Spellweavers, what do you know about them?

[Slaygrim]

In my upcoming campaign, I am getting the Spellweaver race that appears in the Monsters Manual 2 to have a major role. The problem is, that I do not know much about them and it seems that there is little I can find. Such as where did they come from? Do they exist in large societies, and if so, where? Do they care about what happens to the rest of the world? How important is magic to them and were do they feel they fit in as a race in regards to spellcasting? Things like this, I need to know.

I don't see any other names for them, and I am sure they do not refer to themselves as, *sends telepathically* "Hi, I am a Spellweaver". I figure they must have a name so I created one. Spellweavers resemble birds with their facial features and they have six arms (see my avatar) so I looked up some things tied to that while creating their name. Ornithology is the study of birds, and Kali is a 6 armed Indian deity, thus I came up with "Ornikali" and it seems to fit well.

But that's off topic. Does anyone really know much about the Spellweavers outside of what is in the MM2, or are they a race that no one at Wizards has really developed yet?

 

[HeavenShallBurn]

I've used them before as well. But I don't think they've been developed beyond the MM entry stage. I think I remember seeing them in 2e but not anything that jumps out at me beyond the name even if that was a long time ago.

This is what I did in my own campaign. Spellweavers are the Great Enemy of the Ithilid Empire. Both arose in proximity in some forgotten place long ago. They are inherently inimical races, always have been and always will be. Ithilids can't eat their brains, as something about Spellweaver biology is fatally poisonous to ithilids. But spellweavers rely on a magic based telepathy for comunication and proximity of ithilids disrupts this "frequency." They've destroyed each other's homeworlds and moved onto the planes while continuing their war. Ithillids are light sensitive and use portals to carve out enclaves in the underdark across many worlds and planes. Spellweavers occupy the Astral plane in fortress libraries built on the husks of dead gods. They're a magocracy with the spellweavers as the ruling caste with control of all magic in their society. They spend their lives immersed in magical studies and research, with other castes to handle trade, labor, or purely martial warfare among others. Because they are locked in the Contest with the Ithilids the spellweavers themselves are in constant search of every possible edge magic can give them. Which is usually how most pcs come into contact with them.

 

[Mouseferatu]

There was a really well done ecology article on the spellweavers in Dragon Magazine. But I'll be damned if I can remember what issue. :\

 

[Robert Ranting]

Dragon magazine produced an "Ecology of the Spellweaver" article which was reprinted in the Dragon Monster Ecologies book. It gives a fair bit of detail about their ancient civilization and strange view of life, magic, and the mind. I don't want to spoil everything, but they have a racial fixation on the number six, believe in reincarnation, and had sufficient magical power to both build an interplanar empire, and to destroy said empire in the blink of an eye (many of the survivors are still trying to figure out how it happened).

Spellweavers also make a significant appearance in a certain adventure path now available in hardcover...but again, I don't want to spoil anything.

Robert "How Do I Put Up Spoiler Tags Again?" Ranting

 

[HeavenShallBurn]

Robert "How Do I Put Up Spoiler Tags Again?" Ranting

like this [*sblock]spoilers here[/sblock*] but without the * which I had to use to make the code itself appear.

I really have to get the Monster Ecologies Book, they've always been one of the better parts of Dragon. Also can anyone tell me what issues had the Core Religions articles in them? I have some of them but I'd like to get them all before they run out of back issues.

 

[Robert Ranting]

Thanks HeavenShallBurn!

SPOILERS for the Shackled City AP!

[sblock] It has been a couple years since I played through the SCAP, but if I recall correctly, in it the PCs visit an ancient dungeon complex of the Spell Weavers where they were doing experiments to figure out how humanoids think and dream. Essentially, they created a matrix-style chamber with dozens, maybe even hundreds of victims who had been modified for their studies. Also, Spell Weavers have a strange fixation with colors, patterns, and the number six, which is most evident in a extraplanar puzzle room that took our group the better part of an hour to figure out. It was an interesting dungeon, and if you can track down the backissue of Dungeon magazine that adventure appeared in, it might be worthwhile once your PCs are in the 10th-12th level range. [/sblock]

End of spoilers.

Robert "Someone Must Have Read 'The Masque of the Red Death' While Doing LSD" Ranting

 

[frankthedm]

Magic missile is a nicely lethal spell in the hands of a spell weaver. Roughly 105 HP shaved off with no save and few ways other than a shield spell to stop. It was even worse in 2E since HP were much lower then.

 

[Mouseferatu]

Magic missile is a nicely lethal spell in the hands of a spell weaver.

Yep. In the last 3.5 campaign I ran (and probably the last I ever will), there were only two or three true fatalities over the course of 14 levels of play (though there were many near kills). Of those two or three, one was at the hands (and hands, and hands) of a spellweaver. And that's not counting the fact that it also polymorphed a PC into a frog.

 

[Pale Master]

Spellweavers were also in another Adventure Path. Although my memory may be fuzzy -

[sblock]A spellweaver prophet taught Kyuss the whole "Age of Worms" schtick. He's encountered guarding one of Kyuss's old haunts - Spire of Long Shadows, I believe. One of the coolest-looking liches ever. [/sblock]

 

[Psion]

[sblock]A spellweaver prophet taught Kyuss the whole "Age of Worms" schtick. He's encountered guarding one of Kyuss's old haunts - Spire of Long Shadows, I believe. One of the coolest-looking liches ever. [/sblock]

Apropos to nothing spellweaverlike, but one of the nastiest adventures ever, too. This one was a near TPK for my group.