Welcome to the Official Talengarde FAQ!  Although I wouldn't really say I get questions about Talengarde all that frequently.  But I do get some good questions from time to time, and I resolve to answer them here and now.  Feel free to contact me if you have any question about Talengarde that you would like answered.

I received a letter from Alexander Corzo, by way of Chris O'Hare, in which several questions were asked.  In response I prepared and emailed this Talengarde FAQ (finally answered questions) in February 2000:

>   1. The most confusing rule to me is the Avatar....If your character is pious he has an avatar that he worships, ok easy enough, but then it says "...uses this being's spirit base stat as if it was their own."  Is this always in effect or only when the Avatar is summoned...

A pious being will receive this bonus for as long as the Avatar exists, whether it is summoned or not.  However, if the Avatar is killed in combat, the pious being is out of luck (that's what you get if you let your patron deity expire).

Let the godless being petition for the favor of a new randomly drawn Avatar at The Temple.  The worshiper's petition will be accepted if the worshiper wins a Willpower check against the Avatar.  (by the way, I just now made up this pious petition rule)

>  2. When the Avatar is summoned is it a separate entity or does it take the characters place in combat. In other words is the Avatar fighting with me or for me ???

When a being summons an Avatar, if the summoner passes the willpower check, the Avatar will join the party as a separate being under the summoner's control.  If a pious being is summoning his/her/its patron deity, then no willpower check is required to achieve control.

Any one being may control no more than one other being at any point in time.  If a being gains control of another being, any beings that the controller previously controlled are dismissed.  However, your Avatar may in turn summon another being which it controls.  In this fashion, you may build a hierarchy of controlled beings (but if any being in the chain of command is lost, all subordinate beings are dismissed).  Remember that controlled beings, like mounts, don't count towards a Hero's 3 companions limit.

>  3. I assume summoning the Avatar is like casting a conjuring spell so counts as your action during the combat phase...So I can't attack the round the Avatar is summoned but how about the next round....How long does the Avatar stick around...a random number of rounds or when you dismiss it???

Summoning a being constitutes an action on the spell caster's part, but once the being is controlled, no other actions are required to maintain that control.  The summoned being is granted an action immediately upon completion of a successful willpower check (to ensure viability of combat summoning). 

Most spells last a number of rounds equal to the caster's Spirit Base, but once a being is controlled, the effect is considered permanent.  The summoner may dismiss his/her/its controlled being at any time, and such dismissal does not constitute an action.

>  4. These might seem obvious to some people but the inn table just mentions companions, then companions (equipment), companion (equipment and gold);+ treasure......Am I to assume that companion means to draw randomly from the adventurer deck for free, then the same thing but i get free equipment , then I roll better, a free random adv. with a free random equip. card plus gold (how much??)...the treasure part I understand....

We were remiss in fully explaining all of the edifice tables.  The idea behind the Inn Table is that, like your Hero, the companions start with certain equipment (and abilities) and gold equal to their Vitality Base.  If the rolled result is only marginally successful, it is possible to find your companion without any money, or lacking their starting equipment (abilities, such as an always spell, cannot be lost in this way).  On such occasions when the rolled result is extremely high, it is possible to find companions possessing items beyond their starting equipment.  What a boon it is to find a friend with an artifact!

>  5. When you can cast a spell out of order it doesn't count as an action and you can still attack that turn right???

Yes and no.  Defensive spells (and movement spells cast defensively) may be cast out of normal combat order (as determined by the initiative check at the beginning of the combat phase), but still constitute the caster's action for the phase.  Only Enhancement spells (Winds and Explosion) and Counter spells (Dispell) do not constitute the caster's action for the phase when cast out of combat order.

>  6. and lastly when you get to purchase from the armory or the apoth., can you just pick and choose what you want to buy or do you have to draw randomly....

We have always drawn randomly the number of items indicated by the Edifice Table to represent the selection that the shopkeeper offers to your Hero.  This method provides for more fair, if not unpredictable, game-play.  It wouldn't be as interesting if the first player who could afford the Grimoire, always got it.

If the shopkeeper seems too chincy, or not very well stocked, you are encouraged to role-play the shopping experience.  If the shopkeeper can be haggled into giving you a bargain, maybe he would also be willing to go into the back room and bring out "the good stuff".