Homebrew Arachne Species Details
“The AllMother speaks to us all, up there in her web in the sky. She watches over us, hoping one day to invite us home again. And one day, one day we will. That I can promise you.”
— Queen Geomi of Xeros
Pearlmoon natives now living in the trees and caves of the Deadwoods of Xeros, the Arachne are a spider-like race blessed by the AllMother, Weaver of Galaxies. Being driven from their homeland, however, has left them bitter and seeking revenge.
Woven Bloodline
Arachne were blessed by the AllMother, Weaver of Galaxies, at the beginning of the universe. While most Arachne find partners within their own society, some do find love outside their communities. Their offspring are also blessed by the AllMother, no matter who the other parent may be. Those features, however, may vary from child to child in any case, though children with one non-Arachne parent have a lower chance of having intense Arachne features. Common features among the Arachne are eight limbs, mandibles, and six solid and dark eyes. Skin tones tend to be in the spectrum of purple, varying from lavender to deep amethyst. Hair color traditionally is jet black, but can change if a parent is non-Arachne, making it a darker shade of parent’s hair color in most cases.
Off World Refugees
Once making up a thriving community on the surface of the Pearlmoon, the Arachne now have to make do with their home in the Deadwoods on Xeros. Full of large, dark trees and caves, there’s room to build their homes out of their traditional webbing safely in the earth or in the canopy above. However, it doesn’t quite match their home environment of the Pearlmoon, with its’ iridescent plant life and abundant cave dwelling creatures.
Most don’t spend too much time outside of the Deadwoods as they are un-welcomed refugees of the war. Driven from their home by the Anthropos, they have grown to distrust anyone else living on Xeros and hope to one day take back their homeworld of the Pearlmoon. Though, many groups of Arachne have grown to trust and work alongside the Vrenkyn in parts of the Deadwoods where they share territory.
Arachne Names
Arachne names are as well-crafted as the woven goods they are known to produce. It takes time to know what name an Arachne child will have for the rest of their life and eventually that child will be able to make it their own. Traditionally, there is the name given at birth that then evolves to something more fitting to the child as they grow and eventually something fitting of the adult that they have become. A rite of passage for an Arachne young adult is announcing their name on their coming-of-age day for their community to finally know.
Birth names are usually something short and tend to be something the parents would allude to a blessing for their child.
Youth names either add onto the child’s birth name or start to better fit the child. A child may start to have some input on their name at any point in their youth or simply enjoy the name given to them.
Adult names in the end are chosen by the person who will bear this name for the rest of their life. Their parents may have some say, but it is ultimately their choice what they go by. They may go with something that is similar to the name they’ve used until now or be entirely different. It may also be changed at different points in their life too. Arachne know that people change as they grow and learn so it makes sense to be able to reflect that in every aspect of being.
“PESTS FROM SPACE”
To most, mostly Anthropos cityfolk, Arachne are seen in the same light as a common household pest, something in the way and a problem. This, of course, is due to age old propaganda from the beginning of the war to justify “purifying” the Pearlmoon. With the queen being one of Arachne high nobility though, these thoughts have been kept no louder than a whisper, from fear that angering the Arachne will bring war closer to the cities.
Arachne Traits
Arachne share certain racial traits as a result of their arachnid descent.Ability Score Increase
Your Intelligence score increases by 1, and your Dexterity score increases by 2.
Age
On the Pearlmoon, Arachne mature in about their twenties and live to be almost three centuries. On Xeros, however, their live expectancy has dramatically reduced, seeing some living to only 150 at most.
Size
Arachne are on average about the same size as Anthropos, with some that grow larger in stature with age. Your size is Medium.
Speed
Your base walking and climbing speed are 30 feet.
Darkvision
Thanks to your arachnid heritage, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 120 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of purple.
Languages
You can speak, read, and write Arachne and Tradespeak.
Natural Webbing
You can cast the spell Web a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus plus your Dexterity modifier. Dexterity is your spellcasting ability for this spell. You regain all uses when you finish a long rest.