Talislanta

It was about this point that Talislanta started sounding like one of those "everyone play along and pretend it's a real thing" sort of deals, like Ed, Edd, n Eddy Online, and I actually had to check and see if it was real. By golly, it is.

For a game that has 'no elves' it...sure has elves.

Hey man, if Skyrealms of Jorune and World of Synnibarr are real, I'm inclined to believe just about anything else is too. RPGs are shithouse crazy.

Really, user? Which races are you referring to?

A people of noble bearing, the Mirin are tall and
statuesque. Th ey have bright blue skin and hair as fi ne and white as gossamer. Mirin dress in robes, boots, and headdresses trimmed with frostwere’s hide.

And they're immune to the cold, practice a strange alchemy, build magic ice castles and fight frost giants all day erry day.

Just because it has pointy ears and is statuesque doesn't make it an elf.

>but I think fourth edition is the best
SECOND EDITION IS BEST YOU MARUK DUNG-MERCHANT!!!

>I mean, what the fuck are these rainbow men even called?
Thralls.

Fighting an Exomorph, which is basically a cross between a tiger and a chameleon.

One of Talislanta's strengths in the 1980s was the excellent art by PD Breeding-Black and others that really made the world come alive. Not as impressive nowadays, but back then compared to shitty D&D and Traveller art it really stood out.

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The only thing I know about this game is the throw-away gag in the middle of THAC0 about it.

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The mysterious and nefarious Black Savants...which were a PC race back then.

Some pretty horrific monsters, like the Vasp, which impregnated you with its eggs.

We wuz Kangs and shiite.

Actual, red-skinned Kangs, from the Quan Empire.

Need a reason for why dungeons exists? Trapmages. Sneaky little bastards.

So rude.

Patrician game for players with patrician tastes.
It's only obvious that Veeky Forums never talks about it.

mirin are humans, user.
try again.

EVERYTHING in Talislanta wants to kill you. FUCKING EVERYTHING.

Not that kind of trap, user. But we don't want /pol/ to find out...

They got pointy ears in the illustration!

Monad Servitors and Mogroth are pretty laid back.

Talislanta had windships before windships were cool.

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So, the setting certainly LOOKS cool (in a very '80 trippy kind of way) but is the game even playable? Is the setting useable or too alien?

I've never even fucking heard of it, and it seems pretty weird, but I have to say something about it is pretty cool. I get a bit of a Morrowind vibe off it, like it's just a very different take on fantasy, disconnected from the standard influences of Norse myths, Tolkien, and European fairy tales. And it has that very cool, slightly gay 80s aesthetic to all the art.

I went and downloaded all the books and I'm gonna try reading them, so thanks for making the thread OP, if nothing else it'll give me something to do tomorrow.

I've run a short campaign of it for a few friends, but couldn't finish due to people moving away.

It's one of those things where the mechanics are actually pretty well done and everyone can be useful and make the sort of character they want to play.

The quantity of lore and resources is almost a downside, to be honest. It's the sort of setting where, since everything is cool and unique, that it can be a challenge to easily create a good and fitting story. One problem is the desire to show off the different areas and races and themes counterbalanced by having to actually know and understand what those are, explain them to the players without saying "read the book" and have it work in a game.

Well designed system, but the lore is just a bit too expansive, especially without enough clear plot hooks.

It'd be good for just about any kind of game though, which is a huge plus. The real problem comes from actually getting that done.

Also it has great magic. Make sure either everyone has magic or those who do read and follow the rules for spells very carefully.

It's nice because you can't be great at magic and be good at everything else, but you can be good at particular uses of magic and not have it hold you back from other skills.

Well, I'm glad this random thread got one more person interested in a new RPG. Discovering new games is good. Heh, maybe we'd have less people shrieking over pointless D&D (or WoD, or Exalted) edition wars if we went out of our way to look at games, both old and new.

Yes it is playable and the setting great, love 4th editions magic system

Man I wish the 4e rulebook wasn't so expensive I'm a sucker for collecting physical books

Print the pdf!

I want to but whats the most cost effective way? Just Lulu or should I go to a staples?

'unno, I threw the idea at you because I know people have printed entire core books. It isn't always pretty but I know technology has improved and combined with pdf being so clean and tidy you can end up with something easy to read and decent-looking. One possible way is to print it on normal paper, and put the pages in those...I don't know, those plastic wrap with holes and stuff it all in a binder. Not the prettiest way but very easy to navigate.

Alright anyone got any stories, or know any blogs/podcasts don't let this thread die I really dig this game!

This is the only podcast I know of:

sunday-skypers.podbean.com/

Awesome thanks!

There are also some stories on the official site.
Kang Civil War was not bad.

I disliked how the marketing says they have no elves, but many of the races are absolutely elves in all but name.

>World of Synnibarr
>2e and it's supplement are still in stock at the publisher, Wonderworld
It's really quite magical.

Don't be that guy

Because there are so many iterations of elves and the requirements to count as elf are really low it is quite hard to make a fantasy humanoid wo isn't either a dwarf, orc or beastman and not be counted as elf by a large number of people.

Some people see elves as starting at "has pointy ears" and fantasy races have pointy ears more often than not.

youtube.com/watch?v=J1Z4NTP5kNY&list=PL28Hge4P7xTD7pae5DNm-YpTTnc4Vcq7o

>the Talislanta: The Savange Lands RPG Kickstarter hasn't appeared yet
>it was supposed to be out in summer 2016
Is it still going to happen?

There's a Talislanta facebook page. The creator hangs out there, why not ask him?

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The only way to play this game is by using psychedelic drugs and listening to progressive rock.

These are badass. As is this thread. I'm going to read all the Talislanta books now, thanks OP.

talmusic.barsoom.cc/

aaaaaand we don't give a shit about the pointedness of their ears.
The marketing tells the truth. There are no elves in talislanta.
This guy knows what's up.

I don't get why people do this, that's obviously a hobgoblin but it's called a kang for no good reason. Taking a staple of fantasy and calling it something else ain't creative or even sensible.
Okay it has shmelves instead of elves, big whooppee.

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Yeah, when the closest thing you have to an iconic race is defined by its wild multicolored skin, and all your interior art is mostly black-and-white, you done fucked up.

>setting with no humans
>people still refer to shit as "humanoid"

Why should Hobgoblin be a more valid designation than Kang? It builds upon the existence of a goblin and has a similar role to what an Orc is in many settings. What exactly a hobgoblin is differs again from setting to setting.

>done fucked up
Not have taken a minuscule blow to presentation due to budget constrains. Way to be over dramatic.

If we are going to be pedantic I'll say this is not an in universe account. The choice to write to the clear understanding of the reader is therefor valid.

>Why should Hobgoblin be a more valid designation than Kang? It builds upon the existence of a goblin and has a similar role to what an Orc is in many settings. What exactly a hobgoblin is differs again from setting to setting.
Let's face it, you can't really make a fantasy race without someone going 'hurrr that's an elf/dwarf/orc/whatever of a different color!' as soon as it has one or two trait, either cultural or physical.

>Not have taken a minuscule blow to presentation due to budget constrains. Way to be over dramatic.

They surely knew in advance that their interior art would be black-and-white. That was the norm for RPGs in the 80's, especially for fantasy heartbreakers like this. They could have designed the world in such a way that critically important information about the world and its people was not dependent on color. Hell, if they really wanted to get fancy they could have designed a world where almost everyone is colorblind and color vision is this weird one-in-a-million gift to which people ascribe spiritual significance.

>fantasy heartbreakers
So what, is Talislanta the oldest fantasy heartbreaker?

First tabletop rpg I ever played. I was, like, 10. I remember my character was a bird person and I skinned a giant tiger creature. That's all I remember.

Yes they knew in advance and decided to not sacrifice a cool concept. I find the notion that color shouldn't have relevance in relation to a concept in game because the book can't be full color absurd. For a game taking place in peoples imagination for the largest part no less.

It is further quite nit picky. You wouldn't say that an iconic weapon couldn't glow a certain color of symbolic significance, that rubies can't be red, that a cosmopolitan market cant be described as colorful or monks couldn't wear their characteristic safran robes.

Why single out the Thrall in this case, they have comparatively frequent color coverage on the front covers?

Woo! A convert. You won't regret it.

Well, you will, because you won't be able to find anyone to play this awesome game with.

That's not the definition of a 'fantasy heartbreaker'.

You can read the actual definition here: indie-rpgs.com/articles/9/

I think people just use 'fantasy heartbreaker' for "any fantasy game I don't like"

The Girls of Talislanta (NSFW):

girlsoftal.nfshost.com/

If you want to be enthralled by some slavish boudoir paintings.

PS: would Jaka females have 2 breasts or 6?

Only two mayor ones it looks like. Possibly they still have more nipples.

Somewhat nicer map.

>Za Bandit

Anyway this seems nice and a couple of years ago I wanted to get into it but was discouraged by the quantity of material.

If you would advise a single short adventure or a wiki, or a a book which highlates the interesting parts of several races what would you suggest?

Wanted to post others, but they were over the size limit.

Everyone should start with The Chronicles of Talislanta (cover pictured).

It's an illustrated travelogue of Talislanta by a dimensional traveller named Tamerlin who gets into all kinds of trouble across that land. Kind of like Cugel but more descriptive of the setting and more serious, with occasional humour. No rules, just exposition and adventures.

After that read the core book for whichever edition you prefer:

1E. OOP, don't bother.
2E. Very simple and concise, simplistic some might say, but my favorite.
3E. Crappy WOTC version (before they bought D&D)
4E. Big Blue Book, labour of love, combines setting plus new rules for magic. Probably the most complete core book, contains everything.
5E. Lots of mechanics added, including feats and race/class customization.

>a single short adventure

The 2E core book has a short adventure where you deliver some crates to a Dual-Encephalon recluse. It's a very good intro to Talislanta as it showcases some of the monsters, the weird races and mercenary/merchant relations, but it's not too long and very easy for the GM to run.

It's a fantasy RPG that has some nice original parts and sells itself as being a more original alternative to D&D, but really it's just an almost-clone of D&D. That's what this game is.

>almost-clone of D&D. That's what this game is.
No, it isn't. It's got almost nothing related to D&D, and is based off weird fantasy worlds like Jack Vance's Planet of Adventure and Clark Ashton Smith's Zothique.

Don't diss something you don't know anything about.

A Tal podcast of a starting adventure:

podbean.com/media/share/pb-hwcmb-5bd0a2#.VqjtJA2JY8U.google_plusone_share

Sure they hired some manatees to shuffle the parts around, but it's running off of all the conceits of old-school D&D. That wouldn't be as much of a problem if it wasn't selling itself as "wow so original so not steal," but its originality, such as it is, is just a layer of butcher paper over a steaming pile of minced-up D&D.

>It's nothing like D&D, it's like Jack Vance
I have some bad news for you, user

>It's nothing like D&D, it's like Jack Vance
>I have some bad news for you, user
D&D has increasingly moved away from whatever genre Vance was in.

You're making baseless accusations without any supporting evidence. Talislanta is very different from old-school D&D in the following ways:

>Characters based on skills, not classes.
>Setting has nothing to do with Ye Olde Medieval Europe, unlike Greyhawk or the Forgotten Realms
>Had a "d20 system" long before WOTC
>Degrees of success
>Customizable magic system like Mage the Ascension
>About 100 more races to play than A/OD&D ever had
>Culture-based magic rather than class magic
>Levelling relatively unimportant, front-loaded PCs

>>It's nothing like D&D, it's like Jack Vance
>I have some bad news for you, user

I have some bad news for you too. D&D wasn't based on Jack Vance's worlds. The only thing Gygax took from Vance was the idea of "spell memorization". Talislanta takes its inspiration and ideas from Vance's weird settings. That's a much better deal.

Incorrect, windships were always cool.

Not too mention it's not just Vance, it's CAS, A Voyage to Arcturus, Kai Lung and many other strange fiction novels.

Update on The Savage Lands from last month:

>Right now, the game is in playtest mode (as far as I can ascertain), round 2. Stewart [Wieck] (who is handling the production and business end of things) is estimating a Kickstarter coming in March (2017). The book is written (as far as I know) and I think that all of the art is done (I've seen a few pieces), but getting mechanics sorted after the first round of playtest seems to be eating some time. Probably layout is taking some time as well. And, on the other hand, Stewart is running a gaming company with a lot of stuff on his plate AND he just bought (as a co-owner) a gaming store in... uh... Texas (?) I think. So, he's pretty busy. Look, aside from Stewart taking over the production and being an actual company owner, Tal's biggest successes have come from when the fans were producing stuff (see 4th edition). TSL is close to that as it was pretty much written by SMS and us fans. I'm not 100% happy with some of the mechanics choices, but the setting and the worldbuilding and the lore are solid.

No I mean they quite literally have a magical pointy eared beautiful elder race that's dying out.

They also straight up have fairies under another name too.

Talislanta has some pretty cool ideas, but don't pretend it's incredibly original, it has it's shit too.

>YFW Stewart Wieck,
>yeah that guy who co-founded White Wolf and co-created The World of Darkness...
>...loves Talislanta

So someone with shit taste and ideas love something good? Shocking.

nocturnal-media.com/blog/2015/10/16/announcing-talislanta-the-savage-land

>Had a "d20 system" long before WOTC
Not any of the anons you're arguing with, but AD&D 1E and 2E used the d20 system, and they were own by TSR. But yes, Talislanta is very different to AD&D.

I should have been a little clearer. I didn't say that Tal was the only game to use a d20 as its resolution mechanic. That's obviously D&D's claim.

But Talislanta called its mechanics system the "d20 system" in the 1990s. No edition of D&D under TSR called itself that until WOTC released D&D 3E in 2000. Not that it was a Tal trademark or anything, but it was the moniker for the system. That's why Talislanta's "d20 system" predates D&D's d20 system.

Its funny to see this generation compare a weird setting to Morrowind instead of Moebius and stuff like Incal.

Because we grew up on the works inspired by this stuff instead of with it?

But uhhh...... All the sauce, please. I don't have the words to explain how disappointing it is to not have friends who know about weird settings

Google Philippe Druillet and Jean Giraud for starts.

70s and 80s weird sci fi fantasy best fantasy.