Spider, Sloth

Sloth Spider CR 9

This enormous arachnid’s ghostly white carapace is covered in a sheen of green slime. Unlike other spiders however, it visibly moves far more slowly, making you wonder if it perhaps wounded or sickened.

XP 9,600
N Huge aberration
Init –1; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +8
Aura lethargic aura (DC 22 Fort, 5 ft.)

DEFENSE

AC 25, touch 8, flat-footed 25 (–1 Dex, +18 natural, –2 size)
hp 133 (14d8+70)
Fort +9, Ref +9, Will +13
Special Defenses lethargic aura, slime coating

OFFENSE

Speed 20 ft., climb 10 ft.
Melee 2 claws +20 (2d6+13 plus trip, Crit 19-20/x2)
Space 15 ft.; Reach 15 ft.
Special Attacks hasted burst, spit slime

TACTICS

Before Combat Sloth spiders craft elaborate traps, and their favorite is a pit trap leading to its lair; the sloth spider lines the first half of the trap with mucous-like strands of green slime and the second half with razor sharp stone scrapers (castings shed from its spiky stone legs) to scrape the slime off its victims before delivering it to its lair for the coup de grace.

During Combat Sloth spiders spit slime at enemies as they close to melee, relying on their lethargic aura to make enemies ineffective.

STATISTICS

Str 28, Dex 8, Con 20, Int 2, Wis 14, Cha 6
Base Atk +10; CMB +21; CMD 30 (42 vs. trip)
Feats Improved Critical (claw), Improved Natural Attack (claw), Improved Iron Will, Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes, Power Attack, Weapon Focus (claw)
Skills Climb +25, Craft (traps) +20, Perception +13, Stealth +6 (+10 in rocky terrain); Racial Modifiers +16 Climb, +4 Craft (traps), +4 Stealth (+8 in rocky terrain)
SQ staggered, trapmaker Spider, Sloth

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Lethargic Aura (Ex)

When engaged in strenuous activity, including combat, a vaporous mist surrounds the sloth spider out to a distance of 5 feet. Creatures in the mist must succeed a DC 22 Fortitude save or be staggered as long as they remain in the mist. The DC for this ability is Constitution-based.

Hasted Burst (Ex)

Up to 5 times per day a sloth spider may draw on hidden reserves to clear the staggered condition.

If it hits with both claw strikes it may rend for 2d6+13 damage (the two attacks represent strikes by two separate appendages). Every time the sloth spider uses this ability, it takes 2 points of Constitution damage, and to use the ability again it must make first succeed a Will save (DC equal to 10 + double the sloth spider’s current Constitution damage).

Slime Coating (Ex)

The stone textured armor of a sloth spider is coated with a layer of green slime. Creatures using one or more natural attacks against the spider must succeed on a DC 16 Reflex save or take 1d3 Constitution damage.

The slime does not have time to coat exposed extremities and does not need to be scraped off.

Spit Slime (Ex)

Once every 1d4 rounds (but no more than three times a day), a sloth spider can spit a 5-ft.-cube globule of dangerous green sludge. Treat the attack as a +9 ranged touch attack with a range increment of 15 feet and maximum range of 30 feet. On a miss the slime scatters into one of the 8 surrounding squares (as a splash weapon).

A creature occupying a square struck by spit slime must succeed on a DC 16 Reflex save to avoid it and on a success must exit the square the following round or suffer the effects of the goo (1d3 Constitution damage). The DC for this ability is Dexterity-based.

Staggered (Ex)

The combination of its heavy stone carapace and the mix of magical chemicals and natural slimes in its bloodstream and digestive system grant the sloth spider the staggered condition.

Trapmaker (Ex)

The sloth spider is an accomplished natural trapmaker and gains ranks in Craft (trapmaking) equal to its HD with a +4 racial bonus. It uses it Wisdom modifier instead of its intelligence modifier when crafting traps.

ECOLOGY

Environment underground
Organization solitary, pair, nest (3–6)
Treasure incidental

Centuries ago drow wizards attempted to breed a stronger and better armored spider to use as a war mount. A series of mishaps with enlarging and stoneskin infusions were compounded by attempts to reverse past errors with haste and Dexterity-enhancement magic—the resulting creature was too slow to move with the armies and disinclined to any training whatsoever. The creatures were not unable to summon bursts of speed, but during a last attempt at domestication a number of the aberrations slew their trainers and escaped into the wild.

With a metabolism slowed to almost nothing, sloth spiders sat for years in carefully crafted lairs, with trapped chutes and tubes waiting to deposit the unlucky. Green slime could detect the life within the boulder-like monstrosities and slurped up onto their rocky carapaces. The stony armor of the spiders stood up to the assault and only the most microscopic bits of slime burrowed into the creature’s bloodstream and digestive tracts. Their slime mixed with the magical goop already coursing through the arachnids’ systems and after centuries the sloth spider became able to spit it from reserves in their former poison glands. The odd creatures added the slime to their repertoire of trap making, now masters at waiting patiently for their next victims.

Section 15: Copyright Notice

Aventyr Bestiary © 2017 AAW GAMES LLC Authors Mike Myler, Jonathan G. Nelson Developers, Michael Allen, Curtis Baum, Wolfgang Baur, Brian Berg, Adam Daigle, Jeffrey Gomez, Joshua Gullion, Jacob Kellogg, Jared Jeanquart, Juan Lucha, Justin Andrew Mason, Jonathan McAnulty, Michael McCarthy, Raven Mimura, Brian Wiborg Monster, Will Myers, Mike Myler, Jason Nelson, Jonathan G. Nelson, Owen K.C. Stephens, Colin Stricklin, Cory Vickruck, Stephen Yeardley Jonathan G. Nelson

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