... predominantly 2E unless stated elsewhere.

Warrants

If you possessed a Warrant whenever you encountered a Law card you had to fight them or be Arrested. Once arrested you were sent to the Donjon. Players could also be sent to the Donjon instead of taking a Life or an Object. To get rid of a warrant the Bribery or Judgement Donjon needed to be used. If a player escaped he maintained the Warrant. Furthermore players could stitch one another up by buying Warrants for their rivals at a cost of 1G

The Law

If a player broke the Law he had to draw a City card. If it was a Law they tried to arrest him. A pretty neat mechanic. What wasn’t so tidy was the application of the Law. The law triggered whenever you were involved in a Combat, when you cast a Spell, when you used many special abilities (e.g. Steal, Beguile)... so far, so good, although you could argue that if a player didn’t choose to initiate a combat they shouldn’t have to draw a card. It’s not like the player chose to be attacked by a Giant Fly, nor is it likely that the Fly would press charges. However, the law also kicked in if you were one of several characters (Orc, Hobgoblin, Ghoul, Troll, Cyborg or Warrior of Chaos) or if you possessed no Gold! This could end up with a player drawing and discarding City Cards every turn.

In 3E the Law always tried to arrest you, but there were only a couple of Law encounters and the Gaol was a lot easier to escape from.

Loans

Loans immediately provided 3G, but if the player left the City without repaying 4G they were turned into a Toad. Quite why anybody other than the High Mage would take up this offer was unstated. I guess

Horses

Horses could not fit inside shops and had to be left outside of them. Leaving them outside left them as particularly nice targets for other players...

Master Level Characters 2E

MASTER THIEF
Neutral
+1 Craft, +1 Life

Don’t need to draw City Cards in the Streets
Roll d6 every turn. 1-2 Gain a Warrant, 3-5 No effect, 6: Lose a Warrant
Roll d6 every turn. 1: +2G, 2: +1G 3-5 No effect, 6: -1G
If the Master Thief is drawn again you must teleport straight to where he is drawn and challenge him once more.
If another character beats you in combat they may take this card.
If you encounter the Judge, discard all your gold and move to the Castle.
You may steal one object or Gold from any character you land on.
+1 when Stealing from the Bank.
You may steal from any location offering goods. 1-4: successful take one item, 5-6 unsuccessful lose 1 life.
You may not resign.

Verdict: So I just got to the Crown of Command. Do I really give a **** that another thief has muscled onto my patch? Couldn’t I just zap with him with a Lightning Bolt. Throw in the horrendous book-keeping – and then add the fact that I’ve just taken away the principal ability that makes the Thief special....

SHERIFF
Good, Start = Castle
+2 Strength

You may healed free of charge at the Castle.
You may not receive Warrants. You automatically evade any law encounters.
You may take the Instructor as a follower. He will give you +1 in Combat.
You may move to any square in the City without rolling a die.
The Man At Arms will become your follower if he is within three spaces of you.
You get a 1G discount to any Sword, Armour, Helmet or Shield you purchase whilst in the City.
You may not resign.

Verdict: Pretty Balanced. The Instructor and Man-At-Arms abilities are pretty scarce.

HIGH MAGE
Neutral, Start = Magic Shoppe
+2 Craft

You always have at least two spells.
You may move one Spirit to an adjacent space each turn.
You may never become a Toad.
The Enchanter, Mage or Magician become your followers if you encounter them. Each adds one to your Craft.
You may never wear a Helmet or use Armour.
If a Spell is cast on you roll a die. 1: reflected upon caster, 2: No effect, 3: no effect and you can take it if you want. 4-5 Normal Effect, 6: Additional effect, lose 1 Life.
You may not resign.

Verdict: The pseudo spell immunity effect (do you really want to cast a spell on me when there’s a half chance it won’t work?) is overpowered. Moving Spirits seems unjustified – it’s not like you’re a High Priest. Toad Immunity is nice but exploitative with Bank Loans. 3G from a Bank Loan is almost enough for a Kite Shield – and that isn’t prohibited and provides the same protection as Armour. Also the mechanism for becoming a High Mage (discard a Magic Object) allows the Troll to become the High Mage at Craft 1. Even with the bonus Craft he can never hold the two spells which his job entitles him to.

KING’S CHAMPION
Good
+1 Strength, +1 Craft

You are immune to Alignment Change.
You may be healed free of charge at the Castle.
The Prince and Princess will become your follower if within 3 spaces. You cannot exchange them for Gold.
May take the following as a follower. Each gives you +1 in Combat: Man At Arms, Mercenary, Champion, Archer. If you have all four you get an additional bonus +1 in Combat.
You may not receive Warrants. You automatically evade any law encounters.
You may take the Instructor as a follower. He will give you +1 in Combat.
If you encounter the outlaw or the Raiders, you automatically defeat them and may take them prisoner. Each is worth a Bounty of 3G at the Castle.
You may not resign.

Verdict: Hard to become, but a fun selection of fairly minor abilities. Good luck collecting all four henchmen for that +5 bonus.

WHITE DWARF 115 Master Level Cards

Recruiter – Stranger

If you are of Good Alignment and Strength 5 or more you may choose to move to the Chapel and become the Templar. The Recruiter remains until someone takes up his cause.

Noble – Event

Roll under your Craft on D6. If you succeed, you may become the Herald.

Champion of Chaos - Event

If you discard all your Gold and Followers, and then roll a die and add your Strength and Craft and get 9 or more you may become the Champion of Chaos.

Spell: Way of the Lotus

You may immediately take the Mystic card.

TEMPLAR
Good, Start = Chapel
+2 Strength

May never have Gold
If you get a Psychic Combat you immediately lose, but then get to fight again using your Strength.
Ignore all instructions to gain Craft, gain Lives instead.
You always have a Horse.
You always have a Sword.

Verdict: Yuk! So, I have to lose a life cos I can’t fight the demon then lose another one when it beats me in combat. I can’t gain any more Craft, so my spell-casting ability is curtailed and I’ll have to take the Strength route and Dice with Death. In return I get +2 Strength, a Horse, a Sword and Lives instead of Craft. Meh! I’ll pass, thanks.

HERALD
Neutral

Each turn roll a die. If you score less than your Craft gain 1G.
Before a Combat you may sing of your deeds, roll D6. 1: Doesn’t listen, lose a life, 2: Doesn’t believe you. Foe gets +1 in this combat. 3: You are fortified, +1 this combat. 4: You lull him to sleep, you may evade him if you wish, 5: You cannot lose. If you are defeated, you do not lose a Life or any Objects, 6: Epic tale. Permanently gain one Strength or Craft.

Verdict: Bookkeeping again. The singing ability is overpowered.

CHAMPION OF CHAOS
Evil
+2 Strength, +1 Craft

Gain an Object of you choice from the Purchase Deck.
You may never gain Gold.
You may never have Followers
If you can land a character you must land on them and attack them. If you win gain 1 Strength, if you lose, lose 1 Strength. If you strength falls to your starting quota you are stripped of your rank.
You may not resign.

Verdict: I hope that object is a good one, cos you’re never going to have any Gold to buy any others. Forced movement onto other players can disrupt your plans too. Only good if you plan to win by slaughter rather than by the CoC.

MYSTIC
+1 Craft

Each turn you may either move your ethereal body or your physical body.
You may return to your physical body instead of moving.
If you physical body is attacked it has a Strength and Craft of one, though your followers may fight as normal (if they have the ability to do so)
You always have two Spells.
You may choose to ignore any cards already on a space.

Verdict: But where do you cast the Way of the Lotus without opening yourself up to attack? It might be fun out of Pandora’s Box, allowing you to track down all who would stand in your path. Taking ethereal form, gaining two spells and then immediately abandoning it is another tactic.

3E ML characters

These were a lot easier, pretty much brewing the master characters down to their essence.

MASTER THIEF (3E)
+1 Craft, +1 Life

Any gold taken by the Cutpurse, Bandit or Outlaw becomes your instead of being discarded.

SHERIFF (3E)
+2 Strength

Whenever you encounter the Law you may send them to another character instead.

HIGH MAGE (3E)
+2 Craft

You always have at least two spells.

KING’S CHAMPION (3E)
+1 Strength, +1 Craft

You may be healed free of charge at the Castle.
You automatically avoid any law encounters.

Minor update for the Sacred Pool. (I wish FFG had chosen forum software with an edit facility!)

The Sacred Pool has filled in a few gaps in the spell list. Temporary Change has been added; it fits in with the theme of the Sacred Pool. Mini Vortex has been added, and Feeble Mind - whilst different from the original version - has been added as a complement to Weakness.

Glittering Gorge is the new analogue for Dragon's Horde . Whilst slightly les generous (1G per visit instead of 2G), it's a close enough match. Treasure Chest is a Casket in all but name. Pit Fiend is a nice touch - good to see those guys getting out once in a while Horse Thief replicates the City card, except that it isn't limitted to the city.

Kudos to the artists on this set. There's some great art in this expansion.

Characters from the Sacred Pool.

Cleric is an analogue for the original Priest character. She loses the +1 Pray ability, but +1 Fate = a reroll for those times you get a "2" in the Temple. Automatically killing spirits and getting a bonus fate into the bargain is sweet, though it may make it hard to level up. The 1 Fate = 1 Life ability is an interesting one - With only three lives, you'd better get praying! The loss of the Priests restrictions (no Axes of Swords) isn't a major one.

Chivalric Knight is the Questing Knight fixed. Far better than the original Questing Knight, he is still restricted and cannot attack other Heroes (except via the Crown of Command), so it'd be good to see the Judge card from the Talisman Expansion as a complement.

Endings from the Sacred Pool.

These are mainly new, although the Demon Lord is an old one. He is slightly changed - if you beat him, you carry on fighting, so it's good to keep momentum up. IMO this improves the Demon Lord, as other players do not know when the game will end.

International Cards

These cards were made available to french player in Citadel magazine. They were never published in English. See http://www.boardgamegeek.com/image/671791/talisman-2nd-edition-le-heraut-citadel-2-cards?size=original and http://www.boardgamegeek.com/image/671786/talisman-2nd-edition-le-heraut-citadel-4-cards?size=original

Skaven. (S3, C3, Evil Ruins)

1. Whenever you land on a place you may choose not to be affected by that place but instead teleport to another place in the same region.
2. You are unaffected by the Leper and may take him as a follower.
3. You may use two weapons in combat (Not Holy Lance or Runesword)
4. You are unaffected by the Siren.

Notes: Very GW. His abilities appear on 4e cards already.

Herald (S2, C4, Neutral, City)

1. When you land on another player you may force them to discard a follower. If you do not have any followers you may take this follower instead.
2. You may be healed free of charge at the Castle.
3. You are unaffected by the Black Knight or the Patrol.

Notes: Name clash with Herald master level character. Follower destruction could get annoying fast. Immunity to Black Knight is interesting. Clashes with the minstrel as a concept.

Key (Object)

1-2 Opens the Portal of Power.
3-4 Doesn't work this turn.
5-6 The key is no good. discard it.

Notes: Waste of an object slot.

Pillager (Enemy)

S5, C5

On a 1-3 attcks using Strength, on a 4-6 attacks using Craft. If he wins, as well as losing a life, you must discard an Object. if you do not possess an object, lose a follower instead.

Notes: A bit like the Chinese Dragon. Certainly an interesting variation to add to the game.

Hydra

S4

The Hydra has four heads. Put four Lives on the Hydra. You may only slay one head per visit.

Notes: Cool. No-one will want to land on it til it's down to one life and you can claim it for experience. Nice idea.

Lyre (Magic Object)

You may play the Lyre before combat. If you do so roll a die. 1: Opponent doesn't listen. It gets +1 in this combat. 2-4 No effect, 5-6: Your opponent does not attack, you may evade it. (Presumably you have sent it to sleep)

Notes: An interest risk vs reward card.

Charm (Spell)

Play this spell when you encounter an Enemy. Instead of attacking you may take it as a follower. It will add its Strength or Craft in the next combat and then disappear to the discard pile.

Notes: Nice idea for a spell.

Mantrap (Event)

Choose one: You may not move until you roll a 5 or a 6, or discard a follower, mule or horse.

Notes: Miss a turn would be better than wait for 5 or 6. Even enslaved is 4+.

Skaven Flamethrower (Object)

May not be used by Good characters. Roll a die to determine the coverage of the flamethrower. All cards within range are discarded and all Charcaters lose a life. If you roll a 1, lose two lives and discard the Flame Thrower.

Notes: Stinks of GW. Far too powerful.

Troglodyte (Enemy)

S4.

If you are of Evil Alignment you get a -1 penalty to your die roll.

Notes: Variable strength enemy. We have these in Sacred Pool, but nevertheless...

Chaos (Event)

Roll a die 1-2: All cards on the board are replaced by new ones. 3-4: Each player gives his cards to the player on his left. 5-6 Each player discard their current character and draws a new one.

Notes: 5-6 is a bit of a game wrecker and 3-4 would work better if it was pass one card left.

Frog King (Stranger)

If a toad lands upon this space he is restored to normal and gains one Strength and 1 Craft. The Toad King is then put on the discard pile.

Notes: Nifty idea. Not too sure if it would ever see much use though.

White Kinght Cards. We're not sure of the providence of these cards. They were found in a garage but had been professionally printed. It may have been that these cards had been created for a fanzine. They are, at best, of dubious "official" status, but given that they had been profesionally printed they seem a little more relevant than other fan cards. You can read about them here: http://www.talismanisland.com/competition.htm

Event (5): Fog, Lightning Storm, Vultures, Apparition, Jewel of Envy

Fog (Event)

The fog lasts for two rounds. Movement is as normal but roll a dice. On a 4, 5 or 6 you do not encounter anything (cards, the space or other players)

Notes: Nice idea.

Lightning Storm (Event)

Roll aid for each player and each follower. On a 1, lose a life or discard that follower. Subtract one for each weapon and / or item of armour you own.

Notes: We already have a lightning storm. Was this card the original inspiration?

Vultures (Event)

A flock of vultures circles overhead eating any trophies you defeat in combat. You can only frighten them off by using a Fireball or a distance weapon.

Notes: The solution to the Vultures is to hard to obtain.

Apparition (Event)

Prevents you using your character’s special abilities until you visit the Chapel or Temple and pay 1G.

Notes: Not keen, takes away a lot of the unique flavour of each character.

Jewel of Envy (Event)

Cannot be resistsed. Counts as an item which must be taken. When you take it lose 1S. If another player defeats you in combat they must take the Jewel of Envy (and hence lose 1S) When the combined craft of two duelling characters total 12 or more they see the folly of their ways and destroy the jewel instead.

Notes: Fairly inventive event.

Trapper’s Cabin - Place

May heal lives. For each life healed, miss a turn.

Notes: Trading time for lives is a neat idea. Should be discarded when the CoC is uncovered.

Stonehenge - Place

Whenever you cast a spell here roll a die. 1: Discard all your spells with no effect. 2: Discard the spell you have just cast with no effects. 3-5: Keep the spell card after you cast it. 6: You may choose to affect all your opponents with this spell.

Notes: Needs to be limited to one use per turn.

Phantom Cliffs - Place

Must roll less than or equal to your starting Strength + Craft to pass, else next turn must return the way you came.

Notes: Meh! Takes away options from the player.

Cleric - Follower

Will resurrect you with 4 Lives, -1 Str and -1 Craft after you die but charges you one magic object and all your gold to do so.

Notes: ...or he could just heal you for similar costs at the start of your turn and not cause any timing headaches.

Nightmare - Follower

Will not join Good characters. All enemies get -1 when combating you. All good characters get -2 when combating you.

Notes: OK, he’s basically the Ring on a Follower for non-good characters. Has a Name Conflict with an existing card too.

Ring of Wisdom (Magic Object)

Allows you to collect Craft for experience.

Notes: Unnecessary.

Sword of Berserking (Magic Object)

You become Evil and favour this weapon over all others. +2S. You will keep fighting until an enemy is dead or you are reduced to one life. You may pay 1G at the Chapel or the Magic Emporium to rid yourself of this blade.

Notes: This takes away a lot of choice from players, especially as this is a forced alignment switch. I can’t say that I’m keen on it.

Venom Blade (Magic Object)

Cannot be used by Good characters. +1S. If you roll a 6 and your opponent rolls a 1, you inflict 2 Lives damage on them.

Notes: What if you have S1 and you opponent has S8? Nice idea, but Fate rerolls will probably mean that it won’t see that much use.

Sorcerer’s Purse (Magic Object)

If, at the start of your turn, you have no gold, gain 2G.

Notes: Should probably be 1G, but it’s a nifty idea. A bit redundant without the City to act as a money sink.

Ring of Assimilation (Magic Object)

Whilst you have this ring you are always equal when fighting in combat. (e.g. if your opponent is S4, you will be at S4) No stronger player may take this card from you.

Notes: Boring. Equalises all combats to a roll-off.

Excalibur (Magic Object)

No evil player may use Excalibur. To claim it you must pull it from the stone by rolling a 6. Whilst it is in your possession: 1: +1C, 2: +1S in Combat, 3: An additional +2S against Evil characters.

Notes: Sweet card. Probably meant to be a counterpart to Venom Blade, but appears to be a lot stronger.

Wand of Fire (Magic Object)

Shoots a fireball which auto kills (lose one life) an enemy. Range of two squares. When acquired roll a dice to determine how many charges it has: 1-3: 1, 4-5: 2, 6: 3

Notes: Name conflict. Too powerful.

Staff of Healing (Magic Object)

Before you roll for movement you may attempt to predict your die roll. If you are successful, heal one life. You may snap the staff (discard) to completely heal all your lives.

Notes: Not too sure about the “snap” power, but I love the “predict-my-roll” effect.

Trainer - Stranger

Will teach the first player that lands here and rolls a 6 how to use two weapons in combat. Then disappears to the discard pile.

Notes: Devalues the Warrior

Chess Master - Stranger

May take him on in a battle of wits. If you do so roll a die, 4+ you win gain one Craft and you may challenge him again. 3 or less. You lose, lose two Craft.

Notes: Interesting card. Not too sure about the name.

Lightning Storm (Event) - That's a good card, better than its 2nd ed and 4th RE version I think.

Apparition (Event) - This is one of the best cards I like in this expansion. Also it is easy to get rid of Apparition (but it can be deadly for Evil Characters, if hey will need to visit Chapel instead of Temple).

Jewel of Envy (Event) - Yes, indeed. However once I tried to play with it, and it also has great possibilities to ruin a game. Also, after destroying the Jewel, Characters are taking its S points.

Stonehenge (Place) - For some reason I always liked this card, but there is one problem with it. It is just a Place card that will be visited once per 20 turns. It don't need any limitations.

Phantom Cliffs (Place) - I see this card in another way - next turn no matter if You want, or You don't want, You must visit the Dragon. You may not avoid encountering it by going to the other side of the board.

Nightmare (Follower) - It has another useful ability - it may double the movement roll. You may use this ability whenever You want (so You rolled "6" for Your movement, so You can move Your Character by 6 spaces or 12 spaces), You aren't forced to use it (like Ridding Horse). As for its name... It could be third Nightmare in the 4th RE Why not adding it then?

Ring of Wisdom (Magic Object) - When I translated White Knight cards into Polish, I gave this card similar effect like its original effect. You may put trophy cards on it and use them without needing to exchange them for additional points.

Sword of Berserking (Magic Object) - I had this sword in one of my games and I must say it is a great sword. You always are Evil. We all know that in 4th RE Evil Characters are like in a paradise. This ability already is good. +2 to S too. Also Magic Emporium is in City, so You can easily quickly get rid of it, if You wish.

Venom Blade (Magic Object) - I might be wrong, but from what I remember, it was if You will roll "6" OR Your enemy will roll "1".

Ring of Assimilation (Magic Object) - One of the best Objects. My friend had it when he went to Timescape. He knew that we have Acquisition Spell, and he ditched it at the last space of Timescape. It is not boring at all.

Wand of Fire (Magic Object) - Even more than very powerful. You can use all 4 Fireballs against another Character causing him to die without possibility to do anything.

Staff of Healing (Magic Object) - Staff is used to gain lives not heal . I also had this card in one of my games, and I must say it is great, even if it really can give You a lot of lives.

Jake yet again said:

After THE CITY EXPANSION:

Taxation, Market day for trading (as Trading Day) and Bow - finally appeared in The City deck

Here are the list of City cards from 2nd ed that aren't in 4th yet:
Event - Employment, Gambler, Conscription, Master Thief ( there is Sneakthief enemy), Plague, War!, Honest Deputy
Enemy - Ghoul, Drunken Soldier, Militia Man, Press Gang, Thug
Stranger - Baker, Butcher, Salesman, Beggar (there is Beggar King)
Follower - Dancing Girl, Druid, Dragon Master, Errand Boy, Dog, Gamekeeper
Object - Money Belt, Broken Helmet (repleaced by Broken Sword)
Place - Library, Side Show

Some cards from City 2ed (Mummy, Earth Elemental or Dungeon Door) has been included in other expansions but not in the City 4th ed.
Some cards has been changed ( Heretic Priest from Event to Enemy, Gremlin from Enemy to Follower, Grumpy Wizard from Stranger to Event, Cutpurse from Event to Stranger)

Employment is now Dung Sweeper!

Ell.