Having had such a nice day yesterday, I decided to roll this post out early! And here I am, bringing you spiders for Christmas!
The DCC Annual has plenty of rules for giant insects and arachnids, and the Cyclopedia of Common Animals has one or two examples of normal spiders grown to enormous size. Several DCC adventures also include giant spiders of various sizes and types, so there is already a lot to choose from! As a judge, I love the inclusion of giant spiders of all sorts, so it should not be surprising that they occur in many of my adventures. The piece I wrote for Jungle Tomb of the Mummy Bride is probably the most arachno-centric scenario I have ever written, and certainly contains the most horrific giant spider encounter. Unless one includes The Tainted Scroll of Aranha, anyway.
Despite all of these resources, the big spiders in the original Monster
Manual deserve a more direct conversion. These should be useful as
benchmarks for other enormous arachnids of your own devising, but you should
feel free to diverge wildly from them if you like. I certainly have!
Giant Spider: Init +2; Atk bite +2 melee (2d4 plus venom);
AC 16; HD 4d8+4; MV 30’ or climb 20’; Act 1d20; SP venom (1d3 Stamina plus DC
15 Fort or additional 1d3 Stamina), webs (as spider web spell, spell check
22-25); SV Fort +3; Ref +2; Will +2; AL C.
Giant spiders are intelligent, thoroughly evil, and about as large
as a pony. Those who understand the language of spiders may attempt to converse
with them, but few can avoid being seen by these spiders as smaller ones see
flies. Some 5% of giant spiders can also use the common tongue.
A thief may obtain 1d4+2 doses of venom with a successful Handle
Poison check. If able to converse, a giant spider may well indicate a
willingness to supply this venom while alive, but those who approach a living
giant spider in this way soon learn the foolishness of doing so.
Huge Spider: Init +4; Atk bite +0 melee (1d6 plus venom); AC 14; HD 2d8+2; MV 40’
or climb 20’ or leap 30’; Act 1d20; SP venom (DC 13 Fort or 1d3 Stamina),
camouflage +8; SV Fort +2; Ref +4; Will +0; AL N.
Including spiders similar to wolf spiders, jumping spiders, and
trapdoor spiders, these creatures are the size of a human but no more
intelligent than dogs. Generally attacking by surprise, they do not normally
act cooperatively, but there are arachnid-like humanoids capable of training them
as a huntsman trains hounds.
A thief may obtain 2d3 doses of venom from a slain huge spider with
a successful Handle Poison check.
Large Spider: Init +4; Atk bite -2 melee (venom); AC 12; HD
1d6; MV 20’ or climb 20’; Act 1d20; SP venom (DC 12 Fort or 1d3 Stamina); SV
Fort +0; Ref +4; Will -2; AL N.
Fist-sized spiders with relatively weak venom, these spiders are
sometimes found in numbers (2d10) and are relatively mindless. A thief may
obtain 1d3 doses of venom from a slain large spider with a successful Handle
Poison check 50% of the time.
Phase Spider: Init +3; Atk bite +3 melee (1d6 plus venom);
AC 13; HD 5d8+5; MV 30’ or climb 20’; Act 1d20; SP venom (1d3 Stamina plus DC 18
Fort or additional 1d4 Stamina), webs (as spider web spell, spell check 22-25),
phasing; SV Fort +3; Ref +4; Will +3; AL N.
These spiders are similar to giant spiders, but they are less
cruel and may sometimes be bargained with by those who can speak the language
of spiders. Like giant spiders, 5% can use the common tongue.
They have the special ability of moving out of phase with the
corporeal world, so that otherwise successful attacks against them instead pass
harmless through their out-of-phase bodies. A phase spider gains a Reflex save
against any successful attack roll to phase through the attack. This power has
no effect against magical weapons, and a warrior or dwarf may use their deed to
give the spider a penalty to its save equal to the deed die result (even if
only a 1 or 2).
A thief may obtain 2d4 doses of venom from a phase spider with a
successful Handle Poison check. Attempting to negotiate for venom with a phase
spider is safer than with a giant spider, but all spiders prefer living prey,
so the offering must be great indeed.
Giant Water Spider: Init +2; Atk bite +1 melee (1d4 plus venom);
AC 15; HD 3d8+3; MV 40’ or climb 30’; Act 1d20; SP venom (1d3 Agility plus DC 13
Fort or 1d3 Stamina); SV Fort +3; Ref +2; Will +1; AL N.
These semi-intelligent spiders live in fresh water, and are able
to carry a bubble of air on their abdomens with which to breathe. They can
carry air in this way, and deposit it in underwater lairs designed to receive
it. They are not smart enough to speak, but are smart enough to understand
basic speech and concepts, and if fed living prey they may become neutral, or
even friendly, with their benefactors. Giant water spiders are roughly as big
as a human.
A thief may obtain 1d4 doses of venom from a dead giant water
spider with a successful Handle Poison check. They are not smart enough to
understand that someone may wish venom from a living spider.
Giant Saltwater Spider: Init +0; Atk bite +3 melee (2d4 plus venom);
AC 15; HD 6d8+6; MV 30’ or climb 20’; Act 1d20; SP venom (1d4 Agility plus DC
17 Fort or 1d4 Stamina); SV Fort +5; Ref +0; Will +2; AL N.
Similar to giant water spiders, giant saltwater spiders live
instead live in shallow oceans and seas.
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