Defeat the TARRASQUE! Level 20 one-shot BOSS FIGHT!

Creating your character

Character creation will be handled before the one-shot so that we can spend our game time doing what we came here to do: fight a Tarrasque! I will provide any additional character creation guidance needed before the game. Please have your character completed and ready to play before the session begins. The overall important notes are: - All officially published D&D content is acceptable. No Unearthed Arcana or Homebrew without prior DM approval. - We will roll 4d6, rerolling 1s, then drop the lowest for stat generation. If you roll below a total of 72, you may reroll. If you prefer, you may use point buy or standard array instead and forgo rolling. - We will be starting at level 20 for this one-shot. Multiclassing is allowed. - Please come with a character that is complete and ready to play, including spells, equipment, proficiencies, and other relevant features. - Because this is a one-shot, short backstories are encouraged but not required. A few paragraphs about who your character is and why they are willing to risk their life fighting a Tarrasque is plenty! - Characters should be built with the expectation that this is a high-level, extremely dangerous encounter. Death is a real possibility. I encourage you to build something you think will be fun to play for one epic session, rather than worrying about long-term campaign optimization.

Preparing for the session

Players will need: - A Roll20 account to join the virtual tabletop. - A Discord account to join the voice call and game server. - A completed character sheet. Roll20, D&D Beyond, a paper sheet, or another character sheet is acceptable as long as you are comfortable using it and can share it with me if needed. - Your character should be ready to go before the session starts. We will have a brief opportunity at the beginning of the game to answer questions and make sure everyone is ready, but we will not be spending the first half of the session creating characters. I recommend having your character's spells and abilities somewhere easily accessible. At high levels, there can be a lot of buttons to press!

What Marco "Polo" Ricci brings to the table

I strive to provide a living world with realistic NPCs and meaningful player choices. Even in a one-shot, your decisions will have consequences. For this adventure, however, the focus is on an epic, cinematic confrontation. The Tarrasque is not a normal encounter, and the adventure is designed around giving the players opportunities to prepare, develop a strategy, and then put that strategy to the test. You can expect: - Tactical and interesting combat where creativity is rewarded. - A mix of preparation and improvisation. - A story with clear direction while remaining flexible to player choices. - A serious and dramatic adventure that still leaves room for the ridiculous situations that make D&D great. - An encounter where your character's abilities are allowed to shine. - A DM who wants everyone at the table to have memorable moments. Because this is a one-shot, I won't expect you to have a ten-page backstory. Give me something I can work with, and I'll do my best to make your character feel like part of the story.

Homebrew rules

These rules are intended to make the one-shot move quickly and keep the focus on having an exciting game. If something comes up that isn't covered here, we'll discuss it at the table. Rule of Cool: Rule of Cool is in effect! If you describe an interesting or cinematic action, I may lower the DC, grant advantage, or allow something that wouldn't normally be possible. Creative solutions are encouraged. If you have a crazy idea for how to fight a Tarrasque, please tell me about it. Encumbrance: No encumbrance, but stay realistic. You don't need to track the weight of every item in your inventory, but you cannot casually carry a giant boulder or a statue just because the rules don't explicitly stop you. Prone: Recovering from prone requires a maximum of 15 feet of movement. Passive Perception: Your passive Perception is the minimum result for Perception checks, but other passive scores are not treated this way. Additionally; Advantage = +5 to passive Perception Disadvantage = -5 to passive Perception Potions: Drinking a health potion yourself is a bonus action. Giving a health potion to another creature is an action. Drinking any other potion is an action. Health Rolls: Whenever you roll dice for hit points, such as when gaining a level, reroll any 1s. The same applies to healing potions and other health-related dice rolls where appropriate. Exhaustion: The 2014 exhaustion rules can create an unpleasant death spiral. Instead, we will use the 2024 rules for exhaustion. Flanking: Flanking is only effective when flanking a creature no more than one size larger than you. For example, two Medium creatures can flank a Large creature, but cannot flank a Huge creature. Inspiration: Inspiration can stack up to a maximum of three points during the one-shot. Perkins Crits / Crunchy Crits: When you score a critical hit, you roll the attack's damage dice normally and then add the maximum possible result of those dice. For example; A critical hit with 1d6 + 2 damage deals: 1d6 + 6 + 2 This applies to additional damage dice from the critical hit as well.

How Marco "Polo" Ricci creates a safe table

Even though this is a one-shot, player comfort and safety are still important. Before the game, I will provide a survey where players can anonymously provide their Lines and Veils and any other content preferences or concerns. I will combine everyone's responses so that we are all on the same page about the hard and soft limits of the game. During the game, I will have RPG safety cards available on Roll20 that any player can use. I also welcome verbal or other signals if something comes up during play. No explanation is required to use a safety tool. I will also make myself available outside of the session if anyone wants to discuss concerns, questions, or adjustments to their Lines and Veils. The goal is simple: We are here to have an epic night of D&D, and everyone at the table should feel comfortable doing so.