Homebrew Anadi Species Details
Anadi people are reclusive, sapient spiders who hail from the jungles of southern Garund. Though they act in many ways like natural-born shapeshifters, their twin forms actually stem from carefully developed magic.
As a communal and peaceful people, anadi ancestors endeavored to establish trade with the neighbors of their homeland. However, these anadi soon learned that most others found their appearance to be extremely objectionable. Wishing to avoid conflict, ancient anadi retreated into isolation until they could find a solution. The answer came when their greatest scholars innovated a fusion of transmutation and illusion magic that allowed them to assume a humanoid form. The technique was developed, perfected, and eventually taught to the overwhelming majority of anadi.
Early efforts with their new approach to diplomacy have yielded much better results, though sporadic contact means that some outsiders whisper false legends about anadi, such as claims that they are humans who transform into monstrous spiders at moonrise. Even contemporary explorers have reported anadi as human-spider hybrids. The anadi people of the current day strive to slowly but surely create a world where they no longer need to hide their true nature.
Anadi in their true form resemble human-sized spiders with a variety of colorations. Some tones look simple or muted while other remain striking and vibrant, with most patterns inherited from an anadi's parentage.
All anadi possess the ability to transform into a humanoid guise. This form can resemble any humanoid race and ethnicity, but it's usually one that blends in with the region of an anadi's hatching and is decided during their first shape change.
Anadi Traits
The Anadi of Mwangi are our friendly neighbors, but our ingrained phobia necessitates they adapt to integrate.Ability Score Increases
When determining your character’s ability scores, increase one score by 2 and a different one by 1, or increase three scores by 1. None of these increases can raise a score above 20.
Age
Anadi reach physical Maturity after 13 years, going through multiple phases of molting along the way. A typical anadi lives to be about 80 years old.
Size
A typical anadi measure five feet in length from their front legs to their rear when standing comfortably. Your size is medium.
Speed
Your speed is 30ft. Climb equal to your walking speed.
Darkvision
You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light and in darkness as if it were dim light. You discern colors in that darkness only as shades of gray.
Change Shape
You change from your innate spider form to your humanoid shape or vice versa. Each shape has a specific, persistent appearance. In your humanoid shape, you cannot use the natural weapon attack granted by your race or climb as you usually do, but gain the ability to hold and interact with objects as a humanoid generally would and have the size and speed of the adopted race. In your spider shape, you ignore movement restrictions caused by webbing and other difficult terrain caused by an uneven surface, such as low foliage or rubble, and climbing poses no restriction to your movement, but you can't use weapons, shields, or other held items that would require a degree of manipulation, and you are limited in what item interactions you can make. The only item interactions you can take are to cast a spell with somatic components, weave silk or webbing, or simple Interact actions such as opening an unlocked door. Your spider legs can't perform actions that require fingers or significant manual dexterity, including any action that would require a check to accomplish. The DM might determine other manipulate actions are/aren't appropriate for your spider appendages.
Fangs
You were born with a natural means for hunting and self-defense. Your fangs grant you a natural weapon attack that deals 1d6 piercing damage and has the finesse and unarmed traits.
At 5th lvl, you develop and learn to envenom your fangs. If the next fangs attack you make before the end of your turn hits and deals damage, the attack deals an additional 1d6 poison damage. At 9th lvl, the venom injected by your fangs disorients your foes. A creature damaged by your venom must attempt a Con save against your class spell DC (use 8 + prof + wis mod if none), becoming poisoned on a failure. At 12th lvl, this poison damage increases to 2d6. You can do this a number of times per day equal to your proficiency bonus.
Web Walker
You have advantage on checks and saving throws against terrain effects that would restrain you, such as terrain from the web and entangle spell.
Web Weaver
Gain proficiency in weavers tools. Additionally, you can produce a soft silk in your spider form which can be woven into useful items. You can use your webbing to craft simple, non-consumable threaded items, such as clothing and rope, at zero cost as long as their cost is 1 gp or less. These items have no resale value, and they naturally degrade after 24 hours without regular (if minor) maintenance. You can maintain up to 10 such items at a time; if you create a new one, your oldest creation breaks down from neglect. These temporary items usually take 1 day to craft if they require weaving. At 5th level, most crafts take 10m to an hour.
When you reach 3rd lvl, you can cast the web spell once without expending a spell slot. Once you cast the spell in this way, you can't cast it in this way again until you finish a Long Rest. You can also cast it using spell slots you have of the appropriate (2nd) level. If you do not have a spellcasting modifier from your class, this spell uses Wis as its spellcasting modifier.
Languages
You speak common and anadi and can communicate basic ideas with spiders and other arachnids.