This Manual of Monsters Might Save Your D&D Adventurer’s Life

Ever faced a Dungeons & Dragons tarrasque and lived? Do you even know what a tarrasque is in the D&D multiverse? I can assure you for any character regardless of level a tarrasque is quite terrifying, as not many adventures live to tell the tale of this mighty beast. Not to mention many D&D adventurers consider a tarrasque the most deadly creature within D&D. Intense, right? The best I can describe this behemoth is Godzilla mixed with a spot of an armadillo and a dragon. There are high level adventuring groups whose end goal involves facing and defeating the creature. I can only imagine a treasure hoard of this monstrosity the size of a five story building!

Magical world of beasts and behemoths

I asked around the Dungeon Masters and other players I know if they have ever encountered a tarrasque. The only three who had were my husband, longtime friend and a relative. One was squished, one ran for the hills and one was swallowed. You don’t just get eaten by a tarrasque — you get ingested and destroyed by stomach acid. There is a chance you can make it spew you up but not a good one.

Naturally, because of my curiosity I took to the internet. I searched Facebook, Twitter, forums and several Discord servers before I found three individuals who would speak to me about their tarrasque encounters. SnaileySnail from the local game store’s Discord stated they once had a group who summoned the creature and used trickery to slay the beast. This involved lots of prep work including a very large pit and an amplified sphere of annihilation.

My friend Sam also was in a party in 3.5 D&D who summoned a tarrasque after the group all reached 20th level as the capstone encounter to their two-year-long campaign. He does not remember how it died but it had something to do with flying and five 20th level characters, and not one of them died.

Finally, ParanyodStyle reported they were a DM where a player became a tarrasque. I have questions and really want to know if someone else got eaten in this scenario.

So what information does Beasts and Behemoths: A Young Adventurer’s Guide by Jim Zub, Stacy King and Andrew Wheeler tell us about this legendary monstrosity? For starters it gives you advice — RUN and keep running. No joke — that is part of it, or if you want to be a hero try to save some bystanders from this quick death. The good thing there is believed to be only one tarrasque in existence at one given time. Can you imagine two of these creatures? Yikes!

Beasts and Behemoths by the numbers

Beasts and Behemoths: A Young Adventurer’s Guide is very similar in style to Monsters and Creatures. However, it focuses on more of the legendary and more unique 5E D&D beasts. The guide is sectioned by creature size and works its way up to the gargantuan tarrasque. There are a total of 105 pages and they are formatted the same with facts and an illustration. The illustrations are formatted in a similar style as the Monsters and Creatures guide and are just as lovely and detailed. Beasts and Behemoths also includes encounters so the reader can practice their knowledge of the creatures and problem-solving (monster-slaying) skills.

Faves

I am a big fan of dragons and this guide has even more information and specifications on 5E D&D dragons, particularly the metallic dragons. My child also selected a dragon for his favorite beast of this guide — the pseudodragon. The reason for this favorite is because he likes the idea of being able to have one as a familiar and communicate with the little cute dragon. The idea of a pet or friend dragon is super fun and for a young adventurer just learning to roleplay, it helps creativity thinking of a pet or a creature that could be a little friend. Much like in real life children are often drawn to having pets so it is no surprise now he is already planning his next character so he can obtain a pseudodragon of his own and name it Fluffy. (Yes he knows dragons do not have fur!)

Importance of imagination

Imagination for young ones and adults helps with emotional, creative, and physical wellbeing. Not to mention for young ones D&D and games like it help develop problem-solving and language skills. The creative process of roleplaying allows individuals to work through scenarios and come to solutions. You never would have imagined the last quest helped you sort out how you would ask for a raise did you? Well, you worked on your haggling skill when you purchased your first set of plate armor for less than half of what it is worth.

Beasts and Behemoths: A Young Adventurer’s Guide is another great addition to my always-growing library of 5E D&D material. As always I really enjoy the images and descriptions. This guide is also perfect for a quick pick-up read at any time and can also be read multiple times or used as a reference. For my gaming family Beasts and Behemoths is definitely well worth the cost!

*Featured image — Yeah, yeah, we know. Your flying archer with magic missiles can solo the tarrasque. The spotlight is all yours. [Image courtesy Wizards of the Coast]

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