So, this came up on Twitter: with the release of the Orcus miniature, and Monster Manual 3’s Allabar, Opener of the Way, what is the actual size of the Tarrasque? Seems like a simple question, but the answer, as always, is so much more. Frighteningly enough, I think this discussion is leading me to do a whole series on this grand old terror. You have been warned.
A Brief Real World History of the Tarrasque
The Tarrasque has its origins in Medieval France, as a beast that harassed a village that would become known as Tarascon.
In the 1990’s, a dinosaur was named the Tarascosaurus, in reference to the legend.
It is described as “a sort of dragon with six short legs like a bear’s, an ox-like body covered with a turtle shell, and a scaly tail that ended in a scorpion’s sting. It had a lion’s head.” I could not find any specific references to size, other than statements that it is “enomous”.
The Tarrasque Through the Editions
The Tarrasque has been present in all editions of D&D, first appearing in the Monster Manual II (in 1983). It has persisted to the present. It is described in previous editions as being 50-70 feet in height.
Here’s where questions arise. In the 4th edition stat block, the Tarrasque is described as Gargantuan. That means that it takes up a 4×4 square area. However, the description puts it at 50-70 feet. That’s 10 times the size of a Medium creature. That’s either like asking a Medium size creature to only take up 2 square feet, or saying that ‘ol Tarry is only 20 feet tall, dwarfing its original magnificent stature. So, which is it? Is the Tarrasque, arguably D&D’s Godzilla, an enormous ballerina, or has 4th edition shrunk it down, leaving us with a pygmy version of this monstrosity?
So, What Do We Do?
I propose a third option: play with the concept of size. Really, we all know the Tarrasque is bigger than Orcus, and there are many other mythical (and even paleontological) creatures that are bigger than 20 feet tall or long. If you agree that our Tarrasque should cover an area of at least 10×10, do it. Don’t fiddle with the rules or the stat block, just make the beastie bigger.
Clearly, there is NO model support for something of that size, but you do have options:
- Make the model. Many have tried this, and, if you’re of an artistic bent, you’d be foolish not to give it a shot. It WILL be time consuming, but for something that could be a centerpiece in your campaign, I think the effort will pay off. If you ever build one, let me know. I’d love to see one finished.
- Make a 10×10 token. It’s really easy to do, and you can put in as little or as much as you like. I’d probably get a 10 inch square piece of wood or black foamcore, and glue big T’s picture (that I’d likely have blown up with Photoshop) on the top of it. Good to go.
…and those are just two options for representing the Tarrasque at 10×10, a notion that could be considered ‘un-representable’. There are a host of other methods, so it falls on the DM in question to work it out his or her own way.
Other Creatures Where This Comes Into Play (Both D&D and Otherwise)
- Unicron (Transformers): This guy is a robot planet that eats other planets. He also transforms into a robot that takes on the ultimate McGuffin in the Autobot Matrix. Estimates set his height at several thousand kilometers.
- The Kraken/Collosal Squid (Pirates of the Carribean/Clash of the Titans/D&D/real life): The Kraken has a long history of being the beast of the deep. In every movie I’ve seen, in every picture, every description, the Kraken is described as having the ability to EAT BOATS. I’m not talking canoes here, either. Legends have told of sea creatures as long as a sailing vessel, and science has proven the existence of squid that can grow in excess of 30 feet (6 squares).
- Allabar, Opener of the Way (D&D): D&D’s answer to the living planet concept, Allabar has a sidebar where it’s said that, although the statblock says he’s Gargantuan, Allabar is a planet, and as such is much bigger, even though (as is the case with the other living planets I mention here) a heads-up fight with a planet is just plain impractical.
- Supersaurus (Real Life): One of the largest dinosaurs to ever roam the Earth, this guy came in at a potential length of 110 feet (that’s 22 squares!), and this thing ate PLANTS!
- Galactus: The Eater of Worlds, Galactus has a big appetite, and a big appetite needs a big body to carry it around.
- Mogo (The Green Lantern Corps): Yet another living planet, Mogo stays away from conflicts on other worlds because his own personal gravity can disrupt another planet to the point where either it or Mogo will end up getting shredded into a cloud of dust. Good luck plotting out THAT encounter.
What’s My Point?
My point here, I guess, is that the Tarrasque has a long tradition of being the biggest and nastiest beast D&D has to offer. As such, it is only fair that it get its moment in the sun (right before it eats your village). Orcus is a great model, but we all know that the first time we saw the Tarrasque, we all had dreams of the stories that would be told with it. Remember this when you look at Trasky. It’s more than just a (rather sizeable) bucket of hit points. It’s a force of Nature. It’s unstoppable. And, it definitely deserves to be bigger than 20 feet tall.
Anyone want to weigh in on this? Comment below, please!
Links (Updated 11/4/10)
- Tarrasque Workshop #2 – Retooling
- Tarrasque Workshop #3 – Campaign Design
- SlyFlourish has has posted a great examination of the Tarrasque over at his site. Check out “Pimp My Tarrasque“!
*Note: Galactus is property of Marvel Comics, and Mogo is property of DC.
Technically, the Monster Manuals and Player’s Handbook list gargantuan as “4 × 4 or larger” so there’s no reason one couldn’t/shouldn’t make a Tarrasque or other such creature whatever grid size they think is appropriate. One might fiddle with the reach on the attacks (Tarrasques look like the have a reach of 3 in 4th edition) but that’s easy enough.
As for a miniature… just use a real turtle. ;)
I agree with you, but then again, I think it’s a little off that Orcus is only Gargantuan. I would peg Orcus (an entity vying for godhood) as at least Colossal (like the amazing Red Dragon “mini” from a few years back.) I’d put the Tarrasque (a unique world-destroying engine of utter destruction) at a size at least that big. (As we agreed on Twitter, Big T is at least as large as Godzilla.)
The biggest problem is the nature of 4E being a tabletop miniatures game. If it were purely a game contained in your imagination, or even simply using miniatures to represent general placement, it wouldn’t be a problem. However, 4E expects a specific amount of space to be used. It expects you to be able to calculate movement based on the number of 5-foot squares a monster can cover in one round.
That said, I’d definitely agree with building your own mini to simulate the enormous size. If I had a spare, and the money and talent to do so, I’d modify the Colossal Red to represent the Tarrasque. Personally, I’d love to see pics if anyone has come up with their own representations.
Yeah, I’ll be tweaking out the numbers in my next blog post, where we’ll dissect the stat-block, and come up with new and different ways to spell Tarrasque-y doom.
Interesting that Tarascon comes up – I was there about 4 years ago, in France, and found a statue of The Tarrasque. As a long time D&D player, I had my wife take a picture of me attacking it.