Arachne
Created as a twisted image of halflings, these grotesque humanoids are favoured by Belough for their sadism and cruelty. Obsessed with misfortune, these four armed tricksters have a talent for bringing about woe wherever they go.
Twisted Fates
The last created of the dark races, Belough revealed in the preservation of halfling pluckiness in the creation of these horrendous monstrosities. Arachne share a similar outlook on life as their surface kin, with the exception of being obsessed with misfortune where the halflings have a love of luck in general. The two races are starkly different in appearance though. About the same height as their kin, Arachne poses two pairs of arms each with three joints. Their hand have three long spindly fingers each with four joints one of which is opposable. Arachne eyes are compounded and a pair of mandibles extend out of their mouths, with females possessing larger mandibles than males. Almost all Arachne have black hair, though some have dark brown hair, many possess a bright streak of colour.
A Clutter of Kin
Much like their surface dwelling kin, Arachne form large familial structures, and tend to live within the same household. These units are ruled by a matriarch, who is often either the oldest or most physically dominant arachne in the clutter. Arachne are almost strictly non-monogamous, the male partner often being exiled from the household after producing offspring. Family units tend to live in isolation from other Arachne, though hostile nature of the underdark does force several family units to leave within proximity to each other. This generally causes tension between the clutters, starting fights over shared resources.
Spider-like Grace
Their most prominent feature is also the Arcahne’s greatest advantage, their pair of arms are highly dexterous and capable of acting independently. Arachne tend to be quite capable at using multiple weapons, or those that learn to use magic tend to be capable to of using weapons as well as casting spells. This advantage is also one of their greatest drawback, their form makes it impossible to wear clothes worn by other races, and their strange hands necessitates that they make extensive modifications to weapons before using them. Also much like the spiders their form is based on, they have the ability to sense fine vibrations through their feet, allowing them to sense creatures that move nearby.
Appetite for Misfortune
Much like their surface kin, Arachne have a love of taking risks, but gain more enjoyment when it fails. Even more than their kin, Arachne love to see others take risks and fail, they often need to make others get into risky situations, or come to misfortune. When put into a situation where they could cause misfortune or woe to befall another, no matter how minor, they find it incredibly difficult to resist such an opportunity.
Masters of Hexes and Curses
Given their disposition towards misfortune, Arachne take to learning magic that manipulate fate well. Like the other dark races, the Arachne were taught the use of Caris’ shadow weave. Like all of Belough’s creations, the Arachne are infused with malignant energies making them immune to it’s mutating effects, though they are capable of using its power.
Ensnared in Relationships
Arachne have a strange way of dealing with others, tending to treat all others they encounter as prey. Even within their clutters siblings and parents as sources of future food. Among Arachne this is not an issue, but this makes others quite uncomfortable.
Clutches of Children
Arachne are typically born as twins or triplets, with quadruplets being more common than single born children. The group often lack any real individuality as they grow up, with a clutch sharing a single name until they get older. The development of the child depends on their gender, male arachne rapidly develop physically, growing to their mature form in about 4 years but not reaching mental maturity for another sixteen or so years. Female arachne grow slower but reach mental maturity long before their male siblings. Irregardless of their gender, they are considered adults after about twenty years, for male arachne this means they leave home, trying to secure lodgings with another Clutter, and for females this corresponds with the time they are given control over other Arachne in the Clutter. Both tend to take a name that encapsulates their greatest failure, a form of bragging in Arachne culture.
Worship of Recollection
For the Arachne, worship of events is far more likely than the worship of any deity. This takes the form of recording tales of misfortune and recounting them on special days. Some do offer worship to Belough and Caris.
Spirits of Misfortune
Arachne are driven by their nature to experience misfortune both their own and others. The shape of their form also seems to channel luck in some way, those experiencing misfortune in their presence empower the Arachne in some way.
Chittering the Darkspeak
The Arachne speak a dialect of Undercommon, which replace difficult to pronounce consonants for Arachne with mandible clicks.
Wretched Hives of Misfortune
The Arachne tend not to form large communities. The strict matriarchal structure falling apart as the size of the hive grows to large. There are some exceptions to this, arising around a singular queen who acquires sufficient power to rule over a number of clutters.
The Scattered Clutters. Most Arachne grow up in semi-isolated clutters ruled by a single matriarch, who commands over her direct descendants. These clutters are found in otherwise deserted parts of the underground, and tend to sustain themselves by ensuring travellers and raiding them for supplies.
The Entbark Monarchy. A rather enterprising young queen was able to forge a stable collective of clutters by killing and harnessing the power from a guardian of Telair Viael. This move not only cemented one of the larges Arachne dynasty but also established a surface Kingdom of Arachne. Arachne beastmasters have called forth giant arachnids from the caverns below to populate this new domain, who have flourished under this rule. The Entbark Monarchy continues to wage a war against the Guardian elves of the forest, but after the breaking both have agreed to an uneasy truce.
The Daemonnest. Eldest of the Arachnean dynasties can be found in the Daemonnest. A vast chasm palpably drenched in Malign energies. A powerful Arachnean warlock-queen built her clutter within the malign cave, and produced a brood of powerful warlocks and deadly beasts of war. This singular clutter grew into a vast city suspended with the nest, commanding sufficient power to repel drow invaders who wished to capture the site of such raw power.
The City of L’lalth. This drow city has long been a place of union between Arachne and Drow. Known as the city of Spiders in the common tongue, this joint home was built within the carcass of L’lath the great spider, a beast the size of a city. The great spider was slain centuries ago but her carapace is stronger than stone and shows no sign of degradation. Ruled by a dual monarchy; an Arachne queen and a Drow Priestess, much of the trade through the city is material harvested and processed from L’lalth herself.
Arachne Traits
Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 2.
Age. Arachne reach maturity at the age of 20 and generally live to see the half their second century.
Alignment. Arachne communities are fragmented and dangerous. Arachne tend towards individuality and destruction, but tend away from order.
Size. Standing between 3 and 4 feet tall and weigh 40 pounds on average. Your size is small.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 25 feet.
Tremorsense. You can detect and pinpoint the origin of vibrations within 30ft, provided that you and the source of the vibrations are in contact with the same ground or substance.
Sunlight Sensitivity. You have disadvantage on attack rolls and on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight when you, the target of your attack, or whatever you are trying to perceive is in direct sunlight.
Four Armed. You possess two pairs of arms. You can use this extra set of arms to equip an additional two handed weapon or two additional one handed weapons. You cannot use this ability to carry weapons with the heavy quality, or additional shields. You can duel wield on either or both pairs of arms but are subject to the usual penalties on each independent pair.
Dual Strike. When you make a melee attack with one of your pairs of arms you can make an additional attack as a bonus action using your other pair of arms.
Strange Form. With your strangely shaped hands when you use weapons or tools that have not been built for Arachne you cannot add your proficiency bonus when using it. Further due to your vastly different form clothes and armour must be modified to be worn. Modifying equipment costs a quarter of the price of the original.
Carrions of Ill Fate. When a creature you see suffers a critical failure you gain advantage on your next roll or heal an additional hit die during your next rest, whichever comes first.
Female Arachne
Females Arachne are much taller than the males tending to be just under four feet. Their limbs are more filled out and their mandibles are almost twice the size of their male counterparts.
Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 1.
Powerful Bite. You are proficient with your unarmed strikes, which deal 1d6 piercing damage on a hit.
Male Arachne
Male Arachne are much smaller than the females only just reaching over 3 feet. Their their forms are incredibly spindly, but their hands tend to be larger with shorter fingers. This allows them to push soils and even stone so long as there are cracks to be exploited.
Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom score increases by 1.
Tunneler. You have a burrowing speed of 15 feet.
