u/KlutzyAppointment822

I’ve been playing D&D for quite a long time, and I’ve always loved unusual character concepts or races that carry an inherent sense of conflict. For example, in my very first game, which immediately turned into a full campaign, I chose to play a Drow while fully understanding that it would likely create situations that could either help or hinder the party.

That was also when I seriously started digging into Drow lore, and of course I eventually came across Driders. They were essentially classic arachne-like creatures, which instantly caught my attention as a potential way to play an actual spider monster character.

The main issue was that Driders were very clearly designed as enemy monsters, making them unsuitable as playable characters, and on top of that they were deeply tied to Lolth, which completely removed the possibility of playing one as even a neutral character.

I spent a long time trying to solve that problem. At first, I limited myself to searching for existing homebrew solutions, but eventually I decided to simply “brew” my own race from scratch, and that is what I’d like to share with you.

Arachnids are an ancient race of intelligent beings descended from volcanic spiders altered by the influence of mysterious magical crystals. Over time, they developed intelligence, the ability to mimic humanoid appearances, and partially humanoid forms, though they retained their predatory nature and many inhuman traits.

Physically, arachnids are divided into two generations. The elder generation preserves most of its spider-like features: chitinous exoskeletons, numerous eyes, and monstrous proportions. The younger generation is far closer in appearance to humans and other humanoid races, though additional eyes, cold skin, unusual anatomy, and unnatural movements still betray their origins.

Arachnids possess an innate connection to venom and spider silk. Their bodies are highly resistant to toxins, they are capable of producing their own venom, and can create various objects from webbing. However, their physiology handles cold extremely poorly.

Despite their frightening reputation, arachnids do not possess a unified culture or inherent worldview. Due to generations spent living among other peoples, their behavior and morality are largely shaped by the environment in which they were raised.

I invite you to take a look at their racial traits,
as well as the lore I wrote in an attempt to make the race easily adaptable to your world without requiring major setting changes.

Unfortunately, I do not have the resources to commission an artist, nor the artistic skill to provide illustrations myself. However, I am confident that the popularity of arachne and spider-like humanoids in pop culture will make it easy for you to find references or simply use the image you already have in mind.

I would also like to emphasize that this race was designed as a solid foundation for creating characters within a very specific aesthetic and thematic style. Because of that, both you and your DM (if you are a player) are completely free to alter, expand, or remove any elements as you see fit.

My goal is simply to restore a small piece of cosmic justice and give players the opportunity to play not only cosmic slimes or snakefolk, but spiders as well, while finally separating them from Lolth as their mandatory creator. Remember: “The code is more what you'd call guidelines than actual rules.”