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Joran Nobleheart
Senior Scribe
USA
495 Posts |
 Posted - 25 May 2010 : 11:50:01
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quote:
Originally posted by The Sage
quote:
Originally posted by Joran Nobleheart
quote:
Originally posted by Ashe Ravenheart
Ahhh... Reminds me of the old days of playing Might & Magic on the ol' IBM. To heal up, you just needed to rest (I think it was like 6 HP/day). At the higher levels (1,000,000+ HP), resting to full health could take almost a decade. Fun times when we looked at our character ages one time and saw that everyone was over 70.
Then began the quest for the Fountain of Youth. Which was in the game just for that reason. 
I adored Heroes of Might & Magic III, which is when I was introduced to that series. The fourth one I didn't care for, personally.
My question is, how many tarrusques are there on Faerun, and do you still get the items out of their hides in 3E like you did in 2E? Also, do the tarrasques have a breeding ground, or are they sterile?
I only recall references to a single Tarrasque in the Realms. [Though, it has been a while since I've checked] Regarding your other questions, I'd recommend you hunt down a copy of Ed's "Ecology of the Tarrasque" in the, sadly, last issue of the printed DRAGON -- #359.
Ah, thank you Sage. I'll keep an eye out for it.  |
Paladinic Ethos
Saint Joran Nobleheart |
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Jakk
Great Reader
Canada
2165 Posts |
Posted - 25 May 2010 : 19:40:45
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quote:
Originally posted by Thauramarth
quote:
Originally posted by Jakk
A single Tarrasque per world is my general understanding as well, Sage. However, I also recall vague references (I think in a Spelljammer product) to a world populated entirely by Tarrasques... exactly how that ecosystem works is probably a question best left unexamined.
That would be Falx from SJR4-Practical Planetology. They're not tarraques, mind you, they are several hundred in number, and merely "indistinguishable from the tarrasque." And I suppose they feed on the "profusion of small lizard-like creatures" that live on the surface... Man, that's a lot of lizards-like creatures.
Falx... right... (we need a forehead-smacking smiley, Sage!) Thanks for the info, Thauramarth; that being said, if it looks like a tarrasque, eats like a tarrasque, and farts like a tarrasque  ... yup, it's a tarrasque all right.
I don't even want to think about the effects of that; my apologies for mentioning it, but I needed a third attribute to complete the simile (I almost typed "analogy" but considering my third point above, that's a pun too grotesque even for me). |
Playing in the Realms since the Old Grey Box (1987)... and *still* having fun with material published before 2008, despite the NDA'd lore.
If it's comparable in power with non-magical abilities, it's not magic. |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31799 Posts |
Posted - 26 May 2010 : 01:14:51
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quote:
Originally posted by Jakk
quote:
Originally posted by Thauramarth
quote:
Originally posted by Jakk
A single Tarrasque per world is my general understanding as well, Sage. However, I also recall vague references (I think in a Spelljammer product) to a world populated entirely by Tarrasques... exactly how that ecosystem works is probably a question best left unexamined.
That would be Falx from SJR4-Practical Planetology. They're not tarraques, mind you, they are several hundred in number, and merely "indistinguishable from the tarrasque." And I suppose they feed on the "profusion of small lizard-like creatures" that live on the surface... Man, that's a lot of lizards-like creatures.
Falx... right... (we need a forehead-smacking smiley, Sage!) Thanks for the info, Thauramarth; that being said, if it looks like a tarrasque, eats like a tarrasque, and farts like a tarrasque ... yup, it's a tarrasque all right.
Judging from the write-up in Practical Planetology, it looks to me like the easiest way to define the creatures of Falx is to simply say that they're a tarrasque breed that's native to that particular world -- as evidenced by the "Other sages point out that there might be subtle differences between the Falx tarrasques, and the terrestrial version," portion of the text. Those "subtle differences" might be somewhat derived from whatever genetic drift and evolutionary path the Falx creatures have followed on that world. |
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Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
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Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium -- Volume IX now available (Oct 2007)
"So Saith Ed" -- the collected Candlekeep replies of Ed Greenwood
Zhoth'ilam Folio -- The Electronic Misadventures of a Rambling Sage |
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althen artren
Senior Scribe
USA
780 Posts |
Posted - 26 May 2010 : 03:29:01
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I want to add to the tarrasque question that the Heralds holdfast
has survived 2 or 3 attacks. I don't think they would be the same
tarrasque, so I would assume that there must be more than 1, or a way
for them to get to Faerun through a portal or some such.
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36910 Posts |
Posted - 26 May 2010 : 05:38:53
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quote:
Originally posted by althen artren
I want to add to the tarrasque question that the Heralds holdfast
has survived 2 or 3 attacks. I don't think they would be the same
tarrasque, so I would assume that there must be more than 1, or a way
for them to get to Faerun through a portal or some such.
It could be that in all the multiverse, there is only one tarrasque: an engine of destruction created by fell deities in an era before history. This singular critter pops up and ravages a world, and upon its destruction, reforms on another random world. 
... Just a random thought that popped into my head. I also like the Spawn of Rovagug angle, from Golarion. |
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Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
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I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen! |
Edited by - Wooly Rupert on 26 May 2010 05:39:35 |
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Sill Alias
Senior Scribe
Kazakhstan
588 Posts |
Posted - 26 May 2010 : 05:45:08
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quote:
Originally posted by Kyrene
quote:
Originally posted by Ashe Ravenheart
quote:
Originally posted by Sill Alias
What will happen to the statue if you cast stone to flesh on it?
If the statue was a person that was actually petrified, they will be restored to their normal form (without having aged).
If it's just a statue, then your comrades will laugh at you. 
Don't you just get the equal amount of generic, non-living flesh when it is cast on something that wasn't petrified before?
If that is true, would not the stone golems be vulnerable after casting stone to flesh on them? |
You can hear many tales from many mouths. The most difficult is to know which of them are not lies. - Sill Alias
"May your harp be unstrung, your dreams die and all your songs be unsung." - curse of the harper, The Code of the Harpers 2 ed.
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31799 Posts |
Posted - 26 May 2010 : 06:06:11
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by althen artren
I want to add to the tarrasque question that the Heralds holdfast
has survived 2 or 3 attacks. I don't think they would be the same
tarrasque, so I would assume that there must be more than 1, or a way
for them to get to Faerun through a portal or some such.
It could be that in all the multiverse, there is only one tarrasque: an engine of destruction created by fell deities in an era before history. This singular critter pops up and ravages a world, and upon its destruction, reforms on another random world.
... Just a random thought that popped into my head. I also like the Spawn of Rovagug angle, from Golarion.
Aye. And I think it was the same tarrasque which repeatedly attacked the Heralds' Holdfast. I can't recall, though, whether it was a piece of Ed-lore or something from a 2e source which confirmed that. |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
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Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium -- Volume IX now available (Oct 2007)
"So Saith Ed" -- the collected Candlekeep replies of Ed Greenwood
Zhoth'ilam Folio -- The Electronic Misadventures of a Rambling Sage |
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Bakra
Senior Scribe
628 Posts |
Posted - 27 May 2010 : 14:18:30
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quote:
Originally posted by Sill Alias
quote:
Originally posted by Kyrene
quote:
Originally posted by Ashe Ravenheart
quote:
Originally posted by Sill Alias
What will happen to the statue if you cast stone to flesh on it?
If the statue was a person that was actually petrified, they will be restored to their normal form (without having aged).
If it's just a statue, then your comrades will laugh at you.
Don't you just get the equal amount of generic, non-living flesh when it is cast on something that wasn't petrified before?
If that is true, would not the stone golems be vulnerable after casting stone to flesh on them?
There are at least two ways to answer this question. Both depend on the DM. The stone to flesh could cause direct damage to the stone golem. Or it turns to flesh but still retains all of the abilities for a stone golem. |
I hope Candlekeep continues to be the friendly forum of fellow Realms-lovers that it has always been, as we all go through this together. If you don’t want to move to the “new” Realms, that doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with either you or the “old” Realms. Goodness knows Candlekeep, and the hearts of its scribes, are both big enough to accommodate both. If we want them to be.
(Strikes dramatic pose, raises sword to gleam in the sunset, and hopes breeches won’t fall down.)
Enough for now. The Realms lives! I have spoken! Ale and light wines half price, served by a smiling Storm Silverhand fetchingly clad in thigh-high boots and naught else! Ahem . .
So saith Ed. <snip>
love to all,
THO
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Jakk
Great Reader
Canada
2165 Posts |
Posted - 27 May 2010 : 18:06:37
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quote:
Originally posted by Bakra
quote:
Originally posted by Sill Alias
quote:
Originally posted by Kyrene
Don't you just get the equal amount of generic, non-living flesh when it is cast on something that wasn't petrified before?
If that is true, would not the stone golems be vulnerable after casting stone to flesh on them?
There are at least two ways to answer this question. Both depend on the DM. The stone to flesh could cause direct damage to the stone golem. Or it turns to flesh but still retains all of the abilities for a stone golem.
I prefer door #3 (as usual)...  The way my first 2E DM ruled it, and the way I've ruled it as a DM ever since, is that casting stone to flesh on a stone golem turns it into a flesh golem... and flesh to stone on a flesh golem turns it into a stone golem... but in both cases the spell acquires a duration of one round per caster level. The enchantments imbued into a golem at the time of its creation are such that changing its substance without changing its form (to make it distinct from baleful polymorph) is a temporary solution at best... the spell must still penetrate any spell resistance present, as well as the creature failing its save.
Just another "house rule" to toss out there...  |
Playing in the Realms since the Old Grey Box (1987)... and *still* having fun with material published before 2008, despite the NDA'd lore.
If it's comparable in power with non-magical abilities, it's not magic. |
Edited by - Jakk on 27 May 2010 18:07:47 |
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Alystra Illianniis
Great Reader
USA
3750 Posts |
Posted - 27 May 2010 : 20:48:35
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| Nice to see so many interesting questions here! I have a new one- I've been looking through my maps to see where Candlekeep actually is supposed to be, and can't seem to find it. Anyone know the answer to this? And while I'm at it, just where is Spirit Soaring from the Cleric Quintet? Are they the same place, or different? I'd like to be able to find it on my maps, but there are so many, from different editions and regions, that I need to at least find which region(s) it/they are in. Thanks. |
The Goddess is alive, and magic is afoot.
"Where Science ends, Magic begins" -Spiral, Uncanny X-Men #491
"You idiots! You've captured their STUNT doubles!" -Spaceballs
Lothir's character background/stats: http://forum.candlekeep.com/pop_profile.asp?mode=display&id=5469
My stories:
http://z3.invisionfree.com/Mickeys_Comic_Tavern/index.php?showforum=188
Lothir, courtesy of Sylinde (Deviant Art)/Luaxena (Chosen of Eilistraee)
http://sylinde.deviantart.com/#/d2z6e4u |
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Jakk
Great Reader
Canada
2165 Posts |
Posted - 27 May 2010 : 22:13:45
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Alystra:
Candlekeep: Find Baldur's Gate on the Sword Coast; go south on the Coast Way past the Cloakwood to Beregost, then go straight west to the coast. It should be right there. If it's not, then it's either not on your map or it's in the wrong place on your map. I'm using the 3E FRCS map, btw... so if you're using a 1E map and there's any difference, my map is wrong. |
Playing in the Realms since the Old Grey Box (1987)... and *still* having fun with material published before 2008, despite the NDA'd lore.
If it's comparable in power with non-magical abilities, it's not magic. |
Edited by - Jakk on 27 May 2010 22:14:42 |
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Brimstone
Great Reader
USA
3290 Posts |
Posted - 27 May 2010 : 23:33:47
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quote:
Originally posted by Alystra Illianniis
And while I'm at it, just where is Spirit Soaring from the Cleric Quintet?
The eastern side of the Snowflake Mountains... |
"These things also I have observed: that knowledge of our world is
to be nurtured like a precious flower, for it is the most precious
thing we have. Wherefore guard the word written and heed
words unwritten and set them down ere they fade . . . Learn
then, well, the arts of reading, writing, and listening true, and they
will lead you to the greatest art of all: understanding."
Alaundo of Candlekeep |
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Ashe Ravenheart
Great Reader
USA
3249 Posts |
Posted - 27 May 2010 : 23:44:50
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quote:
Originally posted by Jakk
Alystra:
Candlekeep: Find Baldur's Gate on the Sword Coast; go south on the Coast Way past the Cloakwood to Beregost, then go straight west to the coast. It should be right there. If it's not, then it's either not on your map or it's in the wrong place on your map. I'm using the 3E FRCS map, btw... so if you're using a 1E map and there's any difference, my map is wrong.
Don't forget that after the Spellplague, the Keep is about 30 miles inland and no longer on the coast. |
I actually DO know everything. I just have a very poor index of my knowledge.
Ashe's Character Sheet
Alphabetized Index of Realms NPCs |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31799 Posts |
Posted - 28 May 2010 : 01:08:47
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quote:
Originally posted by Ashe Ravenheart
quote:
Originally posted by Jakk
Alystra:
Candlekeep: Find Baldur's Gate on the Sword Coast; go south on the Coast Way past the Cloakwood to Beregost, then go straight west to the coast. It should be right there. If it's not, then it's either not on your map or it's in the wrong place on your map. I'm using the 3E FRCS map, btw... so if you're using a 1E map and there's any difference, my map is wrong.
Don't forget that after the Spellplague, the Keep is about 30 miles inland and no longer on the coast.
Indeed. "Candlekeep remains a bastion of learning, though the crag it rests upon now stands at least 100 feet off the coast." -- pg. 84 FRCG. There's some further tidbits about Candlekeep's status on pg. 95.
Also, from Brian:-
quote:
Candlekeep still stands, yet in the Year of the Ageless One it rests precariously on a slender volcanic crag 100 feet off the coast. Strong magic of unknown origin keeps it from plummeting into the Sea of Swords raging below.
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Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium -- Volume IX now available (Oct 2007)
"So Saith Ed" -- the collected Candlekeep replies of Ed Greenwood
Zhoth'ilam Folio -- The Electronic Misadventures of a Rambling Sage |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31799 Posts |
Posted - 28 May 2010 : 01:11:38
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quote:
Originally posted by Brimstone
quote:
Originally posted by Alystra Illianniis
And while I'm at it, just where is Spirit Soaring from the Cleric Quintet?
The eastern side of the Snowflake Mountains...
Or, more specifically... disregarding the slight changes made to the "location" of Erlkazar for 3e, in Lands of Intrigue the Soaring Spirit is located in the southern stretch of the Snowflake Mountains in the Barony of Impresk. |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium -- Volume IX now available (Oct 2007)
"So Saith Ed" -- the collected Candlekeep replies of Ed Greenwood
Zhoth'ilam Folio -- The Electronic Misadventures of a Rambling Sage |
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Sill Alias
Senior Scribe
Kazakhstan
588 Posts |
Posted - 28 May 2010 : 05:06:29
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| About whips of Lolth priestesses - why snakes? Not scorpion stings, tentacles, but snakes? |
You can hear many tales from many mouths. The most difficult is to know which of them are not lies. - Sill Alias
"May your harp be unstrung, your dreams die and all your songs be unsung." - curse of the harper, The Code of the Harpers 2 ed.
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31799 Posts |
Posted - 28 May 2010 : 05:25:18
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quote:
Originally posted by Sill Alias
About whips of Lolth priestesses - why snakes? Not scorpion stings, tentacles, but snakes?
I'm not as proficient with drow-lore as some other scribes, but I've always thought that the whip of fangs simply reflected the drow penchant for employing the use of deadly reptiles and the like. That, and the fact that snakes often best exemplify the concept of "enchanted extensions of the will of the wielder, hissing, coiling, writhing, and reaching in response to the thoughts of their wielder." as Ed said in FOR2 Drow of the Underdark. |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium -- Volume IX now available (Oct 2007)
"So Saith Ed" -- the collected Candlekeep replies of Ed Greenwood
Zhoth'ilam Folio -- The Electronic Misadventures of a Rambling Sage |
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Sill Alias
Senior Scribe
Kazakhstan
588 Posts |
Posted - 28 May 2010 : 10:25:14
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| Do the druids halt the process of civilization advance in favor of ecology or it is just preachings of the nature haters? |
You can hear many tales from many mouths. The most difficult is to know which of them are not lies. - Sill Alias
"May your harp be unstrung, your dreams die and all your songs be unsung." - curse of the harper, The Code of the Harpers 2 ed.
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Zireael
Master of Realmslore
Poland
1190 Posts |
Posted - 28 May 2010 : 12:50:04
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quote:
Originally posted by The Sage
quote:
Originally posted by Sill Alias
About whips of Lolth priestesses - why snakes? Not scorpion stings, tentacles, but snakes?
I'm not as proficient with drow-lore as some other scribes, but I've always thought that the whip of fangs simply reflected the drow penchant for employing the use of deadly reptiles and the like. That, and the fact that snakes often best exemplify the concept of "enchanted extensions of the will of the wielder, hissing, coiling, writhing, and reaching in response to the thoughts of their wielder." as Ed said in FOR2 Drow of the Underdark.
Good question. I've often wondered myself, why not spiders of some sort. To add to the confusion, 3.0 ed whip of fangs was introduced in Serpent Kingdoms, and not in any of the books considering drow. |
SiNafay Vrinn, the daughter of Lloth, from Ched Nasad!
http://zireael07.wordpress.com/ |
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Bakra
Senior Scribe
628 Posts |
Posted - 28 May 2010 : 14:03:29
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quote:
Originally posted by Jakk
quote:
Originally posted by Bakra
quote:
Originally posted by Sill Alias
quote:
Originally posted by Kyrene
Don't you just get the equal amount of generic, non-living flesh when it is cast on something that wasn't petrified before?
If that is true, would not the stone golems be vulnerable after casting stone to flesh on them?
There are at least two ways to answer this question. Both depend on the DM. The stone to flesh could cause direct damage to the stone golem. Or it turns to flesh but still retains all of the abilities for a stone golem.
I prefer door #3 (as usual)... The way my first 2E DM ruled it, and the way I've ruled it as a DM ever since, is that casting stone to flesh on a stone golem turns it into a flesh golem... and flesh to stone on a flesh golem turns it into a stone golem... but in both cases the spell acquires a duration of one round per caster level. The enchantments imbued into a golem at the time of its creation are such that changing its substance without changing its form (to make it distinct from baleful polymorph) is a temporary solution at best... the spell must still penetrate any spell resistance present, as well as the creature failing its save.
Just another "house rule" to toss out there...
I always enjoyed thinking outside the box. The third option only worked once in our campaign. I got credit for being original at the time but as the DM said, “If it was that simple then manuals on stone golem construction wouldn’t exists.”
Jakk did your character eve make a ‘chia’ golem from the April issue of Dragon magazine?
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I hope Candlekeep continues to be the friendly forum of fellow Realms-lovers that it has always been, as we all go through this together. If you don’t want to move to the “new” Realms, that doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with either you or the “old” Realms. Goodness knows Candlekeep, and the hearts of its scribes, are both big enough to accommodate both. If we want them to be.
(Strikes dramatic pose, raises sword to gleam in the sunset, and hopes breeches won’t fall down.)
Enough for now. The Realms lives! I have spoken! Ale and light wines half price, served by a smiling Storm Silverhand fetchingly clad in thigh-high boots and naught else! Ahem . .
So saith Ed. <snip>
love to all,
THO
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Bakra
Senior Scribe
628 Posts |
Posted - 28 May 2010 : 14:07:09
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Using AD&D rules:
There is a silver-back gorilla that stands 25 feet tall.
How far can it jump? How high?
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I hope Candlekeep continues to be the friendly forum of fellow Realms-lovers that it has always been, as we all go through this together. If you don’t want to move to the “new” Realms, that doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with either you or the “old” Realms. Goodness knows Candlekeep, and the hearts of its scribes, are both big enough to accommodate both. If we want them to be.
(Strikes dramatic pose, raises sword to gleam in the sunset, and hopes breeches won’t fall down.)
Enough for now. The Realms lives! I have spoken! Ale and light wines half price, served by a smiling Storm Silverhand fetchingly clad in thigh-high boots and naught else! Ahem . .
So saith Ed. <snip>
love to all,
THO
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Alystra Illianniis
Great Reader
USA
3750 Posts |
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Alystra Illianniis
Great Reader
USA
3750 Posts |
Posted - 28 May 2010 : 21:07:53
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| Hey, Sill- here's the easy answer to that whip question: because spiders don't make good whips! Lol! Although one would think they would use scorpions, since they are also arachnids like spiders.... I have a variant whip in my homebrew world that does, however. They are used by lesser priestesses much like a rod of tentacles. the snake-whips are still reserved for High Priestesses, though. But my drow are very tweaked, anyway- seafaring piratical tyrants! In the middle of a Gender War. Nope, nothing strange there.... |
The Goddess is alive, and magic is afoot.
"Where Science ends, Magic begins" -Spiral, Uncanny X-Men #491
"You idiots! You've captured their STUNT doubles!" -Spaceballs
Lothir's character background/stats: http://forum.candlekeep.com/pop_profile.asp?mode=display&id=5469
My stories:
http://z3.invisionfree.com/Mickeys_Comic_Tavern/index.php?showforum=188
Lothir, courtesy of Sylinde (Deviant Art)/Luaxena (Chosen of Eilistraee)
http://sylinde.deviantart.com/#/d2z6e4u |
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Brimstone
Great Reader
USA
3290 Posts |
Posted - 28 May 2010 : 21:15:02
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quote:
Originally posted by Alystra Illianniis
Snowflake Mountains? What region is that in? I'm only really familliar with the silver Marches and northern Sword Coast areas. And a little of the Dales.
East of Amn, East of Tethyr.
I think the snake headed whips are symbolic of the priestess dominion over males.
Its a phalic symbol... |
"These things also I have observed: that knowledge of our world is
to be nurtured like a precious flower, for it is the most precious
thing we have. Wherefore guard the word written and heed
words unwritten and set them down ere they fade . . . Learn
then, well, the arts of reading, writing, and listening true, and they
will lead you to the greatest art of all: understanding."
Alaundo of Candlekeep |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 28 May 2010 : 23:16:01
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My Take on the Terrasque:
I think that Falx is the place where the proto-Terrasques are held, waiting to take their turn on some world. As each is destroyed, another takes its place on some random planet. It is essentially a humongous Reptile not unlike a dinosaur (although tougher), until it is 'summoned' by the ancient magic, after which it becomes THE Terrasque, and gains all of its special abilites.
There originally were as many proto-Terrasques on Falx as their were inhabited worlds, but as each gets destroyed their numbers grow less. Eventually there will be none left... and only then will the evil plan of the malignant being that created them see fruition.
On that day, the Universe itself will cry.....
just my take, nothing canon.
Edit: Commentary #2
I think the Yuan-ti (and other reptile races like the Sarrukh) created the Snake whips (hence why they are in that tome), and the Drow priestesses simply fell in love with the sheer evilness of them.
As was said earlier, Spiders don't make for good whips (although a spider-silk whip would make sense), but Drow priestesses are fond of anything with fangs, so the Snake-whip makes a nice alternative for them.
It could simply be that Lolth have a brief fling with Set, and he gave her that magi-tech in a momentary lapse in judgement (or affection). Or perhaps she did the nasty with him just to steal that info - you can really spin it any way you want. |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Edited by - Markustay on 28 May 2010 23:25:16 |
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Jakk
Great Reader
Canada
2165 Posts |
Posted - 29 May 2010 : 00:35:42
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quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
My Take on the Terrasque:
I think that Falx is the place where the proto-Terrasques are held, waiting to take their turn on some world. As each is destroyed, another takes its place on some random planet. It is essentially a humongous Reptile not unlike a dinosaur (although tougher), until it is 'summoned' by the ancient magic, after which it becomes THE Terrasque, and gains all of its special abilites.
There originally were as many proto-Terrasques on Falx as their were inhabited worlds, but as each gets destroyed their numbers grow less. Eventually there will be none left... and only then will the evil plan of the malignant being that created them see fruition.
On that day, the Universe itself will cry.....
just my take, nothing canon.
<snip>
So... killing Tarrasques actually brings the universe closer to the Apocalypse? I like it... can you say anything more about their creator? Or is this a homebrew NDA? (I have a couple of my own, so I understand.) |
Playing in the Realms since the Old Grey Box (1987)... and *still* having fun with material published before 2008, despite the NDA'd lore.
If it's comparable in power with non-magical abilities, it's not magic. |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 29 May 2010 : 02:30:13
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I have NO idea - I rarely ever finish a concept - I just get an idea, and if a campaign goes that way I start to flesh it out.
If you use that, what it means is that people don't actually kill the Terrasque when they fight it (meaning the PCs, or any time it is written about in 'history'). What usually happens is that the creature is reduced to very low HP and flees - say it has the ability to teleport randomly somewhere else on the same world, buried in a mountain or beneath the sea, where it can take a decade or two to heal (Godzilla, anyone?).
Either the people responsible report the Terrasque's death, to get the reward and/or accolades (or simply to rid the folk of fear), OR... when the creature teleports it does so in a very pyrotechnic way, with lots of smoke, fire and brimstone (sort of like Nightcrawler from the X-men). And there is a large BANG! because of all the air rushing in to the spot it has just vacated (gargantuan creature leaves a VERY large vacuum behind), which in turn leads the heroes to believe they have truly destroyed the creature.
I have to add that in, so folks don't wonder how the Terrasque comes back to the same world at some point - it doesn't. Once a world's Terrasque is truly and utterly dead, it is one more 'tick' the hands of the Armegeddon Clock move forward. I figure that some ancient evil (Cthulhu? Asmodeus? Ronald Reagan?) had its power-base shattered at some point at the beginning of time (by THE God?), and the Terrasques are actually receptacles - physical manifestations - of all that pure evil. As each one is destroyed, the power it contains returns to The Old One.
I also specifically stated 'inhabited worlds' because I realized that their would be WAY too many proto-terrasques if there was one for EVERY world, and I leave that open-ended - by 'inhabited' it could mean a specific race of sentient creatures (Humans? Elves?), which also help limit the sheer number of Terrasques-to-yet-be on Falx. It also allows a DM to use the race of his choice as the 'Race of Destiny' (which according to D&D is humans, but it could be whomever you want). This means that that race is probably somehow responsible for the enigmatic being's downfall, or their god was, and that is why they must be involved in bringing that Antediluvian Evil back (unknowingly, of course).
Hows that?
Unless you are running a VERY high-end campaign - even deities would have a hard time at this level of power - none of this should ever come into play (quite literally). Its just story/Cosmology backdrop stuff I like to think about. |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Edited by - Markustay on 29 May 2010 02:42:06 |
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Jakk
Great Reader
Canada
2165 Posts |
Posted - 29 May 2010 : 03:43:22
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| VERY interesting, MT... particularly the theory regarding the Unholy Trinity... yes, I would use all three. After all, Lovecraft told us that there were several Great Old Ones... |
Playing in the Realms since the Old Grey Box (1987)... and *still* having fun with material published before 2008, despite the NDA'd lore.
If it's comparable in power with non-magical abilities, it's not magic. |
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Sill Alias
Senior Scribe
Kazakhstan
588 Posts |
Posted - 30 May 2010 : 06:32:07
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| I have not read much about demons and devils, but... Can Imp or Light Arcon become something more? Evolution? |
You can hear many tales from many mouths. The most difficult is to know which of them are not lies. - Sill Alias
"May your harp be unstrung, your dreams die and all your songs be unsung." - curse of the harper, The Code of the Harpers 2 ed.
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Jakk
Great Reader
Canada
2165 Posts |
Posted - 30 May 2010 : 21:02:56
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I'm not sure if this qualifies as a stupid question or not, but... why is the illustration on page 49 of the Grand History of the Realms titled "Kisonraathiisar’s slow demise" when the picture is of a warforged being repaired? For those who need some context... Kisonraathiisar was the topaz dragon who is the first recorded king of Westgate (there is some dispute as to whether he was the city's founder), and he was killed by the Netherese wizard Saldrinar. My thought is, the wrong artwork was inserted... if there's any reason why the warforged would be the correct artwork, I'm extremely interested...  |
Playing in the Realms since the Old Grey Box (1987)... and *still* having fun with material published before 2008, despite the NDA'd lore.
If it's comparable in power with non-magical abilities, it's not magic. |
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Stupid question time...
