Let’s Play D&D With Spider-Gwen
We’re ready to jump back into the Spiderverse this weekend. But while we wait, let’s web sling Spider-Gwen in for a quick D&D session.
Into the Spiderverse is still easily the best Spider-Man movie I have ever seen. Others have been if not great, but nothing has been quite able to top that 2018 movie. Suffice it to say, when asked what I wanted to do for my birthday this weekend, I said that I was already buying tickets to the sequel, Across the Spiderverse.
We’ve played D&D with Spiderman here before, but when it comes to Spiderverse, one of the best things is the variety of spiders man. Or in this case, Spider-Woman or Ghost Spider. So this week we’re playing D&D with…
Spider-Gwen
If you went back to take a peek at our Spider-Man sheet, you may notice that this one isn’t too much different from that one. There are some key differences, of course, but there are also a bunch of things that are the same. Like the levels in Way of the Shadow Monk. When you get right down to it, a Spider-Man is a Spider-Man and that means that some of the core beats are going to be the same every time.
This is something we also saw in No Way Home when the live-action spiders all joined forces. Whether they make gadgets or produce web fluid on their own, we’re still going to have to watch Uncle Ben die before we get to really appreciate those powers. Or, in Gwen’s case, it’s watching Peter–you get the idea. We know the backstory. Great responsibility and all that.
I took a bit of a turn with Gwen’s second class, though. We don’t see her making a lot of gadgets or utilizing spider-bots, so Artificer didn’t feel right. But she still needs some of those key spider powers. So I went through the spell list to see which classes get Spider Climb, Web, and Jump. Those felt like the spells that would give us the most spiderlike movement on top of the already high Dex score.
And after looking through the sub-classes for Sorcerer and Warlock, I landed on Clockwork Soul Sorcerer. It works on a few levels. She has powers that seem unexplained and gifted but feel natural to her. Plus, in Spiderverse, she’s traveling through the multiverse to fix issues and restore some balance.
Like Spider-Man, Gwen also has the Secret Identity background. And her ability scores are pretty comparable, but differently distributed. For example, Gwen has better Wisdom and Charisma. Partially because they’re needed for her classes. But also because Gwen is just better at talking to people and generally selling her own competence. I wouldn’t say that she’s a better spider person–though she might be. But I will say that depending on what you’re looking for she may be more fun to play.
How would you make Spider-Gwen for a D&D setting? Which of the multi-spiders would you play as? What movie, show, comic, book, or game should I make a sheet for next week? Let us know in the comments!
With great power comes great responsibility, adventurers!