Spiderbear, Elder

Huge monstrosity, neutral evil

Armor Class 15 (natural armor)
Hit Points 142 (15d12 + 45)
Speed 40 ft., climb 40 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
19 (+0)	12 (+1)	17 (+3)	11 (+0)	17 (+3)	8 (-1)

Skills Perception +5, Stealth +3
Senses truesight 60 ft., passive Perception 15
Languages Common, Spiderbear
Challenge 7 (2,900 XP)

Special Traits

• Spider Climb. The elder spiderbear can climb difficult surfaces, including upside down on ceilings, without needing to make an ability check.
• Web Sense. While in contact with a web, the elder spiderbear knows the exact location of any other creature in contact with the same web.
• Web Walker. The elder spiderbear ignores movement restrictions caused by webbing.

Actions

• Multiattack. The elder spiderbear makes three attacks: one with its bite and two with its claws.
• Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 10 ft.; one target. Hit: 14 (3d6 + 4) piercing damage, and the target must succeed on a DC 13 Constitution saving throw or take 4 (1d8) poison damage and is poisoned for 2 (1d4) rounds.
• Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 10 ft.; one target. Hit: 13 (2d8 + 4) slashing damage.
• Web (Recharge 4-6). Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, range 30/60 ft.; one target. Hit: The target is restrained by webbing. As an action, the restrained target can make a DC 15 Strength check, bursting the webbing on a success. The webbing can also be attacked and destroyed (AC 11, hp 12; vulnerability to fire damage; immunity to bludgeoning, poison, and psychic damage).

Reactions

• Disarm. The elder spiderbear can knock a weapon out of a creature’s hand if the creature missed the spiderbear. To do this, the elder spiderbear must see the attacker and must not have made a claw attack this round. When a melee attack fails against the elder spiderbear, it can make a claw attack against that creature. If the claw attack hits, the attack deals no damage, but the weapon is knocked out of the creature’s hand and lands 5 feet away from the creature in a random direction.

About

If you cannot abide the thought of a spider with all its hairy legs crawling across your floor, imagine one large enough to bite off your head and smart enough to counter your attacks. That is the danger of the spiderbear.

Combining the raw strength of a bear with the swiftness and deadly poison of a spider, a spiderbear is a ferocious predator and perhaps one of the creepiest because of its cunning intellect, eight legs, and nasty claws.

The name a spiderbear has for its kind in its own language literally translates as “Cave King.” Its ability to walk on cave walls and ceilings or up tree trunks makes it an inventive hunter. Combined with its exceptional ability to hide, its prey seldom know the spiderbear has attacked, even after the poison takes hold.

A spiderbear’s home is its web. Like a monstrous spider, the silk a spiderbear spins is as thick as rope and far stronger.

The silk’s natural adhesive makes it difficult for all but the spiderbear or its lesser spider kin to traverse without being stuck fast. Unlike a spider, a spiderbear decorates its web with the femur bones of its most recent kills. A spiderbear considers skulls with brains intact to be a fine delicacy and will take the time to savor its meal. Its web is also hung with metallic treasures found upon its victims. A spiderbear’s web frequently bears a wealth of gold coins and magical gear.

Each of these glittery items is woven tightly into the web’s structure and it typically takes looters a half hour to dig out the full wealth from it.

A colony of spiderbears organizes themselves from oldest to youngest. The younger ones occupy the mouth of a cave or the edge of a forest. The eldest spiderbear is found in the heart of the forest or the darkest recesses of the cave. When a creature comes into a spiderbear cave or forest, the young ones decide together if they will challenge it or leave it for their elders. If they decide to attack, only a single young spiderbear tries to vanquish the newcomer. If the brave arachnid dies quickly, the rest of the young ones stay hidden.

If the interloper does not succumb easily but the first few seconds of battle fall to the attacking spiderbear, its brethren join in swarming the foe. This process is characteristic of each age cluster. Should the spiderbears allow the trespasser to approach the eldest spiderbear, then all ages of spiderbears will surround the formidable creature and join the foray if the eldest signals to attack. Younger spiderbears, of course, leave the spoils to the eldest.

Spiderbear webs are built for deception. A common strategy is to have a web built on the ceiling supported with thin and easily broken strands. When half of the web comes down, any intruders stand trapped in the cave while the spiderbear pounces.

Adult spiderbears are rare. While there may be dozens or even hundreds of young spiderbears in a cluster, adult spiderbears typically number between three and six. Even the largest spiderbear cluster possesses less than a dozen adult spiderbears. Elder spiderbears are even rarer. If two elder spiderbears are in a single cluster, every surrounding village and town will notice. Every animal in the forest will quickly vanish, either having run away or been eaten. People that go anywhere near their domain will disappear at an alarming rate.