Tarrasque (Dungeons & Dragons)

In the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, the tarrasque (/tɒˈræsk/ tah-RASK)^[1][2] is a magical beast.

The tarrasque is a gigantic lizard-like creature which exists only to eat, kill, and destroy. In most campaign settings, only one tarrasque is said to exist on each world. The tarrasque has a low intelligence and cannot speak. It is neutrally aligned, for despite its violent and savage nature, it lacks the mental capacity to choose between good and evil.

The tarrasque was introduced to the D&D game in the first edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. It is based upon the French legend of the tarasque.

Publication history

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st edition (1977-1988)

The tarrasque first appears in the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st edition (1977–1988) Monster Manual II (1983).^[3]

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition (1989-1999)

The tarrasque appears in the Monstrous Compendium Volume Two (1989),^[4] for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition (1989–1999), and is reprinted in the Monstrous Manual (1993).^[5]

Dungeons & Dragons 3rd edition (2000-2007)

The tarrasque appears in the Monster Manual for Dungeons & Dragons 3.0 edition (2000–2002).^[6]

The tarrasque appears in the revised Monster Manual for Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 edition (2003–2007).^[7]

The tarrasque was detailed in Dragon #359 (September 2007), in the "Ecology of the Tarrasque".^[8] This article also included the advanced tarrasque.

Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition (2008-2014)

The tarrasque appears in the Monster Manual for Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition (2008–2014), under the abomination entry.^[9] Fourth Edition marks the first time that the tarrasque doesn't regenerate health.

Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition (2014-)

The tarrasque appears in the Monster Manual for Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition (2014-). It is the only monster with a Challenge Rating of 30, the highest in the book. Like in 4th Edition, the tarrasque doesn't regenerate health.

Game description

The tarrasque is very large, 50 feet tall and 70 feet long, and has a Tyrannosaurus rex–like form, although it is much more broad and muscular, with a differently shaped head, and with larger and more developed front arms. It has brown skin, with scabs and warts and bits of encrusted dung all over it which are grey in color. Protecting its back and tail is a thick, glossy caramel-colored shell or carapace. It has spikes coming from its chin, the sides of the mouth, the underside of its neck, the elbows of its front arms, and its shell. The creature also has two horns projecting forwards from the top of its head. The tarrasque's skin is very hard and thick, and provides excellent armor. The second edition of the game included rules for extracting treasure from the creature's carcass.

The 2nd edition Monstrous Manual calls the creature "the most dreaded monster native to the Prime Material Plane" and "a killing machine", and goes on to say:

It is hoped that the tarrasque is a solitary creation, some hideous abomination unleashed by the dark arts or by elder, forgotten gods to punish all of nature. The elemental nature of the tarrasque leads the few living tarrasque experts to speculate that the elemental princes of evil have something to do with its existence. In any case, the location of the tarrasque remains a mystery, as it rarely leaves witnesses in its wake, and nature quickly grows over all remnants of its presence. It is rumored that the tarrasque is responsible for the extinction of one ancient civilization, for the records of their last days spoke of a 'great reptilian punisher sent by the gods to end the world'."^[5]

The tarrasque has also been called "a creature that embodies wanton destruction"^[10] and "singularly deadly".^[11] It was ranked No. 2 on the list of the ten best high-level monsters in Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition For Dummies.^[10]

Combat

In the 4th edition version of the game, the tarrasque cannot be killed; reducing it to 0 hit points causes it to burrow into the core of the earth to slumber for a time (instead of killing it). The only monsters that are more feared in combat are deities, the largest and oldest dragons, certain powerful outsiders (such as demon lords) and epic monsters.

Origin

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,^[12] where they feed upon the native Imbul, a lizard-like creature.^[13]

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.

Reception

Rob Bricken from io9 named the tarrasque as the 10th most memorable D&D monster.^[14]

Other publishers

The tarrasque appeared in Paizo Publishing's book Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Bestiary (2009), on page 262.^[15]

References

Further reading

• Cagle, Eric. "Worshipers of the Forbidden". Dragon #296 (Paizo Publishing, 2002).
• Ward, Kyla. "The Petit Tarrasque and Other Monsters". Dragon #329 (Paizo Publishing, 2005).
• The Tarrasque Creature Incarnations by Robert Wiese (Wizards of the Coast, D&D Fight Club column 11/09/2005)

External links

• Seven Ways to Kill the Tarrasque on thirteen experience levels or less. Retrieved 2009-11-12.