| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Synthalus |
Posted - 18 Feb 2011 : 12:58:03
Various explanations of the tarrasque's origins exist: some claim it is a curse from the gods, while others say it was created by evil wizards. Neither TSR nor Wizards of the Coast has ever provided a definitive answer.
In the Spelljammer series, the accessory Practical Planetology suggests the tarrasques originate from the planet Falx. Several hundred tarrasques live there in a docile state, where they are silicavores (rock eaters); upon removal from their homeworld their temperament changes to the violent, rapacious one better known elsewhere in the Dungeons & Dragons universe.
In the 4th edition version of the game, the tarrasque is listed as an "abomination" and classed as a "Gargantuan elemental magical beast" - a living engine of death and destruction created by a primordial race for use as a weapon against the gods.
So what exactly is a Tarrasque? How did they come to be? is it possible to create them, and if so how? |
| 30 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Fellfire |
Posted - 21 Feb 2011 : 02:12:50
The Tarrasque,the Armageddon Engine
Of all the abominable Spawn of Rovagug, the eternal horror called the Armageddon Engine is by far the simplest in appearance and design: formed symmetrically and efficiently in the shape of a vast, hunched vertebrate, it possesses neither tentacles nor wings nor ichorous, alien tendrils of mysterious purpose. It has but two eyes and a single maw, bearing a biped’s build with a quadruped’s tail; its form is arrayed with horns, claws, and teeth set for one purpose only: eliminating life. The raw, absolute lethality of the Tarrasque is beheld in its workmanship: a perfect predator combining the sleek grace of the hunting cat, the stunning ferocity of the shark, and the overwhelming force of the silverback gorilla.
Beyond its incalculable killing power and extraordinary size, the otherworldly carapace of the Tarrasque is its most notable feature, literally capable of deflecting (or even reflecting) nearly all known supernatural assaults. The teeth of the Tarrasque are its most dangerous weapons, severing through flesh, bones, steel, and stone with equal ease. The jaws of the Armageddon Engine are swift to gulp down whole villages into the crushing dark of its gut, though few survive to experience such hell, rent asunder by the onslaught of scimitar-sized fangs. Even the horns and tail of so awesome a foe are deadly weapons, capable of turning a nation’s most elite warriors into sticky crimson mist.
Pathfinder: Legacy of Fire part 6, The Final Wish pp. 54 |
| froglegg |
Posted - 20 Feb 2011 : 19:26:57
In my Realms he is its Godzilla.
He was made when the Realms was still very very young and magics that should have never been used, were and so he was born.
The Tarrasque..... He just is.
John |
| Markustay |
Posted - 20 Feb 2011 : 01:40:04
I started organizing all the data we compiled, sifting through nearly a hundred pages of posts...
And then the 4e announcement happened. 
I put the whole thing on hold until the GHotR came out, and then further stalled it by waiting to see what 4e had to say about the east (which obviously wasn't worth the wait), and by that time the WotC boards had become low-trafic (after it Gleemaxed everyone to death), and what few people I had around to help all gave up on the boards (and some on the Realms).
As I said, it will make it all into something - some of the better bits I'm using in my own setting. A good chunk of it I plan for either a Hordelands or an Utter East netbook (maybe both - they tie together). Those are much smaller projects in scope - the original K-T one was a full-blown 3e/OGL conversion of the entire K-T setting, along with two sub-settings (The Hordelands and malatra: The Living Jungle) and a bunch of brand-new material for the southernmost lands (some of which was derived from the Mahasarpa WE, which I squeezed onto the map). It was going to includ all new character classes, feats,races, etc... too big for one guy to handle, or even a team of amateurs.
I will take bites out of it a little at a time. I just ordered my new vid-card and memory today, so hopefully I will have my comp up-to-snuff by Tuesday or so, and can finally use my new Abode Suite to it's full potential (right now it lags like crazy, even when I only open a single app).
And to steer this back on topic, I found an entry for the terrasque on pg.30 of the GHotR. At east, that's a pic of the terrasque... lord knows how much that vinget has to do with the illustration. |
| The Sage |
Posted - 20 Feb 2011 : 00:24:24
quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
That lore is a small piece of the now-defunct Kara-Tur netbook project I was working on. Not canon, of course. I may still use bits of that in the (hopefully) still back-burner Utter East project. The Hordelands have a monster (the Dzalmaus) that just looks too much like King Ghidorah for me to pass up, and the 3e OA books include a colossal Spider (which is really Rokugon, but we can pilfer it). Its a 'giant monsters' love-fest in the East! 
Whatever happened to that 'Kara-Tur' netbook anyways?
|
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 19 Feb 2011 : 22:39:43
quote:
Originally posted by Alystra Illianniis
Unfortunately, I don't recall the exact issue 3, but it was in an issue with a beholder on the cover, with several articles on beholders, werebeasts, and other such odd-ball PC races, I think. Hope that helps, but most of my issues are in storage, so I can't look it up ATM. I only remember that it had several cults, such as one of Illithid thralls who took on some of their traits (probably related to the cerebromorphosis from the Illithiad), a cult of beholder-worshipers, and another one I can't recall. It was sometime in the late 200's or possibly early 300's, though.
Time to consult The DragonDex.  |
| Ayrik |
Posted - 19 Feb 2011 : 20:08:19
It's just an organic weapons platform, basically a panzerstomp. The last (or one of the last) living remnant from some impossibly ancient half-forgotten godswar. The Tarrasque was probably not even a remarkable unit, it wouldn't stand out much on the battlefield, all the weapons of the time were imbued with at least a little divine rank/energy and colossal destruction was the norm. Maybe it's a leftover from a previous universe. Maybe Ao keeps it around out of fondness. |
| Markustay |
Posted - 19 Feb 2011 : 19:48:56
quote:
Originally posted by Quale
We've only seen the tarrasque once. The DM had a huge alien ship dock nearby and a tarrasque was in the ship's crows nest watching.
NICE! 
I would prefer it as an elder Evil, rather then an abomination. The fact that you can't really permanently get rid of it just screams 'ancient mystery of the universe' to me. I do like linking it to the primordials, but I have to think on that more. Perhaps the Elder Evils were all WoMD's from the time of the God wars? They seem to pre-date the current universe, and the terrasque seems to fit into that (like Galactus of Marvel Comics). In fact, there was a Terrasque-like creature that behaved much as Galactus did in the Marvelverse, but used the Cosmic Crossroads (instead of space) to wreak havoc - it was called Klaatu.
Anyway, I don't like the idea of it just being a 'Godzilla rip-off', so I was thinking maybe borrowing a bit of that stuff above and say the creature has some mysterious purpose dating back primordial times; a purpose it may still be trying to accomplish, even though the war is over. I do not like the idea of more then one at a time, ANYWHERE (so I just ignore that world in SJ) - it should be unique.
On the other hand, all of the known terrasques could just be baby Terrasaques, and the 'real one' is the advanced Monstrosity that Mr. Misc. mentioned. Ergo, that Uber-one would be the godlike creature (Elder evil), and the rest just it's spawn. Perhaps it lays eggs in different parts of the world, and as they hatch they seek each other out. Then, like some types of RW creatures, and things like Illithid Tadpoles, the creatures battle each other (and eat the loser), until one reigns supreme on each world. That way, most worlds could still follow the one-per-world, but we could have examples of immature terrasques in different parts of the Realms because the spawning-attrition hasn't finished yet. That would allow each set of canon to still work.
It also makes for a pretty cool myth/folklore basis for things like tsunamis and earthquakes (torilquakes?) - almost all the battles would happen below ground or under the seas. Just more random thoughts from me - ignore it all if it doesn't suit you.
quote:
Originally posted by The Sage
I like the info on pg. 30 of The Grand History of the Realms, whereupon we're told that the Tarrasque nested for a time in the continent of Katashaka.
I'd really like to see that developed further.
You didn't hear? 
That one ran afoul of THE krakentoa, and the two battled non-stop for three weeks on the island nation of Niponawa.
What? You never heard of Niponawa? It used to be the third big island-nation just off the coast of kara-Tur.
I stress 'used to be'... it's just a string of rocky islets now. 
That lore is a small piece of the now-defunct Kara-Tur netbook project I was working on. Not canon, of course. I may still use bits of that in the (hopefully) still back-burner Utter East project. The Hordelands have a monster (the Dzalmaus) that just looks too much like King Ghidorah for me to pass up, and the 3e OA books include a colossal Spider (which is really Rokugon, but we can pilfer it). Its a 'giant monsters' love-fest in the East!
BTW, here is the 3e MM version of the Terrasque. Note what Di'terlizzi depicted it next to.  |
| Dalor Darden |
Posted - 19 Feb 2011 : 19:05:19
quote:
Originally posted by Arik
That's an interesting idea ... the Tarrasque then basically becomes a dimwitted god whose portfolio is regularly scheduled godzilla rampage, or more accurately, it would be one (and there can be only one) manifestation and avatar of such a divine power. It would then be a simple immortal fact of the cosmos, always existing somewhere and ultimately impossible to kill forever.
I like that idea! Consider it stolen for my 1e games on what the big T is and how he works. Sort of a Primordial in his own right, birthed by the other Primordials. |
| Dalor Darden |
Posted - 19 Feb 2011 : 19:04:05
quote:
Originally posted by Chosen of Asmodeus
quote:
Originally posted by Dalor Darden
quote:
Originally posted by Chosen of Asmodeus
Well, consider that the war between gods and primordials wasn't just fought between them. Each had armies of servitors at their command. Angels, elementals, various abominations created by both sides. The tarrasque wasn't meant to be a threat against the gods themselves, but it would tear through their servants. The primordials didn't need anything to help them fight the gods; invididual they were more powerful. It would take two or three greater gods to take a single primordial; the strongest one mentioned required four greater gods just to imprison it.
Why create a weapon that can't harm your real enemy? Senseless to me.
Now, in earlier editions of D&D (like 1st Edition) the beast COULD have devoured Gods! It may sound odd, but back then the big T was something that even Gods feared.
A lot of modern day warfare contains weapons that don't directly attack the enemy, but rather attack logistic targets. Weapons are created with specialized purposes.
Preaching to the wrong choir here...
A weapon is designed to kill...period. Army taught me that, and I'll stick to it.
Anything else is a tool...not a weapon. Weapons kill, tools manipulate. The description for 4e says weapon. To me, you don't make a weapon that can't kill who you are really fighting. If you want a tool to harass your enemy, fine...but don't call it a weapon.
If they made only one Beast that couldn't stand against a god, then when that Beast was used, all a God would have to do is step on it...fini.
If they are going to make the monster truly terrifying, it should be able to kill a god...if it is "for use as a weapon against the gods" then it had better be able to kill one.
Otherwise it is a tool.
In 1st Edition AD&D the fella has stats that PROVE that only the more powerful GREATER Gods could have a chance against him, and even the likes of Tiamat and Bahamut better stay well clear!
After that edition, they should have changed information/description of big T...because he wasn't so big any longer compared to those he was supposedly designed to be used as a weapon against.
So again, I'll go back to my original assertion that I don't like the description he is given in the current version of the game. |
| Quale |
Posted - 19 Feb 2011 : 16:28:28
We've only seen the tarrasque once. The DM had a huge alien ship dock nearby and a tarrasque was in the ship's crows nest watching. |
| Alystra Illianniis |
Posted - 19 Feb 2011 : 05:22:37
Unfortunately, I don't recall the exact issue 3, but it was in an issue with a beholder on the cover, with several articles on beholders, werebeasts, and other such odd-ball PC races, I think. Hope that helps, but most of my issues are in storage, so I can't look it up ATM. I only remember that it had several cults, such as one of Illithid thralls who took on some of their traits (probably related to the cerebromorphosis from the Illithiad), a cult of beholder-worshipers, and another one I can't recall. It was sometime in the late 200's or possibly early 300's, though. |
| Ayrik |
Posted - 19 Feb 2011 : 03:33:47
That's an interesting idea ... the Tarrasque then basically becomes a dimwitted god whose portfolio is regularly scheduled godzilla rampage, or more accurately, it would be one (and there can be only one) manifestation and avatar of such a divine power. It would then be a simple immortal fact of the cosmos, always existing somewhere and ultimately impossible to kill forever. |
| Chosen of Asmodeus |
Posted - 19 Feb 2011 : 03:06:39
Which issue was that? I'm running a small side freeform rp about badguys trying to wake the big T up and that could come in handy. |
| Alystra Illianniis |
Posted - 19 Feb 2011 : 03:05:06
Here's a thought. There was an issue of dragon back in 3.5 ed that had a bunch of secret cults, and had PrC's for each one. One was a cult of Tarrasque/Apocolypse believers called "Wakers of the Beast". The PrC allowed followers to gain attributes of the Tarrasque as they advanced, eventually becoming very bestial and powerful, much like the beast itself. The cult's purpose was to find and wake the Tarrasque in order to bring about some prophesied end-of-the-world event. So, what if whenever a Tarrasque is killed, the new one is created from one of these cultists? They could continue the transformation until they become a full-fledged Tarrasque themselves, and thus continue the line of Tarrasques, and it would still keep the "only one at a time" rule. |
| Chosen of Asmodeus |
Posted - 19 Feb 2011 : 02:31:41
quote:
Originally posted by Dalor Darden
quote:
Originally posted by Chosen of Asmodeus
Well, consider that the war between gods and primordials wasn't just fought between them. Each had armies of servitors at their command. Angels, elementals, various abominations created by both sides. The tarrasque wasn't meant to be a threat against the gods themselves, but it would tear through their servants. The primordials didn't need anything to help them fight the gods; invididual they were more powerful. It would take two or three greater gods to take a single primordial; the strongest one mentioned required four greater gods just to imprison it.
Why create a weapon that can't harm your real enemy? Senseless to me.
Now, in earlier editions of D&D (like 1st Edition) the beast COULD have devoured Gods! It may sound odd, but back then the big T was something that even Gods feared.
A lot of modern day warfare contains weapons that don't directly attack the enemy, but rather attack logistic targets. Weapons are created with specialized purposes. |
| Ayrik |
Posted - 19 Feb 2011 : 02:04:09
Assuming the Tarrasque is a weapon in a war of the gods ... it wouldn't be deployed directly against a god. At least not alone, it's too stupid, it would be dragged along by gods or their armies to provide extra firepower. Or far more likely just inflicted upon the land to disorganize or destroy believers of rival faiths.
The gods of Faerûn are in some ways quite stupid. Surprisingly only simpering Cyric managed to figure out that the real way to hurt gods is to punch them in the followers. |
| Christopher_Rowe |
Posted - 19 Feb 2011 : 02:01:50
quote:
Originally posted by Arik
Were I a truly evil bastard of a DM I'd have the beast decide to lair in a big fat dead magic zone, like the one which covers much of Tantras. Good luck killing it without any magic. Of course I'm not an evil DM, my players consider me generous and loving and gentle and kind and I reward them with flowers and puppies.
At the risk of derailing the topic, I've always disallowed obviously "magic-powered" beasts like the Tarrasque from taking advantage of dead magic zones. For instance, once, (gods, this is decades ago, now) during a Time of Troubles game, I had a dragon crash to the ground when it flew into a dead magic area, since it would be physically impossible for such a creature to fly using just, y'know, physics and anatomy. |
| Dalor Darden |
Posted - 19 Feb 2011 : 02:00:02
quote:
Originally posted by Chosen of Asmodeus
Well, consider that the war between gods and primordials wasn't just fought between them. Each had armies of servitors at their command. Angels, elementals, various abominations created by both sides. The tarrasque wasn't meant to be a threat against the gods themselves, but it would tear through their servants. The primordials didn't need anything to help them fight the gods; invididual they were more powerful. It would take two or three greater gods to take a single primordial; the strongest one mentioned required four greater gods just to imprison it.
Why create a weapon that can't harm your real enemy? Senseless to me.
Now, in earlier editions of D&D (like 1st Edition) the beast COULD have devoured Gods! It may sound odd, but back then the big T was something that even Gods feared. |
| Chosen of Asmodeus |
Posted - 19 Feb 2011 : 01:54:20
Well, consider that the war between gods and primordials wasn't just fought between them. Each had armies of servitors at their command. Angels, elementals, various abominations created by both sides. The tarrasque wasn't meant to be a threat against the gods themselves, but it would tear through their servants. The primordials didn't need anything to help them fight the gods; invididual they were more powerful. It would take two or three greater gods to take a single primordial; the strongest one mentioned required four greater gods just to imprison it. |
| Dalor Darden |
Posted - 19 Feb 2011 : 01:44:27
quote:
Originally posted by Chosen of Asmodeus
Being the 4e fanboy that I am, I go with "it is an abomination, a weapon created by the primordials during their war with the gods".
I don't like that definition at all...at best a beast such as it is might contend with a Demi-God; but a Lesser or Greater God would walk all over the thing and slap it around like a puppy being paper trained... |
| Ayrik |
Posted - 19 Feb 2011 : 00:37:27
I don't understand why people bother to try killing the thing, a terribly difficult and dangerous idea. It would be much simpler to just force it through into a gate, teleport, etc. You'd think somebody over the millennia would've tried using something like Zagyg's Cage or a Sphere of Annihilation on it.
Were I a truly evil bastard of a DM I'd have the beast decide to lair in a big fat dead magic zone, like the one which covers much of Tantras. Good luck killing it without any magic. Of course I'm not an evil DM, my players consider me generous and loving and gentle and kind and I reward them with flowers and puppies. |
| The Sage |
Posted - 18 Feb 2011 : 23:48:55
I like the info on pg. 30 of The Grand History of the Realms, whereupon we're told that the Tarrasque nested for a time in the continent of Katashaka.
I'd really like to see that developed further.
|
| Synthalus |
Posted - 18 Feb 2011 : 23:28:13
Arik my mind has just been blown sir! |
| Ayrik |
Posted - 18 Feb 2011 : 22:56:10
In How the Mighty Are Fallen the players must obtain the Tarrasque's pituitary gland (the organ which governs growth, healing, and regeneration).quote:
To begin cutting the pituitary gland out without the use of a magical item requires the beast to be brought below -30 hit points. Until it's dead, magical weapons and magical attacks are the only way to harm the beast. The task of pituitary removal takes approximately one hour. If the characters use Aksa's disintegrate to vaporize the remains of the Tarrasque once the pituitary gland is removed, they've created a problem for themselves. It regenerates from the largest existing piece of remaining flesh, which in this case is the pituitary gland, at the rate of one hit point per round, meaning that in 300 rounds (five hours) the Tarrasque is whole once again. The pituitary gland itself weighs 17 pounds and takes up about three large backpacks of space (it's pretty spongy material), which poses a small transportation problem ...
This seems to suggest that the largest chunk of Tarrasque (not necessarily the pituitary gland used in this instance) will constantly regenerate until the beast regains full health. Skewering a Tarrasque into quarters will result in one regenerating Tarrasque and three stinky piles of gore. I think the same probably applies to magically cloned Tarrasques, only the single largest/strongest one will survive and regenerate. (This of course assumes anyone could research a variant clone spell which works on Tarrasques, that might be impossible.)
Note that the beast just won't stay dead, a wish is required to finally slay it (an unfortunate detail for 4E characters). So it doesn't seem unreasonable that a wish might be needed to spawn a new Tarrasque as well. Note also that wish is an invocation magic, thus technically it involves the name of some higher power to function: it might well be that the Tarrasque cannot actually be slain without divine authorization. |
| Synthalus |
Posted - 18 Feb 2011 : 21:53:04
tarrasque have a lot of mystery to them. They are clearly Weapons of mass destruction. The D&D equivalent of a nuclear weapon. If tarrasque could be cloned and held in stasis they could be the ultimate weapon for any nation in faerun. You could just teleport one of these creatures where ever you wanted in the realms and it would rampage and destroy your enemies. Is it possible to clone a tarrasque and the perserve it in stasis? |
| Erdrick Stormedge |
Posted - 18 Feb 2011 : 21:20:45
Due to the extant of the evidence to the contrary, I think it is safe to assume that, indeed, there may be more than one Tarrasque within a given temporal frame on Faerun.
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by Arik
But I think it's unsafe to assume only one tarrasque exists in the Realms.
How about only one at a time?
|
| Chosen of Asmodeus |
Posted - 18 Feb 2011 : 21:18:11
Being the 4e fanboy that I am, I go with "it is an abomination, a weapon created by the primordials during their war with the gods".
It rarely comes into play; most player characters would think of the creature only as myth, would only know of its origin as myth. Even though my campaigns occasionally contain an npc who would either know or have a considerably more educated idea than others(its my screen name, in case you're wondering who), there's still enough leeway to say he was either lying or out and out wrong. |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 18 Feb 2011 : 21:13:28
quote:
Originally posted by Arik
But I think it's unsafe to assume only one tarrasque exists in the Realms.
How about only one at a time? |
| Mr_Miscellany |
Posted - 18 Feb 2011 : 20:35:05
I created a cult of Malar that long existed unbothered in the Spine of the World who’d worked rituals and sacrifices for more than a century to tap the spirit essence of the mountains, mix it with the souls and blood of the cult’s mightiest warriors and adherents and a divine spark gifted by Malar, to create a super-Tarrasque capable of sweeping away the Silver Marches and returning all of the North to a savage hunting land.
This let me use the rules for an advanced Tarrasque (as printed in Dragon Magazine) and really gave a challenge to the eight epic level characters my players ran at the time.
There are no rules for creating a Tarrasque that I’ve ever seen, but I think it’s certainly plausible for cults, wizards or worse to attempt to summon one or create one with a little divine help.
[EDIT: here's a LINK to a similar discussion on the WotC boards.]
|
| Quale |
Posted - 18 Feb 2011 : 20:23:06
There's also one in the Old Empires area
Candlekeep Compenduim (I thik IV, the one about the dragons) and old GHotR have more info on its origins
Personally I always take the mythological story, so there's only one, in southern Tethyr, and is a spawn of Leviathan (of Stygia) |
|
|
