#talislanta

[oldschoolfrp]

No Elves -- Ad for the Talislanta RPG system from Bard Games, Dragon magazine 135, July 1988, featuring PD Breeding Black's illustration of an Araq from A Naturalist's Guide to Talislanta

[vixensdungeon]

Thanks to the odd marketing for the game, the only thing I know about Talislanta is still that there are no elves in it.

[vintagerpg]

Volume III of the Cylopedia Talislanta (1989) and the following three volumes (I’ll get to them another time) follow the same structure as Volume II. This one takes a look at the Wilderlands of Zaran, which are mostly desert wastelands. There is a distinctly Dark Sun vibe to some of this stuff, which is interesting, since Dark Sun is still a couple years off. Lots of barbarian types riding big lizards.

Again, just packed with stuff. I love Talislanta for all its wild details. I can’t really imagine playing in it, but I enjoy reading it and skimming off ideas for my own games. These books should be on every worldbuilder’s shelf, honestly. And they can be, at least digitally, for free — Sechi licensed the world out to a few companies after he gave up the tiller, but he always retained the rights, so just about everything is available in PDF on Talislanta.com. The only things that seem to be missing are some of the cyclopedias, but I might just not be seeing them, because that would be an odd oversight. Still, if they aren’t there, they’re usually inexpensive on the second hand market. Just be careful when you buy them — I had a devil of a time keeping the Roman numerals straight for some reason and bought multiples of a couple volumes instead of the one I was missing. I’ve talked to other Talislanta fans who have had the exact same problem, so beware! Maybe it’s a curse!

[curioushobbyist]

Talislanta the Epic Tabletop Roleplaying Game FINAL EDITION (6th Ed) w/ Separate "5E" Conversion by Everything Epic

Talislanta the Epic Diverse Tabletop Roleplaying Game FINAL EDITION (6th Ed) W/ Separate "5E" Conversion is BACK, and after 35 years, still

Hello, just sharing a link to Gamefound Campaign for a new edition of the Tabletop RPG "Talislanta". For those who do not know what Talislanta is it is a RPG focused on a more non-traditional setting than most tabletop RPG's, along with more focus on story than mechanics. The Gamefound campaign launched yesterday and has already achieved primary funding but if anyone is interested to contribute the more the merrier. The campaign included to system, one based on Talislanta's on personal system and a conversion guide for 5th edition. In addition all previous versions of Talislanta have been released as part of the Creative Commons so if you want to learn more about the setting and system.

[chronivore]

Talislanta Library – Talislanta

[shadowron]

Algonkian-Manitoo Council in Native American Nations, Vol. 2, for Shadowrun (1st Edition)

We wrap up the tour of the rest of the NAN with arguably the most interesting and, from a game perspective, playable of the Volume 2 Nations. Tsimshian is the drekhole, Athabascan is the cold one, T-PA is the even colder one, but A-M is the one with nicer weather and elves. Let’s check it out.

It’s easy to see why! It has Saskatoon! Say no more!

(I will say more because yes I am making fun of Saskatoon for no reason)

But seriously: it borders the following nations:

Salish-Shidhe Council

Athabascan Council

Sioux Nation

UCAS

Quebec

You just know that panzers are smuggling everything through this land. With 8% of its population being “pinkskin” tribes, it doesn’t have the same prejudices against non-natives as some other nations, and with 26% of its population being Elves, your Elf Mage, Elf Street Samurai, and Elven Decker will fit right in.

Let’s talk about elves for a moment

Something I missed when I discussed the Salish-Shidhe Council back in Volume 1 (perhaps distracted by how much the fragging Makah are fragging) was the origin of the name. From the 1st Edition Core Book:

The S-S Council is one of two members of NAN to have a high proportion of metahumans, as reflected by its name. “Salish” refers to the dominant Native American tribes and “Shidhe” (pronounced SHE-hee), the old Irish name for the fairy folk, signifies the metahuman participation. The other nation in this group is the Algonkian-Manitoo Council.

NAN v.2 notes that “Manitoo” is Algonkian for “elf”, but a closer translation would be “spirit” in the deific sense – Ashaa Monetoo is the Great Spirit who created the universe. Also derived from “manitou” (as it is respelled in later editions) is Lake Manitoba (and its eponymous Canadian province) and a variety of place names throughout North America.

If you are making your way through Manitowoc, WI, “Dwelling of the Great Spirit”, be sure to stop at the Wisconsin Maritime Museum, home of the WWII submarine USS Cobia.

So, yet again, elves have co-opted yet another culture’s pantheon and will use it as a way to elevate themselves over the rest of metahumanity. Makes you wonder if Talislanta was onto something:

no elves

[rpgcovers]

Talislanta: Hotan's History of the World ~ Morrigan Press (2006)

You can freely download almost every Talislanta book from here.

[rpggeeknation]

Games/Settings for Savages and Brutes...

1. Dark Sun

2. Zweihander

3. Symbaroum

4. Shadow of the Demon Lord

5. Crifoth

6. Conan (by Modiphius)

7. Warhammer Fantasy RP

8. Wrath and Glory

9. Barbarians of Lemuria

10. Mutant Crawl Classics

11. Talislanta

12. Runequest: Glorantha

13. Early Dark

14. Forbidden Lands

15. Gobblin’

Upcoming:

1. Dragongrin

2. Svilland

3. The Wyrd of Stromgard

4. Iskloft

5. Shattered

6. Apocalypse The Risen

Bonus: D&D

Whether you decide on running with low magic, no magic, or just flavoring magic to be savage you can make a D&D game savage.

There are homebrew rules you can find online that up the difficulty and grit of the game.

Besides that, however, you can flavor a game to be savage by...

Races: Orc, Goblin, Bugbear, Hobgoblin, Yuan-Ti, Goliath, Lizardfolk, Kobold, Half-Orc, Tiefling, Kenku, Minotaur, Centaur, Shifter, and Grung. If you have Ravnica allow Loxodons and Viashino. Homebrew and 3rd Party Races you could allow include: Ratfolk, Gnolls, Thrikreen, Koalinths, Trollkin, Kuotoa, Bullwugs, etc.

Classes: Barbarian, Druid, and Ranger are obvious. Clerics should be Tempest, Nature, or War Clerics. Dragon and Giant (UA) sorcerers are also good and Warlocks can add a sinister bent. For Wizards Divination Wizards are Wisemen/Seers, Evocation Wizards are Elementalists, and Necromancy Wizards are Death Shamans. Rogues and Fighters can also be a good fit, just give them a flavor/lore/background to reflect their savagery. Gladiators and Tribal Warriors can be savage Fighters, while Cutthroats, Pirates, and Dark Assassins can be good Rogues. Bards with College of Valor can make good Skalds and Warcriers. Multiclassing Bard with Barbarian can up this theme but make sure you are prepared for such a build. For Paladin your best bet is Oath of Conquest for that Marauding Warlord vibe. Artificer and Mystic don’t really work here.

Backgrounds: Hermit, Outlander, Pirate, Soldier, and Criminal work pretty well, but feel free to find or come up with your own.