Announcing a New Expansion for Talisman
originally published 17 December 2013
Fantasy Flight Games is proud to announce The Firelands, a new expansion for Talisman Revised 4th Edition. The land of Talisman will face a dire new threat in the legendary Ifrit, once forced to create the Crown of Command. Now, the Ifrit rise again, intent on burning every field to ash and enslaving the surface dwellers. Your quest for the Crown of Command is about to become more frantic and dangerous than ever before.
Flint and Tinder
In this expansion, you gain access to four new characters in your adventures across the land of Talisman. Whether you control the weapon mastery of the Dervish, the wandering Nomad, the magical Jin Blooded, or the powerful Warlord, you’ll be able to use their new skills and abilities to defeat your opponents and reign supreme over Talisman.
The Firelands also introduces three new Alternative Ending Cards, offering you even more options for playing the game, whether your objective is open or hidden. Whether you use an Alternative Ending Card or play traditionally, you will need to utilize your character’s Strength and Craft to the utmost. The flames of the Ifrit are spreading throughout every part of the realm of Talisman, and without your efforts, their flames will reduce it to ash.
Sparks to Flame
The Firelands expansion introduces eighty-one new Adventure Cards, and many of these cards focus on the threat of the Ifrit. In The Firelands, you will experience the blazing heat of the Ifrit expressed in a new game mechanic: burn. In the past, Objects and Followers were simply ditched or discarded after use, but with the advent of the Ifrit, the quest for the Crown of Command takes on new intensity.
Certain cards in The Firelands will instruct players to burn a certain number of cards. When a card is burnt, it is removed from the game and no longer has any effect. As the Ifrit’s destruction advances through Talisman, their flames destroy Objects, Followers, Spells, and Adventure Cards, depriving you and your fellow players of precious resources that can aid you on your quest. The only way to stop the destruction is to penetrate to the Inner Region and claim the Crown of Command.
The only cards that cannot be burnt by the ravaging flames of the Ifrit are new fireproof cards, but these cards offer little help to you and your fellow players. The majority of fireproof cards only inflict more burn effects, causing your hard-earned cards to vanish. Chief among the new fireproof cards are the Noble Ifrit. These enemies will stop at nothing to destroy the realm, and many of them possess ongoing effects, spreading fire and death gradually throughout Talisman. You will have to defeat the Noble Ifrit quickly if you hope to have any cards left to help you.
End in Fire
As the Ifrit burn away the cards you depend on, they also consume the realm with fire. New fireland tokens are placed on the game board by various card effects, and if your character ends a turn in a space with a fireland token, it loses one life. Safe travel through Talisman quickly becomes a luxury at best.
The Ifrit’s fiery influence can even shape and change the land of Talisman itself with new Terrain Cards. These Terrain Cards are placed over a space on the game board. A graveyard may be overtaken by forest, or a tavern may become no more than ruins. Even though these Terrain cards may cover helpful regions, a clever player can also use them to get around obstacles. If the Sentinel or the Portal of Power is covered by a Terrain Card, you can pass freely into the Middle or Inner Regions.
The destruction of the Ifrit is fast approaching, endangering the entire realm. All may seem lost, but by enduring fiery trials and confronting your foes, you have the chance to rise as an unmatched hero. Can you withstand the heat and triumph over this new threat? Check back for previews to learn more and look for The Firelands at a retail store near you in the first quarter of 2014!