Eye Spider
Araneaoculus
Image Credit:
Also Known As
Demon Spider, Magic Spider, Mage Spider
Description
Though they resemble the common Funnel Web Spider, these arachnids are noted not only for their immense size, but also for their magical ability.
Male Eye Spiders weigh about the same as a human but stand only about waist height. Their eight normal eyes are grouped around a very large central one which is used by the spider to cast the single spell it knows. These spiders typically live for around ten years.
The bear sized female Eye Spiders have between two and six special large eyes as well as their normal ones. Their lifespan is unknown but seems to be well above a century.
Ecology
Eye Spiders are aggressive predators that hunt and medium to large creatures coming within reach. They are famed for ambushing creatures using game trails or roads, but sometimes will actively hunt away from their webs. Males are far more common than the dominant females and when food is scarce are sometimes eaten by the females. Though not usually sentient, Eye Spiders (especially the females) are very cunning and will work in semi-coordinated groups similar to wolves or other pack predators.
Small colonies of Eye Spiders typically consist of a female or two and around a dozen males, and will infest a patch of forest, ruins or a cave. Some dread areas however, are totally dominated by them and contain hundreds of females and many thousands of males. Such large colonies may even send out hunting parties of around a dozen males and one co-ordinating female to bring prey back from surrounding lands.
Some female Eye Spiders are touched by Chaos and this can result in fully sentient individuals. These powerful spiders are capable of conducting a great ceremony (involving the consumption of animals, eye spiders and people) to summon the Greater Demon GaRalken (The Demon Spider).
Statistics (Male)
CharacteristicsAverageAttributes
STR2D6+1219Move: 2/4 in web
CON3D610-11HP:12
SIZ2D6+613Fat:30
INT55MP:10
POW2D6+310Dex SR:2
DEX2D6+916Dodge:0
LocationMeleeMissilePoints
r 4th leg01014/2(.16)
l 4th leg02024/2(.16)
r 3rd leg03034/2(.16)
l 3rd leg04044/2(.16)
Abdomen05-0805-114/5(.40)
r 2nd leg09-10124/2(.16)
l 2nd leg11-12134/2(.16)
r 1st leg13-14144/2(.16)
l 1st leg15-16154/2(.16)
cephalothorax17-2016-204/5(.40)
WeaponSRA%Damage
Bite750+111D6+1D4+Venom
Webbing750+11Entangles
Notes:
An Eye Spider rears up, lifting its cephalothorax to an almost vertical position, then slams it forward and down, aiming to strike its prey with its huge fangs.
The venom has a POT equal to the spider’s CON. If an attack which penetrates armour also overcomes the target’s CON on the resistance table then the target becomes paralysed. At the end of that round the bitten location becomes paralysed.
At the end of each subsequent round an adjacent location (make a die roll if required) becomes paralysed until the whole body is paralysed. A paralysed victim can breathe, see, hear and feel pain, but not move or talk.
The spider does not remain attached during this process. The victim remains paralysed for 1 day per point of POW of the spider.
Eye Spiders use their web in two ways:
Several spiders may work together to block off a trail or tunnel, and once prey gets close to the web another web wall is quickly constructed behind the prey to lock it in. Spiders then drop down into the enclosed area to attack the prey. This technique is used by both male and female spiders and as the web walls are very thick they cannot be pushed through by creatures of normal strength. Instead the web wall must be attacked.
Each section of such a web wall has hit points equal to the spider’s POW. Any weapon hitting the web tears at it, doing normal damage. However, the web sticks to the weapon (except for flaming weapons) and the wielder needs to overcome the strength of the web (spider’s POW) with his STR. Once the web’s hit points have been reduced to 0 then a hole large enough for a normal person has been created in it.
Spider webs shrivel when exposed to fire, but do not burn. A flaming weapon or burning torch can be used to easily cut through a web, creating a suitable hole in just one round.
Prey that has been incapacitated, either due to injury or the paralytic venom will be wrapped in a web cocoon. If the prey regains movement, it may make one attempt to snap the confining webs (Prey’s STR vs Spider’s POW).
Skills
Agility(+8)Climb 100+8
Stealth(+3)Hide 50+3, Sneak 75+3
Armour
4 point chitin
Magic
The special large eye allows the spider to cast a spell. Each male spider knows only one spell. Roll from the table in the magic section for female Eye Spiders
Statistics (Female)
CharacteristicsAverageAttributes
STR4D6+1832Move:2/4 in web
CON3D6+616-17HP:22
SIZ4D6+1226Fat:49
INT77MP:16-17
POW3D6+616-17Dex SR:2
DEX2D6+916Dodge:0
LocationMeleeMissilePoints
r 4th leg01016/4(.16)
l 4th leg02026/4(.16)
r 3rd leg03036/4(.16)
l 3rd leg04046/4(.16)
Abdomen05-0805-116/10(.40)
r 2nd leg09-10126/4(.16)
l 2nd leg11-12136/4(.16)
r 1st leg13-14146/4(.16)
l 1st leg15-16156/4(.16)
cephalothorax17-2016-206/10(.40)
WeaponSRA%Damage
Bite560+161D6+3D6+ Venom
Webbing560+16Entangles
Notes:
An Eye Spider rears up, lifting its cephalothorax to an almost vertical position, then slams it forward and down, aiming to strike its prey with its huge fangs.
On a successful attack which penetrates armour, the spider stays attached and begins to pump venom into the body of the prey. That round the spider attempts to overcome the prey’s CON on the resistance table using venom Potency 1. If the attempt fails then next round it tries again with a Potency of 2.
This process continues (with the Potency increasing by one each round) until the prey’s CON is overcome, the spider becomes unattached somehow or the prey successfully resists the spider’s full potency. If the full potency is resisted, then the prey is immune to the venom from female eye spiders with equal or less potency (this immunity lasts for prey’s POW in days).
If the spider somehow becomes unattached, then the process halts. If that or another spider then bites the prey, the process starts from where it left off. If the prey is not bitten again, then the venom dissipates at a rate of one point per day and no more resistance rolls are required.
If the venom overcomes the prey’s CON at any point then the prey dies in agony next round, and over the following hour its insides are dissolved into liquid mush. A spider can bite into the corpse and suck up the mush, leaving a withered husk.
Female Eye Spiders use their webs in a similar way to male ones, but are less likely to wrap prey in a web cocoon.
Skills
Agility(+6)Climb 100+6
Stealth(-17)Hide 50-17, Sneak 75-17
Armour
6 point chitin
Magic
Each of the large special eyes of an Eye Spider allows it to cast one spell. Male spiders only have one such eye, while female ones have 2D3 such eyes. To determine the spell for each eye, roll on the following table:
- Befuddle
- Countermagic
- Demoralize
- Dispel Magic
- Disruption
- Dullblade
- Extinguish
- Fanaticism
- Heal
- Ironhand (Ironfang)
- Protection
- Shimmer
A spider can cast a variable point spell at (POW/4) rounded up.
Chaos Features
Females have a (POW X 3)% chance of possessing a Chaos Feature. When rolling for the feature, a roll of 96-00 results in the spider gaining an intelligence of 2D6+6.