I remember when my brother first showed me his copy of the Talislanta Handbook; the picture of the tatooed Thrall sucked me in instantly. Whoever I show it to always reacts strongly, whether saying "That is hideous" or saying "That is beautiful." I think it is both.
He started to read the book, finding out that character creation was totally unlike the random D&D method or the exhaustive point method of GURPS. The player simply chooses a character type (dozens of races with over a hundred different character types are available), customizes a little and gives it a name. Takes less than ten minutes after choosing an archetype. (That can take awhile; most players are like a kid in a candy store, "Ooh, I want that one. No, that one.")
The fantasy world was unlike any we had encountered; no humans, no elves, no dwarves or orcs. Just dozens of races with interesting and original histories. The formatting is a bit weird in this edition, the reading having to cobble together an idea of the setting through reading the character type descriptions and such. No clearly laid out world book. I kind of like it that way, a search for knowledge. It fits the post-apokolyptic fantasy setting well, one in which the various peoples are the scattered remnants and creations of once-great magical societies. Struggling to bring sense into a broken world.
I review the second edition because it is my favorite, the one I played. Frequent use of the art of Breeding-Black helps to define the exotic setting perfectly. Before the fourth edition comes out, I would suggest second as the one to play.
Now a little on the mechanics. They are very simple but perfectly able to run the game; it uses a streamlined D20 system, sort of a more refined form of D&D. It uses D20 for action resolution and various dice for damage, just like D&D, but the system is much more unified, using a D20 for all skill use. Just roll the die, modify for aptitude and situation and compare it the chart on the character sheet. Fast and never intrusive.
Character creation is as I already wrote; choose archetype, customize, name. It also includes some cute background tables, but I usually choose to ignore them. Just a product of its time, the game has those weird random charts for things like siblings and mentor.
This game would appeal the most to people who like older fantasy fiction; it is a take on Jack Vance's "Dying Earth" series, though only in tone. The new fourth edition seems to be moving a little away from the strong Vance influence, but I think it is going to be an overall better game. I will buy it, but the second edition will always have a place in my heart.
Talislanta is not for everyone. The system is very simple (though easy to convert to D&D) and the setting, like Tekumel, is scattered through a lot of different books. But it is more than worth it if, like me, you have a heart for more exotic and exploratory fantasy.
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