D&D: Monster Spotlight– The Remorhaz
In case giant centipedes weren’t terrible enough, the D&D Remorhaz emerges from the ice with heat blasts to swallow your party members whole.
It’s not normally a good thing when an encounter runs hot-and-cold. But when you’re talking about the D&D Remorhaze, things really start to heat up when the environment starts to cool down.
The Remorhaz premiered in Dragon Magazine #2 as part of the issue’s creature-feature. It was originally described as a monster on par with the Silver Dragon.
Armed with fire breath and a massive 75% magic resistance, the Remorhaz is a fiery creature, sure. But surprisingly, it dwells in some of the coldest regions.
First Edition
First Edition Remorhazes are no joke.
When 1st Edition rolled around, the D&D Remorhaz appeared in the very first Monster Manual. It was one of the few monsters with a special critical hit attack. When it rolls a natural 20, it swallows an adventurer whole, killing them instantly.
And disturbingly, the monster manual also lists what happens when the Remorhaz is aroused. It secretes an internal substance that causes it to emanate intense heat. So much so that any creature in contact with its surface takes 10d10 points of damage with no save.
So, you know, bad news bugbears.
Second Edition
In 2E, D&D Remorhazes retain their deadly fire abilities, including the 10d10 damage-touch and the natural-20 swallow-whole-insta-death.
It’s also known for burrowing under the snow, and, like most monsters in Second Edition, its parts can be used to create magical items. This includes a potion made from its secretion that can in turn be used to create heat-related magical items.
Third Edition
In contrast, the Third Edition Remorhazes are much more of a grappler monster. The monsters gained improved grab and swallow-whole abilities, which make it much more deadly.
Being Large or bigger was huge, so to speak, in Third Edition. With the Remorhaz clocking in at Huge, that meant it could pretty reliably pin down any foe unlucky (or stupid) enough to get close to it. They’d be forced to take 8d6 damage each turn they’re in contact with it.
While the Remorhaz could no longer swallow foes whole and instantly kill them, they still deal massive amounts of damage.
Fourth Edition
4E Remorhazes are brutes. The incredible heat coming off of them extends out to a 10 foot radius aura, dealing 10 damage to any creature starting its turn nearby.
Like other editions, swallowing its enemies whole is the signature move of this D&D Remorhaz. It deals 20 points of damager per round, but its other attacks gave it some area effects, like a trample attack and a blazing burst of heat.
Fifth Edition
The most current version of the D&D Remorhaz is associated closely with Frost Giants. They are trainable, like they had been in previous editions. They can sometimes be found as guardians of a powerful jarl or as natural predators in the arctic regions of a world.
Similar to Fourth Edition, their heat is much less intense. It only deals 3d6 damage to a creature touching it. But their swallow whole attack is much deadlier overall, dealing massive amounts of bite damage and digestive damage.
These monsters are fairly straightforward to run. But bear in mind that they can burrow. A popular Remorhaz technique is to emerge from the ground, bite a foe, swallow it, and then retreat underground to digest it.
Remorhazes add a lot of frozen flavor when you’re in the North. They’re a great way to indicate that players are entering ‘dangerous ground’ because you can have them rampage around. You can also escape fairly handily if you don’t want to wipe your party unexpectedly.
Have you encountered a Remorhaz in any of your adventures? How did your party fare against its various attacks? Which cold-region monster would you least like to encounter in a campaign? Let us know in the comments!
Happy Adventuring!
