Homebrew Arachnoid Species Details

Hidden in deep caverns far below the mountain ranges, the Arachnoids, sometimes called spider people, or occasionally 'OH GODS WHAT IS THAT?!?', evoke fear and wonder.

They are immigrants, refugees, scouts, and builders, their mass nests functioning as footholds in a world both strange and alien.

Fuzz and Fang

From a distance within the dark caverns they call home, Arachnoids look much like large spiders. Only when they step into the light does their humanoid top half reveal itself, with their torsos looking like a human one but covered in thick fuzz of colors ranging from dull greys to vibrant brown, and their faces still holding the mandibles of a spider, yet with none of the venom. Standing upright, Arachnoids might reach 7 feet tall, and they have eight long, narrow legs that taper to fuzzy two toed 'feet', covered in sensory hairs.

A heavy dusting of fuzz cover their bodies. Their pelts typically denote relations between families, as each color and pattern is unique to each family. Their heads and lower bodies complete the Arachnid appearance, looking almost exactly like that of a spider, with large chelicerae on either side of its mouth and several sets of eyes placed around the edges of their face, as well as their body being that of a spider with the humanoid half starting where the head would be.

Deep Hunters

Nowhere are the Arachnoids more comfortable than in the damp and dark. They can spend hours in their webs, and some go as long as days spinning the intricate structures, making careful use of the thread their bodies naturally produce to line rock walls or create sticky at times almost invisible traps. In battle, they prove erratic and focused ambushers, moving with remarkable speed and grace, keeping just out of reach of an attacker only for said attacker to find their foot stuck in a patch of hidden webbing and being swarmed by the plucky Arachnoids.

Once within their nests, an Arachnoid leaves the warmth of their made home with reluctance. In their caves, they can spin webbing for days or months, stopping only to lay their eggs and feed on those that had gotten trapped in their webs before returning to their duties. Those that make it to the surface world find it a strange and frightening place. They sometimes forget or ignore vertical distances, and they have nothing but pity for those earthbound people forced to live and toil on the ground.

Arachnid Mannerisms

The resemblance of Arachnoids to spiders isn’t limited to physical features. Arachnoids display many of the same mannerisms as ordinary arachnid. They are fastidious about their fuzz, frequently tending their pelts, cleaning and scratching away any tiny passengers or grime they might have picked up.

Many Arachnoids punctuate their speech with chitters and creaks, sounds they use to convey emphasis and to shade meaning, much as a human might through facial expressions and gestures. An Arachnoid might become frustrated with people who fail to pick up on the nuances; an Arachnoid’s threat might be taken as a jest and vice versa.

The idea of ownership baffles most Arachnoids. After all, why limit what one could have when they all live in the same colony? Even when explained to them, they initially find the notion of ownership mystifying. As a result, Arachnoids who have little interaction with other people might be a nuisance as they emerge from nests built between buildings to web up livestock or plunder harvests for fruits and grains.

Open area terrifies the Arachnoids. To be without walls or ceiling, on large amounts of flat ground, or on top of tall structures, the open air is an existential fear few Arachnoids can withstand. Even when sat on a web of their creation or at rest in their intricate homes, they appear alert, with eyes moving and bodies ready to take pounce.

Homelands

Most Arachnoids live deep under the ground, within caves and caverns. Arachnoids can be drawn up to the surface world, sometimes to pursue enemies or by simple accident while exploring. Extreme danger might also send a nest of Arachnoids charging out into the surface world, hundreds of them spilling out at once. A few find their way to such a world through the deepest of mines and establish nests from the bottom up, making their presence a common annoyance for dwarves and the residence of the Underdark.

Once tribes of Arachnoids settle in an area, they share a hunting territory that extends across an area up to 100 miles on a side, with each tribe hunting in the lands nearest to their colony, ranging farther should game become scarce.

A typical colony consists of one large, fully enclosed nest made of woven webbing. The eldest acts as leader with the support of a group of shamans.

Group Purpose

Arachnoids enjoy peace and community. Most of them have little interest in dealing with other peoples and less interest in spending time out in the open. For this reason, it takes an exceptional circumstance for an Arachnoid to leave his or her tribe and undertake the adventurer’s life. Neither treasure nor glory is enough to lure them from their tribes; a dire threat to their people, a mission of vengeance, or a catastrophe typically lies at the heart of the Arachnoid adventurer’s chosen path.

Arachnoid Names

As with much of their speech, Arachnoid names include clicks, creaks, and chitters to the point that other peoples have a difficult time pronouncing them. Typically, a name has three to six syllables with the sounds acting as connectors. When interacting with other races, Arachnoids may use nicknames gained from people they meet or shortened forms of their full names.

An Arachnoid of either gender may have one of these short names: Aztikura, Akchial, Aiiuur(pronounced like a squeaky door), Deric, Errriok, Heehk, Ikiki, Kleeck, Oorr, Ouss, Quaf, Quierk, Salleek, Urreek, or Tzeed.

Arachnoid Traits

As an Arachnoid, you have certain traits in common with your people. Being able to climb walls with as much ease as the floor starting at 1st level is exceptionally effective in certain circumstances and irrelevant dangerous in others. it's best to consult your DM before using Arachnoids in your game.

Darkvision

your Arachnid eyes, evolved to be able to hunt and navigate in the pitch-black environments of the deep caverns, allow you to Darkvision for 120 feet in dim light, and 15 feet even in completely lightless environments, at the cost of all Arachnids being entirely colorblind.

spinneret

within your spider half's abdomen is an organ which produces the threads from which you make your home, as well as your web traps. each of these webs are permanent, only being removed when burned or otherwise destroyed.

Ability Score Increase

Your Dexterity score increases by 2, and your Wisdom score increases by 1.

Age

Arachnoids reach maturity by about age 9. Compared to humans, Arachnoids don’t usually live longer than 30 years, though are able to live up to 80 years.

Alignment

Most Arachnoids are neutral and rarely choose sides when it comes to law and chaos. Leaders and warriors might be lawful, while explorers and adventurers might tend toward chaotic.

Size

Arachnoid are about 7 feet tall. They have thin, lightweight bodies that weigh between 95 and 130 pounds. Your size is large.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 25 feet, with your spider legs allowing you to use your walk speed on walls too.

Spindly legs

You can use your walk speed, after modifiers, as your climb speed. To use this speed, you can’t be wearing medium or heavy armor.

Fangs

Your Fangs are natural weapons, which you can use to make unarmed strikes. If you hit with them, you deal piercing damage equal to 1d4 + your Strength modifier, instead of the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common, Undercommon, and a rare language of choice.