Rock Spiders

Rock Spiders are a species of giant arachnid native to many mortal worlds.

Description

Rock spiders are well adapted to a variety of environments but live primarily at the foot of mountains, underground and in forests.

The carapace of a Rock spider hard carapace is very similar in appearance and texture to stone, allowing them to camouflage themselves to look like mundane boulders if they bundle up their legs and don't move.
They commonly use this to ambush prey, which they then paralyze with their poison and drag back to their den to consume it.

Rock spiders live alone in dens constructed by digging tunnels into earth, gravel and loose rock and reinforcing them with webbing. They will attack anything that enters their den, but are not territorial apart form that and will leave their den only to procure food or to find a mate.

Life cycle

After rock spiders mate, the female will return to her den to lay anywhere from 5 to 20 eggs.
Several weeks later the hatchlings hatch in unison from their eggs and immediately leave the nest so as to not get devoured by their mother. They are immediately self-sufficient and know instinctually how to build their own dens and how to ambush prey.
Rock spiders reach maturity within 3 to 5 years.

Hunting strategy

Rock spiders are not very intelligent. Once their den is tracked down, they can be smoked out and killed rather easily.
Out in the field, rock spiders are hard to find due to their camouflage and the first to find them is likely to be the one bitten by them. Additionally their carapace is exceptionally hard, making fighting them challenging.
Rock spiders are likely to attempt retreat if victory seems unfeasible and will fight ferociously if cornered.

Trivia

Ghost spiders are close relatives of Ghost spiders.

Appearance:

Rock spiders are dog-sized upon hatching and Horse sized upon maturity. Rock spiders never fully stop growing however, and very old spiders can be the size of elephants or even small houses.

They commonly match the coloration of rocks near their dens, with most being various greys, though rust or cream colours may also be present depending on the area. Some rock spiders even let moss and other vegetation grow on their backs to blend in more with forest environments.