#RPGaDay2022 - Day 9 - What Was the SECOND RPG You Bought?

Day 9 of #RPGaDay2022 throws a hard curveball to an anticipated question, "What Was the Second (2nd) RPG You Bought?"

If I got my D&D Red Box from Waldenbooks, I also grabbed my second game off their shelves, Steven Michael Sechi's Talislanta, 2nd Edition.

Talislanta always had the distinction of having the ads in the Dragon Magazine with the tagline "No Elves."   An exotic world pulling itself out of the ashes of a previous civilization's cataclysm, Tal avoided most of the core classic fantasy tropes, for more extreme and exotic culture.

Even if the green-skinned Cymrilians both fought and cast magic (just like elves), or had pointed ears (just like elves, heck most races had elf ears), that the future OMNI system is a variation on classic d20 FRPG mechanics. 

These criticisms aside, Talislanta was incredible to run, even though the rules, archetypes, and settings were only packed into a 152-page softcover.  It wasn't until the revisions in the Wizards of the Coast 3rd Edition (yes, that WotC) that I felt more comfortable exploring the world at large.

It wasn't until the end of the 90's where I got to run a campaign using  Tal's rules, and even then, it was "strangers in a strange land" with the AD&D group getting transported to the world, and then exploring it to get the tools to be able to return.  (A perfect way of still playing with the local guys over summer break in college).