I conceived Taliskarn as a setting that exists in two (so far, two) incarnations – more precisely, at two points in time: “Dark Time” and “New Dawn”.

Taliskarn of the Dark Time

“Taliskarn of the Dark Time” is the older chronological version of the world, ~500 AR. It is dedicated to the era when Malkona and its denizens reached the lowest point of their civilizational decline, shaping a grim and inhospitable low-fantasy setting:

• the peoples live in isolation from each other, and even the relationships between immediate neighbors are, to say the least, very tense;
• the appearance of foreigners in most regions of Malkona attracts enormous attention, and they rarely receive a friendly welcome;
• miracles are mostly encountered only in myths, fairy tales, and legends (I don’t mean the wonders of the world, which abound, but rather active miracle-working, the “casters”) – and it is there that the great heroes have remained.

I create “Dark Time” primarily for the planned world novels and for adventures using the Fate Core system.

Taliskarn of the New Dawn

This version of Taliskarn is set about 100–150 years ahead on the timeline from Dark Time, ~600–650 AR. The world is still harsh, unfriendly, and inhospitable, and at times downright brutal, but:

• cultural interpenetration is in full swing, with multinational cities and states forming;
• sciences and arts are flourishing, and forgotten wonders are being revived;
• the inhabitants of the world are discovering it from new perspectives, as well as exploring previously unknown corners.

One could say that here begins the Golden Age: the era of Great Geographical Discoveries in Taliskarn. It is this version of the world that I designate primarily for my dearly loved DnD adventures at levels 1–10.

Margin Scribble
By its concept and design, Taliskarn is not very well suited for truly high-level magic – and I would personally approach long-distance mind-reading, teleportation, and resurrections with particular caution – but adventures at early and early-middle levels look quite promising.