The Tarrasque • Odyssey of the Dragonlords

The Tarrasque is a mindless engine of destruction. The heroes will discover it laying waste to its chosen city, one block at a time.

An enormous armor-plated lizard—the Tarrasque—is literally devouring the city. The unfathomable size of the massive beast boggles the mind. Its shadow cloaks entire neighborhoods of the city in darkness as it rampages. Its enormous claws tear down buildings with ease, and its gaping, hooked jaws swallow entire families whole with each bite. The screams of the terrified people in its path are drowned out by the great bellows of the beast and the thunder of its echoing footfalls as it levels the city in an unbridled feeding frenzy.

Researching the Tarrasque#

If the heroes take some time to research the Tarrasque, they can learn the following:

A successful DC 20 Intelligence (Arcana) check reveals

that it is a stupid creature and thus the spell Maze is very effective against it. A successful DC 20 Wisdom (Nature) check reveals it is

immune to Fear, Poison and Fire. A successful DC 25 Intelligence (Arcana) check reveals

its carapace can reflect magical attacks back upon a spell caster and that it has a devastating roar.

Anointed of Thylea#

This myth can be learned through the appropriate spell or a successful DC 20 Intelligence (History) check.

The Tarrasque is the greatest of the Nether Titans; a living cataclysm whose rage could unmake the world itself. To preserve creation, the gods wove a cruel safeguard into fate itself. If an innocent child is sacrificed upon the sacred ground of the Golden Heart, the Tarrasque will be marked with a fatal flaw, a weakness hidden deep within its immortal flesh.

Every decade, a child born of the Elunara bloodline, an ancient house descended from the first elves of Thylea, is anointed at birth as the destined sacrifice. When that child reaches the age of fifteen, the mantle passes to a newly born infant of the same bloodline, ensuring that the gods’ safeguard is never broken and that innocence is always waiting, bound to the Tarrasque’s undoing.

Aesop and Macaria#

The current Anointed of Thylea is a young elf named Macaria, daughter of Aesop, the Keeper of the Dragon Shrine in Estoria. A hero who uses suitable magic may learn this truth. Otherwise, Aesop himself may dispatch a Siren Messenger to summon the heroes to Estoria.

Meeting Aesop#

If the heroes travel to the Dragon Shrine to meet Aesop, read the following:

Waiting at the entrance of the Dragon Shrine is Aesop. He inclines his head in solemn greeting. “You have come for my daughter,” he says softly. “She has been prepared since birth. The gods chose her, not I.” He turns toward the inner hall. “Macaria.” From the shadows of the shrine emerges a slender elf girl. Though still a child, she carries herself with quiet dignity. A wreath of white blossoms circles her hair. When she speaks, her voice trembles. “My father has told me of my duty,” she says. “If my life will save this world, then I will not turn away.”

While Macaria is frightened, she does not flee from her fate. Her courage reflects both the burden and the purity demanded by the gods. Aesop will not speak against prophecy, though his heart clearly breaks to see his child marked for death.

Golden Heart#

If the heroes travel to the Golden Heart read the following:

You stand before the Golden Heart, a colossal oak whose canopy stretches so high it seems to brush the clouds. At the roots of the sacred tree lies a wooden altar carved from its own fallen limb. Resting upon it is Macaria, her hands folded over her chest. Her father, Aesop, stands nearby in silent prayer. In his trembling hand glints a bronze sacrificial knife.

Aesop hands the knife to the heroes; it is one of them who must make the sacrifice. Aesop explains exactly how the Tarrasque will be weakened by the sacrifice (see below). The heroes can choose to step back from this path at any time.

Fatal Flaw#

If the sacrifice is made, then the Tarrasque loses its Reflective Carapace trait and gains Vulnerability to Radiant damage.

The Pomegranate Any hero who consumed the pomegranate offered by the Mouth of Typhon (see Typhon, the Maw in chapter 3) carries a trace of primordial chaos. The Nether Titans instinctively recognize this taint. During the first 3 rounds of combat against such creatures, attacks made by a Nether Titan against that hero have Advantage. The titan also prioritizes attacking them.