Monster Monday - Spiders

I began to write this last week, but have been sick. I'm trying again this week. Spiders are ubiquitous to dungeon delving. Even outdoor adventures run into the eight-legged monstrosities. They may pop up in cities.
Spiders come in sizes ranging from fingernail-sized, up to (and maybe beyond) the size of a pony. Some are poisonous, and some are merely environmental hazards.
Spiders are essential to megadungeons. They are more important than goblins, trolls, dragons or any other fantastic beast. They lend an air of realism to the dark places. They can tap into dark fears of players.
But, it's what they do inside of the game that makes them shine as monsters.
Want a section of dungeon to look undisturbed for a long period? Cover the hallway in cobwebs.
Want to remove the orcs from an area and replace them with something else?
Leave their web-wrapped, desiccated corpses in corners, and out of the way places.
Need a magical component for Leather Armor? Send the PCs to the lair of Kk'eez, the Spider Demon. His webbing is said to be of great strength, and light weight. He will not give it in an easy bargain, though.
Speaking of Kk'eez, he can be a phenomenal long term villain. His plans spiral out like a spider's web. They touch things that don't seem connected, until the investigators are in the middle. . .

Artwork: © Jack Badashski, 2016 (bought rights on RPGNow)

What's new in my game world. February 2015 edition

So, it's been a good week for my game library this month.

I picked up Tome of Horrors Complete and Tome of Horrors 4 from Frog God's sale early in the month. I am totally in love with these books. They would have been worth the money at retail price. Getting ToH4 for free pushed me over the edge to buy them, but I should have picked them up years ago.

They are well made books. In every sense. The artwork is good, the materials of the book are top notch. They are presented well. And all the monsters are available for the OGL. What's not to love about these products?

Then I picked up Rappan Athuk on 15%, also from Frog God Games. This book is insane! The players of my group are already begging to play it, and I've only had it for 26 hours. It is even better put-together than ToH. Faux leather cover, sewn in bookmark. I picked up the Player's Guide, the Monsters Book, and the GM Screen too. You can bet we will be playing this Character Killer soon.

I officially have a COMPLETE map for Mord Mar. It's only taken 2+ years. I have definitely got a lot of work to do. That said, reverting to 1E style map marking/description is something I should have done a long time ago. There's a reason I have all of those monster books. I don't need the stat blocks in the key.

Adventure A Week was doing a firesale on Facebook the other night. For $40, I was able to pick up a set of Rise of the Drow Dice, a RotD t-shirt, and a RotD "sackboy." Aren't they cute? Seriously, AAW does good work. Go check them out.

*Image stolen from Jonathan on FB. I don't know who took it.

PS I'm currently the high bidder on a Sword and Sorcery copy of Gygax's Necropolis.
PSS My Bones Kickstarter should ship today or tomorrow.*EDIT* It shipped today. Waiting for Monday now.