Warriors of the End Times

Preview the Characters and Alternative Endings of The Harbinger
originally published 14 July 2015

Even before the blind, prophesying Harbinger came trailing dark omens and evil demons in his wake, she had worked tirelessly to rid the world of evil. She had used her divine powers to defeat countless wraiths, skeletons, and trolls, capricious faeries, hordes of rats, and heretic priests. Now this possessed, mutated, rabid human being was about to attack her. She would not be overcome, not so easily. Raising her arms high in the air, she shouted an incantation…

Fight for survival as the apocalypse approaches in The Harbinger, an upcoming expansion for Talisman 4th Edition! Even as your heart burns to seize the Crown of Command, your first priority is to stay alive through the oncoming end times. The dead are awakening, demons are rising from their hellish homes, and the world itself is splitting apart, opening up deadly chasms right beneath your feet.

Only the bravest, most tenacious characters will be able to compete under these brutal conditions. In today’s preview you’ll meet the new characters featured in The Harbinger. Whether they fight using weapons or Spells, whether they battle evil or seek to ruthlessly destroy all forms of good, they are all necessarily warriors. But first, we’ll introduce the expansion’s alternative endings, which transform your quest for the Crown of Command into a race against armageddon.

The Armageddon Crown

With the aged Harbinger wandering throughout the realm of Talisman, there can be no doubt that the apocalypse is imminent. The End of Days alternative ending heralds that apocalypse with the arrival of the four demon Horsemen of War , Famine , Disease and Death , who have taken over the four populated corners of the realm. They all must be vanquished before any character can enter the Inner Region. There in the Valley of Fire awaits the captain of these Horsemen and the most terrible demon of all, The Beast, arisen from the pits of Hell to wreak misery and devastation across the world. You must fight this nearly omnipotent fiend and defeat him to win the game, or else fall dead at his gargantuan cloven feet.

Under the Armagedden Crown alternative ending, the Crown of Command itself becomes an agent of doom, capable of hastening the end times or delaying them. Any single character on the Crown of Command must roll a die for their turn. The result determines whether the present Omen of the Omen stack (discussed in our first preview) is discarded, bringing the end closer, whether a past omen returns, postponing armageddon, or whether all characters simply lose a life. If more than one character is present at the Crown, the two must duel each turn until one defeats the other. The last character alive wins the game.

Good vs. Evil

The battle for the Crown of Command has always had the potential of becoming a fight between good and evil. Yet two new characters embody these rival universal forces more than any others. From the heavens descends the angelic Celestial , who remains good regardless of any alignment-shifting effects. Its craft is equivalent to its fate, as is its life: for every life the Celestial gains or heals, it also gains a fate. The purity of this being’s righteous soul happens to be its deadliest weapon: whenever it attacks an evil or neutral character, it may choose psychic combat and battle using Craft instead of Strength. If it wins, is steals a fate from the character defeated.

The Possessed , however, is always and unwaveringly evil, a humanlike being so corrupted that its feet have become hooves, its eyes, glowing red, its arm, a giant, muscular claw. As the Possessed, your malicious Strength is equal to the number of your lives, and you gain life from destruction. At the start of your turn you can eradicate a Stranger or Place, both eliminating an obstacle and healing a life. Defeating an Enemy in battle also allows you to heal, as you feed on the energy draining from your routed opponent.

The Ascendant Divine is neither good nor evil, but may become either. She begins the game with four Spells – her divine gifts. Each round she can cast one of these gifts as if it were a Spell, and whenever she gains Strength or Craft, she replace any divine gifts that she has used with a new Spell, such as Dispellation. The Ascendant Divine can accumulate and cast other Spells as well, but from her divine gifts gifts she draws her power. With them she can fearlessly encounter any Place, Stranger, or Enemy, and perhaps even rule the world.

Fight to Survive – and Win

In the wake of the aged, prophesying Harbinger come demons, cursed objects, shambling zombies, and ominous signs. You may encounter a Heretic Angel, a Herald of Death, or even Hell on Earth. On top of that, time is running out. As omens pass through the skies, the end of days comes ever closer, and soon the entire realm will be plunged into a horrible and cataclysmic chaos. You must hurry if you want to obtain the Crown of Command, but reaching it has become even more difficult when so many vicious Enemies and calamitous Events threaten your very survival. In The Harbinger, you must fight simply to stay alive, even while you strive to win.

Pre-order The Harbinger from your local retailer today!