Talisman

Talisman is a type of armor in Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning. It can be equipped in the shield slot, similar to the Kite Shield of fighters and Buckler of rogues. Designed for use by mage-style characters, all talismans will have a Sorcery requirement to equip them. Made from an precious metal trinket which emanates a magical barrier, they add the least armor and can negate the least amount of damage with a successful block. However, all talismans do have the following effects:

+10% Elemental Resistance

Parrying[]

Unlike other armor types, talismans can be used actively to reduce damage with a block, or negate it completely with a well-timed parry. To do this, the Fateless One must bring his or her talisman to bear just before an enemy strikes. This will disrupt the attack and stagger the enemy, leaving them open for a subsequent counter-attack. It will also deal a small amount of elemental damage (discussed in next section), which is based on the armor value of the talisman used.

However, this will only work on attacks made by human-sized assailants or smaller - trolls, bolgans, ettins, jottuns, and niskaru tyrants can break through any attempt to block or parry, so be wary around these larger creatures!

Talisman Parry: Elemental Burst[]

Being magical in nature, every talisman ever created has an elemental affinity, be it Fire, Ice, or Lightning. Due to this unique property, the magical barrier created by the talisman has the innate ability to transfer some of its elemental affinity to an attacking foe when used with enough force.

Therefore, when the Fateless One successfully parries an attack, the responsible enemy will also receive a burst of elemental damage based on the affinity of the talisman. Fire-infused talismans will deal Fire Damage, ice-infused talismans will deal Ice Damage, and lightning-infused talismans will deal Lightning Damage. However, unlike most weapons that deal elemental damage, this burst will not apply the corresponding damage-over-time component for each element (burning/freezing/shocking) .

The elemental affinity of any given talisman can be determined by checking the background of the talisman's inventory card icon:
A red-orange burst indicates a fire-affinity talisman.
A swirling blue background indicates an ice-affinity talisman.
A backround of jagged yellow lines indicates a lightning-affinity talisman.
This applies to all rarities of talisman: Common, Infrequent, Rare, and Unique. Some Unique talismans have enchantments pertaining to a particular element that differs from their inventory card icon image (e.g: see Roc'omarev). However, the parry damage type will always follow the inventory card icon's shown element.

Crafting Talismans[]

Main article: Blacksmithing

The Fateless One can craft talismans at any Blacksmithing Forge by using a precious metal guard and a grip; bindings and trims are optional components. With sufficient skill, mastercrafted talismans that offer a bonus to block efficiency can be created.

The Fateless One can also disassemble existing talismans for salvage, recovering some of the above-mentioned components.

List of Common Talismans[]

List of Unique Talismans[]

Notes[]

Interestingly, talismans are the only items in-game that use precious metals such as silver or gold as a main component. Gold and silver nuggets can be found in-game, but these can only be sold. Copper, bronze, and platinum do not have matching nuggets that can be found.