Harpoon Spider

The statistics block below contains details for more than one size of harpoon spider. Use the horizontal scrollbar below it to display the desired one or select from the links below that.

Harpoon Spider • Dread Harpoon Spider

A subterranean creature, the harpoon spider is a lightning-fast predator much feared by other denizens of its demesnes.

Close examination reveals that a harpoon spider isn’t a true spider at all, but something far more sinister. It superficially resembles an enormous black widow, except that hundreds of razor-sharp spines cover its body. Each of its ten legs terminates in a tiny clawed hand, and its eight eyes are humanlike. It can extend either of its large mandibles on a long leathery tendril with surprising force. A harpoon spider measures around 8 feet long and weighs nearly 1,400 pounds.

Harpoon spiders are quite intelligent and can often be found nesting with ettercaps and monstrous spiders. Harpoon spiders use these creatures to bolster the defenses of their lair. They have a particularly morbid sense of humor and enjoy playing with their food while it ripens on their spines.

Harpoon spiders speak Common and Undercommon in whispery voices.

A harpoon spider is a hunter, often stalking victims in a large territory around its lair. In combat, it uses its harpoon fangs and Improved Trip feat (see below) to reel in prey, then administers a bite once its opponent has been brought close. If the terrain permits, the spider prefers to attack victims from high vantage points (such as ledges).

Harpooning (Ex): As ranged attacks, a harpoon spider can fire one or two of its fangs up to 20 feet (no range increment). The spider can fire at two different targets if it chooses. A successful hit deals 1d4+1 points of damage as the harpoon hooks the flesh of the target and immediately exudes a thick, sticky glue. The spider can reel in a harpoon as a free action; treat this as a trip attack (+10 bonus) against any creature attached to the fang. Failure indicates that the harpoon rips free (and deals another 1d4+1 points of damage to the victim). Success indicates that the victim is pulled off its feet and dragged back to the spider, who can immediately make a free bite attack against the victim. A harpoon spider can only pull a creature smaller than itself in this manner. Attempts to retract a creature of its own size or larger automatically cause the fang to rip free as if the trip attack failed. The glue exuded by the spider’s fangs decomposes quickly, and at the end of the spider’s turn the fang automatically detaches.

Poison (Ex): Injury, Fortitude DC 16, initial damage 1d6 Dex, secondary damage 2d6 Dex. The save DC is Constitution-based.

Spines (Ex): Any creature striking a harpoon spider with its body or a handheld weapon must make a DC 16 Reflex save or take 1d6 points of piercing damage from the spider’s spines. (Creatures wielding reach weapons, such as long spears, are not subject to this damage.) The spines also deal an extra 1d6 points of damage on a successful grapple check (much like armor spikes). The save DC is Dexterity-based.

As a full-round action, a harpoon spider can pick up a Medium or smaller helpless creature with its legs and impale the body on its spines, dealing 2d6 points of piercing damage. The spider can carry up to 2 Medium, 8 Small, 32 Tiny, or 128 Diminutive or smaller creatures in this manner. Harpoon spiders often use this method to carry their next meals.

Web Movement (Ex): Although they cannot spin webs themselves, harpoon spiders can climb around and through webs with ease using their climb speed. They are immune to the effects of the web spell.

Skills: A harpoon spider has a +8 racial bonus on Climb checks and Jump checks, and it can always choose to take 10 on a Climb check, even if rushed or threatened.

A dread harpoon spider measures 18 feet long and weighs 7,200 pounds.

The dread harpoon spider presented here adjusts the base creature’s statistics by advancing its Hit Dice and adding ability score increases based on Hit Dice.

A dread harpoon spider patiently waits in ambush for its prey.

Harpooning (Ex): A dread harpoon spider can fire its harpoonlike fangs up to 20 feet (no range increment). A successful hit deals 1d6+1 points of damage as the harpoon hooks the flesh of the target and immediately exudes a thick, sticky glue. The spider can reel in a harpoon as a free action; treat this as a trip attack (+21 bonus) against any creature attached to the fang. Failure indicates that the harpoon rips free (and deals another 1d6+1 points of damage to the victim). This ability is otherwise like the ordinary harpoon spider’s harpooning ability.

Poison (Ex): Injury, Fortitude DC 20, initial damage 1d6 Dex, secondary damage 2d6 Dex. The save DC is Constitution-based.

Spines (Ex): Any creature striking a dread harpoon spider with its body or a handheld weapon must make a DC 17 Reflex save or take 1d8 points of piercing damage from the spider’s spines. (Creatures wielding reach weapons, such as longspears, are not subject to this damage.) The spines also deal an extra 1d8 points of damage on a successful grapple check (much like armor spikes). The save DC is Dexterity-based.

As a full-round action, a dread harpoon spider can pick up a Large or smaller helpless creature with its legs and impale the body on its spines, dealing 3d6 points of piercing damage. The spider can carry up to 2 Large, 8 Medium, 32 Small, or 128 Tiny or smaller creatures in this manner.

The daelkyr experimented on monstrous spiders to create the harpoon spider. Harpoon spiders inhabit Khyber, and larger specimens (dread harpoon spiders) frequently guard caverns or passages leading to daelkyr strongholds. Harpoon spiders have also infiltrated the ruins of various ancient Dhakaani strongholds throughout Khorvaire.

Harpoon spiders threaten denizens and explorers of the Underdark. Although generally solitary predators, they are frequently encountered in greater numbers within a Northdark region known as the Labyrinth, particularly near the gray dwarf metropolis of Gracklstugh and the nearby trading outpost of Mantol-Derith.