Make it choke on their corpses?

[rmnimoc]

In a campaign I've been running, all of the players are commoners. The plot for the campaign was to be based around the famine that was causing problems in the hamlets they were from. I planned on having them seek out a high level druid to solve the problem. I honestly should have known better. Since I usually expect them to derail any plot to high hell, I tend to create the entire world before a session begins, which is where my problem starts. They totally failed a few knowledge checks, went the wrong way, and stumbled upon the sleeping tarrasque I had planned to use for the final encounter well in the future when they were near-epic. Not level 3. So, they decided to use the low wisdom scores of their commoners to justify wanting to open a Tarrasque diner instead of doing anything that resembled sanity in any form. I decided that was as good of a time to stop the session as any, and next session they plan to gather together all of their little commoner friends from their hamlets and use the tarrasque to end the food shortage. In those hamlets, the only classes are commoners and experts (max level 4 for both) with one level 7 cleric between them. They seem to think they can overpower the thing with raw numbers, but I'm finding trouble believing that. Is there any way (short of me saving the day) that they can actually pull this off, or should I get ready to shift this to a campaign about a handful of dumb commoners being chased around the world by an enraged Tarrasque?

[Madara]

Some of the best campaigns are those that are unplanned. Considering you're playing commoners, you should be in store for a fairly humorous campaign, so I think you should go with the flow and let the players have their Tarrasque and eat it too!

[The Oni]

Considering a Level 7 Cleric can't cast Wish, no. An infinite number of commoners might be able to kill it, but not keep it dead. You could rule that the cleric can ask for a miracle, but rules as written, it's basically impossible for you to kill it regardless of how many commoners you've got.

That said, with sufficiently huge, impossibly strong chains, it might not be impossible to open a Tarrasque-burger shop, hydra-style. Restrain the beast and cut off his feet for a meal; they'll regenerate later.

[Phelix-Mu]

Intending to curse the world with an engine of destruction, the gods were somewhat confounded when the tarrasque instead proved to be the solution to world hunger. *divinefacepalm*

[Zweisteine]

Here you go (http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dkb1/dnd/tarrasque.txt)

Well, a non-good, optimized seventh level cleric can cast Persisted Summon Undead IV, getting an allip at all times. If it repeatedly attacks the Tarrasque will eventually loses all of its wisdom, and fall into an eternal coma due to the loss. Hopefully, the Tarrasque doesn't wake up, because it could run away.

Pool your resources, send the cleric to a big city to buy a Candle of Invocation.
Summon an Efreeti/Noble Djinni.
???
Profit.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Zweisteine, Tarrasque Hunter

[Nirhael]

Every time I see the word "Tarrasque", I can't help but think of this (http://forum.rpg.net/archive/index.php/t-261519.html).

[Lightlawbliss]

if it is asleep, it wouldn't be unreasonable to say that it doesn't give a c*** what is going on: it heals so fast that a foot getting cut off would be less harmful then a human swallowing a spider (from the human's perspective anyway).

[Red Fel]

if it is asleep, it wouldn't be unreasonable to say that it doesn't give a c*** what is going on: it heals so fast that a foot getting cut off would be less harmful then a human swallowing a spider (from the human's perspective anyway).

This. You could rule that as long as they limit their activity, it's like receiving a minor bug bite in your sleep; not enough to rouse a beast known to slumber across centuries.

Of course, if they get greedy, they should be prepared for the consequences. Slice off enough for a small village, that should barely be a few nicks. Start feeding the continent, and he will wake up - and, since he hasn't had a full night's sleep, he'll be cranky.

I say let them run with their plan for awhile. It takes a lot to wake the guy. See how creative they are. And whether they're smart enough to limit themselves.

And if they're not, it's their own fault, now isn't it?

As an aside, take a lesson from this: Never introduce an object (or enemy) into the world unless you're ready for the players to encounter it immediately. Because they just might.

[rmnimoc]

Intending to curse the world with an engine of destruction, the gods were somewhat confounded when the tarrasque instead proved to be the solution to world hunger. *divinefacepalm*
That summed my feelings up rather well.


Well, a non-good, optimized seventh level cleric can cast Persisted Summon Undead IV, getting an allip at all times. If it repeatedly attacks the Tarrasque will eventually loses all of its wisdom, and fall into an eternal coma due to the loss. Hopefully, the Tarrasque doesn't wake up, because it could run away.

Pool your resources, send the cleric to a big city to buy a Candle of Invocation.
Summon an Efreeti/Noble Djinni.
???
Profit.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Zweisteine, Tarrasque Hunter
The players and the cleric are all good, and given the fact that they had a bad tendency to abuse CoIs until I introduced them to falling object damage, I doubt they will go with plan B.


This. You could rule that as long as they limit their activity, it's like receiving a minor bug bite in your sleep; not enough to rouse a beast known to slumber across centuries.

Of course, if they get greedy, they should be prepared for the consequences. Slice off enough for a small village, that should barely be a few nicks. Start feeding the continent, and he will wake up - and, since he hasn't had a full night's sleep, he'll be cranky.

I say let them run with their plan for awhile. It takes a lot to wake the guy. See how creative they are. And whether they're smart enough to limit themselves.

And if they're not, it's their own fault, now isn't it?

As an aside, take a lesson from this: Never introduce an object (or enemy) into the world unless you're ready for the players to encounter it immediately. Because they just might.
I'm pretty sure they will wake it up first, because I heard mention of tarrasque weight, handle animal, and strength checks, so I imagine they want to try to drag it somewhere (of course it weighs 130 tons so we'll see how that works).
As for them finding things before I planned on them doing so, that tends to make the campaigns I run infinitely more awesome.
Conquering a plane of Hell? That's cool. I've got to say though, conquering the entirety of it at level 10 with an army of the damned after accidentally ending up in hell because you were curious where the portal in the dungeon of a random old man you murdered with some insanely lucky rolls after stumbling upon him after deciding to become cartographers simply because the gnome wanted to try to make people stop mocking his home country for being so small? Orders of magnitude more awesome.

[Mutazoia]

Well....Yes....the Tarrasque (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/tarrasque.htm) WOULD solve the famine problem...but not the way you are thinking. It would go more like:

PC's: Ok...One thousand farmers....CHARGE!!!
Tarrasque: om nom nom *BURP*
PC's: Ok....soooooo.....every farmer for 100 mile radius is dead, less mouths to feed, famine over.

Commoners would not be able to get through it's DR even if they managed to make the DC 36 will save against it's Frightful Presence.

[Spore]

You could rule that the cleric can ask for a miracle, but rules as written, it's basically impossible for you to kill it regardless of how many commoners you've got.

This would be my approach. Have the cleric sacrifice himself (I sure hope he is good aligned) to provide the needed physical channel for the miracle. The Tarrasque will vanish, but the cleric burns up/vanishes/glows during the process and is killed with his soul destroyed.

Then give them a time limit. After x [time unit] the Tarrasque will be back from a pocket dimension and wreak havoc upon the lands. Continue adventuring. This won't take solving the problem from the group, keeps immersion intact and hopefully makes them guilty. If not, prepare a huge amount of lamentation. By the beggars he can't help anymore, by his family and wife, by the town he was protecting, by the farmers who fall to illness.

[Arcane_Secrets]

Is there some way for them to dig or excavate a pit that the Tarrasque can't actually climb or dig its way out of? If it can't actually go anywhere then even though they can't kill it it isn't a threat either.

[Lightlawbliss]

Is there some way for them to dig or excavate a pit that the Tarrasque can't actually climb or dig its way out of? If it can't actually go anywhere then even though they can't kill it it isn't a threat either.

an over 70 ft deep pit lined in walls of force might be enough to do it.

[Mutazoia]

Is there some way for them to dig or excavate a pit that the Tarrasque can't actually climb or dig its way out of? If it can't actually go anywhere then even though they can't kill it it isn't a threat either.


an over 70 ft deep pit lined in walls of force might be enough to do it.

Sooooooo....let me get this straight. Your plan is for 3rd lvl PC's to lead a group of commoners to dig a giant pit, line it with walls of force and some how push the Tarrasque into it? All with out the Tarrasque eating them? Um....Yeah....that's going to work. See my previous post :smallwink:

[Lightlawbliss]

Sooooooo....let me get this straight. Your plan is for 3rd lvl PC's to lead a group of commoners to dig a giant pit, line it with walls of force and some how push the Tarrasque into it? All with out the Tarrasque eating them? Um....Yeah....that's going to work. See my previous post :smallwink:

I never said it would work for this party right now, I was simply answering his question with the weekest method I could think might have a chance.

[rmnimoc]

Sooooooo....let me get this straight. Your plan is for 3rd lvl PC's to lead a group of commoners to dig a giant pit, line it with walls of force and some how push the Tarrasque into it? All with out the Tarrasque eating them? Um....Yeah....that's going to work. See my previous post
The Tarrasque is still asleep, and will be for another two years or so unless they wake him up, so they could conceivably dig the pit. Of course, I have no idea how they would get any walls of force or what good the pit will actually do.
Just keeping the Tarrasque from going on a rampage doesn't really solve their problems, because they want to eat it. After somehow beating it at level 3.


Commoners would not be able to get through it's DR even if they managed to make the DC 36 will save against it's Frightful Presence.
Clearly the only solution is to crawl into his mouth while he sleeps and into his lungs, making him choke. They could even live in there, eating Tarrasque lung for generations. "Daddy, I read a story, and it said there was the magical place called "The Outside". It sounds scary, do you think such a place really exists?" "Of course not, now eat your epithelium and I'll let you play in the bronchi again."
That just became awesome. Future campaign idea: players grew up inside the body of a sleeping Tarrasque. The epicness is countered only by the fact that their lungs aren't all that huge....Future campaign idea: players grew up inside the body of a permanently super enlarged sleeping Tarrasque.

[Mootsmcboots]

You could use the Cleric and take the route of the legend the Tarrasque is based upon, and just drive it via narrative.

"The king of Nerluc had attacked the Tarasque with knights and catapults to no avail. But Saint Martha found the beast and charmed it with hymns and prayers, and led back the tamed Tarasque to the city. The people, terrified by the monster, attacked it when it drew nigh. The monster offered no resistance and died there. Martha then preached to the people and converted many of them to Christianity. Sorry for what they had done to the tamed monster, the newly-Christianized townspeople changed the town's name to Tarascon"

Maybe just have the party flee, as killing it seems a bit much. Fly you fools. Have the beast relocate afterwards. Sacrifice the cleric. etc.

I think a DM saving the day doesn't have to feel cheap, or like the easy option if the story plays out well, and the players get to rp through the problem.

[Phelix-Mu]

That just became awesome. Future campaign idea: players grew up inside the body of a sleeping Tarrasque. The epicness is countered only by the fact that their lungs aren't all that huge....Future campaign idea: players grew up inside the body of a permanently super enlarged sleeping Tarrasque.

Future campaign idea: Someone used the Tippy smokey confinement legion to store an army, nay, an entire civilization within the tarrasque, initially trapped inside some kind of acid-resistant bottle. Due to the strange magic of the beast, the suspended, smokey masses were able to move around and live quiet, microscopic lives inside the tarrasque.

Actually, the tarrasque might just have accidentally ingested the bottle, since it eats everything indiscriminately.

[Kelb_Panthera]

This can only end it utter failure. No commoner can even -harm- the tarrasque; DR 15/epic, regeneration 40. Just getting through the DR is going to take a crit until upper-mid levels, barring power attack. Even then it would have to be shaving cuts to prevent the regeneration from sealing the cuts right back up.

Basically you could only get a bit of tarrasque bacon every few -heavy- chops. You might not even be able to cook that because of the fire immunity.

This just isn't going to end well unless you consider commoners being slaughtered like sheep ending well.

[rmnimoc]

You could use the Cleric and take the route of the legend the Tarrasque is based upon, and just drive it via narrative.

"The king of Nerluc had attacked the Tarasque with knights and catapults to no avail. But Saint Martha found the beast and charmed it with hymns and prayers, and led back the tamed Tarasque to the city. The people, terrified by the monster, attacked it when it drew nigh. The monster offered no resistance and died there. Martha then preached to the people and converted many of them to Christianity. Sorry for what they had done to the tamed monster, the newly-Christianized townspeople changed the town's name to Tarascon"

Maybe just have the party flee, as killing it seems a bit much. Fly you fools. Have the beast relocate afterwards. Sacrifice the cleric. etc.

I think a DM saving the day doesn't have to feel cheap, or like the easy option if the story plays out well, and the players get to rp through the problem.
The Tarrasque is totally out cold. Asleep as it gets. The only problem is, they want to eat it. I honestly don't feel obligated to make things any easier than it needs to be if they want to eat a freaking TARRASQUE. I'm sorry, but if you wanted to survive the Tarrasque at level 3 as a commoner you shouldn't have tried to use it to open a McTarrasque's. You totally deserve what is coming. I feel like they have some sort of plan though, and I'm trying to figure out what it is.


Future campaign idea: Someone used the Tippy smokey confinement legion to store an army, nay, an entire civilization within the tarrasque, initially trapped inside some kind of acid-resistant bottle. Due to the strange magic of the beast, the suspended, smokey masses were able to move around and live quiet, microscopic lives inside the tarrasque.

Actually, the tarrasque might just have accidentally ingested the bottle, since it eats everything indiscriminately.
This. This has officially become my plans. All of my plans. ALL OF THEM!!!!!!!!


This can only end it utter failure. No commoner can even -harm- the tarrasque; DR 15/epic, regeneration 40. Just getting through the DR is going to take a crit until upper-mid levels, barring power attack. Even then it would have to be shaving cuts to prevent the regeneration from sealing the cuts right back up.

Basically you could only get a bit of tarrasque bacon every few -heavy- chops. You might not even be able to cook that because of the fire immunity.

As someone who has DM'ed many games before, I strongly believe that all players have revision reality as a PLA. They seem so plain and unassuming and then when you tell them something is impossible, they break reality by doing it, in a way that makes no sense and makes your head hurt to think too much about.


This just isn't going to end well unless you consider commoners being slaughtered like sheep ending well.
Does it make me a bad DM if seriously consider it? >.>
Killing characters off isn't that awesome, but watching them all get slaughtered because they wanted to eat a Tarrasque......Yeah that is pretty much the second greatest feeling ever. Second only to watching them succeeding.

[D4rkh0rus]

Famine Shouldn't be a problem in D&D... Just have one of the commoners be chicken infested and use a spell component pouch to produce an arbitrarily high number of chickens as a free action. Heck. you can even produce so many chickens that you could effectively feed the tarrasque once it woke up. You might even earn its servitude to boot.


Ok... Famine. Sleeping Tarrasque. Commoner characters? maaaan.

I'd suggest that as soon as they get close enough to the beast, a figure appears, a long dead magician had once put a contingency spell once other humans approached the beast.
Have it say something along the lines of..
"This beast has yet to wake, in case of emergency do this, this and that."

So instead of a normal fight... the adventurers go and do a series of quests hoping that the tarrasque doesn't wake up... once they get the specific items they summon the mage (epic level one) who pretty much destroys the beast and wishes it dead.

turns out that this mage was an ancient lich that had been stuck by an even more powerful mage to the tarrasque, as part of a seal, the commoners unleashed this greater evil.

So now... the commoners have to defeat the lich. (this could tie up into making everyone reroll characters like ~2 years later~ now they have actual classes and stuff....

[edit] Actually... Can anyone imagine getting a platoon of 300 chicken infested commoners, all lined in front of the tarrasque.... waking it up... and then just unleashing a storm of chickens at its mouth?

For added drama you can have the platoon leader shout "This! is! Chicken!"

[SinsI]

Commoners would not be able to get through it's DR even if they managed to make the DC 36 will save against it's Frightful Presence.

This demands a question: why were they unaffected by it?

[rmnimoc]

Commoners would not be able to get through it's DR even if they managed to make the DC 36 will save against it's Frightful Presence.
This demands a question: why were they unaffected by it?
Frightful Presence only kicks in if it does something dramatic. All sleeping things do is snore, and this isn't Death Note. Random mundane actions tend to not be dramatic.

[SinsI]

Maybe not by RAW, but as a DM you really should've ruled that Collosal monsters with numerous horns, teeth and claws are scary even asleep, so require at least some fear save - any random sleep movement can seem like an attack to a lvl3 commoner...

Better yet, make it attack for real. Accidental tail snap with +52 should crash anyone around it even with both eyes closed and fully asleep (i.e. at -20 to hit)

[Arcane_Secrets]

Sooooooo....let me get this straight. Your plan is for 3rd lvl PC's to lead a group of commoners to dig a giant pit, line it with walls of force and some how push the Tarrasque into it? All with out the Tarrasque eating them? Um....Yeah....that's going to work. See my previous post :smallwink:

No, the plan I was thinking of is that one of the heroic/suicidal PC's would get the tarrasque to chase it, trick it into falling into the pit since although the tarrasque is a magical monster momentum is not its friend, and then the PC lives because he's been roped to something else-so when the tarrasque falls in, the bait just get pulled up afterwards and lives. For that matter, couldn't levitate just be used to get them across the pit?

[Lightlawbliss]

No, the plan I was thinking of is that one of the heroic/suicidal PC's would get the tarrasque to chase it, trick it into falling into the pit since although the tarrasque is a magical monster momentum is not its friend, and then the PC lives because he's been roped to something else-so when the tarrasque falls in, the bait just get pulled up afterwards and lives. For that matter, couldn't levitate just be used to get them across the pit?

i catgirl killing problem: physics+dnd=blue smoke

[rmnimoc]

No, the plan I was thinking of is that one of the heroic/suicidal PC's would get the tarrasque to chase it, trick it into falling into the pit since although the tarrasque is a magical monster momentum is not its friend, and then the PC lives because he's been roped to something else-so when the tarrasque falls in, the bait just get pulled up afterwards and lives.
I'm still not sure how that helps achieve their goals. Now if you want to go eat it you have to go down there, and I'm pretty sure if you do that you will be the one eaten. Also a Tarrasque has a vertical reach of 64 feet. It only needs 6 more feet of reach to cilmb out of the pit. That Tarrasque can just jump and climb out. They are kind of badass like that.


For that matter, couldn't levitate just be used to get them across the pit?
Arcane spells do 3rd level commoners very little good.


Famine Shouldn't be a problem in D&D... Just have one of the commoners be chicken infested and use a spell component pouch to produce an arbitrarily high number of chickens as a free action. Heck. you can even produce so many chickens that you could effectively feed the tarrasque once it woke up. You might even earn its servitude to boot.
Actually... Can anyone imagine getting a platoon of 300 chicken infested commoners, all lined in front of the tarrasque.... waking it up... and then just unleashing a storm of chickens at its mouth?

For added drama you can have the platoon leader shout "This! is! Chicken!"

This almost makes me regret the fact we never use flaws.
Also, a Tarrasque has a str of 45 so assuming the chickens are kinda skinny (they have been chilling out in that spell pouch for how long?) if they manage to feed it 5120 chickens he will be too fat to move. Based on his swallow whole damage he will burn through them at a rate of 46 chickens a round, which makes sense given his regen 40. Sadly he can only fit 512 chickens in his stomach, but if they squeeze he can get around 2k in there. Roughly 5 tons. Wow. Fun fact, a Tarrasque omnoming chickens nonstop will munch down about 680,000 calories a day. The Tarrasque can consume enough calories to continually power 33,873 homes if you just kept feeding it chickens non-stop. That is terrifying.

[Slipperychicken]

Or they could just leave the tarrasque and warn people about it.

[rmnimoc]

Yeah, but they are hellbent on muching tarrasque burgers.

[Slipperychicken]

Yeah, but they are hellbent on muching tarrasque burgers.

I hope they can appreciate the irony once their futile efforts merely feed Big T.

Also remember that he's Int 3; a sentient creature on par with a dolphin or gorilla or something.

[BowStreetRunner]

Well, a non-good, optimized seventh level cleric can cast Persisted Summon Undead IV, getting an allip at all times. If it repeatedly attacks the Tarrasque will eventually loses all of its wisdom, and fall into an eternal coma due to the loss...

Immune to ability damage.

[Slipperychicken]

Immune to ability damage.

But not ability drain (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/specialAbilities.htm#abilityDamage).

[for clarity, Allips (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/allip.htm) deal Wisdom Drain]

[Phelix-Mu]

Which, to me, only indicates that they don't read their own work before publishing (or at least they don't read it carefully, which is a cardinal sin among us editors).

While the list of direct pc action that can result in ability drain in core is pretty short, if memory serves, that is no excuse for leaving a god-bestowed engine of destruction open to being addled by low CR undead that are easily manipulated by clerics.

Meh, poor design. I adopted my friend's version of the tarrasque, which had the soul of an epic sorcerer grafted into its being. Now there is a beast worthy of your nightmares. The maw of chaos-spamming tarrasque abusing ice assassin and time stop items to unleash a wave of supreme destruction. Maybe allow it some oneiromancy stuff so it can be active while it's sleeping...or maybe astral projection. Hehe. It's surrounded by Tippy's Permanent Emanation planar bubble ice assassin animated object granite blocks that hang out on the ethereal in between porting back and forth to block line of effect via Craft Contingent Spells.

Ah, a DM's dream. Alas, then I look at MM. *tear*

[Slipperychicken]

Meh, poor design.

Yeah, they totally should have given it immunity to ability drain too.

[Phelix-Mu]

Yeah, they totally should have given it immunity to ability drain too.

Mmm. That and struck any mention in any of the lore about it being unique. Where's the fun in that? The gods made it. I'm sure they can make more. Come on, what's the point of being a god if you can't fit in a few world-ending creatures between first and second breakfasts?:smallsmile:

I hate the idea of a "campaign capstone" creature, too. It's good that stuff that strong exists, but putting its stats out there seems so pedestrian. I want more mystery, more suspense, and more moment of horrific revelation when the expected levels of barely-surviving metastasize into wishing for a swift death.

But that's probably just me.:smallbiggrin:

[Osiris]

Does it make me a bad DM if seriously consider it? >.>
Killing characters off isn't that awesome, but watching them all get slaughtered because they wanted to eat a Tarrasque......Yeah that is pretty much the second greatest feeling ever. Second only to watching them succeeding.

Nah, you're fine. Either that, or every DM ever is bad.

Also, the Tarrasque regening then you cut off more meat. . . I'm surprised Tippy hasn't put Infinite Tarrasque Food (with prestigitation for flavor) into the Tippyverse.

[Slipperychicken]

Mmm. That and struck any mention in any of the lore about it being unique. Where's the fun in that? The gods made it. I'm sure they can make more. Come on, what's the point of being a god if you can't fit in a few world-ending creatures between first and second breakfasts?:smallsmile:


It seems clear to me that WotC intended Big T to be the most challenging creature pre-epic, which basically functions as the "final boss" of D&D.

[Lightlawbliss]

It seems clear to me that WotC intended Big T to be the most challenging creature pre-epic, which basically functions as the "final boss" of D&D.

a final boss with no distance combat isn't much of a final boss imo.

[Slipperychicken]

a final boss with no distance combat isn't much of a final boss imo.

I didn't say they did a very good job of it. There a lot of high-level creatures which fall apart when you break the assumption that you're getting into melee with it.

[Mutazoia]

Frightful Presence only kicks in if it does something dramatic. All sleeping things do is snore, and this isn't Death Note. Random mundane actions tend to not be dramatic.

But something tells me that that attempting to slice off a chunk of Tarrasque back bacon is going to wake the thing up. At which point it's going to start doing a lot of dramatic things...like eating everybody in sight for one.


It seems clear to me that WotC intended Big T to be the most challenging creature pre-epic, which basically functions as the "final boss" of D&D.

The Tarrasque was grandfathered in from 2e where it was definitely a "final boss". It took entire armies AND hundreds of "adventurers" to take one down. The fact that WOTC threw out the balance with the bathwater when they made 3.X makes it a little less frightening to higher level characters.

[Slipperychicken]

But something tells me that that attempting to slice off a chunk of Tarrasque back bacon is going to wake the thing up. At which point it's going to start doing a lot of dramatic things...like eating everybody in sight for one.

I'd say that if the attack failed to penetrate its DR, then Big T would get a Listen check (probably DC 0) to notice it because it's like a mosquito bite but still audible. If the attack does penetrate or otherwise overcome DR (that is, it actually deals damage), then Big T would automatically wake up.

[Mutazoia]

I'd say that if the attack failed to penetrate its DR, then Big T would get a Listen check (probably DC 0) to notice it because it's like a mosquito bite but still audible. If the attack does penetrate or otherwise overcome DR (that is, it actually deals damage), then Big T would automatically wake up.

Hmmm....a horde of commoners attempting to "move silently" up to a sleeping Tarrasque...assuming they are even brave enough to get that close to the thing. These ARE commoners (farmers) after all, not seasoned adventurer's.

[lunar2]

I hope they can appreciate the irony once their futile efforts merely feed Big T.

Also remember that he's Int 3; a sentient creature on par with a dolphin or gorilla or something.

actually, smarter than a dolphin. dolphins/whales are Int 2

[Phelix-Mu]

This was such a fun thread. I thought I'd mention my brown mold fix for little Tarrasque problems.

DMG, 76:

Brown Mold (CR 2): Brown mold feeds on warmth, drawing
heat from anything around it. It normally comes in patches 5 feet
in diameter, and the temperature is always cold in a 30-foot radius
around it. Living creatures within 5 feet of it take 3d6 points of
nonlethal cold damage. Fire brought within 5 feet of brown mold
causes it to instantly double in size. Cold damage, such as from a
cone of cold, instantly destroys it.

It might eat up some commoners, but if everyone pools their money for some pots of cold resist (20) and a bunch of torches, then you could probably surround the tarrasque with a very, very large amount of this stuff in just about no time flat. As long as none of it is within 5' of Big T before you are ready to wake him, no big deal.

Once it surrounds him for several hundred yards, toss a handful of torches into Big T's space. You'll probably need a couple commoners/experts on horses to lure Bit T in circles, so he doesn't escape before the mold knocks him out.

It's an object, not a creature, so this is tantamount to KOing Big T with acid flasks, just hella cheaper. And note, you still need a method to kill him (or to slice off meat, if we are still going for that), but the brown mold will continue to damage him once he falls. Kill all the brown mold except that in his space, and use reach weapons to retrieve the splendid Big T steaks.

[Slipperychicken]

the mold knocks him out.


How is 3d6 Cold damage per round going to overcome Regeneration 40?

[Toliudar]

I'd still vote for the Tarrasque to remain asleep, regardless of how hard they prod/poke/slice at it. The idea of the tarrasque diner is MORE entertaining to me than an inevitably TPK. And an unlimited supply of tarrasque burgers is hardly game-breaking.

[Phelix-Mu]

How is 3d6 Cold damage per round going to overcome Regeneration 40?

3d6 nonlethal per 5' square of mold. That seems clear to me, but I suppose we can argue about the, as normal, poorly worded RAW. It normally comes in 5' patches, and that patch deals 3d6 nonlethal cold to anything in 5'.

The tarrasque fills a 30' space, which is around 36 squares. That's over 90d6 nonlethal cold per round to Big T, who is, by any mathematical argument, within 5' of every square that he occupies. It takes a minimum of 90 per round, leaving it down a minimum of 50 per round (but more realistically down an average of over 200). It's unconscious alarmingly quickly.

Again, it seems clear cut to me.

EDIT: Ditto on the tarrasque burgers. All that really is left to be determined is which template the commoners get after feasting on tarrasque for a couple generations. COMMONERS OF LEGEND, you say? Ah, now there is an adventure seed for you.

[Mutazoia]

3d6 nonlethal per 5' square of mold. That seems clear to me, but I suppose we can argue about the, as normal, poorly worded RAW. It normally comes in 5' patches, and that patch deals 3d6 nonlethal cold to anything in 5'.

The tarrasque fills a 30' space, which is around 36 squares. That's over 90d6 nonlethal cold per round to Big T, who is, by any mathematical argument, within 5' of every square that he occupies. It takes a minimum of 90 per round, leaving it down a minimum of 50 per round (but more realistically down an average of over 200). It's unconscious alarmingly quickly.

Again, it seems clear cut to me.

EDIT: Ditto on the tarrasque burgers. All that really is left to be determined is which template the commoners get after feasting on tarrasque for a couple generations. COMMONERS OF LEGEND, you say? Ah, now there is an adventure seed for you.

Assuming, of course, that each 5' patch doesn't count as a separate attack. In which case, with big T's DR (15/epic), at most each patch is doing 3 damage per round which will be well below the Regen 40. And once He starts tromping around roaring and attacking, all the commoners have to face that DC 36 will save or be shaken, which for commoners basically results in a panicked retreat....and we're back to the Tarrasque having commoner's on the half shell for a light snack.

(Assuming that commoners can GET that much brown mold...not like it grows on trees :smallwink:)

[TuggyNE]

Assuming, of course, that each 5' patch doesn't count as a separate attack. In which case, with big T's DR (15/epic), at most each patch is doing 3 damage per round which will be well below the Regen 40.

Cold damage is energy damage, and is unaffected by DR.

[Reinkai]

This thread is amazing.

[Phelix-Mu]

And once He starts tromping around roaring and attacking, all the commoners have to face that DC 36 will save or be shaken, which for commoners basically results in a panicked retreat....and we're back to the Tarrasque having commoner's on the half shell for a light snack.

(Assuming that commoners can GET that much brown mold...not like it grows on trees :smallwink:)

Acquiring it, of course, is a real problem, but it is an object that grows. DM fiat, but what isn't when fighting Big T?

The beautiful part of the plan is that it doesn't matter if the commoners retreat. As long as you have set up the mold over a very wide area, the commoners, carrying torches, will simply spread the mold a bit further as they retreat.

Wanna be evil? Gimp the commoners down to a 5' move. Now they definitely can't outrun the spread of the mold, and as long as Big T is chasing commoners, he'll be in the mold area.

Of course, since the spread effect doesn't occur on the mold's turn (it doesn't have a turn, it's an object), the mold can conceivably increase in size as many times per round as it is within 5' of fire. This gets stupid fast, though.

My plan in another thread was just to get some horses and tie torches behind them on ropes. And some chickens. The horses run, the mold spreads. Rinse, repeat.

[Slipperychicken]

3d6 nonlethal per 5' square of mold. That seems clear to me, but I suppose we can argue about the, as normal, poorly worded RAW. It normally comes in 5' patches, and that patch deals 3d6 nonlethal cold to anything in 5'.


The damage is 3d6 for being adjacent to a patch of mold, not 3d6 per 5ft square to which you're adjacent.



Brown Mold (CR 2): Brown mold feeds on warmth, drawing
heat from anything around it. It normally comes in patches 5 feet
in diameter, and the temperature is always cold in a 30-foot radius
around it. Living creatures within 5 feet of it take 3d6 points of
nonlethal cold damage. Fire brought within 5 feet of brown mold
causes it to instantly double in size. Cold damage, such as from a
cone of cold, instantly destroys it.

[TuggyNE]

The damage is 3d6 for being adjacent to a patch of mold, not 3d6 per 5ft square to which you're adjacent.

Ah, stacking rules, what otherwise plausible plan won't you suddenly bring down in a morass of tangled grammar and horrifically misguided rules logic?

They're almost as bad as primary source rules, and that's saying something. :smallyuk:

[Slipperychicken]

Ah, stacking rules, what otherwise plausible plan won't you suddenly bring down in a morass of tangled grammar and horrifically misguided rules logic?

They're almost as bad as primary source rules, and that's saying something. :smallyuk:

By RAI, it's likely that no matter how much mold is nearby, it is only capable of absorbing enough heat to make the surrounding air inflict 3d6 Cold damage.

Of course, Phelix-Mu's idea would work by RAW if each 5ft square was an individual patch, or you had N overlapping patches all expanding to include the Tarrasque, where N is one third (rounded up) of the number of d6s per round needed to reliably crack its Regeneration 40 and take it down in the desired time frame.


EDIT: Also, it'll be hard for the horsemen to outpace the mold's expansion after the first few doublings (even a light horse running unencumbered at full tilt, those horses can only go 60x5 = 300ft per round, so the mold should begin closing the distance with them around the 6th round, according to my probably-awful calculations, assuming an expansion every round), and it should end up bringing them down long before the tarrasque would succumb to the cold.

EDIT 2: My math was flawed.

[Telok]

The PCs are likely planning on coup-de-grace hits with scythes by a thousand commoners to take big-T down and keep him down. A bit more than half of the hits would penetrate DR 15. I'd start calling for exhaustion or fatigue checks after the first fifteen minutes of whacking.

At that point it becomes a math exercise. At what number of commoners can the average damage from an average commoner scythe crit take out the T in one round? Then what is the number you need to deal 40+ damage each round? Once you're at this stage it's a question of organization and managing a thousand or more people and setting up a 24 hour rotation of scythe hits.

[Phelix-Mu]

EDIT: Also, it'll be hard for the horsemen to outpace the mold's expansion after the first few doublings (even a light horse running unencumbered at full tilt, those horses can only go 60x5 = 300ft per round, so the mold should begin closing the distance with them around the 6th round, according to my probably-awful calculations, assuming an expansion every round), and it should end up bringing them down long before the tarrasque would succumb to the cold.

EDIT 2: My math was flawed.

The horse plan involved feeding the horses pots of resist cold (20) as well. That was for another thread with a bigger budget.

The way I see it is this:

1.) Brown mold comes in patches. They are normally 5', but can be grown to any size. Each patch deals 3d6, as you say, and shouldn't stack with itself. Mea culpa, but the RAW is decently ambiguous, just not as much on my side as I thought.

2.) How do we measure one patch from another? Well, good question. We don't have good rules for how this stuff might be moved (like any other plant, probably).

3.) If it generally can be treated like a plant, then cultivating it should be cheap and easy. Feed it some fire, split it into smaller pieces, rinse, repeat. Best done by actual adventurers who can afford a slush fund for potions of resist cold. Sounds like a Knowledge(nature) or Knowledge(dungeoneering) roll.

4.) It clearly can come in separate patches. Otherwise all the brown mold in the world is interconnected, basically all just one giant patch. It probably uses spores or such to spread like any normal mold.

I think you could still pull this off, but it probably just isn't as straightforward as I thought.

[Cirrylius]

Is there any way (short of me saving the day) that they can actually pull this off, or should I get ready to shift this to a campaign about a handful of dumb commoners being chased around the world by an enraged Tarrasque?
Do you have a copy of Yakkety Sax?

'Cause if you're going to commit to this, you're really gonna need a copy of Yakkety Sax.

[Mutazoia]

Do you have a copy of Yakkety Sax?

'Cause if you're going to commit to this, you're really gonna need a copy of Yakkety Sax.

Ah...Benny Hill...you are sorely missed. (http://mashable.com/2013/04/11/yakety-sax/)

[Slipperychicken]

Do you have a copy of Yakkety Sax?

'Cause if you're going to commit to this, you're really gonna need a copy of Yakkety Sax.

3.. 2.. 1.. GO! (http://www.listenonrepeat.com/watch/?v=ZnHmskwqCCQ)

[Sheogoroth]

I think they might be able to keep it dead with an endless stream of customers shuffling in and hacking off bits to take home for dinner.

Theoretically, they could kill it. With flanking rules being exponential they could pass it's AC, but they would have a hard time passing DR as commoners. However, this can be overcome if you follow Volley rules, even if it's just a volley of raw vegetables.

[Lightlawbliss]

I think they might be able to keep it dead with an endless stream of customers shuffling in and hacking off bits to take home for dinner.

Theoretically, they could kill it. With flanking rules being exponential they could pass it's AC, but they would have a hard time passing DR as commoners. However, this can be overcome if you follow Volley rules, even if it's just a volley of raw vegetables.

Imagine the warcrys of "Eat pickled cabbage beast!" The fear in the young men's hearts when they realize that they had gone hungry all this time so they could throw food at a sleeping monster.