So we got to see quite a few of the new cards that will help make alignment a more pressing issue in the games. I like what I see - but I have some reservations. First, it seems that no matter how many individual encounters, etc. come with the new expansion, the cards are likely to get lost in the vast tower of cards we already have. I can see playing entire games without encountering a single alignment-based card. I like the alternative ending, too, with the exception of the "everybody wins" option, which seems kind of lame. I might house-rule that to "everyone of the same alignment as you is killed", or "of a different alignment", or something. (Still waiting for the Horrible Black Void!!!)

What I was really hoping to see, though, was a more holistic rule-change or -modification that affects ALL the cards we already have (Highland, Dungeon, etc. included)...you know, like "Fate is either good or bad, depending on the colour, and you have to flip a fate chip every time you gain one to see if you can use it according to your alignment", or something along those lines. We already have a house rule about light and dark fate, but it'd be nice to have something official. I loved the Reaper expansion for what it added in terms of changing (adding to) gameplay, rather than just adding more cards (which is not something Talisman is short of).

Still, this looks like one of the better expansions; I'm looking forward to playing with it.

i agree. at this point the group i play with could play four or five games and never need to recycle adventure cards.

Our group goes through about half stacks. So we could see a fair percentage of the new cards.

Look on the positive side........lots of extra replay value!

I can understand your concern about too many cards, though I don't share it. In my mind, more cards means more random crazy stuff happening every game. Maybe not everything will show up every game, but I'm okay with that. I just like the feeling of having so many cards even I'm not sure what's coming next. =)

That's always been the primary appeal of Talisman to me.

Don't get me wrong: my concern isn't that there are too many cards (I like lots of cards, and it sure beats not having enough). My concern is that Alignment is / should be an important enough concept that it shouldn't be confined to cards, where it will inevitably only matter in a few random instances when certain cards are drawn. It should be a game mechanic in itself, where lots of decisions and actions are determined by what alignment you belong to. It doesn't make any sense to me to suddenly have a Chivalric Knight who doesn't / can't attack those weaker than himself, when the Knight can, and any good character can, though it's obviously not "good" to do so. Why have alignment at all if it's only going to count this late in the game, and only in certain circumstances? I like the encounter cards described on the Pool page, where your alignment makes a difference - but ALL the cards from the first 4 expansions should have had this aspect to them, too: through dilution, it won't matter nearly as much as I think it should.

I'm still really looking forward to this expansion, though.

Zozimus said:

I think you've summed up the problem with Alignment since the very beginning of Talisman. Overall, the game isn't really built for Alignment, and it shouldn't have bee included. It is an utterly uncontrollable attribute as implemented (and the few exceptions to this generalization don't count for enough). So, as much as I agree with you, don't hold you breath, because it is never going to happen where Talisman is concerned. I had some hopes in the early notices of this coming expansion, but I knew better than to hope too much.

And so far, other than two characters, I've been less enthused the more core cards are revealed. I'm not saying it's a bad expansion, certainly not, but it doesn't so far live up to the hype; it's more of the same for variety, with only a few cards that nod towards Neutral as something more than the Alignment of No Alignment. SP will further flesh out the various card sets in the game, but that's all. And two thumbs down on that one revealed AltEnd. Unimaginative and another blind use of Alignment for a fast end that has only a slim nod towards any kind of Alignment war going on... not that individual players/characters have a reason to care about it during actual play.

Time to look to the future and what the next big box expansion will be.

Obviously, it’s just a guess, but I have an idea why alignment was represented as such. I think it’s just a statistic that differentiates the characters, that’s it. Meaning, some way to affect some characters, but not others.

There’s ST Value, ST, and Combat ST, CR Value, CR, and Combat CR, Life Value and Life, Fate Value and Fate. Gold (for the “Must have 1 gold to get follower” cards). Without having power creep, Alignment adds a somewhat evenly distributed stat, that yes, is pretty meaningless in game but allows essentially a “THIS card only affects 1/3 of the players” type effect.

They could have gone, instead, with more cards that affect you based on starting square (i.e. Hearth Rune), but that makes the card even less likely to trigger i.e. “First person whose character starting square is the City, that lands here, gets…@@@”, it becomes a more commonly used card if it's the 1 in 3 “First Evil character that lands here”.

I just see it as a mechanic, no different that “Characters with green clothes” (if there was such an option) without making it yet another ST or CR limited card.

I could be way off base, but that’s how I see Alignment. Essentially of no more substance than a “Fixed Number generator of 1, 2 or 3, fixed at character start” kind of deal. Barring alignment change cards. If that makes sense.

Tons-Home-rules said:

Yup, that's all it has ever been since Talisman 1E and all it will ever be. For the majority of players that's all it needs to be.