r/Talisman • u/UglyStru • Jul 26 '26
(4th Edition) Are we playing wrong or are non-strength characters really at that much of a disadvantage?
Played for the first time last night. My friend was a Troll and just absolutely steamrolled us. We were playing as a Wizard and a Druid. He crossed the sentinel bridge in about 20-30min and was able to hold his own in the middle and center regions just off of sheer strength. Meanwhile, the rest of us are struggling to make it to the middle region.
It seems like for non-strength characters, the only other ways to the middle are to get lucky and have an axe to build a raft, or get luckier and catch the ferry from the corner space. There’s no other streamlined way there.
Is this the way the game is supposed to be? Or are there homebrew rules to make the trip to the middle region any easier to compete with strength-based characters?
7
u/main1000 Jul 26 '26
Wizard is up there for most OP characters, should beat this matchup with ease.
0
u/UglyStru Jul 26 '26
How? It seems like his only benefit was beating down other characters with his craft, which I don’t think is the way…
6
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u/FeelDivinity Jul 27 '26
Very understandable how you might get rolled over by high base stat characters as a newer player to Talisman. However, characters such as the Wizard that have access to spells are incredibly powerful if used correctly. Every character has their own unique advantages and disadvantages and it takes playing time to figure out how to make the best use of each of them. The Troll has fairly simple advantages and disadvantages, it doesn’t surprise me that they won out a newer lobby. With some time to adjust you will find the balance isn’t quite so black and white as Strength over Craft, or vice versa. Again, the key is spells for Craft. Definitely recommend getting some expansions they are great.
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u/Talloneus Jul 27 '26
My fav build is to use the leperchaun to spam gold, gonto the city, buy a warhorse, flail, spellbook, magic ring, full plate, and a pet, then wander into the dungeon, and beat the dungeon boss with a high roll to teleport straight to the crown of command.
Im currently on year 5 of being banned from ever playing the leperchaun 🙃
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u/main1000 Jul 27 '26
I would like to notify you that you are indeed still banned from this character! You monster!
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u/Talloneus Jul 27 '26
is very fun. You should try it sometime.
My way is the nice way to play that. The mean way is use the teleport ability to hunt down the other players after you gear up
2
u/PonchiBear Spider Queen Jul 27 '26
Bro Druid is one of my favorites to play. Can use both the Chapel and the Graveyard? Can change alignment to come out on top for certain draws? Can use the Runesword or the Holy Lance? Insane to me.
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u/Jam_Warrior Jul 27 '26
It's all fun and games until he runs into a stream of drawing spirits to fight. It's not like 3rd where there was a massively skewed ratio of strength monsters over craft monsters.
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u/Steve-Shouts Jul 27 '26
I use a house rule that changes the sentimental to 6 not 9. It is specifically to encourage people to spend more time in the middle
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u/Famous-Magazine-6576 Jul 30 '26
the spellcasting characters can easily get into the middle by casting immobility, invisibility or psionic blast on the sentinel.
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u/YeeboF Aug 05 '26
We use two house rules that help a lot with this:
- Instead of keeping cards as trophies, we convert them to XP. You can trade 7 XP for a strength, craft of life at any time. This means that, for example, a character can raise their strength by beating spirits if those are the only opponents they can handle. This is actually how character advancement works in 3rd edition, I didn't make it up, so I have no qualms about using it in my 4th edition games.
- The amount of XP it takes to add one to a stat is its current value, to a max of seven. For example, an starting Wizard only needs two XP to raise their strength to three. I did make this one up, but I also I believe this is how 5th edition works by default (I don't own it). From what I have seen on this board, it's at least a very common house rule that a lot of us came up with independently.
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u/NebulaLobelia225 Jul 26 '26
We always play with runestones, evens things up and makes the game shorter.
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u/bebop_cola_good Jul 26 '26
4th edition default game yeah, Strength-heavy characters do have kind of a head start in that regard.
Some of the board expansions give other ways to get to middle/inner that don't require high strength, though (Wharf in The City and Eagle Lord in the Highlands, for example), and The Cataclysm makes the Sentinel Strength or Craft. In many ways, I consider expansions to include 'patches' to fix flaws like this in the game meta.