Aranea

Another previous edition aberration that I suspect no one had any idea of what to do with. This version of the seemingly inane aranea is, once again, partly inspired by Camu from the Wizards of the Coast forums.

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The Aranea is a horrible aberrant creature, the vanguard of an invading army from beyond reality. Cunning, ruthless, and utterly inhuman, Araneas excel at infiltrating humanoid societies and weakening or manipulating them from within. They do this by slaying other creatures and wearing their hollowed-out bodies as a disguise.

A "naked" aranea resembles a human-sized spider made of bones, ribs, and tendons. Its eight legs are arranged in pairs, with two legs emerging from a single "joint." The creature's mouth has both tearing fangs and sucking probosci, and its tail is tipped by a collapsed, humanoid skull. It impersonates people by consuming their bones and innards and then replacing the skeleton, collapsing and seperating its bony body segments to fit the body it wears. The skull-like tail of the aranea fills the corpse's empty head, while the true head of the beast is folded up inside the belly. The disguise is perfect; the aranea looks and sounds exactly like its latest victim.


Arcana or History

DC 20: There are rumored reports from throughout history of alien beings that kill mortals and use their skin and flesh as a disguise.

DC 25: Araneas are spider-shaped aberrations that can impersonate humanoids and similarly sized creatures by wearing their skin and outer tissues like a suit. Araneas are said to be incredibly skilled at impersonation and deception, and their goals always to the detriment of the society they infiltrate.

DC 30: Araneas are covered in sharp spiricles that pervade their worn flesh and hold it in place. These protrusions also rejuvenate the flesh, keeping it alive and undecayed and manipulating the nerves that control facial expressions and the like. The aranea has two weaknesses. 1) It does not gain the memories of the person it impersonates; they are skilled actors and immitators, but quizzing them on personal history might reveal the deception. 2) the aranea cannot produce human speech on its own; it relies on a symbiotic, snakelike creature to replace the victim's jaws with its own mouth. These tongue-symbionts can also detatch themselves and attack.

DC 35: Araneas are the vanguard of the Tsarok-Hem, tasked with weakening the armies of the natural world and finding a way to bring their masters into our world.


Aranea Spider (Level 9 Lurker) (400 XP)
Medium Aberrant Beast
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Initiative +13 Perception +8
HP 65; Bloodied 32
AC 23 Fortitude 21 Reflex 22 Will 23

Speed 7; climb 5 (spider climb)
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Standard Actions
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basic melee attack Kick (at will):
Targets one enemy within 1; +14 vs. AC; 2d6+5 damage and target is pushed 1.
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Death from Above (at will; requires Combat Advantage):
The aranea must be directly above the target or a square adjacent to it; the aranea drops into a square adjacent to the target and makes an attack; +14 vs. Reflex; 2d12+10 damage and target is grabbed.
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Eviscerate (at will; target must be grabbed):
+14 vs. Fort; 2d12+10 damage.
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Minor Actions
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Tongue Symbiont (once per round; at will):
Targets one enemy within 1; +14 vs. AC; 8 damage.
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Detach Symbiont (encounter):
An aranea tongue appears in a vacant square within 2 and makes an attack. The tongue continues to act after the aranea until the end of the encounter. Special: after using this ability, the aranea can no longer make tongue symbiont attacks until it is reunited with its tongue.
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Alignment Evil
Languages none (understands Common, can speak with the aid of a Tongue)
Str 18 (+20) Con 16 (+22) Dex 20 (+21) Int 20 (+18) Wis 18 (+19) Cha 22 (+21)
Skills Stealth +16, Bluff +17



Aranea Tongue (Level 9 Minion Soldier) (100 XP)
Tiny Aberrant Beast
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Initiative +13 Perception +8
HP 1; a minion is never damaged by an attack that misses.
AC 25 Fortitude 21 Reflex 22 Will 21

Speed 6
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Standard Actions
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basic melee attack Leaping Bite (at will):
Targets one enemy within 1; +14 vs. AC; 8 damage and the tongue attaches itself to the target. While attached to the target, the tongue blinds it and can deal 8 damage to the target as a standard action; an Escape roll is needed to detach the creature. Miss: the tongue shifts into another vacant square adjacent to the target.
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Alignment Evil
Languages none (can translate the aranea spider's speech)
Str 10 (+4) Con 18 (+8) Dex 20 (+9) Int 4 (+1) Wis 18 (+8) Cha 10 (+4)