Welcome to the world of TALISMAN the magical quest game.
A new age is dawning. The Talismans have fallen from the sky, heralding the quest for the Crown of Command. Contenders of all kinds set out to compete for this most powerful god-forged artifact, for whoever bears the Crown will rule the world in the era to come.
The Crown was made long ago, in a time now lost to myth. Although the legends of its crafting differ in detail, all agree that the Crown was made to bring peace between the Great Gods.
These Great Gods have many names. To the inhabitants of the land at the heart of the world where all questers for the Crown must go, they were the brothers Orosin and Rosino, and the Mother.
Orosin was wild and free in spirit, Rosino measured and serious. From their divergent characters the world was born, then nearly destroyed because of those selfsame differences. Forced far along their respective paths by their growing enmity, Orosin became the arbiter of mayhem, Rosino of order. Finally, the third god, the Mother, was awakened from the earth by the brothers’ wars and mediated a truce. Her dreams became real and enriched the world further.
The three Great Gods created the world and everything in it. They created the Crown of Command, and by doing so put destiny in mortal hands. They created the Talismans, the celestial relics that must be found if one is to gain the Crown, and set them into the night sky, to descend only at the brink of new epochs. Then they left this place or slept, and meddled no more in mundane matters. Peace reigned, for a time.
Yet the Crown was a godly solution to the problems of gods, and ill-suited to the affairs of mortals. Since the days of the Three there have been many epochs. The nature of their divine agreement was such that any worthy creature might claim the Crown, no matter whether they were good or evil. Whoever wears the Crown influences the fates of all within the mortal realm to a profound degree, thus there have been eras of great benevolence, times when the world was ruled by beings of nothing but the most wicked intent, vibrant millennia when art and science flourished and centuries of war when civilizations were toppled and all gentle things reduced to ash.
The last era belonged to a man known widely as the Wizard, though his true name was Steranimus. He won the Crown after a long epoch of darkness when much that was known was forgotten. It was Steranimus who breathed upon the dying embers of civilisation, coaxing them back into a blaze, and returned life to the broken realm, before he turned from the speaking peoples, disgusted by their lack of gratitude, and went no more among them. Now Steranimus’ time is over. The Talismans havere turned. The Portal of Power has closed, awaiting the few who might reopen it onto the Plain of Peril, the otherworld where the Crown resides. The dread voice of the Guardian rolls across the inner realm, calling all who dare to seek the ultimate power. Awake! Awake! The Crown of Command awaits its master!
This is your home. You live surrounded by wonder. Your planet is one of strange creatures and magical kingdoms, of meddling demons, capricious fae, savage monsters, and fair knights. It is a place where the mundane and extraordinary overlap. It burgeons with marvels and perils in equal measure and is populated with all manner of folk, from the cunning mage to the humble beggar. Yet for all the world’s miraculous variety, all the species who vie to survive and prosper amid its teeming kingdoms, only one will guide it through the coming age. Perhaps that person is you.
The Eleventh Era is beginning. Adventurers from every reach of the globe flock to the enchanted land at the heart of all things, where the quest takes place. For though much of history has been lost, the parting decree of the Great Gods is known to all: a champion must claim the Crown of Command. But be warned, the road is long and arduous.
Only the most skilled among you will prevail, and for those who fail, death awaits.
