➺ NEWTalislanta 4th edition

for enthusiasts of the Talislanta RPG.

Issue 1.1Issue 1.1

We took a survey on the email list, askingwhere people turn to for inspiration in cre-ating Tal games, or in trying to describeTal to others.

Unfortunately, we don’t have space toprint all the suggestions and commentsfrom the other list members. We canshare some of the ones we thought were

most interesting or inspired:SMS’ main inspirations, besides Vance,

were Marco Polo’s The Travels, andH.P. Lovecraft’s story, “The Dreamquest ofUnknown Kadath.”

Other written works include:the poems “Kubla Khan” by Coleridge and“Ozymandias” by Shelley; RobertChambers’ short-story collection, The Kingin Yellow; Robert Silverberg’s Majipoorseries; Michael Moorcock’s Elric and CorumSagas; A Dictionary of Fantastic Places;Joseph Campbell’s The Power of Myth; andBarry Hubart’s A Bridge of Birds. On theartistic side, check out the art books LastShip Home and In Search of Forever byRodney Matthews, and The PentateuchRetold by Patrick Woodroffe.

Also try the comic book series Nexus(for would-be Xambrian Wizard-Hunters).And of course you’ve all read TheSandman and The Books of Magic, right?

And for video, watch Ray Harryhausen’sSinbad films, especially The GoldenVoyage of Sinbad, and also the films TheDark Crystal and Labyrinth. Three goodanime films are El-Hazard: The MagnificentWorld; Record of the Lodoss War; andFushigi Yuugi.

I n s p i r a t i o n s

*Alexia note - I’d like to add to the list thefollowing inspiration:

Errol Flynn - a true Zandir

art by Rich Wallace

1

TTAAMMAARRWelcome, and peer into Tamar!

Tamar was born from someone's casualquery on the Talislanta email list,"Whatever happened to the old Talnewsletter, the 'Black Savant'?" Alexia wasquick to leap forward (impetuous Zandirthat she is) and propose starting a new"newsletter." But "news" of Tal is hard tocome by, and we want to do more. :)We've formed a small group of writers andartists from the list members, and we'll bepublishing original, "unofficial" game mate-rial about Tal: cultural discussions/back-grounds, rules variants, new archetypes,stories, artwork, and even sheet music.We do have the full support of StephenMichael Sechi, the creator of Talislanta. ButTamar will be a place for Tal fans to publishtheir ideas, rather than an official source ofnew material.

To some extent, Tamar will be coveringmaterial already discussed on the emaillist or available on web pages. However,we are getting entirely new material fromour writers and artists, and we are printingthe zine and distributing it as widely aspossible, to help spread the word aboutTal. We are also focusing on the new"Tenth-Anniversary Edition" of Tal, sincewe're very excited about it.

We hope you enjoy what you see as youlook deeper into Tamar.

Philos, Editor

Table of Contents

Articles & Tales

Profile of an Aeriad......................3

Zeethara......................4

Crystalomancy.....................12

Featured Columns

Music of Talislanta......................5

Zanth, It’s a town...(archetypes)

......................6The Lyceum Archives

......................8From the Publishers

Damn the Wicked Pudding(Letters to the editor and such)

......................2 Colophon

......................14Classifieds

......................16

cover art:layout by JWBersani,Tamar Logo by Tipop.Graphics from Talislanta publications,copyright is held by owner.

Recently, Stephen Michael Sechi wasasked how Jack Vance’s novel The DyingEarth served as an inspiration forTalislanta. He responded:

For me, it was several things:

• Vance’s imagery, which is by turnsevocative, beautiful, and disturbing...

• The strangely mannered way in whichhis charactersspeak, which I like alot better than the“Thee and Thou”school of fantasywriting, or its opposite, the silly/anachro-nistic style of writing characteristic of TVfantasy writing, ala “Hercules”. In Vance’sbooks it seems that everybody is awiseguy - even the so-called “monsters”have a decidedly dry sense of humor...

• Vance’s idea of how magic works in hisworld (which, BTW, formed the basis of thefirst RPG magic system, D&D). From thenames of his magicians to the names oftheir spells, it’s very colorful stuff...

• His unusual and eccentric characters,cultures, and creatures.

I think it’s fair to say that Vance is anacquired taste - though he’s well-respect-ed by other fantasy and sci-fi writers, henever was hugely popular with the readingpublic. After I read Eyes of the Overworld Iwas hooked. Of his many books I think myfavorites would be Rhialto the Marvelous,the “Lyonesse” trilogy (more of a tradition-al fantasy, though still plenty quirky inspots), and his sci-fi books, the “Planet ofAdventure” (yow, what a name - publish-

er’s choice, notVance’s, BTW)seriesand the verystrange Palace of

Love (gotta like that Mad Poet character)from the “Demon Princes” series.

SMS

2

Damn the Wicked Pudding!!!letters to the editor and such...

“I think it’s fair to say thatVance is an acquired taste”

As this is the first issue of Tamar, the letters to the editor were few and far between(about as far between as you can get).

Philos decided to run this piece from the Talislanta email list. If you have a letter to the editor please address it to:

plarose@cyberzone.netor

the editorTAMAR

c/o Utica Drop Forge Publishing131 D. W. Hwy #440

Nashua, NH 03060-5245

Art from Talislanta

Archive

3

All gamers have their own unique reasonsfor playing Talislanta, but no matter howdifferent those reasons are, we all haveone thing in common: we like telling warstories afterward. For instance, have youever had a moment during the gamewhere you broke character so badly youtotally embarrassed yourself? Just com-pletely forgot what you were doing in themiddle of a game, destroying the moodfor everyone else? Probably not. But ithappens, and sometimes it’s just... pecu-liar:

From “Blue Moon: Autobiography of aWarrior”, circa 640 N.A.

“After a short and uneventfulstay in Kasmir, we set offeast toward Dracarta. We werean unlikely bunch. I was prob-ably the only Mirin anyonein lower Talislanta had seenwho retained his natural bluecolor. My beloved Sabinesported skin of deepestindigo and a Za broadswordand whip. There was theBatrean woman who simultane-ously hated and lust-ed after every manshe encountered;the oddly-pairedGnomekin and Mogroth mer-chant team (the poor Mogroth allowed theGnomekin to ride his shoulders all the wayto Dracarta); the naive CymrilianArcheologist; and Willow, who was...unique.

“Willow was a blue Aeriad, an excellentscout if a little high-strung. She was astrict vegetarian, preaching endlesslyabout the evils of eating meat, eggs, and

even erd milk. Every time we sat down toeat, she would weep loudly for about ahalf-hour for the poor, noble beast sen-tenced to die for our monstrous appetites.Sometimes she would eulogize them. Thesmell of cooking meat made her recoil asif it were a Monad fart. Between her andthe Mogroth’s cooking, I lost 15 pounds intwo weeks.

“A week’s travel east of Kasmir, weencountered a herd of land lizards.Eager to add something to our diet of bit-ter mungberry stew, we sent her onto scout while we discussed the possibili-ties of hunting one of the great beasts for

meat. Then Sabine tapped me on theshoulder and pointed. Willow was fly-

ing toward the herd at top speed.‘She’s scaring them off!’ someoneexclaimed, much to our collective

dismay. Indeed, she was headingtoward them at top speed, but when

she reached them, she singled outa straggler, readied her tri-bowand rapid-fired every bold shehad into it. Her ammunitionspent, she swooped down with-out missing a beat and toreinto its jugular over and overwith a frenzy of slashing cres-

cent knives until it died. We all ranto her to see what was the matter.

“She was covered in blood, panting,clutching a crescent knife still clotted withflesh and bits of scales from her abortedattempts to gut the carcass. When shesaw us, she demanded, ‘Does anybodyknow how to butcher this damn thing??’

“We don’t talk about that incident.”

“Profile of an Aeriad”by Gil Young

Art from Talislanta Archive

4

This Zandir instrument has 24 strings andthe most difficult and bizarretunings of any instrument in Talislanta.Few have mastered the zeethara, andthose who do are viewed as menaces,since this instrument creates tones sooff-key and discordant that they have beencompared to the Drukh songs ofmadness.

The zeethara finds its humble origins inZandu. It is said to have been designedby a minstrel and tavern owner in oraround the year 530 N.A. as a means toempty his establishment at closing time;inebriation increases the torment causedby the zeethara. Many practitioners of thezeethara claim that it was created byThazros of the Ten Thousand. Thazrosloved to cause discord, so there may besomething to this story. There are manyconnoisseurs of the zeethara in Zandu, butit has yet to catch on elsewhere. In fact,the Sultan hosts an annual competition,on the twenty-first of Laeolis, to find thebest zeethara player in Zandu. The winneris given a prize of five thousand Crescentsand is exiled from Zandu for one year, togive the “gift” of the zeethara to the restof Talislanta.

The Bodor consider the zeethara a traves-ty to the art of music. No Bodor hasever mastered the zeethara, for even theact of tuning the instrument, whichcan take up to three quarters of an hour,gives them severe headaches. A few daysbefore the Competition of the Zeethara,Bodor leave the city en masse,only to return when the winner has left thecity.

art by Ed Heil

Zeetharaby Joe Porrett

Instructions for playing a game ofTal online, using IRC:

(from Tipop)

From hotbot.com or your favorite search engine,search for "mIRC".

This will take you to a variety of pages, onwhich you can download “mIRC”. Once you'vedownloaded it and installed it, read the manual,

which will explain the basics of Internet Relay Chat.

Read the manual!!!

You should have no trouble logging on to a Dalnetserver,

(Dalnet is the IRC network I use.) and go to channel #AD&D

(this is a general forum for rpg discussions). Look here for players for your game.

A pre-release of the Tal10 rules (for IRC-players who are new to the game)

can be found at

www.concentric.net/~Tipop .

5

Though seldom lethal, the acrobaticTable Dance is still a quite risky endeavorand one of the more spectacular happen-ings at Gao-Dinian taverns. It is in manyrespects similar to a duel: two contest-ants, dancing on a table, try to outdo eachothers’ death-defying manoeuvres untilone of them loses his balance - usuallyfalling off the table and occasionally break-ing his neck.

The number of broken legs and dislocat-ed shoulders is increased by the fact thatGao-Dinians, like many others, are moreinclined to dance after they have had afew drinks. On top of that, the table rapidlygets slippery from ale spilled by the rowdy

the Music of TalislantaTable Dance (Gao-Din)

audience, who beat the rhythm of thesong with their tankards. If both dancersare still standing after two choruses, theBodorian musicians simply raise thetempo; with Thiasians and Sarista dancing,they can end up playing pretty fast indeed.

The melody line is played on an athal(two-string fiddle) and the base line on alutara (a three-string baritone lute). Bothmelodies are also used in various drinkingsongs. One of the most well-known is “Aathe impotent and the Zandiran virgin,”which comes in several versions, rangingfrom merely comical to outright dirty.

by Ben Lyngfelt

Music by Ben Lyngfelt

6

Djaffir Caravan Guard

Homeland: Djaffir

“The sands of fortune are forevertreacherous and shifting. I must bevigilant for the dangers they bring.”

You hold a respected and danger-ous position in Djaffir society, guardingtheir precious caravans across theharsh and unpredictable sands, fight-ing off monsters and rival tribes alike.Scouting ahead to assess the passageand avoid ambushes, you even aidthe caravan when it turns to banditryin leaner times. You understandimplicitly that your greatest enemiesare usually other Djaffir, and youaccept this fact, for such are thesands of fortune.

The desert is a harsh and unforgiv-ing mistress, and failure to give herdue respect can prove fatal. Whoknows what lies on the other side ofthe next sand-dune? Independently-minded but comradely, you like noth-ing better than relaxing while off-dutywith a few hot cups of mochan, butyour duty is your life. Were you to fail,your self-esteem might be shattered.Physical Characteristics: 5’-6’, 80-160lbs. Dark brown skin, hair andeyes, wiry build.

Attributes:INT 0 STR +1PER +2 DEX +1WIL 0 CON +1CHA 0 SPD 0

CR +1 MR 0HP 21

Skills:Shortbow +3Scimitar +3Dagger +2Brawling +2Mounted Combat +3Ride (Ahtra) +5Scout +3Camouflage +4Guard +4Survival +5Stealth +3Nomadic, nativeTalislan, fluentSpecial Abilities: None.

Equipment: Traditional leather fetishmask (Ward vs. spells of influence andcontrol), cloak, robes and headdressof linen, boots of soft ahtra hide,curved dagger, horn shortbow withquiver of 20 arrows, scimitar, woodand hide shield, belt and shoulderpouches, ahtra steed.

Wealth: 25 g.l. in assorted currencyand trade items.

Sometimes the Talislantan cultures can seem stereotyped. Surely not every Cymrilian must be a mage,

every Danuvian a warrior, every Farad a merchant?

Who does all the regular work?

Or, from the player’s perspective, “Can I be a Djaffir but play a different role?”

Why yes, you can. Here, for example, is a new Djaffir archetype.

“Zanth, It’s a town of Limitless Possibilities...”Optional Archetype Possibilities

submission from Colin Chapman, aka Psygoblin

7

Yes that’s right, this is not the firsttime we “Raving Lunatics” haveworked together on a zine. The ParkBench was a music and entertainmentzine based in the southern NH area(with eyes on the Boston scene) —was, and will be again. Due toabsolutely no popular demand whatso-ever, we have decided it’s time totake our seat on the Bench again andoffer the world our observations on lifeas it passes by. Because sooner orlater, everyone passes by the ParkBench.

Thanks Phil, I’d like to add a fewwords... The Park Bench kicks ass!!! Ifyou’ve ever heard about Nashua, NH(voted too many times, the best placeto live in the USA) then you might beinterested to see what an environ-ment like this can do to a person.Forced to live a dream life of unlimitedshopping, without the problems of cul-ture or aesthetics to get in the way ofthe capitalist lifestyle, we formed ThePark Bench as our outlet. You might

TThheerree wwaass

tthhee PPaarrkk BBeenncchh

BBeeffoorree tthheerree wwaass TTaammaarrÉÉ

Volume 1, Issues 2 & 3 arestill available. 1.2 features “TheCheap Bastard’s Guide to CDShopping in Boston,” and 1.3 asksthe question, “How Smiths Is Now?”Both issues feature the usual mix ofreviews, opinions, musings, and ofcourse, “our little Gwen” on relation-ships and what they lead to… If youask nicely, we may even be able todig up some copies of Vol. 1.1.

Email inquiries to:dot@gcctech.com or plarose@cyber-

zone.net or write to:

the Park Bench, 131 DW Hwy, #440,

Nashua, NH 03060-5245

even says it’s the outlet between theoutlet (stores). Publishing Anarchy, ina neat little package...

The Park Bench.

8

The Lyceum ArchivesAn exploration of magic

in Talislanta Tenth-Anniversary EditionWords and Art by: Mark “Tipop” Williams

“The Lyceum Archives” will be an ongoing series of

columns designed to spark your imagination about the

Tenth-Anniversary Edition magic system. I’ll discuss

ideas for new spells, new ways of using the modes,

new enchanted items, guidelines for the adventuring

mage, and new magical legends and tales you can add

to your own campaigns. I’ll use stories and anecdotes

from my campaigns to illustrate these ideas. In this

first column I’ll describe some new enchanted items.

You’ll find no +2 swords or wands of fire in these

pages. I intend to

stretch your imagination somewhat.

Don’t be alarmed, I’ll be gentle...

To start, let us con-sider the problemof medicine onthe battlefield. Asmost of you know,the state of the doc-tor’s art in Talislantais hardly worth men-tioning. Quacks,charlatans, andbunglers aremixed in with ill-informedmedicine men and the rare true medic.The only reliable form of healing is magi-cal, which can be difficult to obtain, espe-cially in the numbers needed for an armyafter a battle.

This was the problem facing a youngNicademas on his first adventure. He hadbeen traveling in the Quan Empire, follow-ing some hints and half-destroyed mapshe had discovered in the Lyceum Arcanumarchives that might show the location ofan ancient Archaen settlement. Uponlocating the area, he found it occupied bya battalion of Kang warriors, resting after along battle. After some discussion withtheir commander,Nicademas was able to reach an agree-

ment whereby he would be allowed to digup the land in the area after providing hisservices as a magical healer.

What Nic hadn’t anticipated was thetremendous demand for healing that theKang had... They had virtually no healersamong themselves, and the fewMandalans they had brought with themhad either died or were missing after thefighting and presumed dead. There werescores and scores of wounded, somedying, and more on the way as soon asthe next encounter with the enemyoccurred.

That’s when Nicademas decided thatsomething more long-term was needed.He set about the construction of a largecauldron, ordering the Kang blacksmith to

make it according to his specifications.Being a pyromancer, Nic

spent a great dealof time in the forge,reaching into theflames and caress-ing them, teachingthem how tomold the metal.He

inscribed runes alongthe softened iron (he was also a

cryptomancer) and carefully filled themwith molten gold. When he was finishedten days later, he had the Cauldron ofMending, which could be used to cook themeals of the wounded. The meals so pre-pared would have minor healing proper-ties: not enough to cure any of the wound-ed completely, but enough to stave offdeath and increase the recovery rate.

Now, in game terms, what did he do?The enchantment was a first level cryp-tomantic healing spell. I borrowed an ideafrom the Alter mode, allowing the spell toaffect multiple targets by taking a -1 to thecasting roll per target after the first. So thecauldron could heal a dozen people peruse, one hit point each. It can be used

9

three times per day.To reduce the enchanting time even fur-

ther, Nicademas also put a requirementthat the cauldron must be placed in a bon-fire each night to recharge it, atwhich time the golden runes along theedge would glow with a ruddy internalheat. Thus the enchantment time wasreduced from two weeks to ten days.So, up to thirty-six wounded Kang couldreceive minor magical healing each day,which would greatly reduce their mortalityrate, and (as a side benefit) make themvery grateful to this Cymrilian youth in thefuture.

For our second idea-sparker, let’s take alook at the idea of “target-ed” weapons,using the reverseof the Ward mode,Hex. Hex is usuallytargeted at an indi-vidual, causing thatperson to take dou-ble damage (andpossibly othereffects) from aspecific source,such as arrows, snakes, falling rocks,whatever.However, Hex might also be used on anitem, causing it to do doubledamage against a specific class of targets,such as Satada, wood, or humans. A goodrule of thumb for the level of the enchant-ment should be the weight of the weapon.

Here are a couple examples.• Fist of the Tirshata

Created by the dark witchmen of Chanabefore the Sub-Men uprising,this massive battering ram was imbuedwith the essence of dozens of plantgrues, evil elementals which destroy allplant life they come near.

The black-iron head of the ram (weigh-ing nearly forty pounds) was worked overfor years beforehand, in preparation for thesiege on Danuvia.It was mounted on the end of a massivetree-trunk, with boiled leather separatingthe head from the wood.

The heavy battering ram does 30 dam-age normally, 60 against wooden struc-tures. The enchantment is 40th level, a

monstrous undertaking considering thatit was never even used in

the war.

• Sword of GloryCreated by the

Aamanian highpriests for theirmost faithful andmighty warrior-

priests and witch-hunters, the Swords of Glory are two-

handed swords with the Eye of Aa beam-ing from the hilt. They are enchanted withthe Will of Aa to smite the dark witcheswith His own Righteous Wrath.The enchantment is 20th level (the weightof the weapon), and the blade does 10damage normally, 20 damage to a practi-tioner of witchcraft. As a “freebie” side-effect the eye glows in the presence of awitch or warlock.

(cont on next page.)

10

For our lastexcursion, let’s consider some uses forthe magical mode “Alter” that might nothave occurred to you.

How about adding to the CR attribute ofyour allies? With a 6th level spell and a -2to the casting roll (a -8 total penalty), youcould add +2 to the CR of three warriorsjust as a battle is joined, and the spellwould last for six minutes. A +2 for threewarriors can have a major effect on thefight to come.

Describing this spellcasting would varydepending on the order being used:

Mysticism - The Combat MindThe warriors are joined in a subconsciousmental link, thereby knowing eachother’s moves and styles instinctively, andacting as a cohesive fighting force, ratherthan a group of individuals.

Cryptomancy - The Rune of Rage“Gaze upon this rune, my friends, and befilled with its power... Let the rage fill youas you face our foes, and be not dis-mayed.”

Wizardry - The Quickening LightThe wizard holds forth his hand and threebeams of arcane energy stream out tosurround his warrior-allies with a coruscat-ing light. Their muscles respond quicker,their combat intuition is sharper, and theirweapons seem light as air in theirenhanced grips.

Another situation: The party of six issneaking into the Hall of the Ice King, theruler of the Ice Giants. Only a few of themhave the Stealth skill, yet silence is utterlyimportant as they get closer to their desti-nation. What’s a mage to do? Use the Altermode to give them the Stealth skill at a+1 rating for every three levels of thespell, of course!

A 3rd level spell, with a -5 to the castingroll would affect all six party members and

give them a +1 Stealth skill. (You couldreduce the -5 penalty depending on howmany already had the skill.)

This isn’t a lot of skill, true, butd20+(DEX+1) is usually better thand10+(DEX x2), unless one of them has ahigh dexterity, in which case they mostlikely have the skill already.

Again, this would be described different-ly depending on the order of thecasting mage...

Witchcraft - The Cat’s PawThe witch takes a small feline paw fromher pouch and touches each of the targetswith it, one at a time, all the while whis-pering an age-old Dhuna chant. A momentlater, all of her affected companions takeon a slightly feline cast to their features;nothing major, just a slight lengthening ofthe whiskers here, a faint heightening ofthe ears there. All of them feel more agileand lithe than they were before.

(This description would also work forNatural Magic, although without the cat’spaw being used, and Shamanism if thetotem spirit is a stealthy type.)

Necromancy - Silence of the GraveThe black mage passes his hand over theface of each of his companions, andtheir eyes close as though in death... Amoment later they open their eyes onceagain, and their eyes are solid white orbs(although they can still see perfectly well).When they move after that, their feetseem to land without sound, and the rus-tle of their gear and weapons seems muf-fled, as though heard from within a tomb.

Well, that’s about it for this column. Ihope you got some good ideas for yourown campaigns, or for your own PCs to tryout on your GMs.

For now, the archives are closed.

(cont from previous page.)

11

Review:SoBe Teas

With their catchy slogans, lizard graphics and intriguing flavors, SoBe Teas have reallygot something good going on. By combining the latest herbs of choice in the healthindustry with great tasting teas, they make the occasional walk to the neighborhood cor-ner store more like an everyday need - a need for good tasting, healthy refreshment.

On the underside of every cap is a saying, ranging from “Drain the Lizard” (the companycatch phrase), to definitions of the herbs included in the tea. These mottoes and slo-gans are just begging to be printed on hats and T-shirts all over the world. The eye-catching, yin-yang-positioned lizards entice the viewer to try a SoBe tea, exilir, or “pow-erline”.

These are just promotional items and have no bearing on what’s inside the bottle.Fortunately, contained in every bottle is a great-tasting beverage. I’ve been drinkingtheir teas for months now, and I’ve sampled the whole range. I can’t promise you’ll lovethe first taste. I had a hard time getting my first sip of Black Tea down, but after that, Inever looked back. With ingredients like Ginseng, Ginkgo, and Guarana, SoBe Teas havebeen mentioned in lots of health-related articles. I don’t drink for health reasons; if I did,I probably would drink much more. The fact that these herbs are in the tea is secondaryto me. Sobe Teas taste great, and if you’ve never had the opportunity to try one, Istrongly suggest it.

More information is available at www.sobebev.com.

Interesting in getting involved inTAMAR, as a writer or artist???

We’re always looking for new submis-sions, even if you can only send us

something once in awhile. Contact usat the following address:

TAMAR131 D W Hwy #440

Nashua, NH 03060-5245

plarose@cyberzone.netor

dot@gcctech.com

Art in this issue provided by:

*layout note:Art Credited to “Talislanta Archive,” is

from previously published Talislanta mate-rial, and is used by permission. The Artistsinclude B. D Breeding-Black, and RonSpencer.

••••••••••••Inside Cover Logo is from the “Talislanta

Central”website, maintained by MateuszKrepicz. Is that cool, Mateusz??

The back cover graphic is from the“Official Talislanta” website, maintainedby David Bolack.

12

In the standard rules, Crystalomancy islisted as a sub-field of Geomancy and thusan Elemental field. In so far as crystals arerelated to the element Earth this is a natu-ral classification. However, the Elementaliststyle doesn’t seem quite appropriate forthe Gnomekin Crystalomancers.

An Elementalist wields magic power. Hecontrols his element with force, whereas aWitch, for example, uses persuasion, anda Naturalist works through harmony.Elementals are an Elementalist’s allies, buthe uses them the way a master uses hisservants. He may be a good master, butstill a master.

The Gnomekin have a more modestapproach to magic. They revere Terra, theEarth Mother, and are thankful for Her gifts.They manipulate and use Hercrystals, even destroy them sometimes;but they would never dream of misusingtheir power. And they never for one instantforget that they are the children of Terra.They are Her servants, not the other wayaround.

If we look at the game mechanics, wesee some effects of these differences.For example, the Heal mode isn’t availableto elemental mages (an optional rule, butstill an indicator of the Order’s distinguish-ing features). Can you imagine aCrystalomancer who doesn’t know Heal? Tome, Terra’s healing power has always beenat the core of Crystalomancy. And theElementalists’immunity to their chosen element worksfor a Pyromancer, who can’t be hurt by fire- or an Aquamancer, who can breatheunderwater - but “immune tocrystals”?

All in all, I cannot bring myself to view

Crystalomancy as an elemental Order.There is still the relation between crystalsand Earth, but that isn’t crucial here. TheOrders are essentially a matter of style.They are conventionalized approaches tomagic, and I find it more than likely thatthe subterranean GnomekinCrystalomancers have developed otherconventions than the surface dwellingElementalists, even the Geomancers.

So what is Crystalomancy then? Of theknown Orders, Natural Magic isprobably the best option. Naturalists sharethe Gnomekin’s respectful andhumble attitude towards magic, and aresimilarly careful in their use of it. Also, theSubterranean City can be viewed as a nat-ural environment (and thus suited forNatural Magic) in the same way Altan ofthe Ariane or The Enchanted Grove of theMandalans can.

Crystalomancy as an Independent Orderby Ben Lyngfelt

Art by Rich Wallace

13

However, there are also differences. TheNaturalist’s communion with spirits and theCrystalomancer’s dependence on crystalsare good examples of features that distin-guish the two from each other. Therefore Iprefer to treat Crystalomancy as an Orderof its own.

I propose the following set-up:

C r y s t a l o m a n c y

The Gnomekin Crystalomancers viewtheir magic as a reflection of Terra, theEarth Mother. They do not invoke Herpower, as do priests, but they worktheir spells in accordance with Herprotective nature. Like caring garden-ers or foresters, they tend to the crys-tals, grow new ones, and use themfor the good of their people and theenvironment.

But protect also means defend.Crystalomancers do not hesitate touse destructive forces when needed;creating landslides, producing cave-ins or blasting their enemies withharmful magics, if the homestead isthreatened. However, these powersare used with strict discrimination.The thought of violating the harmo-ny of nature for personal gain iscompletely alien to the Gnomekin.

Therefore Crystalomancy is con-sidered a great responsibility andrequires unclouded judgment.Only those who have a deeprespect for life, a compassionatenature and an acute sense ofharmony can beCrystalomancers. Few non-Gnomekin are judged to meet theserequirements, and outsiders are rarely, ifever, allowed to learn Crystalomancy. All

are Terra’s children, but experience hastaught the Gnomekin that those who donot understand Her nature cannot beentrusted with Her secrets. And how coulda surface dweller understand?

Crystalomancers do not use writtenworks. The precepts of this Order arepassed down by oral tradition. Every aspir-ing Crystalomancer also spends alot of time tending crystals, and learn theirproperties by taking part intheir growth. Over time, the studentdevelops a deep understanding of thenature of the crystals. Often a kind of

bond is established, and mostCrystalomancers prefer to use crystalsof their own growing.

Physical Components

All Crystalomantic spells require appro-priate crystals; see Limitationsbelow.

Advantages

Store Crystalomantic Force. A crystalo-mancer can store spells to be usedat a later time. This effect, basically a one-use enchantment, requires astorage procedure of 10 rounds per levelof the spell. The stored power canbe used by the caster or by someoneelse, all at once or a little at atime; but it cannot be reused, or even re-stored. Once a Stored crystal isemptied of its powers, it is dead and thususeless for all magical purposes, includingregular enchantment and spellcasting. Thislimitation is due to the storage procedure,during which a total merging between thecrystal’s innate properties and the proper-ties of the spell takes place. Reluctant toburn out the precious crystals in this way,Crystalomancers are very restrictive intheir use of Storing. Also note that Stored

(cont on next page)

Art

by

Ric

h W

alla

ce

14

ColophonHardwareApple Power Macintosh, Gateway 2000 (used to playCDs), Apple Powerbook 190, GCC Technologies Elite XL1208s, Elite 1212, and Elite XL 20/800 laser printers,Iomega zip drives, GCC UltraDrive Hard Drives, PolaroidPhotopad, Papermate medium point pens, a RedNissan Sentra, Philos sleeps on a mattress from anunknown manufacturer.SoftwareQuarkXpress, Adobe Photoshop, Claris Works, BBedit,Netscape Navigator, Claris Emailer, Graphic Converter.TypographyText- Comic Sans MS, Klang, TAMAR logo by Tipop.Drugs of ChoiceSobe Teas (Oolong, Green, Zen, and Black), Dr. Pepper,Classic Coke, Easter Snicker’s Eggs, Cadbury CreamEggs, Bass Ale, Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream, Lui Lui’s din-ner rolls, Pasta at Vinny Testa’s, Raspberry frosted Pop-Tarts, Reese’s Peanut butter Eggs, ChipsAhoy cookies,Pictures of G3 Powermacs.In the CD player this time aroundJonatha Brooke - 10 Cent Wings, Natalie Imbruglia - Leftof the Middle, Autour de Lucie - Immobile, Ani Difranco- Little Plastic Castles, Pulp - This is Hardcore, SyrupUSA - All over the Land, Marilyn Manson - AntichristSvperstar, Joe Jackson - Night Music, Cocteau Twins -Heaven or Las Vegas, Grey Eye Glances - Eventide, TheMoors - The Moors, Lisa Gerrard & Pieter Bourke-Duality, Garbage - Version 2.0

crystals count against the maximum num-ber of enchanted items a person cancarry.

Affinity. Crystalomancers get a +1 bonusto spell-casting rolls when using crystalsthey have grown themselves.

Limitations

A Crystalomancer cannot do magic with-out crystals. Each Mode requires aspecific type of crystal (see box text), andthe level of the spell cannot exceed thenumber of carats of the crystal. Also notethe ethical restrictions of Crystalomancy.

Modes (optional)

Not available: Influence, SummonBonuses: Heal +3, Defend +2Penalties: Illusion -2, Conjure -2

Example Spells

Mending (Transform)A broken object isn’t hurt, the way livingbeings get hurt, its parts are simply sepa-rated. By transforming the edges of thepieces - first making them soft, then hardagain - the Crystalomancer fuses the partstogether, and the repaired object looks asif it has never been broken. Some artistsuse a version of this spell while sculptur-ing.

Terra’s Touch (Heal)The healing power of the Earth Motherflows from an Amberite crystal intothe sick or wounded recipient.

Tunnel Hold (Move, Defend)This spell, a protection against cave-ins,comes in two versions. Either a barrier iscreated to hold the roof of the collapsingtunnel (Defend) or the falling earth is levitated (Move).

TAMAR InformationVolume 1, Issue 1 copyright 1998.Tamar is published periodically by UticaDrop Forge and Tool Co. and the ParkBench Publishing companies. Thesecompanies represent the publishing divisions of:

Raving Lunatix Promotions 131 D.W. Hwy #440 Nashua, NH 03060-5245

Printed in the USA.

The Talislanta fantasy world settingand the original Talislanta FRP arethe creations of Stephan MichaelSechi. Talislanta is a trademark ofSMS and is used by permission. Allrights reserved. All contents areprinted with permission, when avail-able. The artist retains the copy-right of his/her material.

(cont from previous page.)

(cont top of next page)

15

The Wrath of Terra (Attack)Prismatite crystals, stored withCrystalomantic force, arehurled towards the target,exploding on touch.

Enchantment

Common enchant-ed items made byCrystalomancyinclude:

* Healing crystals(Heal)

* Crystal blades, with an enchanted Rubiate crystal at the pommel (Alter)

* Crystals of Sealed Passage,vs e.g. Darklings, Kra, orSubterranoids (Ward)

Modes and crystals

Alter RubiateAttack PrismatiteConjure OpaltineDefend JacintineHeal AmberiteIllusion XanthiniteMove TopazineReveal AzuriteTransform AchromiteWard Emeralite

Crystal Growing

The art of growing crystals is covered bythe skill Agriculture (Crystals) in the stan-dard rules. Crystals grow 1 carat per week,and need close supervision during this

time. A Crystal Grower can maintain onegrowing crystal per level of ability;

thus, a +10 skill means beingable to nurture 10 crystals

at the same time. Onceharvested, a crystal can-not be grown further.Note that a CrystalGrower does not nec-essarily have to be aCrystalomancer.

Wild Crystals

The Earth Motheralso harbours wild crys-

tals, not grown by CrystalGrowers. Such crystals are

unpredictable; most of themcannot be used for Crystalomantic

purposes at all, and the rest only at theCrystalomancer’s own risk. Any CrystalGrower can determine which crystals (1out of 10) are pure enough for spellcast-ing and enchantment, but, short ofCrystalomantic Scrying, there is nothingthat can tell which of these will yield thedesired results. One fourth will have otherproperties than expected, and even thosewhich are what they seem are difficult tocontrol (-5 penalty on all spellcasting andenchantment rolls).

Still, Crystalomancers value the wildcrystals and take care of all they find.These crystals are Terra’s gifts just likegrown crystals are, and they should behandled and appreciated accordingly. Also,despite all their modesty, Crystalomancersare not completely without ambition. Thereis always the possibility that the unknownproperties of a wild crystal will lead to thediscovery of new uses for Crystalomancy.

Art by Rich Wallace

(cont from previous page)

Art by Ed Heil

CC ll aa ss ss ii ff ii ee dd ss

16

The Talislanta Email List

The Talislanta game is fortunate to have a lively email list devoted to it.The idea for Tamar itself began in answer to one list member’s question

about the old Tal newsletter, and Tamar would not exist without thegenerous contributions of the list members. The Tal list is “unmoderated;”

any member is free to send posts. However, unlike many other lists ornewsgroups, the Tal list is not full of spam and flame wars.

Open-mindedness and courtesy are the self-imposed rules, rather than therare exceptions. Around 30 members, including SM Sechi, regularly post to

discuss all aspects of the Talislanta game; over 100 more members choose to“lurk”, making occasional comments or questions but otherwise just enjoying

the discussions and getting the news.

To join the mailing list, send email with a subject of “SUBscribe” to:TALISLANTA-L-REQUEST@mars.galstar.com

Talislantalooking for resources for

your TAL campaign???the following booksare still available.

(in Limited Quantities)

the Archean Codex $15.00Cyclopedia Talislanta $10.00ea

-Seven Kingdoms-Wilderlands of Zaran-Eastern Lands-Western Lands-Desert Kingdoms

Quantigue $9.95, Sarista $10.95Scent of the Beast $10.00Submen Rising $15.00Talislanta Geographica $15.00Talislanta Worldbook $19.95Thystram’s Collectanea $15.00

make checks payable to:Plaid Rabbit Productions

PO BOX 690261Tulsa, OK 74169-0261

(*prices are in US dollars, and checksshould be in made US funds.)

for more information about

Talislanta, on the webvisit the official Talislanta Website:

talislanta.galstar.com

or one of the many fan sites:

Temple of the Seven Moonswww-personal.umich.edu/~kelek/talislanta/temple/

Talislanta Centralwww.geocities.com/TimesSquare/4166/

www.seanet.com/~feng/www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/2691/Talislanta.html

www.geocities.com/Area51/Cavern/2295/and more added all the time, including the

Official TAMAR site which will be up and running shortly.If we’ve not listed your site please email us

and we will add you to the list, for future issues.

How do you keep a Yassan technomancer occupied formonths?

-Have him set the clock on a Sindaran VCR.(joke sent in by Mike Hudak)

Character sheet from talislanta.galstar.com