I was watching this video about the Tarrasque when I saw that its stomach fluids strip magic. I was wondering if a Wizard is swallowed by a Tarrasque, does the wizard lose his innate magic or is it only for artefacts/magic items?
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asked Jun 25, 2019 at 19:14
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2\$\begingroup\$ Somewhat related on Why is the tarrasque the most dreaded creature? \$\endgroup\$– NautArchJun 25, 2019 at 19:26
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3\$\begingroup\$ @iaminsensible that video series, while interesting, pulls from many sources including those for older editions or from outside the actual game rules. They are handy for understanding creature motivations or behaviors for campaign or combat considerations, but they shouldn't be taken as gospel for the 5th edition versions of these creatures. \$\endgroup\$– Lauren MoylanJun 25, 2019 at 19:28
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2 Answers
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Nothing, but its stomach acid can digest even the most powerful magic items.
Being swallowed by the tarrasque has no special effect on a wizard's ability to use magic, whether in D&D 5th edition (Monster Manual p.286) or earlier editions.
However, the tarrasque's stomach is canonically capable of digesting magic items, even certain powerful artifacts. D&D 5e Dungeon Master's Guide, p. 221, Destroying Artifacts, suggests this method:
The artifact must be swallowed and digested by the tarrasque or some other ancient creature.
This trait is given more detail in the D&D lore of earlier editions. Most specifically, in Dragon #359's Ecology of the Tarrasque, p.92, it is noted:
The middle stomach of a tarrasque is a churning, energetically pulsing fleshy cauldron of corrosive acid. Unique in all the planes, this fluid possesses a disjunctive property, capable of stripping the magical powers from consumed magics. Here everything breaks down.
The "disjunctive" property is most likely a reference to the spell Mordenkainen's disjunction, which strips magic items of their power.
Of course, the tarrasque's stomach acid will eventually prevent a wizard from casting spells by digesting the wizard.
answered Jun 25, 2019 at 21:16
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\$\begingroup\$ Thanks! That's the answer I was actually looking for. \$\endgroup\$ Jun 25, 2019 at 21:19
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5\$\begingroup\$ @NautArch: That's because it's merely given in the DMG as one example of how an artifact might be destroyed: "An artifact must be destroyed in some special way. Otherwise, it is impervious to damage. Each artifact has a weakness by which its creation can be undone. Learning this weakness might require extensive research or the successful completion of a quest. The DM decides how a particular artifact can be destroyed. Some suggestions are provided here:" \$\endgroup\$– V2Blast ♦Jun 26, 2019 at 5:44
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\$\begingroup\$ @NautArch The tarrasque's ability to disjunct magic items comes from Dragon #359, a D&D 3.5 source. 5e tends to respect and build upon lore established in earlier editions (e.g. this question where Mearls cites lore established in AD&D), but this particular detail is not detailed in its 5e monster entry. \$\endgroup\$ Jun 26, 2019 at 14:22
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\$\begingroup\$ Fair enough, and I'll go ahead and add a lore tag to the question. But given the changes in the Tarrasque itself over editions, I didn't know how you could apply that lore - especially with the stat block not seemingly paralleling the DMG info on destroying artifacts. \$\endgroup\$– NautArchJun 26, 2019 at 14:24
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2\$\begingroup\$ @NautArch As far as I can tell, the tarrasque's disjunctive ability has never appeared in the creature's statblock in any edition, and is limited to lore descriptions. However, the 5e Monster Manual (p.6) notes that a statblock is only "the essential information that you need to run the monster", not necessarily every obscure ability that it can have. \$\endgroup\$ Jun 26, 2019 at 14:35
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Tarrasque stomach fluids do not affect a wizard's magic
The Tarrasque has an acidic stomach, but it doesn't strip away magic:
While swallowed, the creature is blinded and restrained, it has total cover against attacks and other effects outside the tarrasque, and it takes 56 (16d6) acid damage at the start of each of the tarrasque's turns.
I am unsure if previous editions had an effect like that, but the 5e Tarrasque does not.
Your Wizard will be blinded, restrained, and take acid damage - but it won't lose it's magic.
Always check sources :)
User G.Moylan astutely points out:
that video series, while interesting, pulls from many sources including those for older editions or from outside the actual game rules. They are handy for understand creature motivations or behaviors for campaign or combat considerations, but they shouldn't be taken as gospel for the 5th edition versions of these creatures.
answered Jun 25, 2019 at 19:19
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\$\begingroup\$ I actually saw that from this video youtube.com/watch?v=d6fG6kjMQYQ But thanks anyway \$\endgroup\$ Jun 25, 2019 at 19:20