Spider, Giant Shrieking Tarantula
- Armor Class
- 2 [17]
- Hit Dice
- 7
- Attacks
- Bite (1d6+2)
- Special
- poison dance, secondary dancing contagion, urticating hairs 1/week, stunning shriek
- Move
- 15
- HDE/XP
- 8/800
Description
A Shrieking Tarantula is a rare, aberrant form of the regular giant tarantula. It is about the size of a horse and has red leg-joints. A shrieking tarantula is somewhat intelligent but is driven by its hunting instincts.
Its bite is deadly; those bitten must make a saving throw against poison or be forced to dance wildly. The dance lasts 2d10 rounds, during which time the victim has a -4 penalty on attacks and further saving throws. Thieves or characters with similar Thief-like abilities may not utilize such skills while dancing. Onlookers must make a saving throw against magic or begin dancing themselves; such “secondary” victims suffer the same penalties as above, but they will only dance for 2d4 rounds. During each round that those bitten are dancing, they must make a saving throw against poison again or take 1d4 points of damage. The secondary victims do not suffer this effect. Neutralize Poison will cure the original victim, and Dispel Magic will stop the dance for all victims in the area of effect, whether original or secondary.
Instead of its normal bite attack, the shrieking tarantula may flick a cloud of urticating hairs from its abdomen at an enemy. This fills an area of a 20-foot radius and persists for one round. Creatures caught within the area of effect suffer a painful, itching rash, and for the next turn must make a saving throw against poison each round. A failed saving throw indicates that the victim spends that entire round scratching and screaming. These hairs may be used only once, as it takes a week to regrow.
Instead of biting, the shrieking tarantula can emit a shriek; those within 10 feet must make a saving throw or be stunned and unable to act for 1 round. When hunting, the spider often stuns its prey before binding it in silken thread, thus rendering its prey helpless so it can be be fed upon later.
See Also
Other creatures grouped under Spider: Spider, Giant Black Widow, Spider, Giant Bola, Spider, Giant Crab, Spider, Giant Diving Bell, Spider, Giant Ice, Spider, Giant Tarantula, Spider, Giant Trapdoor, Spider, Giant Water, Spider, Giant Wolf, Spider, Humming, Spider, Phase, Spider, Steel, Spider, Time.
Source note: This creature is converted from The Basic Fantasy Field Guide of Creatures Malevolent and Benign – Omnibus Edition, 1st Edition Release 4, © 2010–2025 Chris Gonnerman, R. Kevin Smoot, James Lemon, Matt Sluis, and Contributors. The Basic Fantasy Field Guide textual material is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International; this page adapts that creature to White Box.