'Dungeons & Dragons' Almost Had a Six-Legged Platypus Monster

Dungeons & Dragons almost had a six-legged monster that looked like a cross between a rat and a platypus. The monster, known as the baric, appeared in the first version of Palace of the Silver Princess, an early D&D adventure released in 1980. Described as a large rat like creature, the baric was usually about three feet long and weighed between 40 and 50 pounds. Instead of a snout, the baric had a bill like a platypus and had rows of needle-sharp teeth that it could use to kill its prey.

So why isn't the baric part of D&D lore like other monsters that appeared in early D&D modules? Well, Palace of the Silver Princess is actually one of the more controversial modules in D&D history. The first version of the adventure was almost immediately recalled by TSR (the original makers of Dungeons & Dragons) due to artwork that was deemed offensive as it featured a woman being assaulted by creature as she was tied up. The adventure was almost entirely rewritten and the baric and several other monsters were discarded and never mentioned in an official D&D book again.

Other monsters that got cut from Palace of the Silver Princess include sentient bubbles brought to life by discarded potions, a three-headed giant that had both male and female heads, and a slime-like creature that waited for someone to step into it in order to paralyze and then slowly ingest it. We'll note that the three-headed giants (known as ubue) were depicted in the early Palace of the Silver Princess book as having heads that resembled various D&D staff members, which was another reason the book got recalled.

Due to the recall, the first version of Palace of the Silver Princess, which featured an orange cover, is now the most expensive and rare D&D book in existence. A shrink-wrapped copy has sold for up to $3,000 at auctions. As for the baric, Frog God Games eventually included the baric in its Tome of Horrors book, which converted the monsters for use in Pathfinder.

Are you disappointed that we never got an evil platypus rat in D&D? Let us know in the comment section or find me on Twitter at @CHofferCBus to chat about all things D&D!

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