House Rule: Stackable Armour

By dth2, in Talisman Home Brews

Posted at

JCHendee said:

I've toyed around with ideas for alternate Combat and/or Armour rolls. NOTE: Armour is not Defense (that's a tactic or activity); Armour is passive Defense at best, and therefor should thought of as Protection, not Defense. Just something to keep in mind for later, as I may have time to get to how the Shield is not "Armour" and therefor not true "Protection"

Talisman's inherent armor system is very simplified to the point of not only being unrealistic but also unviable mechanically for mixing with alternative Combat rules. The inverse is also true. You cannot chance one without changing the other, so any new Combat system has to have a new approach to Armour system, and the inverse is also true. They cannot be seperated mechanically. But let's go ahead and look at some proposed new Armour systems without a new Combat system.

<snip>

So there you have it, my approach to alternative armour use in conjunction with the standard Combat system of Talisman. It dosen't require any complete changes to any one armour card is used or interpreted individually. And it will even work with most alternative Combat systems that determine if and when a Life is potentially lost. It's only downside is multiple rolls in a player's turn, but those already occur in the game for many other reasons. Comments and questions are always welcome... but I have tested this.

In addition, unlike alternative Combat systems, players with no RPG background love this Armour system, even with the necessary house rules!

Eventually, I'd like to write this up a better way and send it to Jon for officially availability to the fan base. I'll get to an alternative for "Shield Defense" versus use as Armour (Protection) when I have more time - and it will also be based in game's standard mechanics.

Sold me, we've adopted this!

Posted at

Hey Inkbob, are you nailing people for trying to pull armor off a mule in the middle of battle? Are you requiring any armor used be on the adventurer before being attacked? There's a second level to the loophole, where some players think that when they draw an Enemy they still have time to change armor, since they haven't rolled for battle.

"Excuse me, Mister Troll, I'm not quite ready yet... just have to buckle on my helmet."

"Oh, so sorry... please, take your time."

Posted at

JCHendee said:

Hey Inkbob, are you nailing people for trying to pull armor off a mule in the middle of battle? Are you requiring any armor used be on the adventurer before being attacked? There's a second level to the loophole, where some players think that when they draw an Enemy they still have time to change armor, since they haven't rolled for battle.

"Excuse me, Mister Troll, I'm not quite ready yet... just have to buckle on my helmet."

"Oh, so sorry... please, take your time."

Hah, ya, that's fun isn't it =) We do active weapons and armour, inactive stuff is placed sideways or upside down. We're not *too* sticky about stuff in bags and carts, but it will come into play more if it's CvC. Taking from the FAQ entry about the Druid and Knight, after you've landed and declared your action, it's on! We're also a bit flexible about the end of someone's turn. If the next person has picked up the dice, you can still do stuff but if they've rolled the dice your turn is done.

It depends on who's playing really, if they are 1st or 2nd time players then it's a more forgiving atmosphere, you want them to play again right... if you've played a bunch then times then you have to keep a tidy shop and be clear what's happening in your inventory

Posted at

inkblob said:

...We're also a bit flexible about the end of someone's turn. If the next person has picked up the dice, you can still do stuff but if they've rolled the dice your turn is done.

That's a pretty good one. When we need to get sticky about, we merely designate that equipment can be swapped out at the beginning of your turn or the end... and then you relinquish the dice to the next player.

inkblob said:

It depends on who's playing really, if they are 1st or 2nd time players then it's a more forgiving atmosphere, you want them to play again right... if you've played a bunch then times then you have to keep a tidy shop and be clear what's happening in your inventory

Oh yes, fully agreed. There's also the issue of age. Our group is mostly about my age... older. When there are young ones in the mix we keep it simple... though a few of them can dish out some ugly glares when something ridiculous and insensible occurs by the standard rules. We've got one sharp, no nonsense 12yr old "lady" who doesn't stand for the ol' mule train rummaging trick. And that was even before we introduced her to the active/inactive equipment stuff... then she got real tough on other players!