Giant Spiders? Why?
From Lord of the Rings to Harry Potter, and back again, there have been Giant Spiders in our fantasy readings. We all have killed spiders, some of us have killed Giant Spiders. I consider them to be an under-used classic. So… let’s add some spice.
We are going to compile a scroll of add-ons/features for Giant Spiders and other, usually boring, Giant Fantasy Creatures. Some will be bizarre, some mundane, some… within the reason limitations of reality. Others, not so much. But, now, I present you with the first batch of 'mutations' as I will call them.
Examples:
Lethal Injection -
The spider has a stinger that can inject and acid capable of liquefying a human from the inside out. Used on victims encased in silk webbing it makes for a nice treat, like yogurt in a tube. But the tube is silk… and the yogurt.. liquefied human remains.. yum.
Over 400 Babies! -
Many, many, many younglings scampering about. In you hair, ears, eyes, nose, and mouth. They can be stomped… but will they ever stop?
Natural/Unnatural Flight -
Maybe they have wings? Maybe they can fly without wings… Levitation, or…
Thats telekinesis, Kyle! -
Add some Powers of the Mind, possibly a superhuman intellect
Humanify me, Cap’n! -
Add human limbs! Arms, for weapons! Legs, for kicking! or even go beyond and add parts from other creatures. Like a dragon’s tail!
Add/Remove the Normal -
More or less legs, eyes, stomachs?
Take Caution Around Flames -
Maybe it’s got highly flammable webbing? And can breathe fire… maybe not.
Mm.. Thats Good Eatin’ -
It’s entirely possible that Giant Spiders taste delicious! Maybe they have been hunted to near extinction?
Final Notes
Add your own! And when using these, feel free to mix and match. Also: If you have an idea for something other than a Giant Spider put it up anyway!
Sharp webbing that cuts those who run into it instead of trapping them.
Spiders that speak
Webbing that looks like treasure
No one giant spider, but a whole swarm of them with deadly bites
Intelligent spiders with their own kingdom
Taken from my Voracious Slug sub for your enjoyment...
Magical Mutations
1 - Critter's mucus is poisonous, with highly variable contact poison effect.
2 - Critter flickers in and out of invisibility.
3 - Has chameleon ability.
4 - Explodes if slain.
5 - Dissolves into ooze (temporarily) if attacked. Will reform later.
6 - Can spit mucus up to 10' away. Might be poisonous, caustic, nausea-inducing, or extremely sticky.
7 - Has the ability to transform into a swarm of tiny critters if disturbed.
8 - Has electric shock touch. Slime trail will conduct this charge.
9 - Sprouts dragonfly wings and flies.
10 - When threatened, enlarges to 10' in length. Woah!
11 - Randomly shifts form when excited to different small-sized creatures.
12 - Can teleport short distances.
13 - Can engulf objects twice it's size (Familiars watch out!)
14 - Splits into two smaller critters if damaged. New critters retain this ability.
15 - Mucus is acidic. Leaves smoking slime trail.
16 - Bursts into a mass of mucus if slain. Mucus is poisonous, caustic, nausea-inducing, or extremely sticky.
17 - Capable of speech, but dreadfully stupid.
18 - Capable of speech and sounds very intelligent. However it is as stupid as normal critters and its words are polysyllablic word salad.
19 - Critter moves much faster then normal
20 - Roll twice on this table.
Phase Spider have the ability to (In D&D) shift to the ethereal plane to escape from or ambush foes, and (in Everquest) turn invisible and have a percentage chance to send you to a random location when they hit you (thats a little powerful for a tabletop game though).
Aranea from the 3.5 D&D Monster Manual can shapeshift between a human form (usually an old lady), a hybrid form, and a spider form. They can also cast spells as a low level sorceror.
Some Fresh Ideas:
Super Speed -
Nothing like seeing a creepy critter move fast with creepy jerking movements.
Acidic/Poisonous Blood-
The Spider's blood could spray forth when it recives a wound and melt someone's gear, or poison them. Maybe make it a hallucinagen.
Slippery Webs -
Maybe its webbing is very slick and slippery, could be used to grease up a chute if the spider was smart enough.
Immunity to certain types of Damage -
Be it Fire or Cold, or even Bludgeoning or Slashing. Possibly Acid, Sound, or any other Elemental/Physical immunity.
Urticating Hair (Suggested by my good friend Rosemary Bats) -
This is Real! Many tarantula species will frequently kick hairs off their abdomens, directing them toward potential attackers. These hairs can embed themselves in the other animal's skin or eyes, thus inducing physical irritation. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urticating_hair
The bites are not poisonous, but they itch like crazy and are often scratched open bringing a risk of disease.
Bites that acutally heal certain diseases.
Bites that cause short term numbness, making weapons very hard to hold.
Were-spiders-any human bitten by one and not killed becomes a giant spider for a certain time every full moon.
Bites that cause mental disease, that can range from total nuttyness to something far more subtle like Asperger's Syndrome.
Some of my giant spiders have Great apes that are controlled magically and trained to grapple
Or you could go the opposite route, and instead of piling on incongruous details to dilute the formula, you could invest in some serious description to evoke the true horror of a gigantic arachnid- the thin spiny black hairs that coat its spindly legs, the foul ichor dripping from its multiple alien fangs. Make the spiders a truly threatening monster, and make them hard to kill, rather than giving in to the videogame instinct of making them Red Shirts to throw at the heroes to keep the action going.
Spiders that are armoured,so swords just bounce off them and even maces take several hits to seriously hurt them.
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? Responses (6)
I like the idea a lot.
Kinda cool idea. Think the prose on the main sub needs some tweaking..
It needs to grow a bit before it gets useful. The Submission text itself is a little lacking, but still it is a useful idea. :)
Note: I am working on growing Urticating Beard Hair. Will post results if any are achieved.
Whenever I happened to see demons, that grow sharp objects on their bodies to throw against their enemies, I wasn't very impressed.
Seeing this, I am impressed. :)
I like big spiders in games. Why? They are creepy, they give my the willies, and frankly when running at my house, freaks my wife out just talking about them. She hates spiders, even dead ones. Ive got a big spider somewhere Ill link ot add to this. As Moon said, the basic meat and potatoes is lacking but it has plenty of potential to fill out.
