Quest for the Talismans: FREE to Play Tabletop RPG

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THE STORY SO FAR . . . Once each century, when the moons are aligned, Stachte the Dragon awakes from his lair, loosing devastation upon the land of Three Towns. Homes are burned to cinders. People are snatched and devoured by the dozens. Terror reins for a decade until the dragon is appeased and returns to hibernation. At the end of it, little remains of the great architectural works of Three Towns, but the people endure with their economies in tatters and their loved ones gone. Now, as the time of the dragon again draws nigh, Queen Isadora of Saint Beauteous Castle calls for heroes. Champions arrive from all over Three Towns and beyond. To this audience of heroes the Queen relates the legend of the five talismans: Hidden in the ruins of five ancient kingdoms lay the golden talismans, forged by wizards long ago to give men the power to battle dragons. After given maps to the locations of these ruins, the courageous few take an oath in the Queen’s court to seek the talismans and slay Stachte, and by doing so, save Three Towns from the eternal cycle of ruin and reconstruction.

OBJECT: Collect the golden talismans and slay the dragon. Once all five talismans are off the Board, the game goes into Dragon Mode where players vie to slay the dragon. Whoever kills the dragon wins the game.

SETUP: Players choose a character to play and monsters to guard the talismans. The game changes significantly depending on which characters and monsters are selected: the Knight, for instance, is peerless in Battle, but the Rogue can use her skills to more easily take possession of the talismans; skeletons are quickly defeated, but to kill a giant may require purchase of a greater weapon or healing potions. Use the Character Compendiumand Sir Marek’s Guide to Monsters to keep track of what each can do.

! Spaces: These are the wild cards of the Board. At setup, players decide what ! spaces do. For a quick game, the ! space can be a monster guarding a diamond or a magic item. For more elaborate adventures, players can build dungeons (using dungeon tiles) replete with monsters (using monster pieces) and treasure (using item cards).

D Spaces: Once monster pieces are placed on each of the five D Spaces, they cannot be removed unless killed. Use weak monsters, like skeletons, for quick games. For more elaborate character building adventures, giants or constructs can be used. After killing the monster on the D Space, the player attains the talisman.

Once setup is complete, players roll a d6 (a six sided dice) to determine who goes first. The player with the higher number makes the first move; the player with the lowest number goes last. All characters begin their quest from Saint Beauteous Castle.

MOVEMENT

Ø Each player takes turns rolling movement dice (if walking, roll a d6).

Ø Players can move in any direction on their turn but cannot change directions during their turn i.e. no zigzagging.

Ø Players may choose not to move on their turn. This is called camping. Each turn camping, a player gains 1 Health. Players may camp to form a team. Once in a team, one player rolls for all characters in the team to move.

Ø When entering or passing through a D or dungeon space, the space is not counted.

Ø It is not necessary to roll an exact number to land on a T (Town Space), an M (Monster Lair) or move into a D (Dungeon Space).

Ø Players may choose to make an attack of opportunity against players passing through their space (see Battle).

OTHER SPACE TYPES:

? Spaces: Otherwise known as Story Spaces, landing on these spaces can be good or bad, depending on the dice roll (d100) and corresponding number from the Story Space list.

M Spaces: These are Monster Lair Spaces. When a character lands on this space, the opposing players take turns, or vote, on which monster appears on that space. If the monster is killed, a new monster is selected for subsequent encounters. If, however, the monster kills the character, it remains on the space to threaten any other player who lands there. If the player chooses not to engage battle, he may attempt to flee by rolling a 3 or 6. If the flee succeeds, player rolls to move again and the monster remains on the Board. If the flee fails, the monster gains one free attack (see Battle).

Warp Spaces: These spaces transport the player anywhere based on a d6 roll (optional).

T Spaces: There are three towns in the land: Saint Beauteous Castle, Graton Town and Shemselinihar. In towns, player characters can:

§ Return to full health.

§ Purchase items.

§ Bank valuables (including talismans and ruples); once banked, a player cannot lose them unless the town is robbed or destroyed.

§ Remain in town: Earn 1 ruple for every skipped turn.

§ Play Petankh: See Rules in Town Section.

BATTLE (MELEE): Battleoccurs when a character meets a monster on an M or D Space, or when two characters cross spaces and wish to fight. In melee, initiative rolls are made with a d6; the player with the higher number makes the first attack. Attacks are made with the d20 (20 sided dice). If the roll equals or exceeds the target’s ARMOR, the hit succeeds, and HEALTH points are taken equal to the attacker’s damage. Use the health bar on the character sheet to keep track of HEALTH.

Ø The player with the least items, talismans or ruples, or any player that is dead, rolls dice for monsters.

Ø If a battle is going badly, a player may flee by rolling 3 or 6; each failed attempt incurs a free attack.

Ø When a player kills another player’s character, he confiscates the other’s ruples and talismans (but not items).

Ø When a monster is killed, the player is rewarded with ruples equal to the HEALTH of the monster; for * multiply by 2, for ** by 3 and for *** by 4.

Ø Instead of simply attacking, a player can opt to make a Directed Attack or an Action Roll (see Advanced Battle).

BATTLE (RANGED): Certain weapons allow for ranged attacks. On the Board, a ranged attack can be made: if the target is within range, a clear shot (nothing in the way), and a straight shot (no shooting around corners). Ranged attacks can be made while moving or standing still. When a character moves into the range of another, the one standing wins initiative, even if not their turn. Two values are listed for range, the first for the game Board and the second for dungeons. Ranged attacks cannot be made in melee (on the same space). Only if a monster’s lair is discovered can a monster be attacked by a ranged weapon, after which the character moves to the M-Space on their next turn.

DEATH: If a character dies, the player’s piece is moved to the death space and all items remain on the space where death occurred. If dying on an M Space, the monster must be killed to retrieve the lost items. Dead players miss each turn until rolling 3 or 6. Once returning to life, called resurrection, the player may restart from any town. He may also switch character types, which is called reincarnation. But death isn’t allbad: dead players choose which monsters appear on M-Spaces, and, if a player fails to kill the monster on the M-Space, a dead player can take control of the monster, moving it across the Board to hunt other players! Note that monsters cannot obtain items or be healed, and, if landing on any T-Spaces, are killed on sight.

DRAGON MODE: Once the talismans are collected, the game goes into Dragon Mode, and Stachte is unleashed onto the Board. Each time players use their turn, the dragon turns a town to ashes. After that, the town cannot be further used, and all stored objects, except for talismans, are destroyed. Roll a d6 to determine which town the dragon visits:

1-2. Saint Beauteous Castle 3-4. Graton Town 5-6. Shemselinihar

In Dragon Mode, players seek out the dragon’s lair: the D-Space furthest from where the last talisman was found. Players may lose talismans if robbed or killed along the way. If players try to avoid the dragon, it will fly to the player with the most talismans (no roll is made). Using the talismans greatly enhances the player characters’ scores, making them powerful enough to battle the dragon. A player does not need all talismans (or more talismans than another player) to face the dragon. If a character is killed by the dragon, all their talismans return to their locations and Dragon Mode is stopped. If the dragon is killed, the player wins the game and can level up his character for subsequent games (see Level Up rules).

THE FIVE TALISMANS: Once a talisman is won, the player chooses which of the five power items to receive (below). If an item is already taken by another player, it cannot be chosen. Note that these powers only activate during battle with the dragon.

Helm of the Immortals: Resist 3 damage per round
Aegis Shield: Resist 3 damage per round
Orb of Oblivion: Make attacks with a d30 (if you can get one) or d20 + d10
STEELSONG (Sword): DMG 10
Boots of Hermes: gain 2 attacks per round with any weapon

DRAGON, ADULT “STACHTE”: HEALTH 30**, ARMOR 15, BITE 8, TAIL BASH 8, Fly 24

§ On a 3 or 6, adult dragon breathes fire dealing 10 damage to all ina 15’ x 20’ cone—Roll Agility vs. d20 for 5 damage

§ At will, an adult dragon can tail BASH enemies for 8 damage

§ Resist 3 damage, immune to fire, charm andpoison

§ Player cannot flee. Combat Action: Climb On—Agility/Difficulty 16 (free attack)

TOWNS:

Ruples: This is the monetary system of the game as represented by different color gems, used for purchasing items in towns. (If you don’t have gems, you can use your own denominations.)

Square cut gems: 1 ruple

Round gems: 5 ruples

Tear shaped gems: 10 ruples

Color diamonds: 30 ruples

Clear diamonds: 100 ruples

Mounts & Transportation Items

Monsters always attack whatever creature hit them last. Players may choose either to attack the character or their mount.

Horse: HEALTH 8, ARMOR 10, Dmg: Nil, MOVEMENT 2d6, FLEE 3, 6

Price: 15 ruples / Available any town

Unicorn: HEALTH 10, ARMOR 10, Horn 3, MOVEMENT 2d8*, FLEE 3, 4, 6

*Unicorn can use warp (roll d6)

Price: 30 ruples / Available at Saint Beauteous Castle

Pegasus: HEALTH 10, ARMOR 10, Hoof 1/1, MOVEMENT 2d12, FLEE 3, 4, 6

*Pegasus can fly over spaces, evading M-Spaces or other players’ pieces.

Price: 50 ruples / Available at Saint Beauteous Castle

Hippogriff: HEALTH 12, ARMOR 10, Claw 3*, MOVEMENT 2d12**, FLEE 3, 4, 6

*By passing an enemy space, the hippogriff can make a swoop attack dealing 6 dmg.

**War Griffon can fly over spaces, evading M-Spaces or other players’ pieces.

Price: 75 ruples / Available at Graton Town

Weapons

Gladius: dmg 2

Price: 4r

Longsword: dmg 3

Price: 8r

Bastard Sword: dmg 4

Price: 16r

Claymore: dmg 5

Price: 16r

Special: Can’t use with shield

Zweihander: dmg 6

Price: 32r

Special: Can’t use with shield

Spear: dmg 2*/range 1/d6

Price: 8r

Class: *3 with Warrior, Ninja, Amazon

Special: Melee or ranged use

Mace: dmg 3

Price: 16r

Warhammer: dmg 4

Price: 16r

Special: -2 initiative

Battleax: dmg 5

Price: 16r

Special: Lose initiative

Longbow: range 2/6

Price: 10 ruples

Crossbow: range 3/6

Price: 15 ruples

Arrows: dmg 3*

Price: 1r (each)

Special: *4 with Rogue, Ninja, Amazon

Shuriken: dmg 1/range 1

Class: Ninja

Price: 1r (each)

Obsidian Dagger: dmg 2

Price: 8r (each)

Adamantine Dagger: dmg 3

Price: 16r (each)

Bo of the Dragon: dmg 3/3

Class: Monk

Price: 32r

Flintlock Pistol: dmg 8*

Class: Pirate

Price: 16r

Special: *One shot per battle

ARMOR

Armor is calculated using a base score of 8. Bonuses are added from items (such as a helmet) or skills (such as Speed which adds +2) or class bonuses (the monk adds his AGILITY bonus to his ARMOR). For example, a character with chainmail +1, a helmet + 1 and a kite shield +2 has an ARMOR of 12 (8 +1 +1 +2). If a better item is purchased, subtract the old bonus before adding the new bonus. Bonuses do not stack for same type items.

Chainmail: +1

Price: 8r

Special: Stackable with cuirass

Leather +1

Price: 8r

Special: Stackable with cuirass / +2 if worn by Pirate

Mithril Cuirass: +3

Price: 32r

Special: Negates Speedskill

Roc Plumed Helmet: +1

Price: 8r

Mithril Helm: +2