Giant Spiders
| The word spider is derived from
an Old English verb spinnan, meaning "to spin." Spiders
range in length from less than 4/100 inch to more than 4 inches. They
have two body parts and eight legs. Like insects, spiders have
a hard cuticle, or body shell, called an exoskeleton. The cuticle
covers the cephalothorax and legs and prevents the spider from losing
moisture and drying out. In addition, the cuticle provides the
spider with structural support. Spiders also have an internal skeleton
that is actually an extension of the external cuticle. This internal
skeleton serves as a surface for muscle attachment
Spiders have as many as eight simple eyes, arranged in two groups, but, though some spiders can see images, none have eyes as well developed as those of the insects. Instead, the world of spiders is one of vibrations that are sensed through the surface on which the spider lives. Spiders are the only animals that digest their food outside their bodies. After their prey is captured, spiders expel digestive enzymes from their intestinal tract onto the victim. The enzymes break down its body tissues and, after a few seconds, the spider sucks up the predigested, liquid tissues. By repeating this process many times, spiders digest the entire animal. Spiders have a sucking stomach that is the main pump for drawing food into the body. . Almost all spiders have venom glands. Spider venoms, which are made up of several different proteins, act on a variety of substances in the nervous systems of insects.
Hunting spiders The wolf spiders, or wandering spiders, either lie in ambush for their prey or hunt actively. They are easy to find at night because their eyes reflect light that falls upon them.
Web Builders *** This section is not scheduled to finish *** Sorry for the long description of normal spiders but I thought it was important to describe regular spiders in order to bring about the horror of a gigantic spider. Besides the obvious reputation people have to them the sickening thought of being digested in your own body and have the sucking stomach of the spider siphon your liquefied remains away should be enough to create sheer terror of one of these creatures. In out game we have two types of gigantic spiders, web builder and hunters. Both are about a foot in length each just as deadly.
Hunter either lie in wait camouflaged jumping to attack attack, or are actively hunting for prey. Str 3 Dex 3 Stam 3 Perception 2 Intelligence 0, Wits 1 Alertness 2, Dodge 3, Camouflage 1, Hunting 1, Poison 2-5 **
Web Builders Str 2 Dex 3 Stam 3 Perception 2, Intelligence 0, Wits 1 Alertness 2/5*, Dodge 2, Poison 2-5 ** * of something caught in web ** Poison 5 spiders should be rare and distinctively marked, as most natures deadly creatures are. |