D&D 5E Rime of the Frostmaiden Previews Include a Scroll of Tarrasque Summoning

Some D&D designers and freelancers have been sharing previews of what's inside Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden. Take a look!

When a wizard puts their brain inside a helmless horror.

David Sladek

A ring of warmth.

Claudio Pozas

And this last item... perhaps the less said the better? Ouch!

 

[SkidAce]

The scroll feels like something some 13 year old munchkin would come up with.

Cool right?

 

[SkidAce]

Rime of the Frontmaiden is a horror and secrets story. It is intended to evoke a sense of doom and catastrophe. The scroll is perfectly in line with that concern.

As for it ruining a campaign - it costs a minimum of 50,000 GP to make and 25 weeks (as it is consumable). If the PCs pooled all of their treasure, they should, proportionally, be able to accumulate that amount at around 12th or 13th level. Then, one of them needs to retire - for a half year- to make the scroll while the other PCs adventure and advance. By the time they complete it, they're going to be around 15th level... at the lowest … and for all their sacrifices, they can summon the Tarrasque once and not be able to control it.

Meanwhile, a 9th level party can use Divinations to find it and just attack it to wake it up and cause mischief.

All of this for a beast that can't do anything at range other than throw stuff.

They might find said scroll, but I won't let them create any.

Lost ancient knowledge etc etc. Not a "spell" scroll (not on anyone's list) etc etc.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

They might find said scroll, but I won't let them create any.

Lost ancient knowledge etc etc. Not a "spell" scroll (not on anyone's list) etc etc.

If it can't be created, it's even more valuable when it's not cast. It's essentially a scroll of "destroy empire," and thus is worth at least as much as the riches of any one empire.

And, as we know from the real world, the deterrence value of having -- or to be believed to have -- such a super-weapon is incredibly potent.

"Under no circumstances are you stupid heroes to cross the border and kill the Undying Emperor -- with his last act, he'll unleash the tarrasque on us! Just stay here and try to, you know, contain the trouble he causes without making him mad."

Or, what happens if a spy gets out a message, before they're killed in a truly horrible way, that the Undying Emperor doesn't have the scroll any more? Now the heroes have to quietly confirm that's true -- or see if some third party is trying to trick them into getting the scroll used so that everyone else is safe from the tarrasque themselves?

The existence of such a scroll can fuel multiple campaigns.

 

[dave2008]

Maybe. But ultimately its releasing a bane throughout the game.

What are you talking about? It is a magical scroll. Whether or not it appears in any game (including this adventure) is up to the DM. It is not some requirement to play the game that will infect all D&D games of 5e.

Heck, it was pointed out up thread a version of this scroll appeared in a 3e adventure too. It had so minor of an impact to the rest of the game that I had never heard of it before. Step back from the cliff, it is not safe up so high.

 

[dalisprime]

D&D: "... Includes a Scroll of Tarasque Summoning."
Me: "Congratulations on breaking the game."

I mean it can have a great story reason and be limited to a single item, but they've created it. It will be put as an item in Roll20, D&D Beyond, etc. It's a scroll that (I'm guessing) can now be scribed during a wizard's downtime activity.

So yeah, they pretty much just broke 5e.

Not a wizard spell. They can't scribe it. It's a single use nuke for when you're absolutely screwed. As a reminder - we are dealing with a goddess in RotFM.
This sort of heavy grade weaponry might be quite necessary.

 

[THEMNGMNT]

The scroll feels like something some 13 year old munchkin would come up with.

...which is why I love it.

 

[Zander]

Now I’m disappointed. I really wanted a helpless horror, one with a jar containing a Brian. That’s a homunculus called Brian.

I think I own every official version ever made, all the way back to the cardstock insert in Dragon Magazine.

I’ve got a couple of those: one cut from the magazine and the other uncut and still in the mag.

 

[Eltab]

one with a jar containing a Brian.

You're gonna need a bigger jar.

I think the helpless horror is masquerading as a Gibbering Mouther.

 

[Mistwell]

I do not get all the angst over the scroll.

MANY adventures have a "save the world" theme to them, particularly the higher level ones. The scroll is the "save the world" mcguffin. It's not really different than any other "save the world" mcguffin. Is it? Why is this sillier than "open a portal to hell" or "allow the Cthulu OTHERS into our world" or "resurrect an evil god"? This one is just a...

 

[Azzy]

Summon the Tarrasque—it's the only way to be sure.