The Chronicles of Talislanta was released by Bard Games in 1987. It was released as a non system specific review of the lands, nations and environs of the land Talislanta. Talislanta is probably most famous for the tag line pointing out that they do not have elves in their game. This is still true to the best of my knowledge.
Talislanta has always reminded me in many ways of Tekumel and Journe. All three are fantasy worlds that do not follow the norm as it were. This makes it unique experience for the player but I wonder if they have not been as popular because of that. It takes a very well versed DM to run any of those worlds properly because they are so different even as far as the names they use. In traditional types of settings things can be winged but in these types of settings winging it breaks the flavor.
The Chronicles detail the travels of the wizard Tamerlin as he makes his across the lands of Talislanta and interacts with the natives of various cultures. This does not read like a stat tome for the various areas and is system free. It is closer to a piece of fiction than it is a game setting and that is very much its charm. The books goes over 37 plus areas with discussion on other topics such as the geography of the land as well. The following comes from the talislanta.com site....
Follow the accounts of Tamerlin. Traveler, self-styled wizard, and obscure author of ancient times as he explores the magical land of Talislanta. Discover the myriad wonders and oddities of a forgotten age including; the Dream Merchants of Phantas who sail the skies in fabulous windships bearing the most costly and exotic wares. The Maze-City of Altan, carved over centuries of time from a single mound of violet stone. The Aberrant Forest, the Sindarans, the Crimson Citadel, the Xambrian Wizard Hunters, and the many strange peoples, places, and creatures native to the world of Talislanta.
Over at
Stargazer's World he did a write up on his experience with the game. I was also ecstatic to find out that much of their game material had been put on their site as
PDF files. I can now not only see what I am still missing but review it before hand so I can prioritize what I buy. I have most of it already but now I can verify what I still need and start to filling in those holes. In the end the system may not be for everybody but by all means pick up a copy of the Chronicles as it worth a read and being mined for ideas.
Spell:
Cassandra's Spell Amplification
Level: Fifth
Range: None
Duration: None
Ares Effect: None
Components: V,S
Casting Time: 3,5 or 9 Segments
Saving Throw: Special
This is not a spell that is cast on its own but is added to the end of another spell that the magic user is already casting. The effects of this will vary depending on the length of the additional casting time. This spell may only be added to spells of up to and including third level spells. Adding it to others will have no affect on the spell but the caster may still be affected.
This spell causes the the spell it was added onto to have an increase in the effect of the spell. This is achieved by the caster opening a more direct link to the source for the respective energies used by the spell to be amplified. The caster allows much more of their body to be affected by these energies and as a result will suffer harm from use of this spell.
The three segment version of this spell will cause the affected spell to increase in effect by a factor of 25% in all ways save casting time. The energies required to cast this version of the spell will cause the caster to suffer damage equal to one quarter of their total hit points (can not be reduced below one though) and make a saving throw versus their constitution. If this save fails then the caster will be stunned for 2-5 rounds.
The five segment version of this spell will cause the affected spell to increase in effect by a factor of 50% in all ways save casting time. The energies required to cast this version of the spell will cause the caster to suffer damage equal to one half of their total hit points (can not be reduced be one though). The caster will also automatically be stunned for a period of 2-5 rounds. They must also make a saving throw versus their constitution at -4 or fall into a coma like state for 3-12 turns.
The nine segment version of this spell will cause the affected spell to increase in effect by a factor of 100% in all ways save casting time. The energies required to cast this version of the spell will cause the caster to suffer damage that will reduce them to one hit point. They will also become unconscious for a period of 7-12 turns due to the incredible energies flowing through them. There is a 50% chance that the caster will also lose 1d4 hit points permanently (a Restoration spell can restore these) and a 25% chance that they will lose one point of constitution. This casting of the spell invokes energies so strong that all intended victims to make their saves at -4 and they will have their Magic Resistance, if any, reduced by 50% regardless of the level of the caster.
Disclaimer: The spells that you will see, for how ever long the write ups last, were all written up back in the 80's so the terminology may not appropriate for anything other than 1e and depending on how well I did back then it may be slightly off for that as well. If there is any duplication of spells that exist now it is most likely I wrote mine first :) Please feel free to comment on them but try not to be too hard on me. If anyone wishes to use these in anything they print please let me know in advance and all I ask is proper credit.
