Homebrew Driderling Species Details

Driderling

 

Heretics of Lolth

One thing is certain about Driderlings and that is they lack the favor of the patron goddess of Dark Elves, Lolth. They walk the earth exiles of their people, or cursed members of surface dark elf communities barely staving off the maddening nature of their condition. Some seek to reverse their dark transformation through the worship of Elistraee, others wish to find a way to attain the true form of a Drider for its raw power. Either way, Driderlings make their way through the world distrusted by most of their kin and outsider alike, struggling to find a place on the surface or in the underdark. Some will find themselves living among drider communities in the depths of the Underdark because of this. Driderlings that choose to live in Drow society are treated like second class citizens, often used as a slave race of servants, bodyguards, and front line fighters.

Archanid-Like Form

Driderlings are almost indistinguishable from their drow counterparts, with features consistent of the race such as white or silver hair, skin of purple, black, and gray, along with ruby red eyes. Many Driderlings are cursed with a physical form dotted with the features belonging to spiders and other archanids. Almost all Driderlings possess a grizzly pair of thick, black retractable spider mandibles which they deal deadly bites with it. It is not uncommon for Driderlings to possess clawed hands, short purple or black fur covering all or parts of their skin, vestigal spider legs growing out of their backs, or multiple spider-like eyes. Their feral like nature and appearance leaves them quite unsettling to many that they meet making them share kinship with other disenfranchised races such as half-orcs, half-gnolls, and tieflings.

Driderling Names

Driderlings often keep the names given to them as Drow, though some may change their name to fit their exile from Drow culture and society. Driderlings that find themselves in Drider colonies tend to adopt names consisting of manidble clicks and screeches, while Drider living among civilized surfaces races such as Elistraee drow tend to retain elvish or common names. Driderlings are typically stripped of their house names, if they ever had any to begin with.

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• Male Names: Bered, Yazkos, Nanor, Tarlyn, Valdor, Nalroos, Callimar, Kyorlin, Driztel, Gulton, Beldaer, Quazen
• Female Names: Vorress, Laezira, Zesune, Talabryna, Umbrae, Rilraena, Laela, Jannitra, Evvolin, Quarra
• Drider Names: Shrrrick, Crrilleck, Crixian, Tchnerll, Maakrokk, Shrix, Shrillenn, Verrvrov, Dazzrellx, Meerk

Driderling Traits

From the remote edges of civilization, these cursed spider like creatures climb and trick their way to notoriety.

Ability Score Increase

Your Constitution score increases by 2, and your Strength or Dexterity score increases by 1.

Age

Driderlings maintain the age they had pre-transformation and have a life span comparable to most dark elves, about 750 years.

Alignment

Driderlings have a tendency towards chaos from their drow roots and are not strongly inclined toward good. Driderlings born of Drow from the Underdark and living among drider or dark elf kind are typically evil.

Size

Driderlings are somewhat taller than Dark Elves, and they range from 6 ft to 6 1/2 ft tall. Your size is Medium.

Spider Climb

You have a base climbing speed of 30 ft and can climb up difficult surfaces, such as upside down on the ceiling, with relative ease.

Superior Darkvision

Thanks to your dark elf heritage, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 120 ft 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 gray.

Sunlight Sensitivity

Driderlings have disadvantage on attack rolls and Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight when you, the target or your attack, or whatever you are trying to perceive are in direct sunlight.

Innate Spellcasting

You know the Poison Spray cantrip. You can cast animal friendship an unlimited number of times per day with this trait, but you can only target spiders with it. Starting at 3rd you can also cast Web with this trait. You cannot use this trait again until you finish a long rest. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells. 

Bite

You are proficient with your unarmed strikes, which deal 1d4 piercing damage on a hit.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common, Elvish, and Undercommon.