Monster Ecology: Phase Spider

Phase spiders are aggressive predators that can move quickly from the Ethereal Plane to attack opponents on the Material Plane.
A typical phase spider’s body is 8 feet long. It weighs about 700 pounds.

[@Jader7777]

Saying blood blocks a phase spider is a slippery slope, what about other microbes? Fungus? Moss? Mould? Bacteria? Basically everything would block a phase spider.

[@AJPickett]

Excellent question! Could it pass through a Myconid, through an Ochre jelly? They are fungus and monocellular organisms.. Ethereal creatures seem to have a bit of push when it comes to moving through simple, microscopic forms of life, otherwise they would never be able to pass through water, that stuff is just filthy with life forms. While the science is iffy, the game play from the players perspective is now a lot more interesting, as here is some practical know-how that the experienced monster fighting adventurers have learned in their travels, and now they have a very marketable skill. Some ethereal creatures seem to have no problem passing through living beings, such as ghosts.. so perhaps it is the same magical mechanism that stops two creatures teleporting into each other (though, that also applies to inanimate matter.. so, how can people teleport in the rain?). In the end, yes, it is not entirely logically consistent or conforming to some sort of hard rule, like a physical law, but these are the concessions we make when we play a fantasy game. Don't forget, if you throw a net over a spider that can phase through inanimate matter, there is nothing stopping it just dropping into the ground under the net.. so even with these tricks, some skill is involved.

[@AJPickett]

I am loving that video! Exactly what I was thinking about when comparing the ethereal to the code of the matrix.. so instead of the mind interpreting it as code or line art, it perceives a mist, a fog with shapes that fade out of sight, lose resolution, at a short distance. I think Ghosts are both incorporeal and ethereal, so they don't have the same restrictions.. I will have to look deeper into that when I make a video on them. I think a phase spider might be able to pass through a zombie, lich or other form of negative energy spirit, animating a corpse, at least, that would be an interesting twist, but it could easily go the other way. Pretty interesting line of thought, but yeah, probably one of those pseudo science rabbit holes that is not really that important when it comes to game play. If they viewers are running their game and decide to include blood soaked nets.. fine, if not, also fine.. it is just me thinking out loud. I did love the idea of the spider leaping out of the camp fire though.. that was pure gold.

[@Jader7777]

AJ Pickett Maybe you could do some videos on concepts rather creatures, you did some on planes of existence but you could also do: What is etherealness? What is positive energy? What's the difference between super natural and magic? What is adamantium? Etc. I'm sure you'll eventually have an explained compendium of d&d videos one day. :)

[@AJPickett]

I would be happy to live stream a polite debate between you and I on all of the above topics, and between us, it would be so gloriously nerdy that people will just sit and bathe in the awesome grognardium that we generate. But seriously, yeah, that is an excellent idea. I am thinking of starting to upload mid week videos on Alt. subjects.

[@Jader7777]

I'll PM you my details if you wanted to have a chat about the aforementioned grognardium.

[@apocalypticmoth6040]

This sparked an entire mystery adventure for my party. I bumped up the intelligence a bit to justify the logic of it eating people from the hospital.

[@richmcgee434]

Never registered on it before, but maybe part of the reason dragons like sleeping on (or buried in) their hoarde is because all that gold will block ethereal intrusions. No chance of a phase-shifting assassin popping out with a dragonbane blade when you've got a half-ton of gold for a blanket.

[@AJPickett]

Hmmmm... I like this idea

[@nvfury13]

In the second and third edition rules about creating strongholds they also mention using Gorgon blood in mortar and building a stronghold (or a simple stone cube) in the Ethereal Plane to block such intrusions.

[@nvfury13]

Rich McGee Though that also brings to mind an old fun thing I threw at players: A dragon that was creating and distributing “dragons bane” weapons, ones that wouldn’t harm *it* but worked perfectly well against other dragons, with a twist of teleporting 10% of the hoard of any dragon slain with them to the creator.

[@charlottewalnut3118]

@@nvfury13 Black dragon id bet

[@nvfury13]

Yushiro Shihoin Red actually.

[@MisterTutor2010]

Where's an enchanted can of Raid when you need it? :)

[@AJPickett]

heh!

[@e.wilson9613]

That's pretty good.;)

[@thegooddinggleberry]

Tame a phase spider. Now you have a teleporting horse that can physically move you through planes.

[@TalismancerM]

I had the webs able to phase in & out as well. That way the characters could walk right into their lair before the trap was sprung.

[@AJPickett]

Crikey! That is an excellent lar feature, I like it!

[@benry007]

Nasty I like it

[@fan9775]

Love listening to these as I paint.

[@aaronmcgowan5769]

I had a Night hag pay two of these to use their phasing ability to attack the group and kidnap a PC in the hopes the rest of the group would find a way to realm travel to save them. It turned out to be a fun and suspenseful way to push the group from "we are small time adventurers" to "We have enemies in multiple realms and have the power to go after them". Can't understate how fun these are. AJ is the best.

[@mikeoxlong1395]

Yay, flying space spiders... as if my arachnophobia cannot get any worse.

[@jamescollins2068]

17:00 actually infant spiders tend to have much more powerful venom to make up for the lower quantity they can inject. I would make the poison worse but make it much hard for the spiderlings to land a successful attack as they would be much small and weaker.

[@brendancoulter5761]

If we are talking about arachnids then I dont believe there are any spiders living in Antarctica. Their is however a giant sea spider but that is a distant cousin and is not an arachnid.

[@AJPickett]

The web flying Money Spiders can be found world wide, but obviously the current conditions in Antarctica are not suitable for them.

[@purplehaze2358]

Probably my favorite official giant spider in D&D.

[@HighmageDerin]

Reminds me of the reddit d&d story about the DM who used phase spiders against a player who abused the blink spell with sus rolls all the time

[@MarkATorres1989]

Never heard of these spiders before, I might just use them in the game I DM. Something akin to a horror stalker for the level 2 players.

[@MachineMan-mj4gj]

You sure they don't have these in Australia?

[@HPPalmtopTube]

he's in New Zealand, no nasty spiders here ;)

[@dboot8886]

Terrence Vergauwen That sir, is a damn lie and we both know it... well done. Couldn't be prouder.

[@MustiiDrums]

They are here in Australia, I swear in the name of Jesus I saw these spiders as a kid! It was when I use to go to my local tennis court and take lessons. They were just bunched up in the corner of the court near the bushes and trees. Some were large and some were small. I freaked out and told my instructor and she touched them with her racket and they moved!! To this day I vividly remember exactly what I saw because it wasn’t just once I seen them, it was legit every lesson. It has definitely got to have been more than 10 - 15 years since seeing them and I have no idea where to see one again or if they even still exist. I researched as much as I could online only to find this fictional story as the closest thing I can remember seeing....

[@michaelkelligan7931]

That spinning of the webbing to get from place to place is called "ballooning"....ive seen it happen in the springtime...its pretty cool looking!.....also,why do you call them animals when they're clearly a form of arachnid?

[@AJPickett]

Arachnids are also animals, so are fish, so are lawyers.

[@johnathanbrandt2526]

@@AJPickett i feel the need to interject on the last point. virus are not classified under the kingdom eukaryote therefore lawyers are not animals.

[@RareBloodyWolf]

Had to find this just to make sure I'm playing my spider correctly.. just went into a cave and as the natural Albino Drow (or Ghost Spider) Rogue I stole an egg before the dragonborn paladin could burn a room of spider eggs... also why we HAD to fight Phase Spiders along the cave.. I ended up rolling to hatch to see what kind of spider I got. Just so happened to be a Phase Spider. Now I'm training her like a pup and soon I'll be allowed to ride her! SUPER SNEAK ATTACK HERE I COME! Pffft ranger with a Misty step. What's that? Too bad the Druid has a serious Arachnophobia for being one shotted by this spider before. Now hes absolutely afraid of me!

[@oliviabean8264]

Woah! I knew some spiders did something along those lines but that is so much cooler when you add in those details.

[@grymhild]

_Lloth tlu malla, jal ultrinnan zhah xundus!_

[@joesgotmore]

Ran a game where I had goblin spider riders that rode phase spiders. They wore googles made from phase spider eyes and hide armor from phase spiders that died. Goblin Phase Team 6 were good at stealing stuff and assassinating's enemies.

[@johntutson7517]

Omg that’s amazing

[@AGrayPhantom]

Wow, they got nerfed HARD in 5e! I'm looking at the stats from 3.5, and it's actually quite intimidating.

[@krystalfruehling7522]

They ride not just the wind but the static in the air....

[@Fallout3131]

Oh lord I hope I don't run into this

[@AJPickett]

Me to!

[@AJPickett]

Khashon Haselrig, look at that subscribe button, it is so shiny and inviting to click, mmmm?

[@Zellig]

Just encountered these in Baldur's Gate 3 and BOOOY are they a doozy with the AI in that game.

[@dreammirrorbrony1240]

at 5:15, I'm seeing multiple eyes; the 3 small ones on the sides, and the 2 big ones up front. Maybe it does have the full 8?

[@kurtoogle4576]

Really inspiring video AJ! I am bursting with nasty DM ideas! ;>

[@AJPickett]

My work here is done :D

[@GRIMGORIRONHIDEROCKS]

Interesting point to note: Phase Spiders *cannot* spin their own webs (though they can Web Walk).

[@randallbaumgardt3424]

A fun little thing I throw out to may players that always makes the sit up and smile is phase spiders that are no bigger than a regular variety. Largely harmless but a cool bit of flavor, that is until they form a phasing swarm that is.

[@jorywalkinshaw9249]

You had me at space spiders.

[@gerbenvanessen]

all the art shows that the spider has 8 eyes, the 2 middle ones being big.

[@muninrob]

If your players don't have nightmares about fighting a phase spider, you didn't use it right. :-P Think trap door spider like ambushes, from any / all surfaces, and if the prey isn't instantly incapacitated, retreat back to the tunnel to try again later remember, it's a predator hunting food, not a murder-hobo - the goal isn't to kill the party, it's to nab a morsel of food and escape unharmed. (Haflings and gnomes would probably be the 1st target, grabbed and dragged to the ethereal and eaten over the next week or so - and once they hit the ethereal rescue is going to be...... complicated...)

[@jeffreylucier5266]

Thanks again A.J.!

[@AJPickett]

most welcome! *skitter skitter* did you hear that? Wait, I'm going to go look...

[@jeffreylucier5266]

AJ Pickett we all appreciate your work. You're a great storyteller, modern day bard, that can relate fantasy to real world application easily. Thanks for your dedication to the genre.

[@jSlazer1988]

If a magical spider bites my my pc, can he develop magical super powers?

[@AJPickett]

Yes, he has the power to transform into Dead, and Food!

[@Raivan31]

I only heard dead and pool... deadpool. that'll do

[@nvfury13]

jSlazer At *my* table...absolutely! That would make for a fun combo with the vigilante Jester(Bard variant), parkouring vigilante Monk Tabaxi, and the Rogue/Wild Talent (who has a psionic “Smite” he can charge thrown or missiles with).

[@NoActuallyGo-KCUF-Yourself]

Absolutely. Rule of Cool applies.

[@marcosreed9894]

Started a campaign and this is going to be a useful critter for an encounter en route to a recently discovered ruin.

[@venkelos6996]

Phase spiders are neat, and something one of my parties quickly learned to hate!😊 I must sadly confess I got into a bad place, as a DM. It didn't matter what I was doing; my overpowered cadre of caster players could just steamroll anything. I especially learned to hate spirit guardians, as that spell made every encounter trivial. I used Werewolves, and it worked once, then every encounter was assumed to possibly be more of them, and sustained (concentration) AoE magic made even them just die. Well, we were playing CoS, and Strahd has both hags and a fair amount of empty time to tinker with his toys so I invented something new; my pack of Wolf Spiders. Each one of these poor bastards had basically been given to the hags, who used their tainted magic to seal a phase spider inside each lycan. These mote sneaky, roguish Werewolves basically gained the jaunt ability, and could secrete the venom, but their minds were haunted by the thoughts of these unwilling passengers, so they could go nuts, and when they fell to 0hp, sometimes the spider would burst from their bodies, and get free. It sounds possibly worse of me then it actually was, bur it allowed these lycans to remove themselves from the field, do that sustained AoEs, and the while party action economy couldn't as easy be turned against them, since every player had magic, and they could capture a victim, and spirit them away. Again, it was sort of a knee-jerk reaction on my part, ad I wasn't really fond, at the time, with how much 5e basically seemed to day "players run wild! You can do anything!", and could make it hard for a DM to actually challenge them, but, as my players quickly let me know they weren't real fans, but they were neat, in my opinion. I later took it to a greater angle, and had a Drow assassin also havecthis procedure done to her. Giving her another type of poison to use was great, bur giving her the ability to walk through walls, and get to her targets, was awesome! I never actually used her; she's in a file of options retained for in case, but I figured Drow do have some dangerous assassins, and Lolth is the Spider Queen, so having one of Her operatives actually having this power was neat!

[@AmigoRoberto]

Used a phase spider (cr bumped a little) as a evil wizard companion once. And the spider encounter was more difficult than the wizard himself. My players loved it though. Said it was the best encounter of the dungeon

[@dunny026]

Been enjoying these vids, just subscribed.

[@AJPickett]

Thank you WATD!

[@dunny026]

The frog is fine, it's us that are fucked.

[@AJPickett]

actually frog populations around the world are pretty grim, but I have high hopes for the future of humanity :)

[@dunny026]

Sadly, I am aware of the frog problem. I have a fondness for frogs, I think it's because they have hands. I've got a game in a few hours, would love to have some Bullywug involved now.

[@AJPickett]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/npSso4d_d8h3rKc

[@jeramiedavis6782]

Im using one of these in my arcane golden terrerium adventure.

[@NovaRuner]

Could one say that maybe the young hatchling spiders are not so good at phasing in and out of the planes. Like it is an ability that grows and develops as they mature. Like animals learning to walk, or birds learning to fly. Or something. It is natural for adults to phase in and out but maybe not something the young have learned to do yet. Just a suggestion

[@almitrahopkins1873]

Myconids can use their spores to prevent phase spiders from traveling in the ethereal because that cloud is made of living particles.

[@DamienZshadow]

Lol that opening was banger

[@That80sGuy1972]

Phase Spiders in my campaigns don't need to be clever to feed, especially in worlds with a lot of Underdark beings and Hobgoblins. They merely haunt battlegrounds and snatch those who barely survive as food. Lost combatants are expected. My NPC Sun Tzu (inspired by the writer of Art of War) gave this insight to a PC party when they were doing an investigation mission. Yes, I did use actual names of historical figures in my campaigns that inspired the NPCs. I did that as both a storytelling element and a distraction (red herring). Don't judge. My creativity was not infinite.

[@jeffreylucier5266]

nice

[@dragonballtalk8527]

Spider they said in the song at beginning

[@dragonballtalk8527]

Spider.....dance dance dance

[@MustiiDrums]

Dude, I literally saw these spiders at my old tennis back in Australia, they were fucking huge and some were small.. they were just bunched up in this really thick web on the corner of several tennis courts near the bushes and trees on the opposite side of the court. I remember telling my instructor about it and she touched the biggest one with her racket and it moved back. It was super freaky... if it bit me, I probably would be spiderman rn lmao

[@aubreyackermann8432]

Colonial tarantulas? Some of them are blue

[@MustiiDrums]

@@aubreyackermann8432 i just googled them, it didn’t look anything like it. I’m telling you what I saw was exactly the same as in this video

[@plasmastuck3371]

a phase spider travelling through the deep ethereal wouldn't be able to phase out would it?

[@jacobfreeman5444]

I would argue they are always traveling through some part of the ethereal. It isn't dipping into the ethereal plane for a short time to escape but dipping into the prime for a short time to sate its desires. It may keep something of a presense in the prime but its natural habitat is the ethereal.

[@dynamicworlds1]

Ooh, a video on the mechanics of gods would be nice! (Side note: It's not too bad, but going forward, can you lower the intro/outro music to be more in line with the volume levels of the main video? It's not horrible, but if I'm keeping the audio loud enough to hear over doing anything, it's a bit jarring/uncomfortable) Still, great stuff once again!

[@AJPickett]

Yes, I can do that, thanks for the feedback on the audio.

[@dynamicworlds1]

Alternatively, now that I'm at my computer and can compare better, you could raise the audio volume of the main video ...or even do a little of both if you felt so inclined...that might bring it most in line with the volume level of other videos (at least that I've been watching) if you're willing to fiddle with 2 values instead of 1 while evening out your own audio difference, but since it's not like all channels have the same audio level, that's kinda your call which way you want to take it. Looking forward to your next video whichever way you want to take it...and I think I've guessed it, but I'll see if I'm right then.

[@Raivan31]

A bit late to bother but as long as the volume stays constant.... I watch this stuff late at night.

[@Ultra_DuDu]

Aggresive spiders... well, i guess magic can explain that...

[@deadmanmouse2463]

Spiders can be very aggressive, your just to big to notice.

[@ginger-ham4800]

Question: Can they partially phase? Like, having half the body inside the wall but still striking with the front legs.

[@AJPickett]

Not as far as I am aware.

[@jacobfreeman5444]

That would be a rather complex operation. Even archmages would be hard pressed to replicate that action.

[@jesterknight6073]

most spiders eat there wounded so if a party does manage to wound the spider will the young eat the mother spider?

[@jacobfreeman5444]

I would think they wouldn't during a fight. Too much risk. But if the action moved away from the mother? Well...why not?

[@blakmajk3512]

👍🏼👍🏼

[@headshoutforthewinz]

What song is that

[@thehillz726]

could there be other spiders or other bugs with similar abilities that are smaller? like an ecosystem of ethereal bugs and other vermin?

[@AJPickett]

Seems likely.

[@epiccthulu]

A character I’m working on uses thread made from a hybrid of Phase Spider and Spellgaunt. Imma just say... there aren’t any videos on youtube about Spellgaunts...

[@AJPickett]

I've put spell gaunts on my list.

[@Zasek2112]

I like to think they come from the feywild.

[@stevenseufert2520]

Ethereal creatures can't move through living things like vines or blood? Is that a factoid from 5th edition? I don't remember anything like that in 3rd.

[@AJPickett]

I think there is a lot of confusion or assumptions around incorporeal form and ethereal form. Incorporeal entities can, indeed, easily pass through matter and living creatures, however, Ethereal entities can not.. where the individual DM draws the line on how inclusive that is (like, is it just multicellular, macro entities like fish, mammals, etc?) is certainly up for debate.

[@elricengquist9989]

I normally based it off how strong or developed the living substance/being is, and so how difficult it is for the etherial creature/being to pass thru the substance. To use the example of the Ethereal plane being like a computer system with the different beings an matter in the prime-plane being data/code, the more complex an dense the data/code of that substance/being is the harder it is to proceed thru it, and normally I would use a intelligence or wisdom based check for if a ethereal being can pass thru the substance/being.

[@AJPickett]

That makes a great deal of sense, and is easy to factor using the stats of the creature.Great!

[@headshoutforthewinz]

What is that song?

[@Weirdoid]

Wasn't their a sapient phase spider colony in the ethereal called omiad's web?

[@kevinferreira6608]

Maaan it's the Weaver's pet! (Perdido Street Station)

[@shadowofoblivion7233]

was playing pool of Radiance and almost got wiped by these guys wondering like! "why the hell cant I hit there guys" then I made the guess that ohh they phase out of existence....which the game would note that to the player.

[@ronnieleno9152]

I want one as a mount

[@AJPickett]

They make very poor riding arachnids.

[@deideisgirl59]

lmao i "tamed" a phase spider and i took it to sigil.

[@AJPickett]

LOL! I imagine some of the locals would see that and just mutter "must be Tuesday".Or your character is riding a phase spider down the crowded, foggy street, then this shadow drops over you and the mist parts to reveal a Dragonborn Purple Knight riding on a Elder Fang Dragon in full scale mail barding.Someone in robes, with a ponytail nearby mutters "There's always a bigger fish" to his companion.

[@deideisgirl59]

AJ Pickett omg i love that. and update, im a cleric/paladin and my DM wanted to include a mount so now the phase spider is officially my mount!!! and!! i!! love!! ittt!!

[@zmishiymishi5349]

They dont produce webbing and dont lay eggs... Id like to think it is not a spider

[@Shakkarz]

From a tall tale I love spiders actually had a tarantula as a kid i think the one that's the size of your fist not aggressive but it loves its flies mosquitoes butterflies and ant's but keep it in the windowsill for months until the cold comes in we'll take it back out put it back in the cage I had it for a very long time it was from Africa I was about eight the brother was about four years older yeah, yeah I'm the one to take it takes that one out the cage every summer

[@spookywizard1265]

It has 8 eyes

[@AJPickett]

Crimson Wizard source? If you prefer 8 eyes, that is fine, I was just reporting the published descriptions.

[@firetarrasque4667]

I think he saw it on the drawing.

[@spookywizard1265]

The 5e book picture, maybe it has changed or been forgotten over the edidtions

[@AJPickett]

Yeah, artists sometimes pay attention to the details of the description.... sometimes.

[@spiderpsycho_8887]

ok yeah but how do I get it to kill a baby?

[@AJPickett]

How do you not?

[@omega311888]

invent a new magic spell.. trans-planar fireballs :P

[@grottybt5006]

Surprised you never did gibberlings

[@AJPickett]

Thats a good point.

[@antimatterstudios8395]

Don’t you mean the FaZe spider?

[@davidlewis8814]

Horrible! The real life image of the mother-ship spider covered with her young shall haunt me, even as I inflict this upscale version on my unsuspecting players!!!

[@dragonballtalk8527]

I killed one of these in neverwinter ps4

[@dragonballtalk8527]

And I'll kill another too soon

[@kingmasterlord]

16:46 so, 5-10 swarms with 10 HP?

[@nicke9012]

All spiders are evil!