Coolest Setting Idea

One of the coolest ideas that I heard from indie roleplayers was a setting idea: a captive tarrasque . (If you don't know what one is, this post will be lost on you. Move on.)


Some ages ago, a collection of very powerful mages managed to lure the tarrasque into a trap... for example, completely buried underground, in hard stone, with magical bonds around each limb. The tarrasque was left to rot and the area abandoned and made off-limits to the people of the time.

...But that time has passed. Some years ago, the tarrasque was discovered by a less-than-scrupulous mage. He has decided to mine the tarrasque.

Yes, to mine it.

He's dug an underground laboratory to one side of the tarrasque, and bored a hole through the rock to the tarrasque's back. Periodically, they cut into the tarrasque with a horrific contraption, and harvest what organs they can, capturing as much blood as possible in the process. The beast makes muffled screams from within the rock, and there are occasional quakes as it writhes in agony... but its unmatched restorative powers always return it to full health. ...And then the mages begin again.

...Clearly, there are plenty of opportunities for PCs, here. Some ideas:

• Someone hires them to steal some of the curative blood, without knowing its true source.
• An enemy kingdom hires them to stop the production of the curative blood.
• The PCs are asked to negotiate with the mages for the blood (without knowing the source), in return for some resource they represent.
• The PCs are touring the facility, when one of the bonds breaks... they need to act immediately to stop the tarrasque from escaping.
• The blood is making people progressively more evil. A patron of the PCs is using it, and they notice his changes, investigate the reason, and discover the operation.
• Cultists (PITA?) are en route to free the tarrasque. The PCs must stop them.
• When the PCs discover the operation, one of the NPCs with the party decides this is cruel, and tries to free it. Will they turn on their own party member to save the world?