Spyder Fiend

Spyder fiends are a tanar'ri subrace sworn to a primordial queen of chaos; sages think the first were born of her union with Skarrow the Wolf-Spider, her consort and general. Each has a spider's body, from pony-sized to heavy-warhorse-sized, with a wolf's head and neck jutting from the front. Paired spider fangs flank the canines among yellow, doglike teeth, and eight padded, clawed legs let it scale sheer walls. The neck fur is matted and filthy, gray under the grime with paler patches at eyes and muzzle; the body is usually bristly dark or sandy brown, marked with spots, stripes or bands. The dimmer kinds rage like mad wolves, and every one is vicious and sly.

Their main weapon is a venomous bite. After an onset of 1d4 rounds, a victim who fails a save vs. poison drops into a stupor, unable to move, act or think, and rolls Constitution every 2d4 hours to shake it. Even a successful save costs -2 Dexterity for 2d4 rounds; more bites lengthen but do not deepen the penalty, and slow poison before onset prevents it. Stronger types carry worse venom.

Spinnerets produce silk, though not webs. A fiend hangs from strands to drop on prey, strings lines through an area to move in three dimensions, and flings lines as far as 30 yards to bridge gaps. The strands are not sticky but are invisible until touched (a suspicious foe may save to notice one, as for invisibility). With any anchor within 30 yards it takes no falling damage. It can wrap a paralyzed victim in three rounds; on waking he gets one bend bars roll, at -10% for each extra round spent wrapping, to a maximum penalty of half his chance. Silk can be used while fighting physically, in any direction, but not while using spell-like powers.

They favor ambush, dropping from above or rushing flanks and rear, and impose -5 on surprise when striking from concealment or invisibility. Shapechanged fiends keep their spell-like powers and may keep bite and silk, though fangs and spinnerets might then be noticed; hiding them means giving them up, and a borrowed form without a bite inflicts only 1 point. All have darkness 15' radius, infravision (range by type) and teleport without error, can gate kin, and have special defenses: some attacks deal half damage even on a failed save (a quarter on a success), some harm them even if they are otherwise hurt only by magic weapons (lycosidiliths and raklupises take half from one of these), and certain damage is negated by a successful magic resistance roll.

Most dwell on a steaming salt-marsh layer of the Abyss, a vast bog and storm-tossed sea dotted with rocky, jungle-clad islets, reeking of rot and swarming with biting insects and vermin. Their queen rules it and sends them on errands across the planes, while dull ones blunder through gates and simply start hunting and clever ones roam on their own business.

They eat any living prey, always alive and always self-caught; the greater kinds also feed on life force and fear. At home they fear only roving mercenary fiends and balors, and the weaker types are prey for the stronger.

Kakkuu (kah-KOO) are the weakest: bloated, mangy, about 300 pounds, snarling and howling among themselves and steered by telepathic tanar'ri. They have 60-foot infravision, standard powers at 4th level, and can gate 1d8 kakkuu once a day (35%). They lurk like giant spiders, 80% undetectable in cover until they move. From above, a kakkuu swings a fist-sized sticky glob on a strand along a 5- to 25-foot line; the first creature in its path to fail a save vs. breath weapon is stuck and reeled in at 15. A strand holds 1,000 pounds but the kakkuu can lift only 500, and an edged weapon can sever it (AC 0, 5 hp), or fire can destroy it in a round. The glob cannot be thrown. Kakkuu attack anything not bigger than themselves, avoid stronger fiends, and hunt in packs only under command.

Spithriku are larger kakkuu (350 pounds), touchy about it, with vibration-sensing pedipalps, telepathy and 90-foot infravision. At 7th level they can gate thrice daily (40%: 1d4 spithriku or 2d8 kakkuu), cast telekinesis thrice daily, and cause fear by touch at will. Every three rounds they spray an entangle cone 30 feet long, 10 feet wide at the base and 20 at the end, which lasts a week unless burned (1d8 fire damage to those inside), and they can shoot a fine line 30 yards that carries their fear touch. Webs cannot hold them, they sense invisible beings within 30 feet despite any nondetection, and darkness never hinders them. A typical attack: darkness, teleport to surround, then half fight while half use fear and entangle, renewing darkness as needed. They fawn on stronger fiends while ready to betray them, lead kakkuu packs and serve as the queen's chief messengers.

Phisarazu (450 pounds) have wiry black-tinted coats, knobby ridges down the back, and two pale clawed arms that wield tools. They speak almost any tongue, pant and growl, and are telepathic. Their bite has onset 1d3 rounds, Constitution checks every 2d6 hours, and -3 Dexterity for 2d6 rounds on a save. With 90-foot infravision and 9th-level powers, they can gate thrice daily (50%: 1d4 phisarazu, 1d8 spithriku or 2d10 kakkuu), use alter self, invisibility and fear touch at will, and telekinesis, mirror image and forget thrice daily. They have spithriku silk with entangle every two rounds, plus a 30-yard glitterdust spray every two rounds, and detect invisibility to 40 feet. They fight with two weapons without penalty (scimitars, morning stars, short swords) plus a pair of hand crossbows or a short bow, lurk in disguise as weaker arachnids with ten limbs (as a crab they swim at 9 and breathe water), and lead the queen's raids in the endless war between demons and devils. Other lords hire them as guards for their invisibility sense.

Lycosidiliths (400 pounds) are sleek, plated, green or blue with bright markings and strong arms, and have lovely voices, eloquent in any language. Their venom matches phisarazu but also rots flesh: even on a save, a festering sore opens within 2d8 hours: 1 hp lost at once and 1 per day until neutralize poison (which cures all sores but heals nothing). At 10th level they gate thrice daily (60%, adding a single lycosidilith to the phisarazu's options), use telekinesis, alter self, invisibility and fear touch at will, and polymorph self, mirror image and forget thrice daily. Their entangle cone is 50 feet long, glitterdust reaches 40 yards, they cast web every three rounds at 50 yards, and their silk burns only 50% of the time. They sense invisibility to 50 feet, gain +6 damage with weapons thanks to ogre strength, often polymorph into harmless forms, guard and serve the queen as envoys, and rival the phisarazu bitterly.

Raklupises (450 pounds) wear a smooth, blow-deflecting shell, a triple row of spines and muscular arms, with voices more beautiful still. Their venom acts instantly, deals 1 extra point per hour during the stupor, causes -3 Dexterity for 2d8 rounds on a save, and creates a sore losing 1 hp at once and 1 per hour; victims cannot be magically healed until neutralized. At 12th level they gate thrice daily (65%, any lesser option or a single raklupis), use the same four at-will powers, and shape change, mirror image and forget thrice daily. Charisma 18 (20 to unwary humanoids when disguised); a chant used thrice daily mass charms 24 Hit Dice of listeners within 30 feet. They use one web power every round, glitterdust to 60 yards, silk that burns 25% of the time, and sense invisibility to 60 feet. Thrice daily they spin venom globes, hurled 10 yards to burst in a 15-foot cloud: save vs. poison or 3d6 damage plus blindness and muteness for 3d4 turns; on a save, 2d6 and 1d4 rounds of slurred speech and poor sight (-2 missiles, 20% failure for verbal spells). Globes save as pottery and grow brittle and pop unaided 1d6+18 hours after being made. Weapons gain +8 damage from stone giant strength. About a dozen hold citadels in the marsh, two advise the queen in Skarrow's absence, and a dozen more roam the planes seeking the Sevenfold Rod; their indifference to the war makes them unpopular, but lesser tanar'ri still defer to them.