Random (probably easy) questions

By BRBumans, in Talisman

Posted at

Hey all,

I've played Talisman since I was a kd in the '80s and purchased the new 4eR edition in January, followed several weeks ago by Sacred Pool and the Reaper. The rest of the expansions are on the way when Bloodmoon is released. In other words, I love Talisman.

As I haven't played in quite some time (and when I was little, I often played solo), and as there are some new elements in the game, I have a couple of questions. They are likely easier ones and probably have been answered before but I have not seen them on here since I've been lurking this year.

The assassin, he can essentially assassinate anything correct? Either something that is face up alread, or a character, or a card that he draws on that turn? I believe I'm reading that correctly from the FAQ put out by FFG. Now, I believe, if I'm correct, that he can only use this ability on battle and NOT on psycic combat, correct? He could not assassinate a demon. Can ya'll clear that up for me?

Second, there is a follower (I think) that allowed one of my opponents last night to draw an extra card from the adventure deck. Can he do that if he is unable to draw a card? For example, he lands on a space with one or multiple face-up cards. Can he then draw one since it allows him to draw more than he normally could? In my opinion, he shouldn't be able to draw since he implies you draw an extra WHEN YOU CAN draw…..but he was drawing like crazy.

Lastly, and perhaps the easiest, the Portal of Power. When you calculate the strength or craft that you need to roll less than or equal to, is that your actual ability on your character (plus those you have gained during the game) ONLY or can you also count any items or follower bonuses that you have?

Thanks! I'm sure I'll think of other things. There are just sooooooo many different elements to this epic game. I look forward to contributing to this site.

Cheers.

Posted at

I'm not sure of the answer to the second question, but the first and third are fairly straightforward.

The Assassin of this edition can use his ability on just about anything outside the Crown of Command. My personal feeling is that this makes him feel less like a stealthy assassin and more like a bland kill-everything machine, so in my games we play him the old way. You are correct, however, that his ability is limited to Strength based battles only.
As for your question about bonuses to Strength or Craft, it depends on whether the bonus is conditional or not. An object that simply states "Add 2 to your Strength" will count for the Portal of Power and other similar things, whereas an object that says "Add 2 to your Strength in Battle" will not because the bonus is reserved for that specific situation.
Posted at

foldeddice is correct on Q 1&3, so no need to repeat his answer :)

Now the "monsterhunter" - I have the french expansion, where that follower is called "Tueur des Monstres", so I don't rightly kow his name in the english version- states very clearly: IF you can draw a card, you can choose to draw an extra card. When a space says "Draw a card" and there is already a card on the space (the Cave, for example), one CAN NOT draw a card as there is already an adventure present on this space, ergo the monsterkiller can NOT give you an extra adventure card.

If the space would say "draw 2 cards" and there would be 1 card present (let's say, the Pool of Life), then the player has to draw an other card and thus can make use of the "monsterhunter"'s ability to draw an extra card - if he wants to. If that space would have 2 cards (Pool of Life and Labyrinth), the user can not draw an extra card.