Rampaging Tarrasque - A rough draft

Post/Author/DateTimePost
#1

Shirebrok

Aug 23, 2014 12:15:28

Before this thread popped up, I wasn't aware of the Tarrasque preview. The thread raised a few issues and concerns with the legendary beast, so I looked it up. Its attacks are scary, but it felt "meh" to me, overall. Then iserith posted a neat idea, and I figured I'd run with it.

 

The Tarrasque certainly is big, but it doesn't feel big enough to me. A creature of that size would interact with the world in an unusual way, but nothing currently reflects that. As-is, it's just another creature to me, albeit one that takes up a lot of space on a grid.

 

I believe special creatures deserve special rules and special encounters. So I made a quick (relatively speaking) draft of an encounter which would use such rules. Hopefully, this could be refined into a template of sorts in the future.

 

The idea is to increase the scale of the battle. 5-foot increments won't cut it, and nor will the usual movement rules. The PCs are tiny next to the Tarrasque; they ought to interact with it in ways which aren't usual in normal combat. If the Tarrasque is meant to tear down cities, then a city shall be the place of engagement, including things you'd expect in one. This monster is nearly immovable and unstoppable; its stats should reflect that. Something as huge as this can't be viewed as a singular 50-by-70-foot block from the eyes of human-sized people; it has many moving parts. Taking down a behemoth this scary is a strategic and tactical challenge.

 

I want to create an encounter which properly reflects these concepts, but it is by no means an easy task. I know there are quite a few things which can be improved -- especially the more mathy parts -- therefore I'm sharing it so you can provide feedback and suggest ideas.

 

You can read the encounter here. Warning: it's roughly 4 pages long, pretty crunchy and probably could be better organized.

#2

iserith

Aug 23, 2014 12:28:56

I like it!

 

I've given it just the one read-through so far, but it looks good on the first pass. I'll delve into it deeper later. Good work!

#3

Shirebrok

Aug 23, 2014 12:40:03

Oops, just realized the Tarrasque cannot fail the saving throw against the Wizards' Tower attack. I boosted its STs after writing that part and forgot. That's the first item up for correction.

#4

Mechatarrasque

Aug 23, 2014 14:58:41

iserith wrote:
#5

ORC_Harold

Aug 23, 2014 15:58:49

I've removed content from this thread. Trolling/baiting is a violation of the Code of Conduct.

 

You can review the Code of Conduct here: company.wizards.com/conduct

 

Please remember to keep your posts polite, on topic and refrain from personal attacks. You are free to disagree with one another as long as it is done in a respectful manner.

 

(Reply to #4)

Shirebrok

Mechagamera wrote: