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Roseweave
Learned Scribe
Ireland
212 Posts |
 Posted - 08 Aug 2014 : 23:14:58
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There's an Aranea NPC we picked up as a guide on the Rock of Bral, she stuck with the party for a while and wants to find more of her own people eventually, though Aranea tend to hide so it's not easy.
We dropped her back to my character's crazy family in Waterdeep with my character's crazy half-succubus sister so we thought it would be amusing to do a side-fic about them going to a Monster High type place for monster races, spellscarred etc. so I'm kind of exploring possible backstories for her as she doesn't really know where she came from.
She presents as a darker skinned, calishite looking half-elf. I've been doing some research, in the realms Aranea were said to have been made by a Calishite river and hang out in a big swamp.
My character's doctor is Calishite, and will probably know a bit about Aranea physiology and I'm kind of wondering how it works. Things like the limits of their shapeshifting powers.
Anyone got any extended info on Aranea past the MMs etc.? I'm interested in things like sex/gender too, are they more fluid with shapeshifter races? From what I gather Aranea tend to have 3 forms, a full on Spidery form, a hybrid form which is unique to each Aranea but may be kind of Dridery, and a human or half-elf form. We've been treating her as being able to shapeshift into different people, but I'm imagining that sort of thing probably requires more concentration than her "permanent" transformations?
I kind of like the idea of high level Aranea having "Embiggen" powers like the New Ms. Marvel -
[img]http://www.comicbookresources.com/imgsrv/preview/0/0/1/ANMN-Point-One-Ms-Marvel-ac4e4.jpg[/img]
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The Masked Mage
Great Reader
USA
2420 Posts |
Posted - 09 Aug 2014 : 02:56:54
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| The only source I have for them other than MM and MC entries is in Dragon 351. There is about 1/3 page on them on the Island of Dread |
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George Krashos
Master of Realmslore
Australia
6646 Posts |
Posted - 09 Aug 2014 : 18:10:53
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The origin of aranea in the Realms is set out in "Empires of the Shining Sea" at p.90. In simple terms, Calishite wizards created them during the Night Wars against the drow as a means to infiltrate the dark elves and destroy their organisation from within. Once they we're no longer needed, they were discarded by the Calishite authorities and forced into the Spider Swamp or killed.
This source has a bit of a stat/write up of the aranea which may address some of your more rules oriented queries.
-- George Krashos |
"Because only we, contrary to the barbarians, never count the enemy in battle." -- Aeschylus |
Edited by - George Krashos on 09 Aug 2014 18:12:35 |
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Roseweave
Learned Scribe
Ireland
212 Posts |
Posted - 21 Aug 2014 : 21:12:29
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| Can you explain their shapeshifting powers? Can they normally only take 3 forms, spider, hybrid and humanoid? Or is it a case of them being their "True" forms they don't have to go to conscious effort to hold and everything else gives you a DC whatever perception check? Do they have gender/sex? How does that work? Can they change sex easily? |
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Tell me about Aranea
