Giant Spiders
Giant Spiders are eight-legged murder machines that use magic or poison to incapacitate their victims before sucking the life-juices out of their quivering, still-living bodies. Unlike their smaller relatives, giant spiders tend to hunt in large packs that are controlled and coordinated by outsized, resourceful matriarchs.
Ecology and behavior[]
Giant spider colonies spread out in concentric circles from the matriarch's lair, which remains the heart and nerve center of their community. If anything opposes their outward expansion, the entire colony is mobilized against it.
Many well-established giant spider colonies have formed symbiotic relationships with a humanoid race called the sarlid, who live among them and fight alongside them whenever something threatens their shared territory.
Habitat[]
Giant Spiders are found in all but the coldest or most densely inhabited regions of Agon. Forests and caves are among their preferred habitats.
Variations[]
Bone Spiders are the undead remains of other giant spiders. Their brittle bones break easily, and individually they are quite harmless. Their creators tend to compensate by creating great numbers of Bone Spiders, sending hordes of them toward their enemies.
The bodies of Ghost Spiders are green and partially translucent. They shoot strands of web that inflict damage and impede movement. In melee combat they bite with fangs that, in addition to inflicting damage, inject a poison which reduces the opponent's combat abilities.
Larger than the Ghost Spider and red instead of green, Doom Spiders are equally as translucent, and much more dangerous. Instead of shooting web, they cast a limited number of spells, usually of the kind that reduce the fighting capabilities of their prey. Then they move in and attack with their damage-inflicting and energy-draining fangs.
Hairy Spiders are the same size and general shape as Giant Spiders, but their bodies are covered by bristly white hair. In addition to causing physical damage, the poison on Hairy Spider fangs causes victims to move slowly for a short period of time.