Giant spiders are thankfully rare and usally live far away from any settlements, however the fern spider is a common sight in grasslands and forests around Eidon. Fern spiders are mostly harmless for humans and beast folk unless they are disturbed in their hiding spot in which case they may bite and run or attack outright, so it is generally a good idea to never walk through patches of ferns where these spiders blend in perfectly. Should you get bitten by a fern spider an antidote is always close by as the very ferns it hides in can be brewed into an antidote potion when mixed together with a dagger leaf which tends to grow nearby, or the dagger leaf can be ground into a paste to treat the wound. Another option and the quickest one to treat the bite with and neutralize the poison is to wrap one of the fern spider's web balls around the wound to stop the bleeding and the mud mixed into the webbing soaks up the poison from the wound slowing or halting it's spread and allowing the victim to find help or prepare the antidote.

They only pose an actual threat towards kobolds and it's common prey the Myrmid, if they happen to have a nearby colony. The fern spider will lure in Myrmid and the occasional kobold by leaving a trail of web balls which the Myrmid find irresistible as a treat, while kobolds are aware of the danger they will only collect a few of the web balls left in the open but some may get a little overconfident and get too close to the ferns. While Kobolds do have a high poison resistance the fern spider's poison quickly paralyzes the kobold for several hours and if they are lucky they can manage to escape before the fern spider returns to it's lair in the evening to eat. It's camoflage is not only for ambush hunting but is also useful to hide from it's predators like the huge cloudswimmer birds, the occasional dragon and harpies, and gnolls sometimes will hunt them too and some Salamanders might domesticate fern spiders to harvest their silk. While not usually on the bounty lists for adventurers it happens sometimes that a fern spider gets too big and too agressive near a village and is requested to be put down, and larger fern spiders might attract a feral dragon as well which would pose an entirely different problem for locals. They are only tolerated for the most part because they keep the myrmid population in check as well as other large insects which are danger to crops. Nothing much of value can be harvested from a fern spider, as they are pretty much inedible for humans, the venom glands and spinerettes and the eyes are the only things of some value to alchemists, mages and tailors for the creation of potions and reagents for spells, and even after death the spinerettes can still be harvested for quite a lot of silk, the rest of the body should be carefully disposed of so as to not attract predators, or sold to any friendly kobolds living nearby for a little axtra profit for the adventurer.

Some relevant information for adventurers who decide to take on a contract to hunt one of these.
Fern spiders are about two feet in height and can be up to six feet long, and are not to be hunted unless specifically requested. Any specimens larger than that are the typical target for removal. Fighting them one on one at melee range can be risky without any bite proof equipment or antivenom on hand. Weopons of choice would be piercing weapons such as war picks, polearms and spears to get through the tough chitin. Weak spots are the joints and the connection between the thorax and abdomen. Coating weapons in dagger leaf sap can help in killing the fern spider faster as it is poisonous to the spider, plus it seems to soften the chitin after a time if the spider is sprayed with the sap. A powerful bow or crossbow is another good weapon choice for the range advantage. As for magical damage, fire is the most effective but be aware of the the terrain so you do not cause a wildfire, frost magic is the second most effective and a safer alternative in dry grasslands or forest. Unless you coat your weapons with dagger leaf sap you might want to use weapons you don't mind gettign damage beyond repair, as the fern spider's ichor is rather corrosive on metals unless they have enchantments placed on them to protect against rust and corrosion. If you can, attack from behind in their blind spot and keep in mind that they hae eyes on top of their head so they can see attacks coming from above. And finally, it should be obvious but do not fight a fern spider inside a fern patch or tall grass in case they have a nest hidden there, you really do not want to get swarmed by baby fern spiders mid fight. The babies might not have very potent poison but while a single bite causes some skin irritation too many bites at once can paralyze you or cause temporary blindness, neither of which you would want to happen during a fight especially if you decided to take on a fern spider solo. For those who want to keep their distance be aware that a fern spider can jump up to 30 feet far and they can also run quite fast to close that distance, so prepare some traps and defensive obstacles if you chose range, same advice for magic users to have some defensive spells and teleportation ready. A levitation spell would also be of use to render the fern spider immobile and defenseless off the ground and make it an easy target for other party members.


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Setting/species belongs to me   chakat_blackwater