Remorhazes are skittering contradictions—worms the size of
giants, creatures that live in the ice that nevertheless burn with their own
internal fires. This allows them
to live in the most extreme quarters of the polar regions, from windswept
tundras to ever-smoking volcanoes.
Their resilience and enraged strength likely makes them objects of fear
and reverence for most other arctic races. One imagines they would be common totem animals for the
Northern tribesman, especially for their skill at hunting frost worms, and a
frost giant who allies with a remorhaz earns great status. Perhaps their greatest rivalry would be
with white dragons—immune to cold, they can shrug off the whites’ icy breath,
and the heat of their bodies makes them dangerous opponents in close quarters.
Your average adventuring party will likely know none of
this, unless they come from a polar region. But they’ll soon find out that remorhazes are integral to
both the ecology and the culture of the Poles. One thing, at least, is certain: They will soon find there
is no such thing as a neutral opinion regarding the beasts.
Guiding the wooly
mammoth herds from their summer to winter grazing lands is arduous
work. Going beneath the shadow of
the volcanic Fire Peaks saves several days, but risks drawing the attention of
the remorhazes that live on the border between lava and tundra.
Hoarwythivark
Blizzardbite, as she styles herself, is a white dragon who rules over Seal
Neck Bay. Recently remorhazes
devoured a clutch of her newly hatched young. For her revenge she turns to human adventurers, promising
the pick of her hoard. She claims
to be too large to follow the worms into their burrows, but really she is
terrified of the tight confines and the remorhazes’ terrible heat. Of course, the reward is a lie—consumed
with anger and shame at losing her young, she plans to devour the adventurers
even if they succeed.
Chief Aelferd
Worm-Friend no longer keeps company in his great hall nor worships at the
rune-carved alters of his ancestors.
The only visitor he admits into his presence is a black-masked yeti that
the rest of his tribe abhors. But
they dare not move against the ape shaman or their lord, so long as Aelferd’s
pet remorhaz remains loyal.
—Pathfinder Bestiary
233
cool ideas
ReplyDeletealways loved the Rhemorhaz, although they tend to be bad news for PC's