Kismet's Aranean Options (Pathfinder 1e)
"Aranea sorceress hybrid form" by richten (resized) is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0
Racial Template
Through trickery, stealth, and offbeat romances, aranea sometimes spread their seed amongst other races rather than breed true with their own kind. While a few aranea raise their offspring to become ruthless hunters, most leave their misbegotten children behind. The blood of the spider-kind can run through several generations before fading and is not apparent at birth.
An aranean can be completely unaware of their ancestry until puberty or a traumatic event occurs and they shift into their hybrid form for the first time. This change is alarming and horrific at first, but some eventually embrace it as a gift. A number of araneans are naturally drawn to sorcery and take spiders as their familiars and pets (see below).
"Aranean” is an inherited template that can be added to any humanoid or monstrous humanoid that is size Small, Medium, or Large (referred to hereafter as the base creature). An aranean uses all the base creature's statistics and special abilities except as noted here.
Type
The creature acquires the shapechanger subtype.
Abilities
Adjust the base creature's abilities as follows: +2 Dexterity, -2 Strength
Change Shape (Su)
An aranean has its own natural form, as per the base creature. It also has the ability to assume a second form, which is that of a Medium spider-humanoid hybrid. In hybrid form, an aranean looks like a Medium humanoid at first glance, but a DC 18 Spot check reveals the creature's fangs and spinnerets. The aranean gains access to a bite attack, poison, and webs in this form, and can also wield weapons or wear armor. When in hybrid form, an aranean's speed is 30 feet (6 squares).
An aranean remains in one form until it chooses to assume a new one. A change in form cannot be dispelled, nor does an aranean revert to its natural form when killed. A true seeing spell, however, reveals its natural form if it is in humanoid or hybrid form.
Attack
An aranean has a bite attack in its hybrid form that has the potential to deliver poison. If the base creature can use weapons, the aranean retains this ability. An aranean fighting without weapons uses a bite when making an attack action. When it has a weapon, it usually uses the weapon instead.
If the base creature does not have these attack forms, use the damage values in the table below. Otherwise, use the values below or the base creature's damage values, whichever are greater.
Size |
Bite Damage |
|---|---|
Small |
1d4 |
Medium |
1d6 |
Large |
1d8 |
Poison (Ex)
Injury, Fortitude DC 10 + Constitution modifier, initial damage 1d2 Str, secondary damage 1d2 Str. The aranean may use this ability once per day per point of Constitution modifier.
Web
An aranean can throw a web as many times per day as their Constitution modifier. This is similar to an attack with a net but has a maximum range of 50 feet, with a range increment of 10 feet, and is effective against targets of up to Large size. The web anchors the target in place, allowing no movement.
An entangled creature can escape with a DC (10 + Constitution modifier) Escape Artist check or burst the web with a DC (10 + Constitution modifier + 4 racial bonus) Strength check. The web has 6 hit points, hardness 0, and takes double damage from fire.
Special Qualities
An aranean has all the special qualities of the base creature, plus low-light vision.
Skills
An aranean has a +2 racial bonus to Jump, Listen, and Spot checks (+2 racial bonus to Acrobatics and +4 to Perception checks in Pathfinder). They have a +4 racial bonus on Climb checks and always count Climb as a class skill.
Level Adjustment +1
Aranean Sorcerer Bloodline
The natural magic of the aranea has made its way into your ancestry, either in the distant past or in more recent generations. You sometimes feel the alien nature of the spider behind your own eyes and have a craving for blood, but how and when and why you hunt is up to you.
Class Skill
Climb.
Bonus Spells
disguise self (3rd), spider climb (5th), illusory poison (7th), vermin shape I (9th), phantasmal web (11th), mislead (13th), hold person, mass (15th), temporal stasis (17th), shapechange (19th).
Bonus Feats
Agile Maneuvers, Aspect of the Beast (prerequisites waived), Expanded Arcana, Lightning Reflexes, Silent Spell, Skill Focus (Knowledge [nature]), Stealthy, Vermin Heart (prerequisites waived), Wall Runner (prerequisites waived).
Bloodline Arcana
Vermin are susceptible to your mind-affecting spells. They are treated as animals for the purposes of determining which mind-affecting spells affect them.
Bloodline Powers
You gain strength as the spider stirs within.
The Blood Is the Life (Su)
At 1st level, you can gain sustenance from the blood of the recently dead. As a standard action, you can drink the blood of a creature that died within the past minute. The creature must be corporeal, must be at least the same size as you, and must have blood. This ability heals you 1d6 hit points and nourishes you as if you'd had a full meal. You may use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Charisma modifier.
Nighteye (Ex)
At 3rd level, you gain darkvision 30 feet. At 9th level, you gain darkvision 60 feet. If you already possess darkvision, its range is increased by these amounts.
Shroud of Vermin (Su)
At 9th level, swarms no longer see you as prey. You can walk among swarms without fear of being harmed by them at all, and by taking a standard action to mentally command a swarm in which you stand, you can direct that swarm's attacks and movements as long as you have more Hit Dice than the swarm. Even when you aren't standing amid a swarm, your body crawls with vermin, and their chitinous bodies increase your natural armor bonus by +1. At 11th level, this bonus increases to +2, and at 17th level it increases to +3.
Venom Immunity (Su) and Freedom from Webs (Sp)
At 15th level, you become completely immune to all poisons, mundane or magical, and are under a continual freedom of movement effect.
Death Spider (Su)
At 20th level, once per day for a minute per level, you can increase your venom to a truly supernatural degree. When you attack with your fangs in a hybrid form or a spider form, you inflict 1 negative health level. Each negative level inflicted in this manner grants you 5 temporary hit points that last for 1 hour. The save DC to remove these negative levels is equal to 20 + your Constitution modifier. In addition, you are immune to level drain attacks for the duration.
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