Whore-Spiders
A vulgar name for a very minor creature, granted, yet the whore-spider doesn't seem to mind its appellation.
Their names comes from both their peculiar natures, and the fact that they are often found living in the rafters and corners of houses of ill-repute.**
The whore-spiders have the ability to transform themselves temporarily, into any other arachnid and (gods know how!) successfully mate with any member of that particular species. The whore-spider itself is androgynous and pansexual, able to take on male or female forms depending on whichever 'mates' are available in its vicinity.
Once a 'victim' is identified, the whore spider approaches the creature, looking exactly like its mark's ultimate object of sexual desire, and begins its mating 'dance'. No arachnid of any species can resist this bizarre advance. Females will immediately go into heat, males immediately become hopelessly aroused. The whore-spider then mates with that creature and crawls off, its weird mission accomplished, reverting back to its original form.
If the arachnid the whore spider mates with is female, that creature will give birth to a mixed brood, in its own time. If the whore-spider's mate was male, then the whore-spider itself will go off and birth an equally mixed brood. Ninety five percent of the spiders thus hatched will be quite normal members of that respective species. The other five percent will be born as androgynous whore-spiders. Thus they propagate.
As far as humanoids are concerned, the whore-spider is ambivalent and oblivious most of its existence, much like a regular spider.
They possess fangs and can bite if molested. Their venom is rather mild however, causing only temporary migraines and muscle aches in most humanoids.This is followed by an influx of nitrate oxide into the blood stream, 'arousing' those that are bitten for a short while.
The whore-spider's diet consists of the very same things that a regular spider's diet does
Alchemists prize the whore-spiders' shriveled molt. The dried, shed husks of these creatures are used as ingredients in countless of experimental concoctions, from love potions to more powerful magical draughts involving transformation and illusion magicks.
In lieu of crafting webs, the whore-spider merely secretes a silken goo from its abdomen, periodically, simply to expunge the stuff. This 'slattern-silk', if applied to flesh, will help kill any infection in an open wound, burn, or cut. It is for this very reason, that certain ladies-of-the-evening will keep whore-spiders as 'pets' beside their beds, thus propagating the myth of the whore-spider's colloquial appellation
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**The whore-spider can live anywhere a spider can live, not just whore-houses obviously, but alas, the common folk have named the creature and will now forever associate it with harlots. A creature that begs to be scientifically named, if ever there was one.
Sick, deluded brainstorming.
The mutated offspring of a forced mating have a halved lifespans. During that lifespan, however, they are basically slaves to the whore-spider. They collect food, provide protection etc. They have partial morph abilities that can cause quite an odd shape when scared or captured. They are not able to control the shifting as well as their parents so often, if seen or captured, they twist into grotesque shapes of random spiders and bugs they have come across.
If birthed away, they are bold and brazen in trying to find their way back to the sire. They will wander aimlessly and not back down from any sized barrier or danger. The poisonous types of these are most dangerous to humans who are in their path as their morphing abilities often translate into survival skills and enhanced poisons.
When two whore-spiders meet, they fall into the spell of each other's luring skills and procreate till the male dies of exhaustion. During this intense workout, a non-sticky version of their webbing is constantly being thrown out and is twisted and strewn about. Sometimes, but not often, the spiders may get entwined in it and both perish. This thread is coveted for something...
Alchemists use their venom to make love potion #9? When found with the webbing....?
Drow have been experimenting with these to breed a hybrid of both Giant spiders and crossed with the drow themselves. That are always in the market for a fresh supply of variant ones
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? Responses (12)
Something is missing. Or it just doesn't work. One of those. :P
As-is, I would give it a 3. It's got weirdness and plausible applications in a fantasy world. I guess what's lacking is how would PCs interact with it besides gathering it for money to sell to alchemists, buying some for adventuring purposes etc. Maybe a fancy lore about their origin? Don't know but I sorta like this but then I like any speculative fauna/flora type of sub.
Those dang PCs. Always needing info on how to interact with tiny spiders
Yep you're right. Will ponder lore-y additions. Thanks!
Actually with Strolens 3 paragraphs of additional juicy info (sick deluded brainstorming), this may just be done. Screw those pesky PCs. The whore-spider, like the honey badger, don't care.
LORE: somewhere out there, legends whisper, is the great 'Pimp-Spider'. Don't get me started on it.
Out with ye, begone from my in-work pile!
You are right, I think I like this sub just as-is. Most of the time, I think people expect a plot hook section just cos the nature of this site but I've often skipped that. It might have affected the votes I got for the sub (my overall average is closer to 3 than 4 and Strolen would say that's very good already, down with the skewed voting) but I don't think it changes the fact that the sub itself is decent in quality.
Not bad. I agree that this is a difficult creature to wind into a plot hook or interaction with players but I in no way am underscoring the fact that life-forms such as this definitely add flavor to a campaign. Oftentimes people overlook small details that can enrich a gaming experience such as this. In my humble opinion I would have named it something like the 'harlot spider' or 'brothel spider.' The use of the word whore might make many people not take this seriously.
Great stuff! All it takes to make this more relevent would be some crazed magic user to base their new 'creations' on this.
I like it. The extra use for the spiders at the end is a good touch.
Seems a little OP except for the fact that they are just spiders. As Valadaar said, watch out for those who figure out how to duplicate the magical effect!
Fascinating critter, the only thing missing was the HD close ups of the spider while Morgan Freeman discussed the arachnid's pansexuality
Looks like I like this a fair bit more than others based on votes. Love this kind of PURE fluff for gaming(thus my love of Moon's harmless lifeforms).Just the sort of thing I am looking for when I surf the net for gaming material! 4.5/5