Monstrous spider

Last updated September 28, 2019

In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, a monstrous spider is one of the most common types of giant spider.

Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. It was first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. (TSR). The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997. It was derived from miniature wargames, with a variation of the 1971 game Chainmail serving as the initial rule system. D&D's publication is commonly recognized as the beginning of modern role-playing games and the role-playing game industry.

Fantasy Genre of literature, film, television and other artforms

Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction set in a fictional universe, often inspired by real world myth and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became literature and drama. From the twentieth century it has expanded further into various media, including film, television, graphic novels, manga and video games.

A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making regarding character development. Actions taken within many games succeed or fail according to a formal system of rules and guidelines.

Publication history

The large spider, the huge spider, and the giant spider first appeared in the first edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons in the original Monster Manual (1977).^[1]

<i>Monster Manual</i> series of core books for D&D

The Monster Manual (MM) is the primary bestiary sourcebook for monsters in the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) fantasy role-playing game, first published in 1977 by TSR. It includes monsters derived from mythology and folklore, as well as creatures created specifically for D&D. It describes each with game-specific statistics, and a brief description of its habits and habitats. Most of the entries also have an image of the creature. Along with the Player's Handbook and Dungeon Master's Guide, it is one of the three "core rulebooks" in most editions of the D&D game. Several editions of the Monster Manual have been released for each edition of D&D. It was the first hardcover book of the D&D series. Due to the level of detail and illustration included, it was cited as a pivotal example of a new style of wargame books. Future editions would draw on various sources and act as a compendium of published monsters.

The large spider, the huge spider, and the giant spider appeared in the Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set (1977).

The Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set is a set of rulebooks for the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) fantasy role-playing game. First published in 1977, it saw a handful of revisions and reprintings. The first edition was written by J. Eric Holmes based on Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson's original work. Later editions were edited by Tom Moldvay, Frank Mentzer, Troy Denning, and Doug Stewart.

The large spider, the huge spider, and the giant spider appeared in the second edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons in the Monstrous Compendium Volume One (1989),^[2] and reprinted in the Monstrous Manual (1993) with the gargantuan spider.^[3]

The tiny monstrous spider, the small monstrous spider, the medium monstrous spider, the large monstrous spider, the huge monstrous spider, the gargantuan monstrous spider, and the colossal monstrous spider appeared in the third edition Monster Manual (2000),^[4] and in the 3.5 revised Monster Manual (2003).

Description

Githyanki, orcs, goblins, undead and other such lowly, evil races often use Monstrous spiders as mounts, and attack creatures.

The githyanki are a fictional humanoid race in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. They are cousins to the githzerai. In the Dark Sun setting, they are simply called gith. Githyanki first appeared in the 1981 edition of the Fiend Folio, which features a githyanki on the cover.

Orc (<i>Dungeons & Dragons</i>) in Dungeons & Dragons

In the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game, orcs are a primitive race of savage, bestial, barbaric humanoid.

In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, goblins are a common and fairly weak race of evil humanoid monsters. Goblins are non-human monsters that low-level player characters often face in combat.

There are bound to be Monstrous spiders serving the goddess Lolth.

Monstrous spiders cannot speak, and they are regarded as neutral in alignment.

Critical reception

The large monstrous spider was ranked seventh among the ten best low-level monsters by the authors of Dungeons & Dragons For Dummies. They described the monstrous spider as the "scariest and most representative" of the large number of low-level D&D monsters which are big bugs. They also credit J. R. R. Tolkien with the idea of a spider the size of a horse.^[5]

Related Research Articles

Trolls are fictional monsters in the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game.

In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, ogres are a lesser race of giants. An aquatic subrace of ogres is known as "merrow". D&D ogres are also closely related to the race of ogre magi, a more intelligent race with blue skin and great magical abilities. Typically Ogres stand between nine and ten feet tall and can weigh up to 650 lbs. Ogres are closely related to trolls, and are distantly related to the various races of giants.

In Dungeons & Dragons, Fey is a category of creatures. The fey deities are associated with the Seelie Court and the Unseelie Court. Titania is the general fey deity, with individual races like the Killmoulis who worship Caoimhin. Fey are usually humanoid in form and generally have supernatural abilities and a connection to nature. The Sylph is one creature which has a Fey appearance, but is officially recognized as an outsider creature type.

In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, the weretiger is a type of lycanthrope.

In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, the manticore is a legendary creature with the body of a lion, dragon wings, and humanoid head. It is based on the mythological manticore.

In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, giant is a type of creature based on giants of legend, or in third edition, a "creature type".

Zombie (<i>Dungeons & Dragons</i>) fictional entity in Dungeons & Dragons

In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, the zombie is an undead creature, usually created by applying a template to another creature.

Skeleton (<i>Dungeons & Dragons</i>) undead creature in "Dungeons & Dragons"

In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game, the skeleton is an undead creature. In the third edition of the game, a skeleton's statistics are usually created by applying a template to those of another creature.

Roc (<i>Dungeons & Dragons</i>) Dungeons & Dragons

In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, the roc is a gargantuan, eagle-like animal, based on an earlier creature from myth and fantasy also named the Roc.

In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, the stirge is a mosquito-like magical beast and a classic D&D monster.

In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, a phase spider is a magical beast akin to a predatorial version of the ethereal filcher.

In the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, the tarrasque is a magical beast.

In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, the ochre jelly is a type of ooze.

A treant is a fictional creature found in the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game.

In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, the wererat is one of several different types of animalistic forms. They are classified as "lycanthropes", despite the fact that the term reflects a lupine, or wolven, form.

In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, the werebear is a type of lycanthrope.

In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, the djinni is a type of genie.

This is the Index of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st edition monsters, an important element of that role-playing game. This list only includes monsters from official Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st Edition supplements published by TSR, Inc. or Wizards of the Coast, not licensed or unlicensed third party products such as video games or unlicensed Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition manuals.

Werewolf (<i>Dungeons & Dragons</i>) monster in Dungeons & Dragons

In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, the werewolf is a type of lycanthrope.

References

↑ Gygax, Gary. Monster Manual (TSR, 1977)
↑ Cook, David, et al. Monstrous Compendium Volume Two (TSR, 1989)
↑ Stewart, Doug, ed. Monstrous Manual (TSR, 1993)
↑ Williams, Skip, Jonathan Tweet, and Monte Cook. Monster Manual . Wizards of the Coast, 2000
↑ Slavicsek, Bill; Baker, Rich; Grubb, Jeff (2006). Dungeons & Dragons For Dummies. For Dummies. p. 373. ISBN 978-0-7645-8459-6 . Retrieved 2009-02-12.

This Dungeons & Dragons article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] Gygax, Gary. Monster Manual (TSR, 1977)

[2] Cook, David, et al. Monstrous Compendium Volume Two (TSR, 1989)

[3] Stewart, Doug, ed. Monstrous Manual (TSR, 1993)

[4] Williams, Skip, Jonathan Tweet, and Monte Cook. Monster Manual . Wizards of the Coast, 2000

[Dummies-5] Slavicsek, Bill; Baker, Rich; Grubb, Jeff (2006). Dungeons & Dragons For Dummies. For Dummies. p. 373. ISBN 978-0-7645-8459-6 . Retrieved 2009-02-12.