Relic is a board game in which two to four players each assume the role of a powerful hero from the Warhammer 40,000 universe and bravely venture forth to shield the Antian Sector from certain doom. By completing missions and defeating enemies, characters compete to gain rewards and experience, furthering their chance of being the first to defeat whatever evil lies beyond the Warp rift.
Building on the foundations of the Talisman system, Relic is a standalone adventure game in which seemingly straightforward choices mask scores of possibilities. For those who haven’t played the classic fantasy adventure game Talisman, this means that on each turn, a player rolls a single six-sided die before moving his playing piece that number of spaces clockwise or counter-clockwise around the region (outer, middle, or inner) of the board it currently occupies. That player then draws a card or cards to see what he’s encountered, pitting his heroic persona against foul enemies, dangerous locations, and fantastic strangers. And all the while, these intrepid heroes rise in power, as they work their way toward the ultimate goal at the center of the board.
Those who have played Talisman, however, will find a number of noteworthy differences in Relic. First, rather than one deck of Adventure cards that determines the allies and obstacles to found on each space, Relic has three distinct Threat decks, each of which focuses on a different foe in the Antian Sector. After landing on a space with a red icon, for instance, a player draws from the red Threat deck, which features tests of strength and an abundance of Ork-related events, enemies, and locations. Similarly, the blue Threat deck tends to challenge a character’s willpower attribute and features the vile Tyranids, while the gold Threat deck includes tests of cunning and a focus on the clever Eldar.
This, along with a sophisticated and varied system for “leveling up,” corruption cards that bestow both benefits and disadvantages, and secret missions that reward players with powerful equipment (among much more!), ensures that Relic is its own unique game experience while still staying true to its familiar Talisman roots.
