Crucial expansions for Talisman 4th?

Talisman 4th edition was the game that got me into hobby board gaming, even before Settlers of Catan. Seriously it has fantastical warriors fighting a dragon on the box cover. How could I not have wanted to play it the day I spotted it at my local comic book store? I've had a lot of fun playing it since then but I have felt the urge to start looking into the various expansions to make the experience more interesting and epic. What do you guys feel are the most crucial 4 or 5 expansions to get for the game?

The one you need is The Reaper. It's got everything you need. I'd add Blood Moon as well for more fun times.

For the extra boards, I've heard the Dungeon and the City are pretty great. I have the Highlands and that one is solid.

Skip the Dragon. Too much extra nonsense.

Frostmarch and Reaper. Absolutely.

I'm actually halfway through an article, coincidentally. I'll post a link.

superflycircus.com/2015/03/talisman-4th-...parts-awesome-sauce/

There you go, mate.

Thanks for the help, this gives me some good guidance.

Also really enjoyed the article Superfly. I love the idea of making the movement make sense in the context of being on an adventure.

I''ll go ahead and echo what some others have said, pick up the Reaper. It's about the only thing that is essential. I'm going to sound like a broken record, because I offer this advice or tip for playing all the time:

Buy a bunch of the small expansions. While playing only ever mix one expansion in with the base adventure cards at a time. I tend to do this by season. Right now my games of Talisman are covered in the cold harsh winter of the Frostmarch Expansion. The Sacred Pool is great for spring time. Summer you can rock out The Firelands. Fall is ideal for Bloodmoon/Reaper.

The bonus part to this is that each expansion adds more characters, more spells or other additions like alternate endings which you can used to spice up the game. For the corner boards I'd say add The Dungeon first as it's a brutal, but fun place to explore. Then I'd go with the City. That gives you something to do with all that gold you find out on your adventures. Adding the corner boards along with the small expansions is fine...add as many as you'd like. I still only shuffle in the adventure cards from the small box expansion the season is currently in.

Reaper then Dungeon then Frostmarch.

Since you have played Catan, playing without the Reaper would kind of like playing Catan without the robber. While Talisman has enough going on without death, his involvement, and the cards that he adds in, makes the game complete for most people.

The Dungeon can be brutal but it gives you a whole second play deck and allows you to have more variety in characters and equipment. Personally it is my favorite expansions, but the draw 3 slots can be murder.

If I am playing in person, I typically stop there. Sometimes I add Frostmarch, or swap out Dungeon for City. With the Dungeon and Reaper you can finish a four player game in a couple hours at worst. When you add in all four corners, it can grow to an all day affair for setup/play/takedown. If I am playing digitally, I play with all expansions, I mean why not? I dont have to shuffle.

I think the two things that Talisman needed to make it "complete" are the extended Warlock quests and the alternate end-games. Everything else is pretty much just for a little "extra" but the aforementioned things make the game into something far better that without.