[WIP] A new Talisman style fantasy board game...

[Nick B]

I've been fooling around with ideas and after several pages worth of rules and just over 200 cards completed (only 10 have art) I set out to create a board map. This game would be similar to Talisman, up to 4 players can take turns rolling dice, moving around the map and drawing, from a single deck, cards that fall into several categories:

Item
Spell
Enemy
Event
Tile
Quest
Companion

There is leveling and item management involved to empower your character. Though there are three possible victory conditions the ultimate goal is to defeat the blight dragon that nests in the center of the map. As the game progresses the tiles change their properties as more and more cards are drawn and their effects are released upon the board (tile cards in particular).

Note that this is purely conceptual at this point. All I have are cards with text (empty area for art), this map, and several pages worth of rules. Somewhere in that back of my head is the idea that after much more refining and redoing what I have a time over or two, I may seek out some programming skills to bring this thing to life. I like the idea of digital board gaming and I sense I distinct lack of games to satisfy the RPG adventurer in many of us.

[CaptainJohnHawk]

I like this idea a lot. It has the feel of a more in-depth version of Munchkin (maybe taken more seriously than Munchkin).
Interested to see where this goes!

[Nick B]

I like this idea a lot. It has the feel of a more in-depth version of Munchkin (maybe taken more seriously than Munchkin).
Interested to see where this goes!

Possibly, with the use of loot cards and leveling up. However, this game would put much greater emphasis on the board aspect. Quest cards will send you across the land while tile cards may turn a simple hills tile into a dangerous wizard's tower or introduce other perils and reward opportunities. Event cards may create hazards on certain tiles for a time, etc. The idea is to have players traverse the map while completing quests, finding companions, getting equipped and leveling up so they may face off with the blight dragon to win the game. I have 12 characters, each with a particular bonus trait, with simple backstories and starting stats. However, I'm thinking a character creation aspect that allows the player to name, assign stats, and choose a portrait for their character would be pretty cool.

I uploaded a new day map in the original post due to a saving mishap (ugh). I reversed one side of the character windows so it looks more symmetrical and I had to redo the rivers (still beveled! ) and hills. Here is the night version. Each player will take their turn during the day, followed by a night round, etc. Some quests, such as lighting the lighthouse, can only be completed at night.

Thanks for the posts, folks.

conceptnight.jpg

[- Max -]

The soft painting feel looks nice though the forests (with dark outlines when mountains/hills don't have ones) and the icons, too crisp, doon't match it. Rivers and frame could also be improved to be more attractive (and please get rid of this ugly bevel effect on rivers! )

[Chick]

Well, we don't all have the same taste, I guess. I like the forest edges, I think they are exactly right to delimit the forest unobtrusively. And I absolutely love the rivers!! They give a very nice 3D effect!!

[timallen]

I love the mountains. The rivers are having that odd effect on my eyes where one moment they look concave and the next convex.

I don't know Tailsman...is that what they call a Deck Building Game?

[Nick B]

I love the mountains. The rivers are having that odd effect on my eyes where one moment they look concave and the next convex.

I don't know Tailsman...is that what they call a Deck Building Game?

Talisman is an old board game that has since gone digital. Check out the website: http://www.talisman-game.com/talismande/

[Nick B]

For fun I uploaded some of the cards I made a while back, before school got hectic. I made a bunch, then redid them in a different style. Just trying to come up with a technique that will yield consistent results. I figure I could crank out the entire catalogue of 200+ cards in 12 - 18 months, just doing them when I'm bored here and there.