DCC Bestiary - Wraith Spider

The old D&D wraith spider sounds creepy – the name makes them sound creepy and dark.  In the 2E Monstrous Manual the description states they are “vaguely formed dark spider shapes whose eight legs trail off into dark mist”.  But when you get down to it, they are still bitey monsters with a poison attack.

Let’s DCC them up a little.

In my game, I’ve decided that wraith spiders are from the frigid afterworld of Absalom, where dead spirits dwell.  They can walk between worlds.  So in that way, they’re like phase spiders as well.  But they are unwholesome and undead-adjacent.  They crave the warmth of the living – they extract the lifeblood of mortals. 

What happens when they suck out the lifeforce of a victim?  Well let’s make them drain blood, represented by Strength attributes.  That’ll feel a little bit like undead.  But when a ghost-like creature sucks blood, don’t they become more material?  So let’s have them gain hit points from the drain attack, but lose AC value as they fill with mortal blood.

So this makes them a little like real world hunter spiders – instead of leaping out from a hidden lair, they leap from the ghost realm, and can retreat when needed.  And should they consume all the lifeforce of a victim, they can take their corpse with them – very disturbing to their former companions.  There’s no webs or poison, but they still feel skittery and scary.

Any suggestions or thoughts?  Drop me a note – archadethered@gmail.com. 

 

Wraith Spider

     A shadowy creature that flickers in and out of existence.  A hunched creature with multiple legs, indistinct in form, surrounded by chill air.  Given a moment, they will leap upon a living creature, extracting their blood and warmth, which can be seen pulsing red beneath their smokelike skin.  The only way a wraith spider can be detected before it pounces, is a sense that shadows lengthen and the temperature drops.

     Wraith Spider: Init +4, Atk bite +4 melee (1d6+1); AC 18; HD 4d8+8 (26 hp); MV 40’, Climb 40’; Act 1d20; SP blood drain, ethereal forms, otherworldly traits, resistant to mundane weapons, strike from shadows; SV Fort +2, Ref +4, Will +1; AL N.
     Wraith spiders can observe their prey from the ethereal realm, and materialize when the moment is right.  To be aware of a wraith spider attack before they leap on their opponents with surprise, a DC 20 Luck check is necessary.
     A successful bite of the wraith spider allows it to latch on, and drain blood, causing 1 temporary point of STR damage.  Subsequent rounds hits are automatic.  For each point of STR drained, the wraith spider gains 5 hp, and for every 3 points of STR drained, the spider becomes more corporeal, losing 1 point of AC, down to a minimum of AC 12.  Should a target be drained of all STR, it fades from existence, and may return in 1d4 hours as a Shadow.  To fight off a latched wraith spider’s bite, a DC 15 STR check or 5 points of damage will break their hold.
     Non-silver or non-magical weapons do only half damage.
     Wraith spiders crawl on the webways of the ethereal plane, and can fade from the material realm, passing through walls and solid objects, at half their speed.  They can fully retreat to the ethereal plane, and travel to other worlds.
     While not un-dead, they are otherworldly and share some un-dead traits – they can be turned as un-dead, are immune to sleep and paralysis spells, as well as cold damage.