Talisman (Revised 4th Edition): The Nether Realm Expansion
Talisman (Revised 4th Edition): The Nether Realm Expansion Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
Below is a brief description of every game component.
Nether Cards — This deck of 36 cards contains the many deadly creatures and encounters that characters can discover in the Nether Realm.
Alternative Ending Cards — The three Alternative Ending Cards included in this expansion replace the base game's victory condition, offering players new ways to win the game.
This Talisman: The Nether Realm Expansion includes:
- 36 Nether Cards
- 3 Alternative Ending Cards
The Nether Realm Symbol
Cards in this expansion are marked with a Nether Realm symbol so you can distinguish them from the cards in the base game.
The Nether Deck
The Nether Deck contains some of the most nefarious and difficult encounters in the Talisman world. It is used when playing with one of the three Alternative Ending Cards included in this expansion. Players will need to make sure their characters are ready to handle such extreme challenges when they draw a Nether Card.
Special abilities and effects that apply to Adventure Cards also apply to Nether Cards, but only after they have been drawn and placed on the board.
Alternative Ending Cards
The inclusion of Alternative Ending Cards is optional, and players should agree whether or not to use them before starting the game. The Alternative Ending Cards included in The Nether Realm expansion are usable with Alternative Ending Cards from other expansions.
Setup
To setup a game with Alternative Ending Cards, randomize the Alternative Ending Cards in your collection, take one random Alternative Ending Card, and place it faceup on the Crown of Command at the centre of the game board.
Encountering Alternative Endings
Alternative Ending Cards replace the base game's victory conditions, offering players new ways to win the game. When using the Alternative Ending Cards, characters on the Crown of Command must encounter the Alternative Ending Card and follow the rules printed on the card; they cannot cast the Command Spell or encounter other characters on the Crown of Command unless the Alternative Ending Card specifically states otherwise.
All other rules regarding the Inner Region still apply when playing with Alternative Ending Cards:
- None of the creatures in the Inner Region (nor any of the Alternative Ending Cards) can be affected by any Spell. They also cannot be evaded.
- Characters on the Crown of Command cannot move and must remain on that space unless the Alternative Ending Card specifically states otherwise.
- After any character reaches the Crown of Command, any character who is killed automatically loses the game.
Alternative Ending Cards generally only affect characters on the Crown of Command. However, instructions that have a star icon at the start of their text affect all characters, no matter what Region they are in, including characters on the Crown of Command.
Alternative Ending Card Texts
The printed text of each of the three Alternative Ending Cards is given below under its card name.
Pandora's Box
To use this Alternative Ending, you must use the Nether Deck.
Once a character reaches the Crown of Command, characters cannot heal or gain life for the rest of the game and the entrance is sealed; no other characters may enter. Any character attempting to enter the Crown of Command is thrown onto the Plain of Peril instead.
When a character reaches the crown of command, he must take six cards from the Nether deck, plus six cards for each other character in play, and place them in a pile in front of him.
On each of his turns, he must take the top six cards from this pile and use them, one at a time, against any of the other characters, as if they had just drawn the cards themselves.
If all of the other characters are killed, the character on the Crown of Command wins the game!
If any of the other characters have survived when the pile of cards is exhausted, the character on the Crown of Command is killed and all surviving characters share victory and win the game!
The Gauntlet
To use this Alternative Ending, you must use the Nether Deck.
At the start of the game, place one card from the Nether deck facedown on each Inner Region space, and two cards facedown on the Crown of Command space.
A character entering the Inner Region decides on a route through the Inner Region as normal, but must encounter the cards on each space before encountering the space.
If he fails to successfully encounter a card, his turn ends immediately and he must encounter the card again on his next turn unless he decides to turn back.
A character that has turned back ignores any Nether cards on his return to the Plain of Peril.
Once a card has been encountered successfully, draw a replacement card from the Nether deck and place it facedown on the space to be encountered by the next character to land on that space.
The first character to survive The Gauntlet and reach the Crown of Command wins the game!
The Hunt
At the start of the game, place this card at the side of the board with the Nether deck.
Whenever a character has to draw Adventure Cards, he may discard one card of his choice that he does not wish to encounter and draw a card from the Nether deck to replace it, which he must encounter.
Once a defeated Enemy from the Nether deck is exchanged or otherwise discarded, it is not placed on the discard pile. Instead it is placed facedown in the character's play area.
The first character to reach the Crown of Command with four defeated Enemies from the Nether deck in his play area wins the game!