| “ | Come, Terrorpin, my shelled steed! | ” |
Terrorpin is Black Knight's armored steed seen in Specter of Torment, King of Cards, the Puzzler's Pack DLC of Pocket Dungeon and briefly mentioned in Showdown. It appears as a large black and red tortoise sporting a red rhinoceros-like horn and several red spikes on its shell.
Story[]
Specter of Torment[]
After cornering Specter Knight at the end of the Plains, Black Knight whistles to call Terrorpin, which charges through a wall into the arena. When the knight is defeated, Terrorpin flees by blasting the same wall, incidentally opening an exit route for Specter Knight.
Terrorpin reappears with Black Knight at the Tower of Fate hub after Specter Knight sought out all Order of No Quarter knight candidates. They blast through a hole in the Magic Mirror chamber from the Tower's dungeon, with the intention of confronting Specter Knight. However, they go back the same way after the apparition of the Enchantress and Black Knight learning of her true identity. The passage they opened also contributed to the escape of the Dark Acolyte as well as opening a direct route to the Enchantress's lair.
Black Knight and Terrorpin appear again together at the end of the Tower of Fate's Entrance, this time to protect the Enchantress from a rogue Specter Knight. They change their tactic, but upon defeat Terrorpin falls off the tower. Black Knight, anguished, then jumps after it.
In the ending of Specter of Torment, Terrorpin is revealed to have been rescued by Polar Knight, taking it to the Stranded Ship. In a rare moment of affection, Polar Knight can be seen gently tending to the tortoise's wounds by a campfire in the frozen tundra.
King of Cards[]
Terrorpin has a minor appearance in King of Cards. In the House of Joustus when Black Knight is ready to play Joustus, he brings out Terrorpin as a table for the board.
Showdown[]
Terrorpin is briefly mentioned during the beginning of Black Knight's story in Showdown. Having been kidnapped by the Mirror of Fate shortly after diving into the abyss after his steed, and unaware that the tortoise would later be rescued by Polar Knight, Black Knight is left assuming the demise of his cherished companion, before being swiftly distracted from his grief by the impeding danger.
Puzzler's Pack DLC[]
In the Puzzler's Pack DLC of Pocket Dungeon, Terrorpin is part of Black Knight's Quandary, Terrorpin's Spin. Terrorpin is also summoned whenever one of the knights is wearing the Terrorpin's Toque Hat sold by Mr. Hat in his shop at Castle Quandary, becoming a useful, but also dangerous ally. In order for Terrorpin to be registered inside the Guidebook, he has to be defeated, which is only achievable by the crushing walls that appear when the current Dungeon is beginning to closing.
Behavior and Tactics[]
Terrorpin's shell provides it with an impervious defense. Specter Knight can bounce on its shell with Dash Slashes. It can also fire purple flames and bounce them back, like Black Knight. When in its shell, it can spin and glide, but also fly.
Plains of Passage[]
Black Knight engages Specter Knight using a different strategy: he fights while mounted on his trusty and shelled steed, Terrorpin. The two fight with a highly coordinated approach, along with some of Black Knight's more familiar moves. Only Black Knight can be damaged in these battles, Terrorpin is completely invincible.
When first fought in the Plains of Passage, Black Knight will stand atop Terrorpin, occasionally Shovel Dropping to either have Terrorpin expel a purple energy shot, or make himself more difficult to hit while Terrorpin charges. If Black Knight is off Terrorpin, Terrorpin will charge at Specter Knight.
Tower of Fate: Entrance[]
The second battle at the Tower of Fate: Entrance however is far different from the first. Black Knight starts the battle on Terrorpin as it hovers high in the air, too high to Dash Cut into Black Knight. Attacks that target the duo at this time simply knock them slightly back causing no damage. While hovering he will attempt to slam the shell into the ground when Specter Knight is underneath. The attack sends two small shockwaves across the floor. Black Knight then follows up by summoning orbs of energy infused dirt to surround the duo, before slamming Terrorpin's shell into the ground launching the orbs up into the air. Dirt clusters then fall from the sky starting at the room's edges and ending next to where the duo is hovering. The next act has Black Knight running in place on Terrorpin's shell before sending the both ricocheting off the walls to the ground. During this moment Black Knight will be vulnerable to attack and can thus be knocked off Terrorpin, causing him to transition into his dismounted attack pattern until he remounts Terrorpin and the cycle repeats.
Pocket Dungeon[]
When summoned, Terrorpin will appear inside his shell; when bumped into, the shell will begin to spin and bounce all over the screen, dealing damage to anything it touches, including any playable knights. There are four levels of spinning speed that the shell can achieve, which can be reached either with a well timed attack from a playable knight, or due to the blast of any Bomb-type or certain attacks from bosses, with each speed level increasing the damage dealt by Terrorpin. At maximum speed, the spinning shell of Terrorpin can devastate pretty much anything, and cripple enemies with a large HP pools; Terrorpin however has his limits: his uncontrollable spinning is harmful even to the playable character, and will return to the default speed if their summoner perishes, and as Terrorpin also destroys any Potion or turkey he collide to, it is very easy for such occurrence to happen. Furthermore, Terropin cannot harm in any way Keys, Treasure Chests, Sideroom portals, and the Exit door, which may lead to the spinning shell to be stuck in unfavorable positions, not to mention that when the Dungeon begins to closing in, the crushing walls will even defeat the normally invulnerable Terrorpin. His defeat however does register him inside the Guidebook.
Trivia[]
- The name Terrorpin, is a possible reference to a rare turtle in World of Warcraft, named Terrorpene. Terrorpin also has a very similar design to Terrorpene.
- The name itself can be a pun on "Terror" and "Terrapin", which is a type of turtle.
- The way Terrorpin is capable of flying seems to have been heavily inspired by the way the famous turtle-like kaiju Gamera also takes off from ground.
- The idea of an unorthodox knight steed was originally designed for Shovel Knight for Shovel of Hope. The "Pig Hog", a giant warthog equipped with a saddle and armor, was not further developed, although the developers wish to add it to the series later.[1]
- Terrorpin shares the name with a The Legend of Zelda enemy.
- While meant to be an ally of the playable knights, Terrorpin is classified by the Guidebook as a major enemy, probably due his devastating damaging effects.
Gallery[]
