Sin Spider

Within the Yin-Sloth Jungles, Tark the Spider Goddess once began her first church. As well as the typical followers this church also included some spiders as followers. These spiders were large and semi-intelligent. While they did not possess the intellect of a typical humanoid they were far smarter than any average spider. This, along with some unusual type of loophole, allowed them the ability to count as followers of the Spider Goddess. With the spiders part of the church the power of Tark would grow considerably. Out of jealousy and fear Yin-Sloth sought to destroy the church.

Though Yin-Sloth is known as a dim-witted and stupid god, his intelligence is comparable to most humanoids. Instead of simply crushing the church with his power or through followers of his cult, he turned her churches against each other. He cursed the spiders of the church with madness, and they in turn attacked the humanoid members of the church. Some died, others were driven mad, and those that lived were left believing that the goddess Tark turned her minions against them in punishment for unknown reasons. The church was left crushed and not to begin again, which allowed Yin-Sloth to cackle in glee. For this action Tark intends to one day seek her revenge, gaining worshippers as well as power and wealth, though this time she is doing it in the shadows (literally) away from the prying eyes of the other Southern Gods. One such place is located on Eltara, the Eternal Isle. She has a small but growing group of followers located in the Forest of Shadows, a land of eternal night. Note: More on Eltara and its Forest of Shadows will hopefully follow in future submissions.

To this day the spiders remain in the Yin-Sloth Jungles, lurking about and stalking prey. Their original names forgotten they are simply known as Sin Spiders today. Though they are no longer considered followers of Tark she does still possess the ability to perceive through their senses. This makes them excellent spies allowing her to watch the other gods and their churches through the Sin Spiders. Even though she can still observe through their eyes, she can no longer draw upon their P.P.E. nor does their worship grant her additional power as followers.

Sin Spiders are considered intelligent animals (arachnids) with roughly low level human intellect. In addition to their intellect their main advantages come from their size and strength, large and strong enough to be used by small humanoids as mounts. They are a particular favorite with the True Furies. Though these spiders hunt prey with stealth, speed, and numbers in the jungles, they make their dens in web coated burrows and caves. It is through these burrows and caves they first encountered the True Furies. Exactly how the Gnomes pulled it off is unknown, but since then the True Furies have been known to ride into battle on top of the hairy spiders. The mere sight has sent many opponents running for cover. Note: True Furies are a Lost Faction of Gnomes, and more information on them will hopefully follow in future submissions.

Size: Body: 3 to 4 feet (0.9 to 1.2 m) long, half as wide; plus legs: 3 to 4 feet (0.9 to 1.2 m) long each. It rarely exceeds 2 feet (0.6 m) in height even with legs.

Weight: 40-70 pounds (18 to 31 kg).

A.R.: 7

Hit Points: 4D6+10

S.D.C.: 2D6+20

Horror Factor: 6; if being ridden by someone with a higher horror factor then add +3 to the rider's horror factor.

P.P.E.: 2D4

Attacks Per Melee: Two

Damage: Bite does 2D6 damage plus poison. Victims must make a successful save vs. non-lethal poison (16 or higher).

Venom – 1000 Spiders: Victims who fail their save will see and feel thousands of tiny spiders crawling and biting all over their body. Not only is it distracting (-1 attack per melee, -1 to strike, parry, and dodge, and -10% on skill performance) and often horrifying, but many victims will start to claw at their skin trying to get this spiders off of them. Such victims must be physically restrained to prevent them from doing serious damage to themselves. The venom will remain in the system for 1D4 days, but will only cause hallucinations for 1D4 minutes. Even after the hallucinations end there is the chance that they will randomly start up again at anytime until the venom fully leaves the system.

Increases in adrenaline and highly stressful situations are the most likely to trigger more hallucinations (roll to save again in each situation). Multiple bites will not magnify the effects, but may cause the venom to remain in the system longer. There is also a small chance (2%) that victims will go insane from the experience developing arachnophobia or worse. This should be viewed as a role-playing experience to help provide mood and added tension, not to hinder and handicap players needlessly. For a player character to be affected by the insanity he must first fail the defense, fail the save vs. non-lethal poison, and if the G.M. feels compelled also fail the percentile roll.

Bonuses: +1 on initiative, +2 to strike, +2 to parry, +3 to dodge. Like both Tark and Yin-Sloth, Sin Spiders are impervious to horror factor (possibly a result of their former status as followers of Tark or the madness caused by Yin-Sloth).

Natural Abilities: Track by smell 40%, Prowl 60%, Nightvision 60 feet (18.3 m), Climb 90%/80% (-20% if mounted).

Speed: 16 (11 mph/18 km), with bursts of speed 22 (15 mph/24 km) for 1D4 minutes.

Average Life Span: 6 years.

Value: 50-100 gold for live specimens for alchemists and watch spiders (their presence will scare off many, and their aggressiveness will cause them to attack any others). They do not train well, except by the True Furies, and are just as likely to turn on their owner as a stranger making them dangerous to keep around.

Habitat: Caves (their dens) and the jungle.

Range: Native to the Yin-Sloth Jungles and only found outside this range when brought by outside forces.

Behavior: Sin Spiders tend to live and hunt in packs. In their past this made them a very social arachnid, but since the madness set upon them by Yin-Sloth they are vicious predators who attack anything not part of their pack. This includes other Sin Spiders, unless for the purposes of mating. Originally they never attacked humanoids unless provoked, but now any target is equally subject to attack. They do not distinguish between animal, humanoid, or even gods. Every opponent is attacked with equal zealousness. Only those tamed by the True Furies are capable of showing any restraint. This is possibly due to a pack mentality and viewing the Fury as the leader of the pack.