After I first got back into Talisman (20ish years after my previous encounter), I found that I loved it as much as I ever had. So I made new characters and played them with friends. The first twenty of these are available at:

http://www.talismanisland.com/expansions.htm

Or just download the file at:
http://www.talismanisland.com/exp_4re_familiarfaces.zip
Quick note: some characters refer to cards and rules in The Reaper expansion.

I'm sure you'll grin when you see these old, familiar faces on shiny new cards. My personal favorite is the City Doctor, a wicked Dark Ages chirurgeon who grows in power as he is beaten, and who fights small foes with the intention of losing...

Another group favorite is the Unlucky Gambler, whose biggest ability is the power to prevent his own death, much to his dismay. Also included are several characters who make appearances in the tale of the Knight of Day, the winning entry in the esteemed TalismanIsland's character creation contest.

The story including these characters is available here:
http://www.talismanisland.com/ti10_competition_20.htm

While I don't have photoshop, I put these together in MS Publisher, but they still hold up well. If you have recommendations for figures to use with these characters other than the recommendations in the file, or if you just have a fun time playing them, please post and let me know!

As a vision of the future, FFG just released the info that the Gladiator gains one Strength for each follower he has. For the Craft equivalent, check out the Royal Doctor , character 12 from the Familiar Faces list.

Abilities:

1) You begin the game with the Mesmerism spell.
2) When you roll a 6 on a movement die in the Outer Region, before moving, you may first cause any character to gain one life.
3) Each human follower you have grants one Craft in addition to any other bonus.
4) You may take the Prince or Princess from any character you land on.
5) Instead of moving, you may pay 3 life to gain one point of Craft.

He is a Good aligned 2/4 with an amazing 5 Fate, but an abysmal 3 Life Value. An interesting character for his vulnerabilities and strengths, and in many ways the thematic opposite of the Gladiator.