2004 Talisman Tournament
Invitation
OUR STORY SO FAR…
The Dryad had been called up by her elders."There is a terrible evil stirring,"she was told."You may have heard about the passing of the great Cleric ruler that has sat on the throne of the Crown of Command, but with him died the power over evil. It must be restored!"
She fidgeted with her shining white hair and asked carefully,"If this is true, what shall I do? I am nothing more than a person of the forest. I cannot handle evil single-handedly."
"That is why we have contacted the Monk and the Elf Ranger from the west to aid in your progress. With their help, we may be able to claim the throne for 'good's' sake once more. But be careful, in order to defeat evil you may have to succumb to it."
A shiver ran through her as she said goodbye to her people and progressed into Talisman history.
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Just as the elders predicted, evil began to spring up from every corner. Not only were the sightings of the ominous Black Tower becoming more and more common, and Undead were crawling the nights regularly, seven other adventurers were on the quest for the Crown of Command and all of them were evil: the Wizard, Minotaur, Bugbear, Saracen, Ghoul, Orc, and the vicious Gnoll were all bent on destruction and domination over the land.
In order to show its support, Rome was the first to offer their aid by making their presence known immediately with roads to Rome showing up en masse. It's a good thing too because just as the first event to occur was the implementation of the Road, the second was the destruction of the royal castle. No court hearings would be happening in this generation of Talisman adventurers. Other signs that it would be a difficult journey were displayed with the land being hit by Pestilence and a raging Blizzard simultaneously!
The Elf Ranger was not to be discouraged by this and began his quest by chasing after a cruel dragon. He lost. So he tried again. He lost again. His friends began to refer to him as Dragon-Magnet and much jeering was had on his account at Black's Tavern. Not to be daunted by the taunting or the bad weather, the Elf decided to try one last time. Setting out into the land he came across a kindly old man who asked him to sit down. Suddenly, the Elf realized the danger he was in and the old man was revealed to be the Black Priest who summoned the closest dragon to him. With an evil outpour of laughter, the Priest disappeared and the Elf was trapped. In a poetic ending, a hurricane hit (must have been the El Nino of the land of Talisman), the forest was destroyed by deforestation, and the Elf was eaten by this last dragon.
Evil 1 - Good 0.
DIRT
While the geographical conditions played out the Talisman version of The Day After Tomorrow, the Ghoul had decided to start a campaign against the city. Disgusting Interference with Regional Talismanians, or DIRT, was organized to petition the allowance of inhuman creatures the right to walk the streets of the city. To show his disgust he instantly attacked the Minotaur. During the struggle the Minotaur asked why the sudden bum-rush."I hate you because City people love you. I hate that!"
The Minotaur, still shaken by the Ghoul's sudden attack, went to Rome, where his kind are worshipped as gods and was healed by Cato the healer, who had conveniently set up shop at the city entrance."Why not stay in the service of Rome?"asked the healer."It's always best to remain where you are respected. Thinking this good advice, the Minotaur joined the Roman army. The clothes are a bit tight, but the benefits are great!
The Saracen set out to leave his homeland of the deserts and explore the rest that the world had to offer. As he took his first step into the green fields he found himself in…a sand dune. No accounting for his sense of direction. He found himself facing the infamous giant sandworm and barely escaped with his life. Realizing that he was better off in the desert he resigned himself to exploring the region of his fathers. "You try to get out, and it just pulls you back in!"” Crawling to the sultan for help, he was beaten up by the sultan's men for not being female. Tough audience! This just wasn't turning out to be a good day.
The news of the Elf Ranger's death had by this time made it back through his family tree to the distant cousin's, the Drow. The evil Drow took the Elf Ranger's place in the quest. The first thing she did was to return to the scene of the murdering Dragons and killed two within the first few days of adventuring. In memoriam to the event, a Pool of Healing sprang up over the Dragon's grave and it was called SweetRevenge Pond–the people rejoiced.
The Monk, determined to escape all the dragons and to keep his eye on the Minotaur, took a pilgrimage to Rome. At the gates, he too was greeted by Cato the healer, who then proceeded to experiment on him. Realizing that the Minotaur was being assisted by the people of Rome, the Monk escaped down a side street where he was attacked by some thieves. Battered and dying, the Monk slipped through a door and found himself in a gambling house. In order to escape the thieves and other dangers of the streets, the Monk 'pretended' to gamble and won a human slave. This was going to be difficult to explain to the Abbot! Stricken with guilt he decided to head to the Administration office of Rome to report his "accidental" sins. He stood at the front counter for quite a while ringing the bell before he realized he was being ignored and left. While descending the steps back to the street, Nero took reign over the land and proclaimed a price on all good citizen's heads. The Monk paid for his blasphemous life, even though it was all accidental, with his life–an example made of his life to support the evil Caesar's reign.
Evil 2 - Good 0.
Dungeon Rules
The Ghoul, trying to get people to join DIRT, ventured to the far outer region, hoping for new blood. As he walked through the fields, a Wild Fire burst forth! Barely escaping with his life (or is that "anti"-life?), he later explained to the authorities: I'm sorry I started the Wildfire! I was trying to burn ants!" For his crimes against the land, he was subjected to an immobilization spell cast by the Wizard. It could have been worse. Just to be safe that the Ghoul wasn't harboring any bad feelings, the Wizard then disappeared down a dungeon entrance. With all that crazy DIRT talk and the fact that the Wizard could walk the city streets safely, he didn't want to take any chances.
The Drow was now in a sticky situation. She either had to lose a life to the Wildfire, lose a life at the Good temple, or attack a dragon. When asked about the situation all she could say was: "Uh ...." She attacked the dragon and won, barely breaking a sweat. The people rejoiced.
The Minotaur was the pride and joy of the Roman people. They begged him to protect them and taking them too literally he fought picts, barbarians, and Samaritan armies single handedly. With all this military experience, it made sense that he make a living at it, so he became a Legionnaire. It was difficult fitting in. He was a good four feet taller than the other soldiers and he wasn't able to wear a helmet like the other boys, but he swiftly rose through the ranks and became a Tribune in no time. The darling of the people, he was considered one of the greatest citizens among them. It was no surprise, then, when he became Caesar of the people...gigantic horns and all.
The Ghoul, tracking the wizard, entered the dungeon, unaware that the Wizard had backtracked and not entered the dank place after all. Determined to spread the misery of DIRT, the Ghoul went further into the Dungeon until he came upon the torture chamber guard. Deciding he needed to gain a few positive karma points, the ghoul dodged the guard and tried to free an enslaved fairy princess there. But the Karma bit back, not only was he unable to free the fairy, but he was beaten by the guard and thrown out of the chamber into the hallway where he was attacked by the dungeon dwelling dragon. The bite marks were going to leave a mark. Whining and in pain, the ghoul started back out of the dungeon. He found a sniveling little goblin which he convinced to follow the ways of DIRT and more importantly to show him the way out. But the ghoul was not aware of dungeon raider rule number 39–never trust a goblin's since of direction. Stumbling half dead into a rotating room, he found himself in front of the dungeon dragon again. Dodging and attempting to run away, he was swallowed and the world was without a single member of DIRT to follow ever again.
But the dungeon wasn't finished with the lives it would claim this year! The Bugbear, distressed by all the bad weather, had hidden in the forest, practicing his battle skills on the trees. Unfortunately, not aware of his own strength, the trees were downed in a matter of minutes and deforestation was proclaimed in the outer region forests. Of course, some of it was probably due to the wild fire still going on, but it was enough to put guilt into the soul of the otherwise normally conscienceless villain. So he ran to hide himself inside the dungeon. He too found a goblin follower, unaware of the plot that goblins had about steering adventurers in the wrong direction. DUN DUH DUUUUUN! He was lead into a gas trap, then into a pit filled with snakes. Scared half to death, he ran into a magic portal and found himself suddenly standing in the depths of a bronze dragon's den. Seeing the entrance on the other side of the cavern, he ran straight for it, avoiding the dragon's chomps only to run smack into a spider's web. As the dragon closed in on his back and the giant spider slowly progressed on him from above, the Bugbear thought on how he probably could have learned to deal with deforestation and brush fires...
Escaping from the Sultan's men, the Saracen had been wandering the desert all this time until he found himself hallucinating. Up ahead was an oasis, he was sure of it, but it was in fact a mirage and in his attempts to get to it, he had lost most of his items. Depressed and frustrated, he was visited by a ghost of warrior's past. The ghost told him how to get to the real oasis. Half dead, the Saracen was finally out of the desert and ready to venture into the real quest. Little did he know that the Dryad had actually put a hex on the oasis causing him to feel a little weaker and a bit dizzier. Stumbling toward the stairs out of the middle region, the Dryad caused the Valley to be flooded, blocking his way. It was now a choice of returning to the hexed oasis or death by black knight. "The Dryad may be pretty, but she hates me"” he was overheard saying. In one last effort, he followed a road to Rome, knowing that the current emperor favored the diabolical adventurer, only to discover that Nero had been dethroned and replaced by Constantine, who immediately ordered the Saracen's death. He should have stayed in the slave racket!
But if you feel, oh readers, that those two tales are sad, ponder the fate of the Orc. The Orc wandered the land with no apparent sense of purpose. He was followed by a Poltergeist who then left him, when they stumbled upon a pool of life with a strange sign posted next to it that read: SweetRevenge. While drinking deeply, he was attacked by all manner of beast both foul and grumpy. In one such battle, the Orc discovered buried in the attacker's lair a magical staff of mastery. Taking it, the Orc enslaved a wood drake, took a familiar into his menagerie of followers, and made his way to the village to torment some peasants. Upon entering the town, he was set upon by the local dragon cultists. In a great act of irony, he killed the dragon cultists by setting his dragon upon them. He who lives by the dragon, dies by the dragon. Oddly, while listening to their screams, he was convinced that they may have a point and he became the first goblinoid to convert to dragon worship. He took a whale dragon under his command and made his way to Rome in hopes of setting up a dragon cult temple there. He had heard of Rome's tolerance to religious folk, but upon entering was immediately captured and sent to the Coliseum. But the dragon gods were with him and he not only won the battle, but won his citizenship as well. That wasn't so bad after all! Proud of himself and his accomplishments, he went about the streets, tormenting the Wizard a few times and taking on an assortment of Vestal Virgins and other citizens as followers. But his pride got the better of him when a Riot broke out and all of his followers and the other citizens of Rome, trampled him to death. Evil was suddenly not doing so well.
Age of the Champions
Now the land had entered the Age of the Champions. Those that were left would all have a taste of victory. The Gnoll, during this time, had been riding around in a chariot that was being pulled by a nag. Not the most effective transportation, but it prevented those pesky feet calluses. He knew his key to success would be through a higher position of power. None of that silly battling strategy for him! So he made his way to the Tavern where he tried out for Sheriff. They all laughed at him. So he had a few beers to mask the pain and strangely enough, hallucinated and began battling himself… and he won. This caused him to feel a bit stronger and faced the next day feeling much better. So he entered the dungeon, made friends with a stray dog, bypassed all the traps and monsters and came upon a large treasure hoard. Exiting with his gold he found himself in the Valley of Fire, but without a Talisman he had to turn back. He made his way to the Warlock's cave where the Warlock demanded the dog in exchange for a Talisman. When his other followers commented on how sad it was, the Gnoll replied "It's his time–he knows it." Strangely, the dog was believed to not be used for experiments and spells but simply to keep the Warlock company–it is possible that the dog outlived his master Gnoll by many years. Meanwhile, the Gnoll visited the shrine of Vulcan and was whisked away to Olympus. He met Jupiter who tasked him four riddles of strength and mind. The Gnoll defeated them and was rewarded by being sent to the Crown of Command, but when he got there he discovered somebody else had arrived before him!
The Centurion was a late comer to the adventure. He had been biding his time in the City, listening to news of adventurers, being eaten by dragons, and falling prey to the dungeon's traps. After hearing of a fourth adventurer's death, he took his last swig of ale from the Six Fates Inn and decided to venture back to his home of Rome. He had a thing or two to prove. His journey was a simple one, fighting a Wraith, a Shade, and few other Spirits he was unprepared for, but he didn't care because he was headed for the great Coliseum. He conquered, and won enough money to buy some very nice equipment. While donning his new gear he happened to spy one of the adventurers, the Wizard, wandering the streets. "Wizard, I'm going to attack you,” he said. "If you do, I'll cast a spell,"” the wizard warned. Everything was very polite in the Centurion's world. "That's fair,"” and with that the Centurion endured a small spell but cut through the Wizard with his newly purchased Fuxina. Feeling the fire of rage burning in his veins, he decided to attack again, cutting the Wizard further with his Roman weapon. At that time, a Champion Knight happened by. "Be my follower,"” he commanded. "Yeah, no,"” was the Knights reply "You couldn't lead a rat."” He was right, while very powerful physically, the Centurion was dumb as a post and possessed none of the charisma to lead a troop of Followers. No problem, he thought, I'll just go to the Crown of Command on my strength alone. So he took it upon himself to become a legionnaire, learning much from his time in that service. One day he happened upon the City again, entered to find his old haunts and discovered that he could become the High Mage. Who needs to be smart when you can just instantly gain wisdom through magic? During this time the Wizard castled a random spell on him, causing a Talisman to be permanently attached to the Centurion's body (Is this a blessing or a curse?)...rather convenient. Racing to the center, he made it in record time but saw that a few adventurers were going to make it before him, so he cast a barrier on the stairway into the Crown of Command.
The Gnoll turned to see the Centurion High Mage approaching with a very large Spell book. The battle was on and it was an epic one. They both fought mightily but the Centurion's spells teamed with his strength and Fuxina cut the Gnoll down. He was now able to enter the Crown of Command unhindered.
During this time, the Wizard was trying very hard to reign supreme in the area of spell casting. Strangely though, he was continually challenged by bats. On 6 separate occasions, he was attacked by a swarm of bats. In a final effort to escape them, he managed to make it to Rome where he discovered the dead bodies of an Orc and a desert slave trader. He rummaged through both their bodies and was pleased to find many a small treasure. While doing so, he was apprehended by the local authority who threw him into the Coliseum. It seems the people of Rome were being well entertained. He lost, but he gave the audience a good laugh and they spared him. Frustrated at it all, he tried to cast a spell on a passing adventurer and ended up lobotomizing himself in the process. The spell thing was just not working for him. So he retired from the spell life and became a Senator. Isn't that how it always goes with politicians? His first act in office was a spiteful one (isn't that how it always goes with politicians?) and he revoked the Centurion who had earlier attacked him. He then went to the tavern (isn't that how it always goes with politicians?) where he was offered a Talisman by a dotty old hermit. In the strangest events of the evening, he then went to the biffy and fell into a portal that sent him to the Plain of Peril. He was actually able to win, he could almost see the ending, he could in fact see two adventurers up ahead battling it out. Oh sweet rapture he was going to make it! Suddenly the Drow popped out of no where and killed him saying that Hades had sent him to claim his soul. Isn't that how it always goes with politicians?
You see, the Drow had been hanging out all this time in Rome petitioning the Senate for rights for women and dark elves. They ignored her. Over and over again she kept revisiting and getting thrown out. Finally after the fifth senate hearing, the squeaky wheel won out and she was rewarded a citizenship. But the senate seat she was petitioning for had just been given away to the adventurer known as the Wizard. Bent on revenge, she went to Olympus to see the gods. Gaining a meeting with Hades, she told him of her need for revenge. He agreed to help, but said she must do the killing, and so she was transported to the Wizard where her revenge was enacted. Hades then asked her to take out one other soul, but this one wouldn't be so easy...
The Dryad was seeing gloom and misery everywhere and she knew that the prophecies of evil dominating the land were coming true. She had to do something. Then she heard the tale of the strange black tower that had been seen throughout the land. So she began searching for it. Late one eerie night she found it standing guard over an evil feeling swamp. Battling vampires throughout, she made her way to the top, full of bite marks and feeling weak, when suddenly the Vampire Lord himself showed up. She finally understood her elders remarks that she herself may have to become evil to stop the evil. Battling the Vampire Lord she gave into the darkness, slaughtered him and took the mantle of Lord herself. Emerging from her new tower and calling her army of darkness around her, she set out to take the Crown of Command for herself, in hopes of preventing another evil from gaining control. That's when the Drow appeared out of no where saying something about Hades wanting a piece of her. She didn't have time for such drivel and escaped in bat form.
The Drow, frustrated at the Vampire's easy escape went back to Olympus. "Why don't you stop bothering me and take on my brother's tasks?” said an annoyed Hades. The Drow agreed and was last seen under the hoofs of the White Bull of Crete–Jupiter wasn't so big on the whole "Rights for Women" thing.
During this time a Barbarian Giant had made his way into the Tavern. A farmer attacked him but Black had his back and fought with him. They won, but the Tavern wasn't looking very good, so Black kicked him out. He made his way to the Village to see if there was any equipment he could don to help him out. When he arrived, there was a market day going on. "I love market day,"” he told the Village Voice reporter, "where else will you hear the phrase 'Does anybody want a wench?'"” Unfortunately, nothing fit, so he went to Rome, the magical place where he had heard everyone fits in. Upon arriving, the first thing he did was buy a toga. The entire land shivered at the thought. He then figured "When in Rome" and found a dagger, approached Caesar Minotaur and attempted an assassination. The Minotaur escaped with his life, but not his crown, by throwing his goblin side kick into the way of the fateful knife. The Barbarian Giant was now Caesar!
The Centurion
The Centurion had finally battled off his aggressors and was now at the Crown of Command by himself. He put on the majestic crown and felt the power surge through him. Ah, victory was almost his. He aimed his power down at the Caesar. "Let's get rid of the big boys first,"” he thought. The Minotaur, having just lost his reign was able to run away to the Dungeon to hide out. So the Centurion aimed his efforts at the Vampire Lord. The Lord rebounded the spell but the Centurion High Mage used his spell book to re-rebound the spell. Then unable to kill her, he banished the Vampire to the Desert to prevent her from getting closer to the Crown of Command herself.
The Caesar Giant, as the new ruler, knew he had to do something drastic, so he made his way to the Coliseum where he commanded the Centurion High Mage to make an appearance. No one, not even the Crown of Command can turn down a dare such as that, and so the High Mage made an appearance there and showed no mercy, obliterating the Giant Caesar without a second's thought. The Centurion then returned to his throne were he pointed the finger of death at the Vampire Lord. Knowing her time had come, she addressed the Centurion "I have become the very evil that I have sworn to obliterate. My journey must end here. But before I permit you to kill me, do you swear not to allow the throne to fall into the hands of evil?"” "I do,"” he said. And the Dryad Vampire, knowing that an age of Neutrality had come upon the land, allowed herself to be sacrificed and the High Mage Centurion ascended his throne.
What happened to the Minotaur you ask? He made it out of the Dungeon in time. The last anyone saw of him, he was happily defending his reign as undefeated champion at the Coliseum; 1 performance a night, 2 on weekends. Seems that ultimate victory wasn't what he wanted after all...he just loved basking in the glory that was Rome.
Game Stats
Chris out at 1:42 |
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Cam out at 3:45 Saracen |
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Daryl out at 6:24 Orc |
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Sean out at 7:18 Gnoll |
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Doug out at 7:45 Wizard |
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Matt out at 7:50 Drow
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Ian out at 8:04 Monk and Barbarian Giant |
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Paul out at 8:16 Str 1 Crf 7 Dryad |
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Scott out at 8:29 Str 9 Crf 2 Minotaur |
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Jeremy wins Str 24 Crf 7 Ghoul |
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- First Talisman 3:33
This year was 11.5 hours long! Oddly enough, it was the lowest cumulative Strength and Craft score of the final three players so we did a lot of back sliding and attacking on one another. Nice job!
“I-Should-Have-Won-Award”:
Sean–for making it to the center twice but never actually taking on the ending card.
Next Year
Jeremy's presence is insisted upon for next year's defending position. It is expected that he will be beat upon and it is in everyone's best interest to make sure the boy doesn't get near the spell deck. Jeremy has asked for the presence of an Xbox and Atari as he is sure to be the first person out.