Chwidencha

Chwidenchas (commonly called “spider leg horrors” by surface dwellers) are created when drow fail one of the many tests set by their deity Lolth, the Spider Queen. Chwidenchas lurk in caverns deep beneath the earth; they are nearly mindless beasts that search out prey to strangle and devour.

A chwidencha appears to be a writhing mass of flexible, hairy spider legs. Each leg ends in a sharp tip, and one side is covered in thornlike hair, which allows the limb to rip through flesh and bone with ease. The creature does have a central body buried deep under its dozens of limbs, though the body is usually seen only after the creature has been killed. A chwidencha moves in a skittering undulation and can crawl up walls or burrow through earth with ease.

Chwidenchas hunt down any living creature, but they particularly despise drow, who have cast them out of society just as the drow have done with driders. Some evil races capture groups of chwidenchas and place them in metal-lined pits, using them to dispose of waste, carcasses, and the occasional prisoner or criminal.

Chwidenchas are very sensitive to sound and particularly vulnerable to sonic attacks. They flee from loud, highpitched noises. They understand Undercommon, but they do not speak it.

Combat

A chwidencha lurks in the darkness and uses its tremorsense to notify it of approaching prey. It usually hides beneath a layer of earth, then crawls out and grapples an opponent. It takes several hours for a chwidencha to devour its victim, so it usually drags the body off to some safe place to consume it.

Constrict (Ex): With a successful grapple check, a chwidencha can crush a grabbed opponent, dealing 3d6+9 points of bludgeoning damage.

Improved Grab (Ex): If a chwidencha hits an opponent that is at least one size category smaller than itself with at least two leg rake attacks, it deals normal damage and attempts to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity (grapple bonus +19). If it gets a hold, it also constricts on the same round. Thereafter, the chwidencha has the option to conduct the grapple normally, or simply use its legs to hold the opponent (–20 penalty on grapple check, but the chwidencha is not considered grappled). In either case, each successful grapple check it makes during successive rounds automatically deals rake and constrict damage.

Leg Regeneration (Ex): Foes can attack a chwidencha’s legs, but only when those appendages are actually holding an opponent. A leg has an AC of 19 (touch 12) and can withstand 20 points of damage. The loss of a leg does not harm the creature (that is, the damage does not apply against its hit point total), and the chwidencha regrows the limb within a day.

Source: Fiend Folio, page 34. Changes applied as per the D&D^® v.3.5 Accessory Update.