Talisman is the venerable Games Workshop fantasy board game that’s been kicking about the ‘Recommended for You’ slot on my Steam front page since ‘Recommended for You’ became a thing. Like Blood Bowl before it, its digital adaptation has been successful enough (a million-seller!) to expand on the source material.
The Shaman is a brand new character. The work of one competition winner and three artists, she’ll be sold as DLC to raise money for gaming charity SpecialEffect.
The Shaman is a mysterious figure who draws strength from her link to nature. She’ll be available on Steam from tomorrow, June 10th, for a minimum of £1.49 – though players can pay as much as they like.
All revenue raised will go to SpecialEffect, the unique UK charity which helps people with physical disabilities enjoy games.
The character was pitched by the US-based Graham Zaretsky, who won a “fiercely-fought” competition earlier this year – and then saw his ideas illustrated and refined by three SpecialEffect-supported artists: Amandeep Singh Heer, Ben Clark and Gareth Garratt.
“I’m deeply honoured,” said Zaretsky. “I love the artwork and that it is exactly in the spirit of the character that I imagined.”
Developers Nomad Games have since produced an in-game Shaman based on the sketches and collages.
“She’s a very special character,” said Nomad Games boss Don Whiteford, “given that she’s been created jointly by the Talisman community and SpecialEffect.”
SpecialEffect’s Fund Raiser Nick Streeter added: “We can’t thank everyone at Nomad enough for this brilliantly original way of supporting our work, and for their team to involve some of the people we help in the design process was a magnificent gesture.”
It was! And a nice nudge to finally get to grips with the boiled-down D&D antics of Games Workshop’s board game. Do you play?