Gearbox's upcoming Tiny Tina's Wonderlands follows up on the Borderlands 2 DLC and takes the looter shooter to the world of tabletop RPGs. The new setting brings with it multi-classing, melee weapons, new abilities, and fully customizable characters. With all of the coming changes, Borderlands fans are understandably excited for Tiny Tina's Wonderlands because of how many interesting things the new setting could bring to the series, especially following the success of Borderlands 3.
One interesting new feature that has been revealed is Tiny Tina's Wonderlands' new overworld map that seems to be heavily inspired by JRPGs. The overworld map offers a new way to see the world as well as introducing random encounters to the series. Random encounters should bring some nice variety to the game while also opening up the possibilities for the kind of encounters and enemies that players can come across since they won't have to fit into a level. While there will undoubtedly be countless references to fantasy video games, movies, and books, there will also be plenty to Dungeons and Dragons itself, and there are some classic encounters from the tabletop RPG that would be great to see in the new game.
The Tarrasque
The Tarrasque is the biggest monster in Dungeons and Dragons and is such a tough fight that it is often jokingly referred to as the monster Dungeons Masters use when they just want to kill the party. The monster is so terrifying that players within 120 feet of it must make checks to see if their characters run away in terror while it also has a chance to just swallow players whole if it lands a successful bite attack. With how massive and tough the Tarrasque is in Dungeons and Dragons it would be a great candidate for one of Tiny Tina's Wonderlands' raid bosses that the series has historically featured to challenge high-level players.
Gelatinous Cube
Gelatinous Cubes in Dungeons and Dragons are iconic trap monsters that are often used to teach new players a lesson in being cautious. Thanks to the cubes often being entirely clear, they are perfect for clogging up a tight dungeon hallway or the moat around a castle. Then, if any players are clumsy or oblivious enough to run into the Gelatinous Cube, they can get stuck in it and be dealt damage by its acidic nature. An enemy like this would be perfect to trick players in Tiny Tina's Wonderlands or as environmental hazards that players have to avoid or keep track of during fights. They would be particularly great in Tina Tiny's Wonderlands' random encounters to keep players on their toes.
The Tomb of Horrors
Any longtime Dungeons and Dragons player has likely heard stories of the sheer brutality of the Tomb of Horrors. A dungeon-delving adventure designed by the game's creator Gary Gygax, the Tomb of Horrors was specifically created to be the hardest dungeon in the game. It features dozens of areas for players to make mistakes and instantly be killed, punishing encounters, and devious traps. The module was so difficult that players would often bring multiple characters when they played to account for inevitable deaths, and the dungeon making an appearance as late-game content in Tiny Tina's Wonderlands would be perfect. Making it through the punishing dungeon in one piece could even give players a unique customization item for their characters so that they could show off their achievement.
Rust Monsters
Another punishing iconic encounter from Dungeons and Dragons is the party coming across a herd of Rust Monsters. While not very powerful, the Rust Monsters have the unique ability to disintegrate any metal equipment that players have equipped. While it would likely be too punishing to have Rust Monsters completely destroy the gear players have in Tiny Tina's Wonderlands, a different version could be used that could either take weapons away from players just for the length of that encounter or could even just weaken the weapons for a period of time. Either way, it would be a very interesting encounter for Borderlands while also helping push players to rely on their magic and abilities more for an encounter.
Tiny Tina's Wonderlands releases on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on March 25, 2022.