Ettercap
- Size: Medium
- Type: Monstrosity
- Alignment: Neutral Evil
- AC: 13
- Initiative: +2 (12)
- HP: 44 (8d8+8)
- Speed: 30 ft, Climb 30 ft .
| ATTR | VAL | MOD | SAVE |
|---|---|---|---|
| STR | 14 | +2 | +2 |
| DEX | 15 | +2 | +2 |
| CON | 13 | +1 | +1 |
| INT | 7 | -2 | -2 |
| WIS | 12 | +1 | +1 |
| CHA | 8 | -1 | -1 |
- Skills: Perception +3, Stealth +4, Survival +3
- Senses: Darkvision 60 ft.; Passive Perception 13
- Languages: None
- CR: 2 (XP 450; PB +2)
Traits
Spider Climb. The ettercap can climb difficult surfaces, including along ceilings, without needing to make an ability check.
Web Walker. The ettercap ignores movement restrictions caused by webs, and the ettercap knows the location of any other creature in contact with the same web.
Actions
Multiattack. The ettercap makes one Bite attack and one Claw attack.
Bite. Melee Attack Roll: +4, reach 5 ft . Hit: 5(1d6+2) Piercing damage.
Claw. Melee Attack Roll: +4, reach 5 ft . Hit: 7(2d4+2) Slashing damage.
Web Strand (Recharge 5-6). Dexterity Saving Throw: DC 12, one Large or smaller creature the ettercap can see within 30 feet. Failure: The target has the Restrained condition until the web is destroyed (AC 10; HP 5; Vulnerability to Fire damage; Immunity to Bludgeoning, Poison, and Psychic damage).
Bonus Actions
Reel. The ettercap pulls one creature within 30 feet of itself that is Restrained by its Web Strand up to 25 feet straight toward itself.
Lore & Background
Ettercaps are aberrant creatures that combine humanoid intelligence with spider-like features and an obsessive fascination with webs and web-spinning. These twisted beings have long, spindly limbs, multiple eyes, and the ability to produce and manipulate webs with supernatural skill. Ettercaps are solitary creatures that claim large territories, usually in dark forests or underground caverns where they can construct elaborate web networks.
These creatures are not true spiders despite their appearance and abilities. They are aberrations that seem to exist in a strange middle ground between humanoid and arachnid, possessed of cunning intelligence but driven by alien instincts. Ettercaps often form alliances with giant spiders, serving as leaders or coordinators for spider colonies.
Combat Tactics
Ettercaps prefer to fight from within their web networks, using their Web ability to immobilize enemies before closing for melee combat. Their Spider Climb allows them to move freely through their three-dimensional web constructions, giving them significant tactical advantages in their chosen terrain.
They use their Bite attack to inject poison into helpless victims, preferring to incapacitate rather than immediately kill their prey. Ettercaps are patient hunters who will retreat deeper into their webs if outmatched, using their superior mobility to strike from unexpected angles.
Encounter Ideas
The Web Maze: An ettercap has turned an entire section of forest into a massive web maze, trapping travelers and using them as food sources for its spider allies.
The Spider Shepherd: An ettercap leads a colony of giant spiders in coordinated attacks on trade routes, using its intelligence to plan ambushes and raids.
Underground Network: An ettercap has established a web network throughout a cave system, creating a dangerous obstacle for anyone trying to navigate the tunnels.
The Silk Road: An ettercap offers to trade valuable spider silk in exchange for live prey, creating a moral dilemma for those who need its products.
Environmental Effects
Ettercap territories are dominated by extensive web networks that can span large areas. These webs make movement difficult and provide the ettercap with early warning of intruders. Spider populations in the area are typically much higher than normal due to the ettercap's influence.
Vegetation becomes entangled in webs, creating unusual formations and obstacles. Animal remains wrapped in silk mark the ettercap's feeding sites, while pathways through the webs show the creature's preferred routes.
Treasure
Ettercaps collect items from their victims, often storing them in silk cocoons throughout their territory. Weapons and armor may be found wrapped in webs, along with coins and jewelry. The ettercap's silk itself is valuable for crafting purposes.
Personal effects from victims provide clues about the ettercap's hunting patterns, while magical items may be preserved in the creature's web storage system.
Plot Hooks
The Silk Merchant: A merchant claims to have a source of the finest spider silk but won't reveal where it comes from, leading to discovery of an ettercap's territory.
Missing Travelers: People have been disappearing along a forest road, and investigation reveals an ettercap's expanding web network.
Spider War: An ettercap's spider colony is in conflict with another group of creatures, and the party becomes involved in the territorial dispute.
The Web Walker: An ettercap offers to guide the party through dangerous terrain in exchange for help with a problem it cannot solve alone.
Lore & Background
Ettercaps are aberrant creatures that blur the line between humanoid and spider, dwelling in the dark corners of forests and caves where they weave their twisted webs. These grotesque beings are believed to be the result of ancient curses or magical experiments gone wrong, creating a hybrid creature that embodies the worst aspects of both spider and humanoid intelligence. Unlike true spiders, ettercaps possess a malevolent cunning that allows them to craft elaborate traps and manipulate their environment to their advantage.
These creatures are natural web-spinners, capable of creating intricate networks of sticky strands that serve both as hunting grounds and defensive fortifications. Their webs are often found in dense forests, abandoned ruins, or cave systems where they can control the terrain and funnel prey into their waiting embrace. Ettercaps are known to form symbiotic relationships with giant spiders, often serving as leaders or coordinators for spider colonies.
Combat Tactics
Ettercaps are ambush predators that rely heavily on preparation and environmental control. They prefer to fight on their own terms, using their web abilities to create advantageous terrain before engaging enemies. Their primary strategy involves restraining opponents with webs while positioning themselves for devastating attacks with their venomous bite and claws.
In combat, ettercaps will attempt to separate groups of enemies, using their web attacks to isolate individual targets. They excel at hit-and-run tactics, using their spider climb ability to move across walls and ceilings to attack from unexpected angles. When facing multiple opponents, they often retreat to areas where their webs provide maximum advantage, forcing enemies to navigate difficult terrain while they strike from above.
Encounter Ideas
The Silk Road Trap: A merchant caravan has gone missing on a forest road, with only torn silk banners and strange webbing found at the scene. Investigation reveals an ettercap has been systematically capturing travelers to feed its growing spider colony, using the road as a hunting ground.
The Puppet Master's Grove: An ettercap has taken control of a sacred grove, using its webs to manipulate the movements of captured druids and forest creatures. The local fey are desperate for heroes to break the creature's hold on their sanctuary.
The Abandoned Mine: Miners report strange sounds and disappearances in an old mine shaft. An ettercap has made its lair in the depths, using the tunnels to create a three-dimensional web maze that traps both miners and the creatures that venture too deep.
The Spider's Bargain: A desperate noble seeks heroes to retrieve their kidnapped child from an ettercap's lair. The creature has offered to trade the child for a specific magical artifact, but its true intentions remain unclear.
Environmental Effects
Areas controlled by ettercaps become treacherous landscapes of sticky webs and hidden traps. The air often carries the musty scent of spider silk and decay, while the sound of skittering legs echoes from unseen corners. Vegetation in ettercap territories becomes entangled in webs, creating natural barriers and hiding spots.
The presence of an ettercap often attracts other arachnids to the area, creating a ecosystem of spiders that serve as both allies and early warning systems. These creatures leave behind shed chitin, silk cocoons, and the remains of their prey, marking their territory with clear signs of their presence.
Treasure
Ettercaps are collectors of shiny objects and magical items, often decorating their lairs with treasures taken from their victims. Their hoards typically include jewelry, coins, and small magical items that caught their fancy. They have a particular fondness for items that produce light or sound, which they use to lure prey into their webs.
The silk produced by ettercaps is valuable to certain crafters and alchemists, particularly those who work with magical textiles. Their venom glands can be harvested for use in poisons or antidotes, though this requires careful extraction to maintain potency.
Plot Hooks
The Weaver's Curse: A village seamstress has been cursed to slowly transform into an ettercap, and the heroes must find the source of the curse before the transformation becomes permanent. The curse may be connected to a cursed bolt of silk or an ancient pact with spider spirits.
The Web of Lies: An ettercap has been impersonating a hermit sage, using its web abilities to create illusions and manipulate visitors. Heroes must uncover the deception and discover what happened to the real sage.
The Spider's Library: An ettercap has made its lair in an ancient library, using its webs to preserve and organize the books. While the creature is hostile, it possesses knowledge that could be crucial to stopping a greater threat.
The Silk Merchant's Secret: A successful silk merchant is secretly an ettercap in disguise, using its position to identify wealthy targets for its true hunting activities. The heroes must expose the creature without causing panic in the community.