When Jon New, the Harbour Master at Talisman Island, explained he was going to, along with Polish Talisman fans, update Sam Wallace’s original translation of the ‘Jaskinia’ expansion into English I was really excited with thoughts of creating a subterranean 3D world for adventurers to explore.
For those unaware of this expansion this is what BGG says about it:
“This expansion is the only professionally produced expansion NOT to be produced by Games Workshop (or licensees of Talisman). Jaskinia or the Cave, adds a new board to the game along with a new deck of cards to encounter. It is thought to be a very difficult expansion as many of the enemies within the Cave have very high scores for Might or Magic. It seems that the production of this expansion brought about an end to relations between Sfera and Games Workshop, as the license was revoked shortly after this. Sfera went on to produce a Talisman-esque game, Magiczny Miecz.”
With the translation complete it was launched earlier this year and I immediately downloaded the files and had a set printed off.
Jon and I then discussed the minis that GW may have scavenged from their range at the time to use instead of the card standees, as was their want back in the day.
It can be downloaded from Talisman Island here: https://www.talismanisland.com/resources/expansions/1st-2nd-edition/
The board is 25” by 19” and I had three printed off on glossy paper: one to paste onto foam board and cut into four to put in the box so I had a complete set, one to use as the base of the 3D board and one to use as a template to create the 3D board.
A sheet of black 2” expanded polystyrene insulation was bought from Wickes DIY store to use as the cave walls. The template was then placed on top and cocktail sticks pushed through to indicate where the middle of each of the rooms was.
A disc was then made out of cardboard the same size each room as well as a piece the width of each of the corridors. These were then placed though the toothpick and, one by one, marked out each of the rooms.
The room layout was marked out with corridors and entrances shown using white paint. The template board, now full of holes, was kept as I wanted to cut out the ‘Talisman Cave’ logo to use for the board.
My aim was to create a board with a claustrophobic cave-like atmosphere where a character could not see across the board or into other spaces. This 2” thick polystyrene board was the right height to create this foreboding atmosphere.
A Proxon Thermocut hot-wire cutter was then used to cut out the dungeon layout. This is an essential piece of kit as it allows accurate cutting and melts the polystyrene as it goes. The second printed board was then stuck down onto some foam board using spray mount glue.
All the board pieces were then cut out. The waste inserts can be seen to the right of the picture still sporting their toothpicks. It had to be cut out in four parts as it was too big to get through the wire cutter as a single piece. The nature of the foam meant it was easy to disguise these joins once it was complete. The temptation at this point was to immediately stick it down onto the board but… whoaaa there Bessie.
Upon laying it out my imagination went into overdrive.
Unfortunately there is no artwork on the board. This is a shame, but this then gave me a blank canvas and one night over several glasses of red wine, a narrative started to play out in my Shiraz-soaked brain.
This wasn’t just a Cave with random rooms oooh no… it was… (drum roll) …a Necromancer’s lair with his foul abode and sacrificial altar at the far corner. Dan dan daaaaa!
In her adventures, Red Sonja is constantly ridding the world of foul Necromancers who use nefarious ways to muck around with the underworld and awaken all sorts of nasty beasties. Now the proud owner of a Red Sonja 2nd Edition character and mini, I too could play my part in making the Talisman world a nicer place.
With this theme in mind I started, as is the want of every Talisman Cave 3D designer, to fill every room with cave/dungeon horrors using my beloved early Citadel minis from the 1980’s and early 90’s.
There would be vampires, wraiths, gorgons, orcs, tentacled carrion crawler things with tentacles that crawled, traps, secret doors, torture chambers, dragons, beetles, treasure cambers, necromancers, pit fiends, bats, and scorpions. It was going to be a nasty place to explore and certainly not one for the faint hearted and though none of these mini dioramas (apart from the Wall of Fire, Fountain, Bats, Sacrificial Altar, Ancient Power Source and Narrow Passage) play any part in the game, it was just an excuse for me to go back to a world of simpler pleasures where miniatures were sourced from your local game shop in wee plastic bags or you had to allow 28 days for delivery and the internet was just something a Yorkshire fisherman would say to his catch.
To create these little stories, the polystyrene needed to be cut and adapted which could only be done before it was stuck down. Also, I wanted a bit more of a rocky feel to its texture. Knowing that aerosols melted polystyrene I used this to my advantage and, placing the board pieces outside, gave each of them a light spray of matt black Halford’s paint which caused bubbling and melting on the surface and walls but due to its thickness did not go all the way through.
It was then dry brushed using various HomeBase tester pots which are a nice cheap way to get multiple colours in reasonable quantities without having huge tins clogging up your shed.
With all my interior modifications complete it was now finally time to trim the foam board and stick down the walls.
Lead weights and tins were using to hold the foam pieces in place as the glue set. The tea mug is an essential piece of equipment in any modeller’s armoury, with this fine heroine-emblazoned vessel giving me additional bonuses with armour and healing saving throw.
Finally finished! The little card tray for the cave cards was made from cardboard and foam board.
The Cave expansion characters line up outside for a hero photo before entering its dark, dank depths. Page numbers are from the 1991 Citadel Red Catalogue. (L-R):
Einheri – Norse, Axe 11, 074068/27 p.239.
Cannibal – Ethereals, Ghoul 3, 074530/16 p.311.
Demon – Ethereals, Ghoul 4, 074530/21 p.311.
Morlock – Orc Savage Boyz, Mace, 074748/12 p.171.
Monarch – Wizard, Wand 2, 074043/5 p.243.
Vampire – Ethereals, Vampire 3, 074530/4 p.311.
Seer – C02 Wizard, Wand 1, 074288/5 p.242. Gambrenus.
Hermit – C02 Wizard, Staff 10, 074141/12 p.243. Casslin Spellweaver.
The Cave entrance is Scotia Grendal’s 10098 ‘Cave Entrance’ with its centre hollowed out. To the left stands the Citadel Night Horrors Carrion Perch and the tombstone on the right is from the
Reaper 02043 Undead Rising blister. The metal spider is, I think, early Citadel.
As we enter let’s meet some of the goons who inhabit this dark world who just want to invite you into their lair for a nice cup of tea and a sticky bun!
Turn left and you run in to a Bat Roost and a cemetery area. There are four bats mounted on a plasticard base from the 1983 C29 Citadel Creepy Crawlies range. Both variants being shown.
These early Citadel pieces are lovely and I make no excuses for saying I prefer these simpler miniatures. Comparing these early minis with modern ones is a bit like the comparison between
classic horror movies who ramp up suspense with music and brief glimpses through cracks in a door to modern ones which show everything, blood guts and all and leave nothing to the
imagination.
These early minis just have something about them. It is, as the Bard would say, our old fried the implied narrative. A classic case in point is the 1985 Citadel AD&D84 Beholder whose sinister grin is far more terrifying than any modern D&D mini today. However, they are very expensive these days if bought individually. I had a few I had bought back in the day but the best way is to look for them today on the second-hand market is in bags of bits being sold. A trained eye will very soon pick out an early Imp or Beetle amongst a lot of tat.
Anyway, I digress.
At the end of this passage that appears to lead nowhere is this rather angry looking chap who is a bit miffed for being disturbed. A Scotia Grendal 10071 unearthed Gothic Tomb is the resting pace for this Vampire I bought in a bag of bits. Not sure where he is from. A C29 Creepy Crawlies spider climbs up the lid for a tasty treat from his master. Web is cotton-wool stretched out with pins. Metal torches are Scotia Grendal.
Don’t fancy going that way? (I don’t blame you) then turn right instead.
As a Jason and the Argonauts fan I’ve always liked the Citadel Night Horrors Medusa with bow and decided to make a little lair for her based on the scene from the movie. Pillars are Citadel FS26 Dungeon pillars with a Citadel DS2 cauldron and Scotia torches.
Sneak past her and you can bathe/drink from the underground fountain (mind the 1981 Citadel FF51 Tentacled Crawler). This is from the Scotia Grendal 10010 Skull Fountain set. As bought it is too high so the bottom has to be cut off. Luckily all the water didn’t run away. I think I will stick with my water bottle.
Something I learned from playing D&D in the 1980’s and 90’s is that the deadliest, most terrifying thing you can come across is… a raised Dais. Whenever I see one it sends a shiver up my spine for the horrors that usually lurk there. One of which is shown here, the Citadel AD&D 93 Shadow or Chopper Rider as we used to call him every time the DM reached for him from his monster cabinet. Scotia do a scary set of raised Daises (10012). Beware raised Daises. You have been warned!
Regardless of which way you turn you will be forced through the ‘Narrow Passage’ into the lower depths of the Necromancer’s lair.
Minis here are the Citadel FS42 Large Bugs, FS52 Large Statue, tooth picks for spikes, a dead adventurer, (make unknown) skewered by a crossbow trap after trying to extricate a ruby set into
the wall, and escaped prisoner from Scotia’s Torture chamber set of figures.
Next to the Ancient Power Source is the Necromancer’s torture chamber. Torture chamber piece is from Scotia’s 10109 Torture Chamber set with 3D printed skeleton prisoners. I try and avoid this
new-fangled stuff but sometimes it is a necessary evil as the pieces fit perfectly for my imagination. The Ancient Power Source is from Scotia’s Sci Fi range with odd bits from my spares box making up the wires and levers.
Get past the Citadel FS 3 Demon floor trap, Wall of Flames (50mm version from Ashelnia 3D printing) and…
… 1985 C29 Citadel Cave Dragon (note the small wings for moving around in subterranean environments and large eyes for seeing in dim light.) and you eventually get to…
…the Necromancer’s Lair just in time to stop the sacrifice that is about to unleash the foul thing reaching forward from the pit, make jam of him and his minions, plunder his treasure and store room…
…and make good your escape. Three-piece Necromancer set from Citadel FS2 range, with a C29 Creepy Crawley familiar and FS1 Dungeon Doorway. Treasure and store room items from various manufacturers with Citadel Creeping Claw Chaos Familiar protecting his store of dead bodies.
Little distractions like the secret door operated by turning the unlit torch and underground passage are a bit of fun and need to be sculpted in before sticking down the cave walls. It is worth remembering that with each of the board spaces there has to be room to put a 2nd edition Talisman mini on its 25mm hex base. My Magic Crystal was made from an old gem I found in my jewellery box but that is not shown as you have to discover it yourself.
Have fun and let your imagination run away with you. This is an ideal expansion to use your old minis in the environment for which they were designed.
This was bought on the web…
The finished board flanked by both editions. The Jaskinia box art is really good but I love the new artwork on the English edition with the lone adventurer, torch spluttering, staring up at the ethereal figure on the ledge. Very atmospheric!
Thank you to Sam Wallace, Jon New and all the Polish Talisman fans who translated the original.
I can’t wait to get in there and explore the Talisman Cave.
/KB 12-2024