Low-prep Play: the rewards of taking a Slapdash Attitude to Talisman Adventures

 

Crikey, it has been the better part of a year since I last posted. I have two excuses - starting a new job in March that I have wanted to do well at, and running a face-to-face campaign of The Other Game. Both excuses alas leaving little time for Talisman Adventures RPG. With the Tales of the City and Myths and Monsters sourcebooks both now released, I am long overdue to pay this gem of an RPG some much-deserved attention. 

The Other Game has drawn me in, thanks to its near universal spread, and the Red Box being my first RPG. I like the Other Game. Nonetheless, it is clear that its main appeal is market dominance and nostalgia. There are so many reasons to play Something Else, and in the case of Talisman Adventures RPG, to play this particular Something Else. 

Late to the party, I read Sly Flourish's "The Lazy Dungeon Master" over Christmas. It's the manifesto for low or no preparation RPGing, full of advice and tips to encourage GMs to let go of the compulsion to over-prepare, and enjoy the fruits of improvisation and invention by hurling themselves into a game with barely a thought. I exaggerate; a little. The central thesis is somewhat undermined by Appendix C, advice and thoughts from a host of professional GMs, very few of whom seem to advocate winging it, and most describing some degree of preparation as essential. Regardless, it's a fun and thought-provoking read.

"The Lazy Dungeon Master" is written with the fourth edition of the Other Game in mind. Am I correct in thinking that 4e was a more fiddly version of the game, with particular fore-planning needed in relation to encounter challenge levels? I never played it, and may be entirely wrong. Regardless, when it comes to the Sly Flourish School of Slapdash, I can't think of a better-suited system than Talisman Adventures. I mean that as a solid positive. 

Eight things that particularly suit Talisman Adventures to Low-prep play:

1. You don't need to create a world, or read up on a ton of lore. There *is* lore a-plenty in the sourcebooks if you want it, but you can rely on your own memories and impressions of the boardgame (if you are familiar with it), or of fairy tales and fantasy in general. 

2. You don't need to study and memorise a ton of rules. The central Test mechanism covers almost everything, and is intuitive once understood. (Ignore the rules for Stranger Reactions, unless you want to go wild and have two mechanisms to resolve play).

3. Character creation is straightforward, and the choices available once an Ancestry and Class are combined are mostly taking one archetypal ability or another. Special abilities do vary, and it's helpful to have a note of these on the character sheet, or by an individual handout for each player. Time spent preparing such for the pre-gens in the rulebook is probably one of the main thing a player or GM can do to get ready for a first session of the game. 

The big thing is this though: the system is extremely well-suited to scenarios comprising the barest of outlines. Let me elaborate.

4. Travel is usually abstracted through the allocation of roles and making certain tests, that result in random outcomes. The GM does not need a map, or needs only the simplest of maps - even for a dungeoncrawl. Having a note of four or five locations will be plenty to over a session or two of play. These might be a tavern, a witch's hut, a swollen river, a giant hollow tree, a chasm of flame. The heroes might start at the tavern, and be looking for the Chasm of Flame (to hurl in the Cursed Gold Object, entrusted to them by an Avuncular Wizard, obvs). The witch's hut, hollow tree or swollen river might be encountered along the way depending on the outcome of travel Tests. Or added in at the GM's whim.

5. The GM doesn't have to make up any locations. There are random mini encounters in the sourcebooks, based on Adventure Cards from the boardgame. These fit the role of Obstacles or Special Locations as suggested by the outcome of travel Tests. These can be resolved quickly by a test or dice roll, or might be roleplayed into a much deeper and entertaining episode. Creating new Obstacles and Special Locations could be as simple as pulling a random Adventure Card from the boardgame, or throwing a random spooky adjective together with a random location. Thusly:

1	Haunted	Tower
2	Flaming	Crypt
3	Infested	Keep
4	Purple	Oak
5	Sinking	Ship
6	Flying	Chasm

6. Each monster type has a special ability that makes it a little different to encounter. If the GM familiarises themselves with three such, they are ready to run an adventure. Goblins attack en masse, and can steal an item, then run away. Fomorians can throw boulders, terrify Followers, and though powerful are easily fooled and susceptible to iron. Skeletons have a Jason-and-the-Argonauts resistance to damage.

7. The Test system suits itself really well for the climactic scene of a scenario. The heroes have to take some kind of action, and it will be resolved by a Test (or a couple of Tests - a Key Test and a Secondary Test work well). The players' actions and choices so far will determine exactly what Test is called for. There's an Indomitable Fiery Demon at the Chasm of Flame, and the heroes need to protect their Very Flammable Tree Man ally, and distract or fool the Demon while getting close enough to hurl in the Cursed Gold Object. 

8. The players can be encouraged to describe their hoped-for outcome before the GM determines what Tests will be made. This generally applies whenever Tests are rolled, but especially when a Test is used for a particularly scene of the adventure. Great Successes will allow for splendid success, but the drawbacks that arise from Standard Successes or Failures can be even more fun. The players might have their own suggestions for how things go wrong that the GM will be happy to run with. Recognising and encouraging this from players shares the load of improvising and invention.