Welcome to Talisman Island
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • RSS
Established 24th February 1999
  • Home
  • Resources
    • Expansions
      • 1st & 2nd Edition
      • 3rd Edition
      • 4th Edition
      • Revised 4th Edition
      • Legendary Tales
      • Licensed Editions from The Op
      • Relic
      • Talisman Adventures
      • Elder Sign
    • International Files
      • 1st & 2nd Edition
      • 3rd Edition
      • Revised 4th Edition
      • Magiczny Miecz
    • Character Tokens
    • Miscellaneous Files
    • Rules Downloads
    • House Rules (aka Talisman X)
    • Tales from Talisman
    • Yahoo Group Files
    • Archived Sites
  • Features
    • First play of Talisman: Harry Potter Edition
    • First ponderings about Talisman: Batman – Super-Villains Edition
      • Searching for Super-Villains with Batman in Talisman
    • First ponderings about Talisman: Legendary Tales
      • First look at Talisman: Legendary Tales
      • First play of Talisman: Legendary Tales
    • 2017 Reprint Overview – Part One
      • 2017 Reprint Overview – Part Two
    • 3D Printing & Resources
      • CleverSteps Character Bases
      • The Printed Gamer
      • Spare Oom Studio
      • Free Resources
    • The Big Bang Theory
    • Bolt Thrower or Bust!
    • Card Sleeving Options
    • Competitions
      • Dragon Masters Competition
      • 10th Anniversary Competition
      • Lucky 13 Competition
      • NPC Design Competition
        • NPC Design Competition Results
        • The Serpent Expansion
        • The Serpent Revisited
    • Darkling Games’ Spelltoads
    • Dronolan’s Tower
    • Fan Creations
      • Ajwer’s Sculptures
      • Charlie’s Talisman Project
      • HallowKnight’s Hex Lantern
      • Mike’s Coffee Table
      • Ray’s 3D Board
      • The Realms of Legend
        • Development Blog
          • The Realms of Legend
          • And so it begins…
          • Of Traps and Trails
          • It’s taking shape nicely
          • A bit of a quiet week or two…
          • Rules, tweaks and fixes
          • What a difference a day makes…
          • Playtesting files available!
          • A little something extra…
          • The last lap?
          • The Realms Untravelled
        • The Realms of Legend Gallery
        • The Realms Untravelled Gallery
      • Small Magic
      • Stranger New Worlds
      • Talisman: A 3D Adventure
      • The Talisman Chronicles
      • Thorn’s Dragon Banners
      • Wrzew’s Game Board Art
    • Game Storage
      • Adventurer Token Packs
      • Deniax’s Card Boxes
      • Deniax’s Ultimate Box
      • Ed’s DJ Bag
      • e-Raptor Big Box for Talisman
      • e-Raptor New Inserts for Talisman
      • Impulse Card Trays
      • Larry’s Game Storage
      • Omnitray Tabletop Organiser
      • QRal’s Storage Trays
    • Great Adventures In Wonderland
    • The Horus Heresy Project
    • Interviews
      • Bob Harris
      • John Goodenough
      • John Goodenough – 20 Questions
    • The Lost Files
      • Necromancer
      • Talisman Dragons
      • 3rd Edition
      • Warhammer Quest
      • 4th Edition
    • Magazine Advertisments
    • Magical Sword
    • ModCube Event Dice
    • Printing
      • My Printing Tips
      • Cider Vampire’s Printing Tips
      • HallowKnight’s Printing Tips
    • Shared Artwork
      • Black Tiger
      • Dragon Masters
      • Rune Age
      • Warhammer Quest
    • Talisman 30
    • Talisman Destinies
    • Talisman Herald
    • Talismint: Magical Adventures in Mint Tin Game Design
    • Wild Cards
  • Previews
    • Digital Edition
      • The Realm of Souls
    • Revised 4th Edition Reprint
      • The Reaper
      • The Dragon
      • The Blood Moon
      • The City
      • The Woodland
      • The Harbinger
    • Revised 4th Edition
      • The Reaper
      • The Dungeon
      • The Frostmarch
      • The Highland
      • The Sacred Pool
      • The Dragon
      • The Firelands
      • The Nether Realm
      • The Woodland
      • The Deep Realms
      • The Harbinger
      • The Cataclysm
    • The Horus Heresy
  • Digital Extras
    • PlayStation Network Assets
      • Digital Edition
    • PlayStation Trophies
      • Digital Edition
    • Steam Achievements
      • Digital Edition
      • The Horus Heresy
      • Origins
    • Steam Community Assets
      • Prologue
      • Digital Edition
      • The Horus Heresy
  • Miniatures
    • 2nd Edition
      • Talisman Expansion Set
      • Talisman The Adventure
      • The Talisman Dungeon
      • Talisman Timescape
      • Talisman City
      • Talisman Dragons
      • Toads
      • White Dwarf #72
      • White Dwarf #115 (UK) & Magia i Miecz #4 (PL)
      • Le Héraut Citadel #2
      • Alternate Figures
      • Blisters
      • Unreleased Proxies
      • Home Brews
    • 3rd Edition
      • Dungeon of Doom
      • City of Adventure
      • Dragon’s Tower
      • White Dwarf #177 (UK) & #14 (FR)
      • White Dwarf #179
      • White Dwarf #185 (US) & #186 (UK)
      • Game Trade Magazine #37
      • The Lost Files & Troll #62
      • Alternate Figures
      • Lost Alternates
      • Unreleased Characters
      • Forgotten Paint Schemes
      • GW Toy Box Range
    • 4th Edition
      • Recommended Miniatures
      • Optional Characters
    • Revised 4th Edition
      • The Reaper
      • The Dungeon
      • The Frostmarch
      • The Highland
      • The Sacred Pool
      • The Dragon
      • The Blood Moon
      • The City
      • The Firelands
      • The Woodland
      • The Harbinger
      • The Cataclysm
      • Mephisto #45, #46, #47 & #48
      • Digital Proxies
      • Beast Proxies
      • Optional Proxies
      • Home Brews
    • Legendary Tales
      • Proxy Miniatures
    • Batman Super-Villains
    • Kingdom Hearts
    • Star Wars
    • Harry Potter
    • Sinclair Spectrum
    • Digital Edition
      • Character Packs
        • The Exorcist
        • The Courtesan
        • The Devil’s Minion
        • The Genie
        • The Martyr
        • The Gambler
        • The Black Witch
        • The Apprentice Mage
        • The Pirate
        • The Ninja
        • The Shape Shifter
        • The Shaman
        • The Illusionist
        • The Jester
        • The Goblin Shaman
        • The Martial Artist
        • The Saracen
        • The Witch Doctor
        • The Samurai
        • The Woodsman
        • The Pathfinder
        • The Pilgrim
        • The Satyr
        • The Vampire
        • The Ranger
        • The Swordsman
        • The Witch Hunter
      • The Reaper
      • The Dungeon
      • The Frostmarch
      • The Highland
      • The Sacred Pool
      • The City
      • The Blood Moon
      • The Firelands
      • The Dragon
      • The Harbinger
      • The Woodland
      • The Cataclysm
      • The Realm of Souls
      • The Ancient Beasts
      • The Clockwork Kingdom
    • Origins
    • Prologue
    • The Horus Heresy
      • Heroes & Villains
        • Sigismund & Kharn
        • Sevatar & Artellus Numeon
        • Kaedes Nex & Archmagos Draykavac
        • Endryd Haar & Typhon
        • Sanguinius & Ka’Bandha
        • Rogal Dorn & Samus
      • The Isstvan Campaign
      • Prospero
      • The Shadow Crusade
    • Relic
      • Nemesis
      • Halls of Terra
    • Chronicles of Avel
      • Proxy Meeples
  • World Tour
    • Talisman – 1st Edition
    • Talisman – 2nd Edition
      • Talisman Expansion Set (The)
      • Talisman: The Adventure
      • Talisman Dungeon (The)
      • Talisman Timescape (The)
      • Talisman City (The)
      • Talisman Dragons
      • Magia i Miecz: Jaskinia
    • Talisman – 3rd Edition
      • Talisman: Dungeon of Doom
      • Talisman: City of Adventure
      • Talisman: Dragon’s Tower
    • Talisman – 4th Edition
    • Talisman – Revised 4th Edition
      • Talisman: Upgrade Pack
      • Talisman: The Reaper
      • Talisman: The Dungeon
      • Talisman: The Frostmarch
      • Talisman: The Highland
      • Talisman: The Sacred Pool
      • Talisman: The Dragon
      • Talisman: The Blood Moon
      • Talisman: The City
      • Talisman: The Nether Realm
      • Talisman: The Firelands
      • Talisman: The Woodland
      • Talisman: The Deep Realms
      • Talisman: The Harbinger
      • Talisman: The Cataclysm
      • Talisman: The Lost Realms
    • Warhammer 40,000: Relic
      • Relic – Nemesis
      • Relic – Halls of Terra
    • Talisman: Batman Super-Villains Edition
    • Talisman: Kingdom Hearts Edition
    • Talisman: Star Wars Edition
    • Talisman: Harry Potter Edition
    • Talisman: Legendary Tales
    • Talisman Adventures: Fantasy Roleplaying Game
    • Talisman: Clash of Heroes
    • Sinclair Spectrum
    • Digital Edition
      • Collector’s Digital Edition
    • Origins
    • Prologue
    • The Horus Heresy
      • The Horus Heresy DVD Edition
    • Magiczny Miecz
      • Magiczny Miecz: Labirynt magów
      • Magiczny Miecz: Gród
      • Magiczny Miecz: Jaskinia
      • Magiczny Miecz: Krypta Upiorów
      • Magiczny Miecz: Magia
    • Quest for Shangri-La (The)
  • Legal

2017 Reprint Overview – Part One

Back in February, Games Workshop announced via the Warhammer Community pages that the Revised 4th Edition of Talisman would be getting a reprint. Following the longest 9 months in history and an awful lot of speculation, the game along with six expansions went on worldwide sale in November!

Thanks to the UK distributors, CoiledSpring Games, I now have my grubby hands on a copy of the reprint and can hopefully allay some of the worries that players had about compatibility between the new printing and the 2008 printing of the game by Fantasy Flight Games.

The first batch of games I have received were the base game of Talisman, plus two of the smaller expansions, The Blood Moon and The Harbinger, though I will be bringing an overview of the remaining expansions when they arrive from my eFnsLGS (Extremely Friendly, Not So Local Game Store!), Fan Boy Three!!

First batch of reprints in shrink. More to come!

I think it’s safe to say that any worries that people had about how the different printings would match up were unfounded, as they will blend seamlessly when mixed together. I will cover the general comparisons here, and anything that needs a bit of further explanation will appear below after the images.

The main changes are the removal of Fantasy Flight Games‘ branding, along with references to the Licensing Department at Games Workshop, as that is obviously no longer required. There are also new bits of legal blurb on the box as required by law in the UK.

The dice, tokens, counters and playing pieces are the same as they obviously use the same moulds as before. You’d also be hard pressed to tell the difference between the cards in the two printings, as I had a bit of trouble keeping them in their respective versions when taking these images earlier today! If anything, I would say that the colour of the reprinted cards is actually richer.

(Note: Images are actually larger than they appear here. Right click and open image in new tab to see more detail.)

Talisman Base Game Box Front Talisman Base Game Box Rear
Talisman Base Game Contents Talisman Base Game Credits Page
Talisman Base Game Adventure Cards Talisman Base Game Card Packaging
New Character Base Examples New Character Bases

Three things in particular excited me a tad more than they should have when I opened up the box to the base game of Talisman, though they are useful additions for different reasons.

Firstly, the Adventure cards are shrink-wrapped as they were in the early days with Fantasy Flight Games, after which they moved to plastic baggies, however these shrink-wrapped cards have tear strips to make opening the packs a breeze!

I am sure I am not the only one who was frustrated in the past trying to get a sharp knife across the edge of the packaging without damaging the cards!

Secondly, the game now includes plastic covers in six different colours that clip onto the bases of the playing pieces to help differentiate between them on the board until you get around to painting your minis.

Obviously they won’t work for the larger playing pieces like the Ogre Chieftain or Dragon Rider, but you should be able to tell those apart!

Finally, as you can see in the images of the contents, you also get a little leaflet in each box telling you all about Talisman: Digital Edition and Talisman: The Horus Heresy from Nomad Games, which comes with a FREE code for Talisman: Digital Edition on Steam so you can get playing the game online too!!

The Blood Moon Expansion Box Front The Blood Moon Expansion Box Rear
The Blood Moon Expansion Contents The Blood Moon Expansion Credits Page
The Blood Moon Expansion Cards The Blood Moon Expansion Cardbacks
The Harbinger Expansion Box Front The Harbinger Expansion Box Rear
The Harbinger Expansion Contents The Harbinger Expansion Credits Page
The Harbinger Expansion Cards The Harbinger Expansion Cardbacks
Character Card Comparison Alternative Ending Comparison
Playing Piece Comparison Talisman Base Game Insert
Board Fold Comparison Board Text Comparison

As you can see in the images shown above, there is very little between the two versions, though it might have been nice to have the insert for the base game retooled slightly so that the card slots in the top right of the picture were deeper. This wouldn’t have solved an “all expansions” storage solution, but it would certainly have helped a little.

It’s great to see that the board has been cut a different way this time around so that the inside is protected when it is folded up, much like the board that comes with The Cataclysm expansion.

Interestingly there is a small difference with the font used on the board and elsewhere, which you can see if you compare the wording of the Tavern space in the image above!

Talisman Base Game “R” Comparison The Harbinger Expansion “R” Comparison
Talisman 4th Edition “R” Comparison Talisman: Digital Edition “R” Comparison

The printing of the base game has an interesting throwback in that the font used for card titles and the like is a slightly different version that was used to print the Fantasy Flight Games version.

It doesn’t actually affect anything in use or play at all, but the R in the Windlass font has the trailing version of the character, rather than the truncated one. You can see that this only affects the base game (and I believe The Reaper expansion), as The Blood Moon and The Harbinger use the normal version.

I suppose this could be considered a bit of a homage to the original 4th Edition of Talisman from Black Industries, where both versions of the R were used on cards and you can also see above that Talisman: Digital Edition from Nomad Games uses the trailing R exclusively.

In closing, I would suggest that if you are missing a couple of the expansions, or even the base game of Talisman from your collection, you can relax and snap up these reprints!

I have seen in posts on BoardGameGeek that there might be a small issue with the rulesheet for The Dragon expansion, but I shall be sorting Part Two of this overview as soon as the other boxes land, so look out for that. If necessary, I will post a file with any rules that might be missing too!

If there is something that I haven’t covered that you’d like to know about, just send me a message on Facebook or via email (links at the top of the page) and I will add to the page.

CoiledSpring Games on Facebook

Fan Boy Three on Facebook

Talisman: Digital Edition at Nomad Games

Warhammer Community

This web site is completely unofficial and in no way endorsed by Games Workshop Limited. Read More