History
The arachne are an ancient race, and are some of The Northland's earliest inhabitants. For millennia, they lived in hidden towns and villages deep in the darkest reaches of The Great Forest, in the northwestern sections where Norvesh now stands. Aside from early territorial wars with their owlbear neighbors, they largely kept to themselves.
In more recent times, they kept out curious trespassers with their networks of webs, and did all they could to remain isolated. They were content in this existence, hunting as they needed and exploring the questions of life through their art. They remained ever-vigilant about keeping their own population to a manageable size, lest they draw attention and disrupt their communities. Eventually, however, their way of life was brought to an abrupt end when the westward expansion of Haven destroyed their forests and surrounded their towns. They had no choice but to assimilate into this new kingdom and try to secure power politically.
Over the years, the arachne would slowly carve out their niche in Haven society as artisans, artists, scholars, and followers of many other such noble professions. They also proved their worth in more rugged tasks, such as construction and serving as some of the more elite archers and infiltrators in the Haven Guard and Haven Expeditionary Force.
Just like all other denizens of Haven, the arachne were devastated by the Haven Inferno, and again by the Leviathan Impact. Their population is only now approaching its historical numbers, more than fifty years after the Leviathan Impact. Despite being fewer in number than they once were, the feats of the arachne are arguably far more impressive; their art and architecture has flourished, with their home district of Talaeros boasting the tallest and most complex structures found anywhere in the city.
Personality
To other races, the arachne are nearly totally inscrutable. They tend to carry themselves in a manner that is so calm, polite, and level-headed that many others find it uncanny and disconcerting; their friendliness is appreciated, but many describe a feeling of never really, truly knowing how an arachne feels or what their motivations may be. In truth, the origins of these mannerisms were survival oriented: over the years, the arachne had seen what the humans of Haven had done to other races, even other human lineages, if they dared to stand against the will of the city. The arachne, prior to joining Haven, studied the humans intensely and crafted a synthetic demeanor that would reduce the chances that they as arachnids would be marked for violence or extermination. Over time, these manufactured personality traits have become a true and natural part of the culture, and younger arachne learn these mannerisms from their elders not for survival but as part of the normal generational transference of culture.
Physical Description
The arachne are a race of arachnid humanoids, with their lower bodies being comprised of the legs, abdomen, and cephalothorax of a spider, and their upper bodies consisting of a human torso, arms, and head protruding from the anterior end of the spider cephalothorax. A wide variety of traits exists for both their human and spider anatomical components. Their human halves have been observed with all manner of skin tones and hair colors and textures, and their spider halves resemble myriad species, from orb weavers to huntsmen to tarantulas. Due to this wide range in phenotype, arachne may vary widely in overall size; some would not be out of place among dwarves, while others may look down to meet the eyes of a goliath.
Relations
Among the races of Haven, the arachne do not share any especially close ties. As with their personal interactions, they collectively put on a diplomatic and agreeable front while remaining, to a large degree, guarded and cautious. They do share some faint kinship with the owlbears, their ancient rivals and co-inhabitants of The Northland that also have had their histories forever changed by the humans of Haven.
A small number of arachne have recently migrated from Haven to the allied territories and colonies in Ukrat. Among these transplant communities, they share a fondness for the Crobashi humans, who they find much more approachable and agreeable than the Fjordsson humans of Haven. They also have begun forging bonds with the Khruzhnu, a strange and secretive arachnid-humanoid people that are extremely similar to the arachne, with the main difference being that they live mainly underground and have phenotypes mainly resembling those of burrowing spider species. Arachne researchers and Khruzhnu researchers are actively working on solving the question of how the two races may be related, and if they are in fact both lineages of some ancestral race.
As one of the four Major races of Haven, along with the Fjordsson humans, owlbears, and phulubits, the Arachne control the Silken Throne, one of the four seats on Haven's Tetrarchy. This position is currently occupied by Lady Latrodecta Macta: elusive and inscrutable, yet a leader beloved by nearly all of her people. The other Tetrarchs are somewhat wary of her, but the areas of Haven under her direct oversight are some of the most economically active in the city, so they allow her to do as she pleases most of the time. Though most who encounter are charmed, they also report feeling a faint, indescribable menace, as if she were regarding them more as an object rather than an individual.
Alignment
Arachne exist everywhere along the good-evil axis, but their affinity for precision and details causes them to nearly always be lawfully aligned.
Lands
The arachne historically resided in the northwest reaches of The Northland's Great Forest, but since Haven's takeover of the continent and the arachne race's assimilation into the city, they have built up the district of Talaeros as their new home. It is a district full of complex architecture and soaring towers, most of which require arachne anatomy to navigate safely. In many areas, these towers are so tall and so densely interconnected by skyways and webs that little sunlight reaches street level. Only arachne and the bravest of other races dare to venture through the inner neighborhoods of Talaeros.
Religion
The arachne of Haven are largely non-religious, but small cults still exist that dedicate themselves to the worship and cultural preservation of one or both of the old divine powers: Theraphos and Phoneutria. Theraphos is a warm and benevolent god that represents strength, long life, hard work, and the hunt, while Phoneutria is a wild, undpredictable, and often sadistic goddess that represents cunning, deceit, trickery, torture, and indulgence in violence for violence's sake. These cults are generally avoided by most of arachne society, but many still manage to share a degree of admiration for the cultists striving to continue to serve their gods after all this time. Their activities are usually allowed to carry on, however questionable they may be, as long as they do not attract unwanted attention and they do not harm fellow arachne.
Language
All Arachne speak common, but additionally most are able to also communicate in Silkspeak. Silkspeak involves the usage of web patterning and ancient symbols, and serves exclusively as an esoteric form of written communication used by arachne, for arachne. Attempts have been made by non-arachne scholars to decode silkspeak over the years, but all of their efforts have proven futile.
Adventurers
The resourcefulness and intelligence of Arachne shows in the path choices of its adventurers: most choose to follow either the path of the Ranger or the path of the Wizard. Their cultural focus on the arts also leads many to take up the life of the Bard. Some have also been known to become rogues and assassins. Arachne Clerics and Paladins exist, but they are exceedingly rare as the cults of Theraphos and Phoneutria consist of so few followers.
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