[Adventure Seeds] Acid Spider

[Dalin]

Inspired by the Dungeon Fantasy Monsters Adventure Seeds published during the Monsters 2 Kickstarter, I thought it would be fun for forumites to generate additional seeds. Each thread would be for a particular monster from the existing DFRPG canon (Monsters, Hall of Judgment, some in Pyramid). Followup within the threads with new seeds or related discussion. We can choose monsters that haven’t been done yet (as I’ve done here) or supplement the excellent work of Matt Riggsby and Peter Dell'Orto.

Acid Spider (Monsters, p. 16)

• Eight Legged Freaks. Panic! Mayhem! Acid spiders are loose in town, leaping out from sewer entrances, abandoned buildings, and dark alleyways to prey on hapless residents. Tracking them through the sewers (or Undertown, in Caverntown) leads to the spiders’ labyrinthine lair – a network of shafts, tunnels, and caves etched by generations of spiders – perfectly designed for their size and tactics. At the center of the complex is a vast nesting chamber filled with egg sacs, young spiders, and gargantuan mothers who are very protective of their brood. Why have the spiders invaded? Are they simply hungry? Is there something worse than the spiders pushing them up from below? Or, has a local guild been cultivating the spiders for nefarious purposes?

• Acid Rain. Something is preying on travelers on a caravan route near the badlands. Badly scarred survivors tell of silent, nocturnal attacks from above. Rumors spread of an acid breathing dragon. The reality is that a tribe of savage halflings have learned to breed acid spiders as war mounts. The halfling raiders are primarily scouts and barbarians led by powerful druids. They are night-adapted (add Night Vision 5) and have developed slingable acid grenades (Adventurers, p. 114) and acid arrows – treat like flaming arrows, (Adventurers, p. 105) but their follow-up is corrosion damage. The druidic leaders have vermin control spells and may have mastered alternate acid-related spells (reskin water spells as needed). Their hidden lair is protected by acid spiders, of course, and swarms of lesser spiders. Potential loot includes stolen treasure, acid grenades, druidic concoctions, and, perhaps, the secret to taming the spiders.

[Yssa]

Achemists 'R' Us: The local Alchemists' Guild is low on supplies. Specifically, they are out of acid, the key ingredient to some of their most profitable products (people in this area seem oddly predisposed to lobbing acid-grenades at anything that moves). Far to the west is a swamp, no doubt rife with horde pygmies (Monsters 36) and Muck Elementals, which is known to be a breeding ground for acid spiders. Sure, you could just go there and hack them to bits for their acid glands, but how much more fun (and/or profitable) would it be to capture some (by traps or by magic) to slowly "milk" acid from their fangs ensuring potentially limitless (albeit dangerous and ravenous) stream of income. . .

This could easily expanded: acid is only one ingredient the alchemists need. Paut from Electric Jellies (Monsters 24), the lens of an Eye of Death(Monsters 26), Bubear spleens (Monsters 17), "cold organs" from Frost Snakes (Monsters 28) or Ice Wyrms (Monsters 38), not to mention various herbs and minerals from nasty places near and far.

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by Yssa

Achemists 'R' Us: The local Alchemists' Guild is low on supplies. Specifically, they are out of acid, the key ingredient to some of their most profitable products (people in this area seem oddly predisposed to lobbing acid-grenades at anything that moves). Far to the west is a swamp, no doubt rife with horde pygmies (Monsters 36) and Muck Elementals, which is known to be a breeding ground for acid spiders. Sure, you could just go there and hack them to bits for their acid glands, but how much more fun (and/or profitable) would it be to capture some (by traps or by magic) to slowly "milk" acid from their fangs ensuring potentially limitless (albeit dangerous and ravenous) stream of income. . .

This also works for "and the above explains why we need a bunch of adventurers to go into the guild basement and clean up the leftovers from this too-clever scheme".

[Dalin]

Originally Posted by Yssa

Alchemists 'R' Us

I like this.

And it's given me an idea for a seed for a different monster . . . coming soon!

[Dalin]

I shared these seeds with my kids at dinner tonight (doesn't everybody talk about imaginary monsters at dinner?) and we got to discussing their powerful fangs. It seemed to us that they probably didn't evolve* to eat armored knights, so what did they typically sink their fangs into? Armored dinosaurs would be an interesting combination—Acid Spiders hunting ankylosaurs in the land of the lost.

My son suggested dragons. At first, I scoffed. Dragons are too badass to be pestered by mere spiders. But the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. The spiders are super stealthy. They can leap 10 yards. They have fangs that can regularly pierce a medium dragon's hide. Even an acid dragon, by the book, wouldn't have any special defense since the acid is a follow-up after the fangs pierce its hide. Packs of stronger spiders might even threaten a large dragon. If I were running them this way, I'd probably give them Catfall and Spider Climb too. (But I'd probably add those traits to them anyway.)

So now I want to combine this with the halfling barbarian idea. But I somehow like the idea of a bunch of riders on a single spider. Riding off to pounce on some dragons. Cool.

* Yeah, we know that you can't bring evolution into DF. But it was a fun thought experiment.

[dcarson]

Originally Posted by Anthony

This also works for "and the above explains why we need a bunch of adventurers to go into the guild basement and clean up the leftovers from this too-clever scheme".

Reminds me of a panel at a Worldcon on interesting lab accidents. One story ended with "and this is why the sewers at MIT have radiation detectors in them".

[Yssa]

Originally Posted by dcarson

Reminds me of a panel at a Worldcon on interesting lab accidents. One story ended with "and this is why the sewers at MIT have radiation detectors in them".

I'm starting to think what the world needs is a DFRPG dungeon based on the sewers beneath MIT. . .

[martinl]

Originally Posted by Dalin

Their hidden lair is...

... obviously on the back of an acid spitan. This one is normally pretty sleepy and uninterested in piddling small bugs like its halfling "fleas" or any PCs climbing its back to fight them, but certain actions might make the spitan mad, to the detriment of many many folks. Consider adding a hellgnome to the base for acid thrower artillery and a "doomsday device" that is just a way to infuriate the spitan.

Alternately, if the PCs can't beat the halfings (probably because the hellgnome made them back off), perhaps they can interest the spitan in grooming (thus clearing all the unsightly cruft off of its back) by bringing over an attractive spitan of the opposite sex somehow.

Spitan Quest

(cue fanfare)

It has a nice ring to it.

[Dalin]

Originally Posted by martinl

... obviously on the back of an acid spitan.

Yes! Love it.

Consider adding a hellgnome to the base for acid thrower artillery and a "doomsday device" that is just a way to infuriate the spitan.

I actually drafted two versions of the original seed, one with halflings and one with hellgnomes. The gnomes had basically a fortress on top of the spider (like the fighting towers mounted on war elephants) with acid canons and whatnot. I chose the halflings because they were simpler. The combination of swarming halfling barbarians and gnome artillerists would be terrifying!

Alternately, if the PCs can't beat the halfings (probably because the hellgnome made them back off), perhaps they can interest the spitan in grooming (thus clearing all the unsightly cruft off of its back) by bringing over an attractive spitan of the opposite sex somehow.

Brilliant.

[martinl]

Originally Posted by martinl

... by bringing over an attractive spitan of the opposite sex somehow.

...

Game ends with this scene, only with added tiny halflings and halfling fortifications flying everywhere.

...

And as the PCs ride into the sunset, the female eats the male.