Monster of the Month - Spiders

Kayla Bayens

Feb 4, 2019 • 6 min read

That's right those creepy crawly bitey little buggers with all the legs and all the eyes. I hate them IRL, and will terminate any that cross over the agreed upon barrier into my home. Its a feeling alot of folks the world over share and that is easily exploited for your tabletop game. Which I suggest doing. Its amazing. So here we go - using spiders to torture your players in the best and most memorable ways.

First we have to establish a few things, the biggest of which are the types of spiders found in the game that can be used. Most people assume we mean either the tiny version or the giant version. There is however so~ many spiders that are all canon in 5e so don't be afraid to mix and match them up to create more diverse encounters. For this blog we will just be talking about spiders not Drieders or spider demons, though I think those are also great things to add to the mix to spice it up. Below is just a quick list of those that can be found in the books. These are create starting points for an easy mix up to the normal spider.

Spider Swarm
Spider
Giant Spider
Giant Wolf Spider
Phase Spider

Another thing we need to discuss is how 5e handles size. The size category breaks down into tiny, small, medium, large, huge/colossal. You can use making a monster larger or smaller to your advantage. This can already be seen a bit in the list above where we see them upgrade the standard spider monster build to a giant spider. This is another quick and simple way to quickly change up a potential encounter and its difficulty. In 3.5 this was called monster advancement, in 5e it doesn't really exist as of yet. My fast and dirty rule of thumb is up the attack dice and up the hit dice.

(If you'd like me to do a post about handling monster advancement and upgrading in 5e, just give a shot out in the comments!)

Mixing and matching the things above gives us a lot more diverse spiders to throw at our party. But you don't have to go head on either, think like a spider. Wait in hiding, trap and bite. Lure the players into situations that dampen their skills or hinder their attacks. Don't be afraid to make your spiders sneaky. Using how a spider behaves while changing sizes and types from the books is an easy way to spice things up. But we can do better.

We also need to remember that we aren't limited to the generic spider, just like its shown we can go outside of the default generic spider with the addition of the giant wolf spider. There are so many spiders IRL that we can take inspiration from. So many different tweaks we can add to make the monster fresh again. This also includes how they are made (ie babies), what their eggs look like, and where they (and their eggs) like to hang out.

Which leads me to my final point - DON'T BE AFRAID OF THE HOMEBREW. Yeah I know homebrew anything can be kind of intimidating and scary at first. But it doesn't have to be big to make a difference in your game. Small tweaks or surprises can suddenly set your players back on their heels and bring a certain amount of awe back into your world. I'll show you a few examples of what you can do to your typical spider build in the encounters.

Now the fun part - the encounter. Well I guess encounters is more accurate. We will be going through a few mini encounters that can be dropped in anywhere in order to show just how crazy diverse a spider attack can be. These may include a flavor of traps laid out for prey, so if you haven't read it already I'd suggest checking out the post I did on traps called 'DEX Saves, It's Trap Time'. With that bit of self promo out of the way please enjoy these creepy crawlies. To start here is a short list of some pretty cool, pretty deadly, and pretty weird spiders that we will be taking inspiration from:

(Keep an eye out for an update with links to the hombrewed stats of all creepy crawlies discussed!)

Encounter 1 - Ghostly Visages

Spiders used - False Widow Spider and Ogre-Faced Spider

In the haunted forests nestled in the mountains few dare to traverse the path through as many never are seen again. Those that do make it through claim to see haunting specters of lost loved ones, ghosts of defeated enemies and glowing floating skulls.

Team work makes the dream work - two spiders work together to lure prey into the trap to feed upon.

The Lure (false widow spider) - Denoted by all black except for the pure white skull on its abdomen that seems to slightly glow. This spider is considered a small creature and moves through the tree tops to hang down over the path in front of travelers. This spider probes the minds of the travelers it is tracking through the forest before casting an illusion of a loved one. They use this to lure travelers away from the group and off of the path.

The Trapper (ogre-faced spider) - Its legs are extremely long while the rest of its body is long and skinny to resemble a branch. This spider is considered a medium creature. It perches on the side of a tree off of the path cloaked in shadow and whats. Between its longer front legs it holds a netting made of its spider silk. When a traveler wonders past following its hunting partner they leap at them to fling the net over them, attempting to bite as well. The more the captured thing struggles in the net the more it becomes restrained.

Encounter 2 - False Jewels

Spiders used - Gooty Sapphire Ornamental Tree Spider and Bagheera Kiplingi Spider

Beware the treasures you find in your journeys. Several species of spiders have developed the ability to blend in and look like the jewels in a pile of loot. Often they will burrow into the coin piles and nest, using the protection of whatever creatures guard the treasure to ensure the safety of their young. Some species can be trained to protect the piles they use as a home as well as to seek out specific piles. In this way they are sometimes used by assassin guilds targeting wealthy marks as they can fit themselves through most locks.

Encounter 3 - Emotions Are Deadly

Spiders used - Mirror Spider and Happy Face Spider

Some less savory guilds use creatures and their venom to control the emotions of others. The venom of the Emolath female can induce feelings of euphoria, glee and even love. Venom of the Emolath make can induce feelings of melencoly, depression, grief, hopelessness and overwhelming sadness. Emolath effects are dependent on the dosage of the venom received. She is easily distinguishable from the male as she is bright yellow with a red design resembling a smiling face on her abdomen, while the male is bright blue with a black design resembling a frowning face on his. Those wishing to manipulate someone often pair the Emolath with Mirror Spider. This creature can take the target and create a twisted version of them, doing so through a bite. This twisted version can be used to taunt the target, influence the target, etc. It is treated as a phantasmal force when it comes to any damage only if the target fails the save against its venom.

Encounter 4 - Unsafe Waters

Spiders used - Argyroneta Aquatica Spider

As the players rush to escape the horde of orcs hunting them the come across a wide river, it doesn't seem to be moving too fast to traverse. Should they choose to dive in the orcs will reach the edge of the river and stop. If they players roll a high perception they will see a younger orc will make as if to get in the river and the others around it will stop him, they seem frightened. From below in the water things will start trying to pull the players under and wrap them into webbing making them unable to swim. They'll drag the bundles to the river bed and try and shove them under a large stone to keep them from floating to the top. The creature is a spider that looks like silky dark velvet as it flattens and expands to glide through the water resembling an octopus or a jelly fish in its movement.

Encounter 5 - Tower Defenders

Spiders used - Australian Bird Eater Spider and Ravine Trapdoor Spider

When towers and castles are left alone, as the dust gathers so do new tenants. Spiders that look like door handles, tokens in walls, and trap doors. Striking unwitting adventurers as they explore hoping for loot. Others that are large enough to eat the birds left in the aviary to fend for themselves. Pouncing on any new prey as they venture through the halls, aggressively defending their new home.

I hope these encounters and new ways to use the good old spider in your game help inspire you to go crazy with it! As promised on Twitter I'll also be linking the stats of all mentioned homebrew spiders once I'm done with them. So keep any eye out for that. If there are any other creatures you'd like me to go after and breath new life into just let me know in the comments down below or on Twitter via @JustThinkingKay.

With that little rambling over with, I’m JustKay your regular DM Dalliance on the web and I’ll see you next post.

UPDATE: You can find 'Dalliance's Monster Compendium - Spiders' on DMs Guild now!