Talisman Spell Guide

Introduction To Spellcasting 1: Spell Limits And Counters

Casting magic is an important part of Talisman. Along with objects and followers that you can use, your spells (whether you can use them at the moment or not) are all shown at the bottom of your screen. Click on the middle tab to see them.

To use a spell, simply double-click on the spell as it glows blue. If it does not glow blue, then you cannot cast it at the moment, although you can "queue" it. The following sections explain how many spells you can hold and cast, and how to queue them.

CASTING AND HOLDING LIMITS

Casting Limit

On your own turn, your casting limit is equal to the number of spells with which you started the turn. For example, if you began the turn with two spells, you can only cast two spells during the turn. The spells you cast do not need to be the exact spells with which you started your turn.

For example, suppose you began the turn with Counterspell, and no other spells. Your casting limit this turn is therefore 1. You visit the Temple and learn the Healing spell. Since you are down to your last life, you cast Healing. Your opponent casts his own Counterspell to cancel your Healing spell. You would like to cast your Counterspell in response to his Counterspell, but since your casting limit this tun was 1 spell, and you already cast Healing, that would not be allowed.

Your casting limit during each opponent's turn is 1 spell.

Holding Limit

Your holding limit is the number of uncast spells you may hold at one time. This number depends on your Craft.

CraftHolding Limit0-2Cannot hold spells.31 Spell4-52 Spells6+3 Spells

Some spells are not actually held by you, so they do not contribute to the holding limit. For example, the Command Spell can be cast regardless of your holding limit, as it held by the Crown of Command itself. The Genie (Reaper expansion) gives you three extra spells to cast, but he holds them himself.

You may cast spells in the Inner Region and may cast spells upon characters in the Inner Region, including at the Crown of Command. However, you may not cast spells upon creatures in the Inner Region. A "creature" is any non-character fight with Strength or Craft, which includes "Enemies" (Adventure Cards) as well as creatures printed on the board.

Creatures in the Inner Region include the werewolf, pitfiends, and when playing with expansions, any alternative ending fights on the Crown of Command (e.g. Ice Queen).

Also, you may not evade creatures in the Inner Region. So you may, for example, cast Psionic Blast upon yourself while fighting the pitfiends, but you may not cast Fireball on them, nor may you evade them with Invisibility.

Some spells and game effects refer to one of the three different parts that make up your Strength and Craft.

1. Your Strength or Craft value is the number with which your character begins the game. To see this number, click on your character's avatar. Strength and Craft cannot drop below this value. So if the Prophetess were to cast the Psionic Blast (add your Craft value to Strength during battle) upon herself and her current Craft is 8, she would only add 4 to her Strength because her Craft value is 4. You also have life and fate values, indicating the maximum to which your life or fate can be healed or replenished. Your life and fate can drop below their values to 0.

2. When a game effect instructs you to "gain" Strength or Craft, which includes trading trophies, you receive Strength or Craft "counters." Some spells, such as the Random spell or the Enchantress in the City, can cause you to lose Strength or Craft. These effects refer to Strength and Craft "counters," named this way because in the cardboard game they are plastic counters used to track your increased Strength or Craft. If you have none to lose, the effect would cause nothing.

3. Additions to your Strength or Craft from objects or followers are called "modifiers." Once the object or follower is lost, these modifiers disappear. Effects which cause you to lose Strength or Craft also have no effect on modifiers.

Your total Strength or Craft is the sum of these three numbers. To view the breakdown in-game, you must have Tooltips enabled (under options menu).

Click image to enlarge.

The Wizard's total craft is 8. With tooltips enabled, the Wizard has hovered the mouse over his Craft: 8 (6+2). The +2 refers to modifiers (in this case, the Maiden follower) and the 6 refers to the sum of both his Craft value and his counters.

Click image to enlarge.

Remind yourself of your Strength or Craft values by clicking on your avatar. The Wizard's Craft value is 5. Continuing from the above example, you can now calculate his Craft counters. He has (6-5) = 1 Craft counter. If he were to roll a 3 when visiting the Enchantress or during a Random spell, he would lose 1 Craft counter and his total craft would become 7 (5+2, where the 2 is the modifier from the Maiden).

When you are about to cast Random on an opponent, you should be aware of just how much Strength or Craft he can lose. Similarly, be aware of the difference between value, counter, and modifier when casting spells such as Psionic Blast or visiting the Enchantress. This is why it is better to visit the Enchantress in the early game, where you have not yet built up Strength or Craft counters, because she cannot drop your stats below their starting values.

Introduction To Spellcasting 2 : Queuing

QUEUING

Queuing is a feature in Talisman: Digital Edition that ensures your spell is cast at the next available opportunity. Most spells are played during your turn while nothing else is happening, so you can take as much time as you need to cast them. However, some spells are played on an opponent's turn or in response to a game effect. In these cases, the game needs to know that you want to cast a spell at this time.

To queue a spell, double-click a spell in your inventory that is not glowing blue. (If it is glowing blue, it means you can cast it right now.) The spell will be raised upwards to show that it is queued. It will cast at the next available opportunity. You may also single-click the spell and choose to "queue" or "un-queue" on the right sidebar.

Which spells should be queued?

There are two types of spells that must be queued.

1. Spells cast at the start of or during an opponent's turn. (Since most spells can only be cast at specific times, such as the start of the turn, the opponent doesn't know you want to cast and just keeps on going. You'll have no time to get your spell in there if you cast manually. Queuing in advance causes the spell to be cast as soon as it can.)

2. Spells cast in response to a game effect (e.g. a follower is killed).

You must have the spell queued before it is time to cast it.

Although almost any spell can be queued, you usually don't want to queue spells that are played on your turn, as you might accidentally cast them. For example, if you queue Acquisition during an opponent's turn, it will cast immediately when your next turn starts, and you might not be ready. Since you can cast these spells without queuing, it is usually best to wait until they glow blue and cast them manually.

The Wizard wants to cast Immobility on the Ghoul and cause him to miss his turn. However, the Immobility spell can only be cast at the beginning of someone's turn, before he moves, to immobilize that player. To guarantee the Immobility spell will cast immediately at the start of the Ghoul's turn, the Wizard has queued it. He will leave it queued until the Ghoul begins his turn, and then it will cast automatically (no need to double-click). If the Wizard wanted to immobilize the Genie, he would wait until the Ghoul has started his turn, then queue it and keep it queued during the Ghoul's turn.

Introduction To Spellcasting 3: Timing

Most spells in Talisman can be classified into one of six categories based on when they can be cast.

1. CAST AT ANY TIME

These are the simplest spells to cast. As long as there is a valid target, these spells will always glow blue in your inventory. Most such spells can be cast regardless of whether it is your turn or an opponent's turn.

2. YOUR TURN ONLY

These spells are also simple to cast. When you cast such a spell at the start of your turn, just remember to do so before you move. You can queue it, although you do not have to; it is usually best to cast it manually.

3. ANY TURN

When you cast such a spell at the start of an opponent's turn, you MUST queue it during the turn of the player who comes prior. For spells which can be cast at the start of "any" character's turn, you are also a valid target.

WARNING: "Start of turn" spells are often cast accidentally. Remember,

1) Do not keep the spell queued if you do not want to cast it on the next player's turn, ESPECIALLY if you don't want to cast it on yourself.

2) Just because you cast the spell does not mean you can select any target. Often you can only select the player whose turn it is, and if you accidentally cast it on your turn, that means you!

For this spell, reading the words carefully shows that you must cast it at the start of the turn of the character holding the object you want to shatter. If you want to shatter the Sorceress's wand, you must cast Shatter at the start of the Sorceress's turn, which requires queuing. DO NOT simply click on the spell during your turn and expect to cast it on anyone, or you will have to shatter your own object.

4. BATTLE OR PSYCHIC COMBAT ONLY

Most spells cast during fights, and all such spells (and objects and followers) that affect Strength and Craft must be cast before dice are rolled. Queuing is usually not required.

5. AFTER AN EFFECT

These spells can only be cast after a specific game effect has occurred. They are the most complex spells and require a good understanding of the queuing system. For example, the Resurrection spell allows you to prevent an Enemy from being killed. Such a spell will never glow blue, because once the effect happens (e.g. the Enemy is killed), the game immediately continues with no opportunity for you to respond.

If you queue the spell prior to the effect occurring, the spell will cast automatically when the effect happens.

6. RESPONSE SPELLS

Some spells can only be cast in response to another spell. These "response spells" cancel or modify the original spell before it takes effect. The response spell included in the basic game is Counterspell, which cancels a spell being cast.

You are given 4 seconds when someone casts a spell to respond with a response spell. When someone casts a spell, a timer will appear by each character's avatar. At this point, your response spells will glow blue. Double-click one to cast it.

You may even queue a response spell just before the timer appears to guarantee that you will cast it.

Above, the Druid (player 3) has cast the Random spell on the Wizard (player 1). All players have a spell response timer over their avatars, and in this example, one second has passed. The player has a Counterspell that may be used; it is glowing blue. To use it, he must double-click it during the spell response time. Other players may have response spells as well.

Base Game Spells

[/b]As long as there is a valid target, these spells are usable at any time on your turn or an opponent's turn.

HEALINGYou cannot heal yourself if you lose your last life.INVISIBILITYYou may cast once you engage in battle but before dice are rolled.NULLIFYYou may nullify your own spells.RANDOMYou should know how to calculate Strength and Craft counters (see Section 1 of the guide).

All of these spells must be cast at the start of your turn; a few give you the option to cast after movement or at the end of the turn. Queuing is possible, but manual casting is usually recommended.

ACQUISITIONWhen playing with expansions, sometimes players hide objects in pouches. Scroll through the inventory and check to make sure the object you want doesn't have a pouch icon on it.ALCHEMYTransmute your junk or transmute something your opponents might desire.COMMAND SPELLThis spell does not count towards your holding or casting limit.DESTRUCTIONYou may instead cast after you move but before you begin your encounters.DESTROY MAGICYou may instead cast at the end of your turn. While in effect, players can still enter the Valley of Fire with a Talisman.DIVINATIONIf you need to, write it down. You only get one look...HEXThe Hex card, when in play, is encountered before any other.MESMERISMA valuable spell because followers are not normally victory spoils.TELEPORTYou may not cast this spell if you would not roll the die for movement (e.g. Poltergeist).TEMPORAL WARPOnce cast, "miss turn" effects will simply remove one of your extra turns.

In the basic game, the only such spell is Immobility.

Immobility has two possible effects, and you must choose one.

1) Immediately end the turn of the active player, or

2) Immobilize a face-up Enemy or board creature (e.g. Sentinel) so it cannot be attacked.

However, Immobility must always be cast at the START of someone's turn.

As explained in the "Spell Timing" section, to cast Immobility on an opponent's turn, you will have to keep it queued during the turn of the player who comes prior. However, when the spell is cast, you will also be given the option to immobilize either the active player or a creature.

So, if you cast Immobility on an opponent's turn, you may (instead of immobilizing the character) choose to immobilize, say, a creature you want to ensure he does not fight...perhaps the dragon you want as your own trophy. Keep in mind that your opponent evades that creature, so do not do him a favor by immobilizing the Sentinel or an Enemy guarding a treasure.

If you cast Immobility on your own turn, you usually will not want to immobilize yourself - although you may, for instance, if you are caught in the oasis during a blizzard. Usually you will immobilize a creature you want to evade, such as the Sentinel.

One more concern. You immobilize the creature BEFORE movement, so you want to ensure you will actually encounter that creature! For example, do not immobilize the Sentinel unless you are sure your movement will carry you past him, or else the spell will be wasted.

Cast after battle starts but before dice are rolled.

PSIONIC BLASTYou may stack multiple Psionic Blasts and like effects (e.g. Monk). Remember this adds your Craft value, not total Craft.

The only such spell in the basic game is Preservation. This spell may be cast in response to any of these three effects.

1. When any character loses a life.

Whenever somebody loses a life, a 2-second response timer will appear. Quickly double-click the glowing blue Preservation spell during this time. Experienced players can queue ahead of the effect if they know it's coming (for example, before clicking "Continue.")

If an effect causes multiple characters to lose life simultaneously (e.g. Pestilence), each character's loss of life timer will resolve separately, so you can preserve whoever you want during those 2 seconds.

2. When any enemy is killed.

Queue Preservation during the battle or psychic combat. Once the fight is over, Preservation will cast automatically to preserve the loser - either turn the fight into a stand-off if the Enemy loses, or prevent the character from losing a life.

Using Preservation in this way is risky because you do not know who will win. You will preserve the loser no matter which side loses. So, if you want to preserve the character, avoid using this method (i.e. do not queue during the fight). Just wait until the outcome is decided, then activate during the loss-of-life timer.

However, if you want to preserve the Enemy, you have no choice. Queue during the fight, and hope the Enemy loses. If the Enemy wins, you will preserve the character. If you really do not want this to happen, follow these steps.

a) Have Preservation queued when the fight starts and pay close attention to the "Attack Scores." You should have it queued in case the character uses some item or ability to kill the Enemy without fighting.

b) If the character's attack score is LOWER, quickly un-queue Preservation so you do not preserve him.

c) But you're not done. This is where you have to be really fast. If the character re-rolls, quickly queue Preservation again. If the character's new attack score is still LOWER, then very quickly un-queue Preservation.

3. When any follower is killed.

If you know a follower is about to be killed, queue Preservation. For example, after rolling a 1 or 2 in the chasm, queue Preservation before you click "Continue." Unfortunately, if you queue Preservation when a random follower is killed, you do not know which follower will be killed. You could even preserve a "bad" follower, like the Jester.

The following are all the effects that kill followers which may be preserved.

a) Chasm (roll for each follower one-by-one).

b) Vampire's tower (you choose the follower, so queue before choosing.)

c) Grim Reaper. (Reaper expansion - random follower killed.)

d) Leper. (Reaper expansion - random follower killed.))

e) Champion dies in battle. (Frostmarch expansion.)

The Wizard rolled a 2 in the Chasm, which would kill the Maiden. Before he clicks "Continue," he queues the Preservation spell.

The Preservation spell casts automatically when he clicks "Continue" and the spell is queued. Sometimes, you need good understanding of the Talisman world to know when to slow down and queue spells. The Wizard must remember that a 1 or 2 on the Chasm will kill the follower, which he can read any time on the "i" tab.

Queuing possible, but not mandatory.

COUNTERSPELLCast during the spell response timer or queue it just before the timer appears to guarantee it casts immediately. You can Counterspell a Counterspell.

Reaper Spells

As long as there is a valid target, these spells are usable at any time on your turn or an opponent's turn.

BLESSEDLike "healing" life, "replenishing" fate means you fill up to your value.CLOAK OF SHADOWSLike Invisibility, but much longer lasting.ENRICHA quick way to gain money.

Some of these spells are cast during certain parts of your turn, and others must be cast at the start of your turn. Queuing can be done but is not necessary.

ALTERATIONCast after drawing, but before clicking "Continue" to encounter cards. This works like the Orb of Knowledge.BARRIEREither cast at the start of your turn or when you have finished moving.DISPLACEMENTEither cast at the start of your turn or when you have finished moving.DOMINATEYou must cast JUST BEFORE battle begins, not after. Click slowly and keep looking at the spell for when it glows blue.ENCHANT BLADECast at the start of your turn. Look through the inventory for a "+1" icon on the affected weapon.SPEEDCast after you roll for movement. You cannot cast this spell if you do not roll for movement (e.g. Poltergeist). TRANSFERENCECast at the start of your turn. No matter how you move (dice or otherwise) you may cast this spell. You may cast in the Inner Region to switch with someone on the Crown of Command.WATER WALKINGLook at the space you are currently on. Each space is a rectangle, and has two black lines, one on either side. If you are crossing the river, imagine that the lines on your space extend past the river and hit the other side. Any space that falls between these lines can be chosen as your destination. This is true even for basic crossing methods such as the raft. So use this to your advantage when deciding how to cast Water Walking. You can also use this spell on the Sentinel space to cross the river.

All of these spells are cast at the start of your target's turn, so queuing is necessary to target an opponent. Do not accidentally cast them on yourself.

GUST OF WINDQueue during the turn prior to the character you want to target. Avoid keeping it queued prior to your own turn.MISDIRECTIONQueue during the turn prior to the character you want to target. You can't cast this spell on yourself. If dice are rolled, they are rolled first, then you choose direction. You may also choose direction in the Inner Region. However, if you force a player back, he is not considered "turning back" and may resume in the forward direction next turn.SHATTERQueue during the turn prior to the character you want to target. Avoid keeping it queued prior to your own turn. (If you want to shatter your own object, it is best to do it manually.)SLEEPQueue during the turn prior to the character you want to target. Avoid keeping it queued prior to your own turn. (If you want to put yourself to sleep, it is best to do it manually.)SLOW MOTIONQueue during the turn prior to the character you want to target. Avoid keeping it queued prior to your own turn. (If you want to slow yourself, it is best to do it manually.)TRANSMUTEQueue during the turn prior to the character you want to target. Avoid keeping it queued prior to your own turn. (If you want to discard your own objects, it is best to cast manually.)

Cast these spells after engaging in battle, but before dice are rolled.

BLADESHARPYou have to choose your weapon first, then cast the spell.FIREBALLIf successful against a creature with multiple lives, one life will be removed. [/spoiler]SUMMONSCast after the fight begins but before dice are rolled.

Queuing required.

RESURRECTIONQueue during the fight involving an enemy you want to keep alive. If the enemy loses, the spell is cast automatically. This spell is easier to cast than Preservation because there is no risk of helping the character.

The response spell included in The Reaper is Reflection.

Reflection turns back a spell and has one of three outcomes.

1) If the caster is a valid target for the original spell, the player casting Reflection re-casts the spell on the original caster as if it were his own. Any additional decisions to be made would be made by the reflector after the reflected spell is successfully cast.

Example: The Sage casts Acquisition on the Knight's Talisman. The Knight responds with Reflection. He re-casts the spell against the Sage as if it were his own, and his own individual spell timer opens again. Once the spell is successfully cast, he selects an object to take.

Notice that the Sage had to select both the Knight AND his Talisman before the response timer opened, whereas for the Knight, he did not need to declare the object until it was successfully cast. In general this presents an advantage to players who reflect or copy spells with "secondary targets" like objects. The Sage might have two valuable objects but if he's scared about either one of them, he'd have to respond with Counterspell BEFORE the Knight makes his choice.

2) If the caster is not a valid target for the original spell, the original spell is simply cancelled (Reflection acts like Counterspell).

Example: The Merchant casts Barrier on a space. The Dark Cultist reflects it back to him, but since he is not a valid target, the Reflection spell works exactly like Counterspell. Barrier is simply cancelled.

As shown in the example above, the original caster is not a valid target if the spell does not target a character. Some spells which do target characters would also be invalid if the original caster could not execute the effect at the current time.

Example: The Merchant casts Time Steal (Frostmarch expansion) on the Dark Cultist at the start of her turn, which would cause her to miss a turn and cause him to take a new turn right away. The Dark Cultist casts Reflection, but because the Merchant cannot end his turn (he is not the active player) then the spell is simply cancelled.

3) If the caster targets himself or a possession belonging to himself, Reflection is invalid.

Example: The Dark Cultist casts Divination on herself, so Reflection would not be valid.

Frostmarch Spells

The Frostmarch does not have any spells in this category; all have specific timing.

BRAINWAVEDoubles your Craft value (base Craft), not all your Craft.ENERGIZEDoubles your Strength value (base Strength), not all your Strength.MARKED FOR GLORYAlthough you add 6 after rolling, you must cast before you roll the die. Cast this when you desperately need certain results.OBLITERATEYou may move first and then cast before you start encounters.

BLACK ICEThis is a tricky spell to cast. First, you cannot cast this spell if the target does not roll a die for movement (e.g. Poltergeist). Second, you are supposed to wait until he rolls before you cast. In theory, you can decide and double-click immediately after he rolls but before he moves, but usually you will be too slow: he will move before you can react. So you will probably have to queue the spell to cast at the start of his turn, even if you're not sure what his movement will be.METAMORPHYou will have to act fast for this spell when casting on an opponent's turn. When you see him land on an enemy that you want to swap, quickly queue up the spell before he starts the fight.PATH OF DESTINYTo cast on an opponent's turn, queue during the turn of the player who comes prior. A good way to stop players from passing through the Portal of Power. SYPHON STRENGTHYou should know how to calculate "counters" (see introduction). Queue during the turn of the player who comes prior.TIME STEALQueue during the turn of the player who comes prior. Avoid accidentally queuing and casting on yourself.VORTEXQueue during the turn of the player who comes prior, unless you cast on yourself (you may then cast manually).

BOLSTERCast once the fight begins, but before dice are rolled. This will let you roll an extra die in battle or psychic combat.FREEZECast once the fight begins, but before dice are rolled. Your opponent will not roll a die in combat.TOADIFY!If a character turns into a toad, the current turn counts as one of the toad turns. The battle will involve a toad.

The Frostmarch does not have any spells in this category.

The response spell included in The Frostmarch is Hydra Spell.

How Hydra Spell Works

Casting the Hydra Spell allows you to make multiple copies of a spell being cast on a character and force them to be cast upon more characters of your choice. Most spells in Talisman are cast only on a single target, so this will allow you to cast the same spell on multiple targets.

These are some restrictions about the Hydra Spell.

The player who originally cast the spell still casts all the copies, makes all the decisions, and takes all the benefits.The Hydra caster simply forces him to cast it on certain additional targets.

Timing and Region restrictions are ignored for target selection only. For example, a copy of Shatter may be cast on a character not at the start of his turn.

Timing and Region restrictions are NOT ignored for spell execution. Copies may not be cast on characters who could not normally execute the effects of the spell at the current time. Movement and turn-taking are the most common situations. For example, the Teleport and Transference spells are substitutes for movement, so they cannot be cast on another player. The Bolster spell may be copied onto an opponent, because although it is normally cast upon the self, an opponent may execute its effects during battle.

Spells which are ONLY ever cast upon the possessions of the original caster (e.g. Alchemy, Bladesharp) are not eligible, as they target the possession only. Spells which ONLY ever target the opponent or opponent's possessions (e.g. Acquisition) or Spells which MAY target them (e.g. Shatter) are eligible, as they target the character and possession.

Source: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=266672118					

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