I've been waiting a long time for this baby.The Remorhaz (pictured here), along with the Beholder, the Purple Worm, and a select group of other monsters, are classic and iconic D&D foes.
If I recall correctly, the Remorhaz' first in-game appearance was in the adventure "Rift of the Frost Giant Jarl", published some time around 1978. That adventure featured a battle against Frost Giants, who had been attacking human settlements, along with a suprise appearance by this nasty-looking opponent.
I recently purchased the collected Conan the Barbarian comic books (for my son!, really) and discovered a story about Remora, the ice worm, who Conan defeated. Hmmm, Remora, Remorhaz. Both are found in arctic regions. I wonder where the idea of the Remorhaz may have come from?
I am very pleased that WOTC finally created a mini for this monster. More importantly, I'm glad they got it right. The mini is very 1977 Monster Manual.
Whatever else you may say about WOTC, you can't take away the fact that they did a good job on this, and a few other, D&D minis.
Very cool. One of my favorite critters.
ReplyDeleteThey botched several other monsters, but did a great job (pre-4E) with the fire and frost giants, the purple worm, the ankheg, and the beholders. They just took way too long to get this one to market!
ReplyDeleteHmm...the "Frost Worm" (based on the remorhaz) was actually on my list of monsters to be added to my B/X Companion. After reading your post, I think I may call it an Ice Worm instead.
ReplyDeleteDo you know if the Remora story is from an actual Howard story? Marvel's "Savage Sword of Conan" series were all based on the Conan short stories (by REH and others); this is one I don't remember, and I'd be interested in knowing if it was created by a Marvel writer or taken from an existing story.
According to Wikipedia (and Wikipedia knows all):
ReplyDelete"'The Lair of the Ice Worm' is a fantasy short story by L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter featuring the fictional sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian created by Robert E. Howard. It was first published by Lancer Books in the paperback collection Conan of Cimmeria (1969),[1][2] which was reprinted several times, first by Lancer and later by Ace Books through 1993.[3] It has also been published by Sphere Books in the omnibus paperback collection The Conan Chronicles (1989).[4]"