The Eldritch Arachnid
With eldritch webbing that gave wisps of otherworldly energy lining the corridors, the Drow grinned as they walked along the ceiling of the webbed den of their own creation. It was once a Dragon’s lair, but it was now a testament to their patron’s power, the dragon strung and flayed as spiders feasted upon its corpse, before climbing upon the Drow and whispering their secrets into the Drow’s ears, growing more and more powerful by the minute. This lair was now their own, and they would soon line the walls with countless cocoons of their enemies.
You have made a pact with the Eldritch Arachnid, an entity that draws upon the imagery and iconography of the arachnid and spider. Many warlocks that have made this pact are under the service of Lolth, the Spider Queen, but it is not uncommon for other spider-like entities to spin a similar tale. Warlocks who take this pact often find themselves having a strange kinship to spiders and arachnids, and see their webbing as a work of art, in both utility and aesthetic, and strive to create their own elaborate death traps.
Expanded Spell List
The Eldritch Arachnid lets you choose from an expanded list of spells when you learn a warlock spell. The following spells are added to the warlock spell list for you.
Arachnid Expanded Spells
| Spell Level | Spells |
|---|---|
| 1st | Alarm, ray of sickness |
| 2nd | Pass without trace, web |
| 3rd | Nondetection, slow |
| 4th | Greater invisibility, giant insect |
| 5th | Contagion, insect plague |
Spider Climb
Starting at 1st level, you have a climbing speed equal to your walking speed and you have the ability to move up, down, and across vertical surfaces and upside down along ceilings, while leaving your hands free.
Spider's Grace
Beginning at 1st level your patron has granted you the ability to produce an ethereal spidersilk known as demonsilk. As a bonus action, you can produce a thread of demonsilk from your arcane focus which shoots out towards a surface within 60 feet of you. This demonsilk thread is visibly magical and is roughly 4 inches in diameter. Upon creating this thread, you can immediately pull yourself up to 30 feet in the direction of the thread. Furthermore upon creating this thread, provided you are on a surface, you can tether the thread to a surface within your space, where the thread will be pulled taught.
This thread lasts for 10 minutes, and you can use your Spider Climb feature to move across this thread, as well as hang on it, but all other creatures except yourself must expend twice as much movement when traversing across your threads. The thread is magical in nature, and can be dispelled. A single thread can hold weight equal to 75 x your Charisma modifier in pounds before it will snap and dissipate.
A demonsilk thread has an AC of 16, hitpoints equal to twice your Warlock level, and immunity to poison and psychic damage.
You can use this feature an amount of times equal to 1 + your proficiency bonus, and regain all expended uses at the end of a short or long rest.
Spectral Webbing
Beginning at 6th level when you use your Spider's Grace feature, you can choose for spectral webbing to magically weave itself in a 10 foot radius on the surface where your demonsilk thread impacts. This spectral webbing counts as difficult terrain against creatures of your choice, and when a creature ends their turn in your spectral webbing, they must succeed on a Strength saving throw against your Spell Save DC or be grappled by the spectral webbing until the end of your next turn. If you use your Spider's Grace feature and the point of impact is spectral webbing created through this feature, it does not expend a use of Spider's Grace. Spectral webbing lasts for 1 hour or until dispelled.
Senses of the Arachnid
Beginning at 6th level, whenever a creature touches one of your demonsilk threads or spectral webbing, you immediately know their location. Furthermore while a creature is touching your demonsilk threads or spectral webbing, they cannot be hidden from you.
This feature extends to any webbing you have created beyond spectral webbing, or any webbing that you are touching, such as webs created by giant spiders.
Spider Soul
Beginning at 10th level you have resistance to poison damage, advantage on saving throws against poison, you ignore difficult terrain caused by webbing, and your walking speed increases by 10 feet. Furthermore any spider that is a beast or monstrosity is considered to be Charmed if they are within 30 feet of you, and you can telepathically communicate with all spiders that you can see. This charmed condition ends if you or any of your allies attack or target the creature with a harmful spell.
Form of the Eldritch Arachnid
Beginning at 14th level, you can magically grow a pair of spectral spider-like appendages from your torso. As an action you can take the form of the eldritch arachnid, which lasts for 10 minutes. While in this form, your walking and climbing speed increases by 30 feet, you can create two Demonsilk Threads with Spider's Grace simultaneously while only expending one use of the feature, your reach increases by 10 feet, and once per turn whenever you hit a creature with an attack or damage a creature with a spell you can deal an additional 1d12 poison damage and force the creature to make a Constitution saving throw equal to your Spell Save DC or be Poisoned until the end of your next turn.
Once you have taken this form you cannot take it again until you complete a short or long rest or expend a Warlock spell slot to take this form once more.
Changelog
- Version 1.2
- Added clause to Spider Soul so the charmed effect ends if you or your allies attack the spider
- Version 1.1
- Added clause to Senses of the Arachnid so the awareness extends to webbing beyond those created by spectral webbing
- Version 1.0
- Initial version released
More!
This homebrew was made by KoatheDM, and you can find more homebrew content on Patreon! I also have an Instagram account, Reddit account where I post and tease other homebrew content by the name of KoatheDM, and a Twitter where I also tease upcoming content! This document was made through GMBinder. Art by Wizards of the Coast.