Continuing our discussion of Talisman tactics, in this post we are going to look at the city space form the base game- leaving the city expansion alone for the moment.
Generally speaking when given a choice it is always better to draw an adventure card since your chances of drawing a magic object, manageable encounter (monster), or an event is greater vs. the loss of a life from losing the encounter (unless your last obviously) or missing a turn through an event.
For this reason unless you are looking to visit the doctor on the city space or alchemize an item it is best to avoid the temptations of the city.
It might be tempting to visit the enchantress, but statistically you have only a 33% chance to gain a strength or craft boost, vs. losing a strength/craft or worse, being turned into a toad. Depending on where you are in the game, getting turned into a toad can be disastrous as the other players in the game scoop in for your items and try to squish you. Finally, gaining a spell, is meh as there are many other ways to grab one or fill your spell book.
Tactically speaking the Alchemist is an interesting option as a way to turn useless items into gold and free up a carry spot, while at the same time possible taking a magic object out of play. Keep in mind that sometimes there are players in the game either though drawing a certain character or a combination of items vs. your current character state that you will not be able to stop from taking an item that you may have- better to remove the item out of play then allow it to fall into their hands.