Help With Spiderfolk Race

[WizardofOwls]

I am interested in creating a new race for my homebrew setting. I want them to be based on spiders. However I have never created a race for 3e or 3.5 e, so I could use some help in this. There is only one unchangable rule: I need them to be LA 0, so that I can use them as a base race.

I've been thinking about racial traits, and here are some ideas I have come up with, but as I said these are only ideas. Nothing is written in stone yet.

Spider Climb as spell (possibly either constant or limited uses per day)
Paralytic poison bite
4 arms (2nd set half strength)
Possible visual bonuses because of multiple eyes (bonuses spotting secret doors like elves or spotting illusions like gnomes)
Web as spell (limited uses per day)

I'd love to hear your thoughts/ideas on this.

 

[Ibn Khaldun]

Humanoid-Spider Hybrids or Smart Spiders

Is this a race of smart spiders or humanoid-spider hybrids?

 

[Nifft]

1/ LA +0 is different than CR = class levels. Are they for PCs or only NPCs?

2/ Even if it is for PCs, you can give many of these abilities as racial feats, or as benefits of a racial paragon prestige class.

Cheers, -- N

 

[WizardofOwls]

Thanks for the suggestions. In my homebrew world, the world is shattered into sky islands called shards. The only way to get from shard to shard is via air ships called windriggers. My thought was that spiderfolk would make excellent windsailors with their natural climbing ability, and an extra set of hands would help them in working the rigging. Most likely, they would be human-shaped. I would love to use an official race, but right now I have limited resources as far as sourcebooks, and limited funds for buying them. So unless it's in one of the few books I already have, or can be found on the internet, I have to homebrew it.

 

[Ibn Khaldun]

Given all the abilities you'd like the race to have, I'd go with Nifft's suggestion and use racial feats and the like.

Otherwise, I would jettison the second set of arms, and then offer a choice of paralysis bite (1/day), spider climb (1/day), web (1/day), or multiple eye vision bonuses.

 

[Bryon_Soulweaver]

Lower half is spider, upper half is human with four arms. Does that help?

 

[Slapzilla]

There's two basic kinds of spiders. Web-spinners that await their food, and hunters that jump it. Hunters don't web and webspinners don't have the same bite. Also, not all can climb so well.
I think that all should have some sort of vision bonus or (maybe) a can't be flanked thing. Much as some worlds have sub races of elves, try sub races here too. The (Hunters) that have a bonus to jump, a bite and an option for a climb speed or a bonus to land speed. 10' for each, I think. The (Spinners) that have a bonus to balance, a web spell-like ability and an option for a climb speed or a bonus to land speed. Again with the 10'. Hunters prefer the ground but Spinners love to dangle from things (lintels, trees... rigging). Cultural differences already. Subcultures too with the climbers and the speedsters. Females normally are dominant, so a matriarchal society is probable.
+2 to Dex., -2 to Cha.?
Just please avoid 'drowness'. Fine for what they are, but jeez.
Keep us posted.

 

[Mark Chance]

My take on something similar to this idea is in this post:

http://www.enworld.org/showpost.php?p=3743113&postcount=48

 

[Tonguez]

WotC Drider template has CR +2

or modify a Ettercap

also to avoid drowness base thew culture/personality on Anansi - Chaotic neutral the Spider-people are considered a wise and brave people, curious by nature who are always investigating new things. They do a have a tendency towards not being satisfied with what they have which can make them seem ungreatful, acquisitive and greedy but this is more about wonderlust than simple materialism.