There is no magic in Taliskarn… but it is full of wonders. I love that word—”wonders”—it carries a sense of mystery, amazement, and the unknown, everything I believe Taliskarn should be. You can encounter magic at every turn, but a “wonder” is always something truly exceptional and unforgettable. That is the core idea I personally adhere to.

Wonders of the World

The sky lord lazily drifting over the great steppes, the soaring whale Tensur. The shadow-boar dissolving into twilight mist. The bright azure waters of the Spring of Origin, rumored to heal even the most grievous wounds. The ghosts of long-forgotten battles roaming the Weeping Savannas. The eerie Neblings lurking in the toxic haze of the Fetid Fens. The world of Taliskarn is full of wonders, and many myths and legends hold truth—but whether encountering them will be a blessing or a curse… who can say?

Margin Scribble
For me, as a TTRPG player, my favorite moment is encountering something new. I don’t like spoilers or “dungeon-clearing” with constant glances at the bestiary—I love when the GM surprises me. I adore challenges I haven’t faced before, creatures I’ve never heard of, and riddles I haven’t solved.

Accordingly, as a GM, I gravitate toward the same kind of gameplay: creating a constant sense of discovery for my players, making them pioneers of an unexplored world. Let them know the rules and concepts, but the details… Leave those to the GM—if they want, they’ll share them after the session. So, in my campaigns, the rule is simple: if wonders serve this idea, there can never be too many of them. The world must amaze—or rather, I want it to.

You will encounter the wonders of this world at every turn: in the descriptions of regions and cultures, peoples and customs, the history of the world, and plans for the future. These will be astonishing places and creatures beyond imagination, fantastical materials, and manifestations of divine will—or even divine caprice. However, I strive to keep everything within reason: neither in Dark Age Taliskarn (~450-550 AR) nor in New Dawn Taliskarn (~600 AR and beyond) is there a place for gods roaming Malkona, dragons scorching entire lands with their breath, or other overwhelmingly powerful entities.

At least not in my version—if you want them, who’s stopping you? ;)

Wonders of Mortals

A steppe hunter raises his bow, whispers a brief prayer to his ancestors, and his arrow flies true. A healer mixes the sap of medicinal plants with the ashes of a fire directly on an open wound, murmuring quiet pleas to forest spirits, and the pain fades. A Bryleahn, cornered by a moss-hided beast, suddenly hurls a thin-walled vial at its snarling face, and flames engulf the creature.

The Wonders of Mortals are rare and perilous attempts by the people of Taliskarn to imitate the deeds of the gods. This is not magic in its conventional sense, but rather alchemy, technology, rituals, and pacts with spirits—all of which come at a price.

Even though the Age of Wonders has long passed and the Forebears no longer bestow their gifts so freely, echoes of those times still stir the blood of Malkona’s inhabitants. Just ask, and you’ll hear a dozen incredible tales of miracle-workers: mighty warriors who single-handedly routed dozens of foes, cunning shamans who could even bring back the dead, stormcallers who summoned the wrath of Kustopha upon their enemies… There are many stories—but how much truth do they hold? That’s for you to decide.

My answer: not much. I see Taliskarn as a mysterious, wild, and dangerous world—a frontier, harsh and unwelcoming. I want my players to feel less like mighty heroes solving the problems of entire continents and more like ordinary adventurers, explorers, and fortune-seekers. Every battle is a serious challenge, every mistake has its cost and consequences.


In my vision, the wonders accessible to mortals should exist—but in strictly limited form. Not “a magic shop in every village,” but “a few ancient scrolls containing divine secrets, kept by a great scholar in Mesa.” Not “twenty healing potions and a feather for change,” but “I heard there’s a healer in a Saultuar village near the Steppes who knows the secrets of herbal brews.” Not “I snap my fingers, and a fireball flies forth,” but “I spend a rare and costly component that I struggled to obtain.” Not “a goddess personally explained it to me,” but “a spirit of the world gave me a cryptic hint.”


The same applies to warriors: not “I single-handedly kill five enemies per round,” but “there are three of them, the odds are against me—I need to retreat.” My Taliskarn is a world poor in supernatural abilities, where one must struggle and face the consequences of bad decisions. That’s why for my campaigns set in the Dark Age of Taliskarn, I plan to use Fate Core—and if my D&D-loving players insist on their usual system, they’ll have to accept a world that, by Faerûn’s standards, is utterly impoverished. And yes, the greater the wonder, the higher the price. In every sense (for example, Flumorn could grant access to resurrection—but would you dare to use it?).


At the same time, Taliskarn itself offers everything needed for magic—or rather, the wonders of mortals—to flourish. We have gods, ancient secrets, extraordinary ingredients, mystical regions, and legendary events. Want a classic D&D 5e adventure? We’ve got them! This is especially true for the New Dawn Taliskarn (once it’s released—see the corresponding page for details).

In Progress

With the release of New Dawn Taliskarn—or sooner, if I decide to launch a D&D campaign for Taliskarn—I plan to compile a spell list for Taliskarn, covering 1st-3rd level D&D spells with lore, context, ingredients, and more. Timing is uncertain, as I need to finish the Dark Age first. But if you have any ideas or drafts, please share them.