Ambush Bug

Matt Nelson entered the Monster Art +13 contest for 13 True Ways with the following proposal:

The older fantasy art that stands out to me depicts the moment right before a losing battle.  It doesn’t show what happens in the fight – the threat of doom can be more captivating than the violence itself.  Instead, it focuses on that moment when the heroes realize they’re outclassed – seeing the dragon’s eye looking in through the window or dozens of undead crawling out of the ground around them.

I suggest a piece depicting a party trekking through the Frost Range.  A gigantic Remorhaz bursts out of the snowy ground behind them, and the fur-clad heroes turn to face the monster, drawing their weapons and realizing that their luck has run out.  

Want something smaller? Lose the snow and make it an Ankheg. (Any monster with a silent "h" works."

The remorhraz is getting loving attention in the 13th Age Bestiary and I didn't want to double-cover it in 13 True Ways. The ankheg waved a pincer signifying "I would love to ambush some halflings and gnomes."

Hence this great thumbnail from Aaron McConnell. Maybe it's called "I'm Your Silent H."

I feel a little awful about this illustration. Not because of the panic on the faces of the fleeing halflings. No. I feel something awful because the brave halfling woman standing her ground is NOT a Shaman. Another title of this rough sketch could be "This is not a chaos shaman." Doesn't matter what Aaron wrote up on top of the illustration. This woman is a druid.

We'll show you the chaos guys quasi-soonish.