Capture the Flag

I had just joined the Talisman 3rd Edition Discussion Group and was going through the archive of messages, when I came across the very interesting idea of a Capture the Flag game that would allow for team play. This had been proposed by Ettore, but had no rules attached. I thought about it a bit, and managed to come up with the following guidelines. I will not dignify them with the term "rules" as they have not been play-tested and have a bit of development to go through. In fact, you will find a section at the bottom dealing with just that issue.

Also, please note that these suggestions might apply to either Second or Third Edition play. There is no real reason not to mix-and-match other than availability. Be sure to screen for any possibility of rule conflict to avoid having problems during play.

Premise 1: There are two rival continents separated by a vast ocean. These are the Realms of Occidentalia and Orientalia. In between these two lies Oceana. Rival nations strive to conquer each other or fall to the perils of war.

Set up: Two Talisman Main boards are required, along with a sea-themed set such as Marijn van der Gaag's Sea Realm. All "Oriental" Characters (Samurai, Ninja) are separated from the Character deck. One team gets these Characters to choose from and the other gets the rest. A third team might consist of Characters more accustomed to the sea, such as the Pirate or those from Marijn's set.

Play: The object is to capture the Throne of your opponents' Realm. Characters from Occidentalia and Orientalia must cross Oceana to do so. If there is a third team, the object is to capture both of the Thrones. Play continues until both Thrones are under the same flag. If a team is eliminated by the loss of its Throne, its Characters are left on the board with all of their possessions and are treated as Enemies.

Premise 2: There are two identical universes existing in parallel with each other. They have become aware of the existence of their opposite number recently and expeditionary forces have been sent out to conquer their rival Realms.

Set up: Two identical versions of Talisman must be available. Also, the Timescape from the Second edition is useful, but not necessary. Team members must pair up with players from the opposite team. Character cards are given each pair (use whatever your favorite method of dealing cards happens to be). After this, the pairs choose a Character to play with. If there is disagreement as to which card to choose, the highest die-roll decides. After this, Characters are drawn to match those selected for play from the second set of cards. Boards are set up as in a regular game, with Characters from each team on their own boards. To differentiate between teams, use different colored bases or put the character tokens in upside down.

Play: As above, the object is to capture the enemy Throne. To get from one board to the other, Characters must either pass through the Timescape or have some alternate method of travel. I suggest the use of a Spell such as Teleport or through the services of the Wizard. In doing so, Characters land on their starting space on the opposite board. Going home works the same way. In the event that a Character dies, a new one is drawn and started on its teams board as normal. However, that Character's pair switches to the new Character, though it retains all possessions, Followers and anything else it might have. Spells that would ordinarily have to be discarded due to a lack of Craft may be used but not replenished.

Common Ground and Room for Improvement: In both scenarios, the object is to be in possession of both Thrones. It is possible, and perhaps desirable, for one Character to climb to the Throne space and guard it. If such is the case, that Character becomes the King Master-level Character (I need to make this card!). It grants the holder the ability to control the Crown of Command to the extent that it may be targeted at a specific set of Characters within the Kings Realm. Stepping away from the Throne relinquishes the Crown. Only one Character from a Realm may sit on the Throne space for that Realm.

If playing with the Dragon's Tower (3rd Edition), I think that perhaps that should a Character sit on the Throne, the Tower cards should be replaced with a series of Guard cards or other castle denizens. Again, this is something I want to develop.

The idea of a third team brings up the question of the reason for their participation. I propose the Pretender Master-level Character. One Character from Oceana's team may take this Character in addition to the one they would already get. I have yet to work out the details of the Character, but it should have the consequence of eliminating its team if it is ever destroyed.

Playing with a combination of Third and Second edition boards, rules and Characters might be fun, or it might not work at all. It is worth trying, I suppose, but falls under the category of "experiments to try."

Please let me know what you think of these suggestions, especially if you actually try playing a game or two using them. This sounds like a lot of fun to me, but I would like to know if it actually works in practice. I would appreciate the feedback.


CAPTURE THE FLAG Team play in Talisman
I had just joined the Talisman 3rd Edition Discussion Group and was going through the archive of messages, when I came across the very interesting idea of a Capture the Flag game that would allow for team play. This had been proposed by Ettore, but had no rules attached. I thought about it a bit, and managed to come up with the following guidelines. I will not dignify them with the term "rules" as they have not been play-tested and have a bit of development to go through. In fact, you will find a section at the bottom dealing with just that issue. Also, please note that these suggestions might apply to either Second or Third Edition play. There is no real reason not to mix-and-match other than availability. Be sure to screen for any possibility of rule conflict to avoid having problems during play. Premise 1: There are two rival continents separated by a vast ocean. These are the Realms of Occidentalia and Orientalia. In between these two lies Oceana. Rival nations strive to conquer each other or fall to the perils of war. Set up: Two Talisman Main boards are required, along with a sea-themed set such as Marijn van der Gaag's Sea Realm. All "Oriental" Characters (Samurai, Ninja) are separated from the Character deck. One team gets these Characters to choose from and the other gets the rest. A third team might consist of Characters more accustomed to the sea, such as the Pirate or those from Marijn's set. Play: The object is to capture the Throne of your opponents' Realm. Characters from Occidentalia and Orientalia must cross Oceana to do so. If there is a third team, the object is to capture both of the Thrones. Play continues until both Thrones are under the same flag. If a team is eliminated by the loss of its Throne, its Characters are left on the board with all of their possessions and are treated as Enemies. Premise 2: There are two identical universes existing in parallel with each other. They have become aware of the existence of their opposite number recently and expeditionary forces have been sent out to conquer their rival Realms. Set up: Two identical versions of Talisman must be available. Also, the Timescape from the Second edition is useful, but not necessary. Team members must pair up with players from the opposite team. Character cards are given each pair (use whatever your favorite method of dealing cards happens to be). After this, the pairs choose a Character to play with. If there is disagreement as to which card to choose, the highest die-roll decides. After this, Characters are drawn to match those selected for play from the second set of cards. Boards are set up as in a regular game, with Characters from each team on their own boards. To differentiate between teams, use different colored bases or put the character tokens in upside down. Play: As above, the object is to capture the enemy Throne. To get from one board to the other, Characters must either pass through the Timescape or have some alternate method of travel. I suggest the use of a Spell such as Teleport or through the services of the Wizard. In doing so, Characters land on their starting space on the opposite board. Going home works the same way. In the event that a Character dies, a new one is drawn and started on its teams board as normal. However, that Character's pair switches to the new Character, though it retains all possessions, Followers and anything else it might have. Spells that would ordinarily have to be discarded due to a lack of Craft may be used but not replenished. Common Ground and Room for Improvement: In both scenarios, the object is to be in possession of both Thrones. It is possible, and perhaps desirable, for one Character to climb to the Throne space and guard it. If such is the case, that Character becomes the King Master-level Character (I need to make this card!). It grants the holder the ability to control the Crown of Command to the extent that it may be targeted at a specific set of Characters within the Kings Realm. Stepping away from the Throne relinquishes the Crown. Only one Character from a Realm may sit on the Throne space for that Realm. If playing with the Dragon's Tower (3rd Edition), I think that perhaps that should a Character sit on the Throne, the Tower cards should be replaced with a series of Guard cards or other castle denizens. Again, this is something I want to develop. The idea of a third team brings up the question of the reason for their participation. I propose the Pretender Master-level Character. One Character from Oceana's team may take this Character in addition to the one they would already get. I have yet to work out the details of the Character, but it should have the consequence of eliminating its team if it is ever destroyed. Playing with a combination of Third and Second edition boards, rules and Characters might be fun, or it might not work at all. It is worth trying, I suppose, but falls under the category of "experiments to try." Please let me know what you think of these suggestions, especially if you actually try playing a game or two using them. This sounds like a lot of fun to me, but I would like to know if it actually works in practice. I would appreciate the feedback.