Even though it's for the 3.5 warlock, I tried to balance it to tome standards, because that's what's normal for me, now.
War-arach/Spider-Sworn
BAB 3/4
Saves Good Ref, Will
Skill Points 4+Int
Skills
HD d6
Requirements
Alignment Non-good
Skills Kn. Arcana 8 ranks, Kn. Nature 4 ranks, Climb 3 ranks
Invocations Spiderwalk, Summon Swarm
Special Must undergo the ritual of scarification.
Ritual of Scarification
Upon deciding to pursue the path of Spider Sworn, the warlock readies a ritual in celebration of the various gods and powerful outsiders who favour vermin and arachnids, with candles and sigils drawn in the ground. A sacrifice may be included but is largely unnecessary, as the celebrant's own flesh will be offered. At the beginning of the ritual, the celebrant lights the candles and consecrates the sigil. He then uses Summon Swarm to call forth a spider swarm. The swarm that answers his call is unusual, in that it calls fiendish spiders from all across the lower planes. He can not do this at will or at his leisure, the swarm is sent by the gods and fiends that watch his ritual. Once the swarm arrives, he then turns it on himself, allowing the swarm to cover him, rend his flesh, and then enter his body. The magic of the ritual leads the spiders in archaic and vile patterns and then sears them into his flesh. This process goes on for five rounds, dealing the swarm's damage, and 1d4 additional unholy damage each round. At the end of this time, the ritual ends, and the celebrant is now forever scarred with symbols and patterns in deep crimson of the ancient and evil entities that saw fit to reward his attention.
| Level | Special |
1 | Poison Save Bonus, Spider-speech, Spider Invocations, Evil Brand, Climb |
2 | Spider-shape |
3 | Poison Touch (1d4 str) |
4 | Command Spider-kind, Tremour-sense 60' |
5 | Webwalking, Poison Touch (1d6 str) |
6 | Tremour-sense 120', Infest the Dead |
7 | Wall of Webs (3/day*) |
8 | Spider Blast |
Invocations At each level, the War-arach gains new invocations and his Eldritch Blast improves in damage as if he'd gained a level of Warlock. This does not improve other class abilities, etc.
Poison Save Bonus The War-arach gains a bonus to saves made against poisons equal to his class level.
Climb The War-arach begins his transformation at the hands of his fiendish patrons. He gains a climb speed equal to his land speed. This includes the normal +8 racial bonus to climb checks.
Spider-Speech The War-arach is able to freely communicate with spider kind, as if he and they shared a language (they effectively do). This ability does not change the intelligence of the creature he converses with, so he may get very bored talking to normal and giant spiders, and is unlikely to get anything particularly useful out of them. However, his ability to speak to them gives him a +5 bonus to handle animal checks made with spider kind. Spider kind is defined below.
Spider Invocations A War-arach gains access to special invocations normally unavailable to them. This ability does not grant him any, though several are granted at other points in the class.
Spider-shape At second level, the War-arach is gifted with the invocation Spider-shape (DotU) by his mysterious and arachnoid patrons.
Poison Touch A third level War-arach can secrete from his flesh a poison at will as a free action. The poison does 1d4 strength damage on a failed save (fort, DC=10+1/2 character level+con), and half damage on a successful save, minimum 1. It cannot be harvested or saved in way. At 5th level the damage improves to 1d6 strength, and at 8th it improves to 1d8 strength.
Command Spider-kind The War-arach gains the ability to rebuke and command spider-kind as a cleric of his character level would rebuke undead.
Webwalking The War-arach, upon reaching level 5, begins to function under a constant Spiderwalk effect, and may immediately replace the invocation with another. In addition to it's normal effects, he is unhindered by mundane and magical webs, and move along them in any direction, dimension or orientation with no climb or balance checks.
Infest the Dead The War-arach is gifted with a new invocation by his patrons. Infest the Dead (Greater, 5th) acts in all ways as The Dead Walk, but it creates undead who are infested with, and thus animated by, spider swarms. The undead may, at will, send forth it's animating swarm, which is in turn controlled by the War-arach. In games terms the invocation creates Skeletons and Zombies with Intelligence 1 and the Swarm Shifter Template (swarm of undead spiders).
Wall of Webs 3/day the War-arach may use a special invocation, Wall of Webs (Greater, 6th). The invocation creates a freestanding (if necessary) wall of magically enhanced spider webs, fire resistant and strong as steel. This functions as creating a Wall of Iron, but Webwalking and Freedom of Movement allow one to move through it unhindered, and Webwalking treats it exactly like any other kind of webs. At character level 14, the invocation is usable at will as normal (yes, even if it's gained at 14th level).
Spider Blast The War-arach is granted a final gift by spindly patrons, the invocation Spider Blast (Eldritch Essence, Greater, 5th). A target hit by a Spider Blast is immediately enveloped in a fiendish spider swarm, after taking standard Eldritch Blast damage, and immediately taking swarm damage for that turn. The War-arach may then control that swarm as normal with Summon Swarm.
Spider Invocations
Least
Stick (0th) As the spell (Underdark 61) but with a weight limit of 10 lbs/4 caster levels, and a standard action to separate the items.
Summon Monstrous Spider (2nd) As Summon Monster II, but summons 1 Medium or 1d4 Small Monstrous Spiders. At Caster Level 6, the spell summons 1d6 of either, 1d4 Large monstrous spiders, or 1 Huge monstrous Spider. At 11th level, it summons 1 Gargantuan monstrous spider, 1d4 large or medium, or 1d6 small monstrous spiders, and at 16th level it summons 1 Gargantuan, 1d4 Huge or Large, or 1d6 Medium monstrous spiders. At 20th level it summons 1 Colossal, 1d4 Gargantuan, 1d6 Huge or Large, or 1d8 Medium or Small monstrous Spiders. The spell can summon a variety of sizes, but a spider counts as 2 spiders of one size category lower (so a Medium Monstrous spider counts as 2 Small, and you need to be able to summon at least 3 Small [roll first] to have one of each).
Spider Eyes (4th) You gain six additional physical eyes that all but circle your head, giving you sight in all directions. While this invocation is active you cannot be flanked, nor can you be surprised from behind.
Spider-Hide (1st) +1 Natural Armour/5 caster levels, +6 bonus to Hide, Move Silently, Climb.
Spider Legs As the spell (BoVD 105), but the warlock may attack with the legs as if they were large longspears.
Trap Door (1st) You create a hole in the ground, ten feet deep, 8 feet around and angled into a gentle slope, covered by a large opaque platform of force. Ideally you lurk in this hole and pull people in. Preferably people who can't see in the dark or fight well in closed quarters.
Web line (Eldritch Essence, 1st), The Warlock's modified Eldritch Blast creates a thin line of spider silk, out to it's maximum range. The line is physical, and lasts about an hour. It is capable of bearing the warlock and an additional 25 lbs/caster level (the warlock is effectively weightless for the strand's load bearing considerations). If used to strike a foe, the strand deals 1/2 damage and entangles the foe, or 1/4 damage and renders the foe's arms useless until the webbing is removed (flakes off after 1 hour, can be broken by a Str ceck, see below. The target can make this strength check regardless of the effects of the webbing). The webbing is sticky, and can be aimed at a foe's eyes with a -4 penalty. If it hits, in addition to dealing 1/2 damage, it blinds the foe until it's duration expires. The same maneuver may be used to gag a target, aiming for and cover the mouth instead of eyes, but it will not suffocate (the webbing isn't air tight). The foe may make a strength check to pull off/break webbing at DC=10+Warlock's Cha.
Lesser
Bebilith Blessing (5th) You gain 2 Claw Attacks (1d6, or appropriate to size if larger than medium) and a Bite attack (1d8, or as appropriate for larger creatures. Carries a 1d6 Con/2d6 con Injury poison.) and can rend armour as a Bebilith. Finally, you're treated as an Outsider (Evil) for the duration of this invocation(1 rnd/level).
Spider Plague (5th) As Insect Plague, but summon Spider Swarms. Upon learning this invocation, you may replace Summon Swarm with another, if you know it and wish.
Sudden Swarm (DotU 63)
Virulent Blast (Eldritch Essence, 3rd) Your blast exposes the target to a contact poison with 1d6 strength initial and secondary damage.
Web (2nd) As the spell.
Greater
Driderform (6th) You take on the form of a Drider, gaining it's climb speed, physical ability scores, bite attack and poison, 10 temporary HP, +4 natural armour, Spell Resistance, and racial skill bonuses. The duration of this change is 1 rnd/level.
Phase Door (7th) As the spell (may be called something else in the PHB, the srd calls it this.)
Dark
Captured Fly (9th) As the spell Imprisonment, but traps the subject in a web cocoon in the Demon Web pits on the Abyss.
Drained Essence (9th) As the spell Trap the Soul, but traps the subjects soul in a palm sized ball of webbing which will not deteriorate.
Spider Kind
The following creatures are considered Spider Kind:
(Underdark)
-Arachnoid Creature
(Drow of the Underdark)
-Chwidencha
-Draegloth
-Shunned
(Monster Manual 1)
-Aranea
-Bebilith
-Drider
-Ettercap
-Phase Spider
-Retriever
-Spider Swarm
-Monstrous Spiders (along with all other monstrous spiders in other books, obviously)
Monster Manual 2)
-Clockwork Horrors
-Meenlock
-Neogi
-Shadow Spider
-Spell Weaver
-Spellgaunt
(Monster Manual 3)
-Chelicera
-Web golem
-Harpoon Spider
-Lhosk
(Misc.)
-Lolth (Yes, you can communicate with Lolth regardless of languages and rebuke her, assuming you're seriously that high level. I don't even care. I think warlocks should totally be able to kick gods in the balls/ovaries)
