Spider Climb. The arachnothid can climb difficult surfaces, including upside down on ceilings, without needing to make an ability check.
Web Walker. The arachnothid ignores movement restrictions caused by webbing.
Cilium Web. The ground in a 20-foot radius around the arachnothid is covered in fleshy, web-like cilium that spread from the creature's tentacle legs, making the area difficult terrain for creatures of the arachnothid's choice.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 7 (1d10 + 2) piercing damage, and the target must make a DC 13 Constitution saving throw, taking 18 (4d8) poison damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. If the poison damage reduces the target to 0 hit points, the target is stable but poisoned for 1 hour, even after regaining hit points, and is paralyzed while poisoned in this way.
Tentacles. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5ft., one target. Hit 9 (2d8) psychic damage. If the target is Medium or smaller, it is grappled (escape DC 14). The archnothid can grapple up to 8 creatures at once.
Mind Web (Recharge 5-6). A blast of psionically charged acid webbing erupts from the arachnothid's spinneret. Each creature in a 30-foot cone must make an Intelligence saving throw. A creature takes 5d8 acid damage on a failed save and becomes vulnerable to psychic damage until the start of their next turn. On a successful save they take half as much damage and suffer no additional effects.
Psionic Step. As a bonus action, the arachnothid can teleport to a location within 60 feet.
Description
The arachnothid is the abominable creation of a sect of mind flayers testing the limits of ceremorphosis. This creature is the result of a phase spider being infected by a mind flayer tadpole.
Similar to intellect devourers, these creatures are used as hunters and companions for mind flayers. Due to their psionically expanded consciousness, arachnothids become increasingly intelligent as they age. This has led illithids enact a practice of culling the mature population of arachnothids so they do not become too self-sufficient or intelligent.
Despite these efforts, groups of arachnothids have escaped the clutches of mind flayer colonies and started their own hives. These hives are web-laced structures that combine the organic technology of spider silk and the psionically powered technology of mind flayers to create otherworldly nests that boggle the mind and turn the stomach. While there aren't many arachnothid nests, the few that do exist all seem to do the bidding of some unknown master. Perhaps a spider queen that resides across the planes, or perhaps a fully matured arachnothid that has evolved into a spider-legged Elder Brain.
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