D&D: Five Horrible Spider Monsters
Spiders are a deeply intertwined part of fantasy stories, whether for good or ill, and these five spider monsters are the best. Or worst.
Spiders spin sticky webs that interlace them within all sorts of fantasy stories. Spiders like Shelob or her distant ancestor Ungoliant, both of whom were blights upon Middle Earth for different reasons.
And fighting giant spiders or spider demons or their like seems to be a sort of rite of passage for adventurers. Which is why the Monster Manual is full of spiders. But these five are our favorite spider monsters.
Phase Spider
If you’ve played Baldur’s Gate 3, you know and loathe these teleporting arachnids by now. Possessed with the ability to jump through the Ethereal Plane, Phase Spiders are the bane of low level adventurers. Their poison can leave foes paralyzed, their Ethereal Jaunt lets them shift out of reach so you can’t attack them. They’re just mean.
Drider
Driders are another of D&D’s spider monsters. And they may be one of the more iconic and also tragic. Because every Drider is a failure in Lolth’s eyes. They are pulled from the ranks of promising Drow, summoned to the Demonweb Pits for a test of faith and strength. Those who fail are transformed into Driders.
Feared and shunned by Drow, Driders are nevertheless quite powerful. They gain all the magic of a Drow plus a poisonous bite, the ability to walk on webs, and a whole heap of hit points that make them surprisingly tough foes.
Steeder
Steeders are a fun spider monster entry. Out of Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse, Steeders are basically spider mounts. These giant hunting spiders can be tamed, its right there in their entry, no convincing your DM required, and if you manage it, you get a mount that can make extraordinary leaps, climb on walls and ceilings, and even poison or grapple foes with its sticky legs.
Yochlol
Yochlols are shapeshifting demons, so don’t be fooled by that image above. The yochlols are the Handmaidens of Lolth. And they can take three forms: outside of the Abyss, they can appear as a beautiful female drow or monstrous spider, and in their true abyssal form, they are a pillar of yellow slime with a malevolent eye.
While in Spider Form, they can walk on walls and webs, and have a poisonous bite. They can transform into a poisonous mist that can only be harmed by magic. And more insidiously, they can read your thoughts or dominate you, turning you into a servant of Lolth’s will.
Retriever
Finally we have the Retrievers. Because why stop at spider demons when you can have evil robot spiders instead? These constructs were originally created by followers of Lolth to prowl the Abyss itself to capture demons. But they proved to be so effective Lolth’s followers use them for anything a monstrous robot spider that can shoot a laser beam can accomplish. Which is much more than you’d think!
What are your favorite spider monsters in D&D?
