Just had the Sacred Pool delivered.....reading the new alternative endings.

Can anyone explain to me what incentive there would be for anyone other than the character at the Crown of Command to put down a light fate token? I'm probably missing something but I can't see it personally! Surely your opponents would not want you to roll 6+ and would therefore all always put down dark tokens??

A player of the same alignment as you might want to try for a result where you both might win. They might be far from the Inner Region, or maybe just willing to assist another player because someone else has picked on them all game!

You don't really want that character to roll a one - that just gives them a new ending, usually making him a favourite to win. You'd rather they roll a two or three. If you are of the same alignment, you would prefer a four or five to a one too.

Suppose (for example) a four player game, and the characer at the CoC shares your alignment. That player plays light, and the other two play dark. Now its up to you if that player rolls at minus one or minus three. If you play dark:

• 4/6 chance of a new draw.
• 2/6 chance that player loses.

If you play light:

• 2/6 chance for a new draw.
• 2/6 chance that player loses.
• 2/6 chance for a shared win.

By playing light fate, you turn half of the redraws into shared wins. If you are right behind that player (and stronger) you might rather a redraw allowing you to maybe catch up and steal the win. If you are not the second contender for the game (or are simply too far behind) a shared win is probably your best bet.

Nice answers, thanks. Not sure it's the greatest ending though......unless I happen to be having a nightmare game and get to share the win!

Once I read this card, I couldn't believe this garbage made it to the game.

Who wants to enter the crown only to have the fate of the game determined by events outside yout control, with the possibility of losing the game?

Isn't that what Talisman has been for the past 27 years?

talismanisland said:

talismanisland said:

LOL....

Yeah there's truth to that, but you can make choices to guide what happens to you etc. Also even you get bad luck you can bounce back (except with some ridiculous rules like the reaper killing you instantly) and keep getting hammered or get some luck your way. This is just 'win or lose' (or even worse 'share' the win) - right at the end of the game

The final moment of the game you want some definete task or final goal to achieve to win the game you have just invested hours in playing (as the inner region is structured anyway). And with the shifty bunch I play with, too easy to get the shared win.

Garbage.

Roy said:

So you weren't a fan of Horrible Black Void?

I think a shared win is actually a very amusing and interesting thing. There's no longer exclusively an "there can only be one" attitude from the developers of the game, and this suits me and my group very well. My fellow players can become quite unhappy with a loss, and now there's the possibility of fewer losers and less discontentment. Now, there's not only the possibility of only one winner, but many, and it's dependent on alignment and player interaction, so alignment and player relations are is now even more important to the game! On the whole I'm quite satisfied with this new ending, as it's interesting and flavourful, and an exciting take on a random ending in the same vein as the "Hand of Doom"

crimhead said:

I had timescape before Adventure, so I didn't mind it. It didn't say 'You lose, thanks foir the three+ hours of playing". Maybe it before Timescape? I can't remember, if so no not a big fan!!!

I hate the idea of shared wins. It just seems with judgement day, what is the point of playing through the whole game of Talisman? Just play the Judgement Day card by itself, you will incur the same result, without the many hours of play for a bs result.

Our players aren't stupid enough to take player relations into account - they'll figure it out and go for the shared or lose it for the player on CoC.

Roy said:

We obviously do not desire the same thing from the game then. For me, it's not about the result, it's the journey that matters. I barely care if I win or lose anymore, as long as I get to play the game with my good friends and family. I play Talisman simply to enjoy playing it, and because of that I like the variety that things like the alternative endings have brought to the game. There's not a single game anymore that I play without including the Reaper, as he has the potential to be so much fun!

And I believe my playgroup more or less share my sentiments. We include player relations in our decisions in the game, not because we're stupid, but because it's more fun to do it! For example, last time I cast Healing on my friends' character (the Cleric) just before she was about to encounter the Pool of Life, just because I like her and wanted to help her along.

For me, half the point of Talisman is the fact that it's an excellent excuse to invite my friends over and talk and laugh and have a good time with them!

Tiggurix said:

This is a really interesting statement. Total agreement that we all play the game for enjoyment..... otherwise it wouldn't be much of a game..... and being a sporting chap I also don't mind much when I lose. But every game I can think of is a competition which needs a winner, albeit yourself or someone else and IMHO the Judgement Day removes the competition element and a tied game is a complete anti-climax!

At the end of the day, so long as we all enjoy it, that's the main thing.... I can always remove this card from the endings!

Fuzz said:

Hmm, I don't think that Judgement Day would remove the competition element, though I haven't tried it alot so I'm not sure. I agree though that a draw is total anticlimax, and a game needs winners and losers, else there isn't much point in competing! I believe that I should try Judgement Day out a lot more before I arrive at my conclusion on it, though perhaps it isn't such a grand thing after all.

Though we can always, as you say, simply not play with it, and that's the fine thing about these alternative endings: They give options! About whether or not to play with them at all, and about which ones to play. Simply put, they offer variety, and variety is the spice of life, after all.

I have a quick question regarding Judgment Day and tought I hijack this thread to not create a new one.

If your result is 1 it says that you discard this ending and encounter the crown of command normally does that mean that you draw another ending or that you encounter the "old-school" CoC on the board?

Regards
Pers

Yes, I think the game reverts back to default CoC ending.

One of hour players loves the game so much, he never wants it to end. We have jokingly threatened to use the Judgement Day ending to force him to win (we'd have to find a way to teleport him to the COC, light fate the alternate ending and hope he rolls well enough to win).