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.
Пікірлер: 144
@Jader77777 жыл бұрын
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.
@AJPickett7 жыл бұрын
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.
@AJPickett7 жыл бұрын
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.
@Jader77777 жыл бұрын
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. :)
@AJPickett7 жыл бұрын
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.
@Jader77777 жыл бұрын
I'll PM you my details if you wanted to have a chat about the aforementioned grognardium.
@apocalypticmoth60405 жыл бұрын
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.
@richmcgee4346 жыл бұрын
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.
@AJPickett6 жыл бұрын
Hmmmm... I like this idea
@nvfury135 жыл бұрын
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.
@nvfury135 жыл бұрын
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.
@charlottewalnut31185 жыл бұрын
@@nvfury13 Black dragon id bet
@nvfury135 жыл бұрын
Yushiro Shihoin Red actually.
@MisterTutor20107 жыл бұрын
Where's an enchanted can of Raid when you need it? :)
@AJPickett7 жыл бұрын
heh!
@e.wilson96132 жыл бұрын
That's pretty good.;)
@thegooddinggleberry3 жыл бұрын
Tame a phase spider. Now you have a teleporting horse that can physically move you through planes.
@TalismancerM7 жыл бұрын
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.
@AJPickett7 жыл бұрын
Crikey! That is an excellent lar feature, I like it!
@benry0072 жыл бұрын
Nasty I like it
@MachineMan-mj4gj6 жыл бұрын
You sure they don't have these in Australia?
@HPPalmtopTube6 жыл бұрын
he's in New Zealand, no nasty spiders here ;)
@dboot88864 жыл бұрын
Terrence Vergauwen That sir, is a damn lie and we both know it... well done. Couldn't be prouder.
@MustiiDrums3 жыл бұрын
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....
@jamescollins20682 жыл бұрын
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.
@brendancoulter57616 жыл бұрын
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.
@AJPickett6 жыл бұрын
The web flying Money Spiders can be found world wide, but obviously the current conditions in Antarctica are not suitable for them.
@mikeoxlong13954 жыл бұрын
Yay, flying space spiders... as if my arachnophobia cannot get any worse.
@michaelkelligan79316 жыл бұрын
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?
@AJPickett6 жыл бұрын
Arachnids are also animals, so are fish, so are lawyers.
@johnathanbrandt25264 жыл бұрын
@@AJPickett i feel the need to interject on the last point. virus are not classified under the kingdom eukaryote therefore lawyers are not animals.
@oliviabean82645 жыл бұрын
Woah! I knew some spiders did something along those lines but that is so much cooler when you add in those details.
@aaronmcgowan57693 жыл бұрын
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.
@HighmageDerin3 жыл бұрын
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
@fan97753 жыл бұрын
Love listening to these as I paint.
@MarkATorres19896 жыл бұрын
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.
@purplehaze23584 жыл бұрын
Probably my favorite official giant spider in D&D.
@dreammirrorbrony12406 жыл бұрын
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?
@grymhild6 жыл бұрын
_Lloth tlu malla, jal ultrinnan zhah xundus!_
@AGrayPhantom5 жыл бұрын
Wow, they got nerfed HARD in 5e! I'm looking at the stats from 3.5, and it's actually quite intimidating.
@krystalfruehling7522 Жыл бұрын
They ride not just the wind but the static in the air....
@joesgotmore2 жыл бұрын
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.
@johntutson751721 күн бұрын
Omg that’s amazing
@RareBloodyWolf5 жыл бұрын
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!
@Fallout31317 жыл бұрын
Oh lord I hope I don't run into this
@AJPickett7 жыл бұрын
Me to!
@AJPickett7 жыл бұрын
Khashon Haselrig, look at that subscribe button, it is so shiny and inviting to click, mmmm?
@jeffreylucier52667 жыл бұрын
Thanks again A.J.!
@AJPickett7 жыл бұрын
most welcome! *skitter skitter* did you hear that? Wait, I'm going to go look...
@jeffreylucier52667 жыл бұрын
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.
@kurtoogle45767 жыл бұрын
Really inspiring video AJ! I am bursting with nasty DM ideas! ;>
@AJPickett7 жыл бұрын
My work here is done :D
@jorywalkinshaw92494 жыл бұрын
You had me at space spiders.
@jSlazer19887 жыл бұрын
If a magical spider bites my my pc, can he develop magical super powers?
@AJPickett7 жыл бұрын
Yes, he has the power to transform into Dead, and Food!
@Raivan317 жыл бұрын
I only heard dead and pool... deadpool. that'll do
@nvfury135 жыл бұрын
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-Yourself5 жыл бұрын
Absolutely. Rule of Cool applies.
@Zellig9 ай бұрын
Just encountered these in Baldur's Gate 3 and BOOOY are they a doozy with the AI in that game.
@gerbenvanessen3 жыл бұрын
all the art shows that the spider has 8 eyes, the 2 middle ones being big.
@headshoutforthewinz6 жыл бұрын
What is that song?
@dunny0267 жыл бұрын
Been enjoying these vids, just subscribed.
@AJPickett7 жыл бұрын
Thank you WATD!
@dunny0267 жыл бұрын
The frog is fine, it's us that are fucked.
@AJPickett7 жыл бұрын
actually frog populations around the world are pretty grim, but I have high hopes for the future of humanity :)
@dunny0267 жыл бұрын
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.
@AJPickett7 жыл бұрын
kzbin.info/www/bejne/npSso4d_d8h3rKc
@AmigoRoberto5 жыл бұрын
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
@GRIMGORIRONHIDEROCKS4 жыл бұрын
Interesting point to note: Phase Spiders *cannot* spin their own webs (though they can Web Walk).
@headshoutforthewinz5 жыл бұрын
What song is that
@Weirdoid4 жыл бұрын
Wasn't their a sapient phase spider colony in the ethereal called omiad's web?
@NovaRuner2 жыл бұрын
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
@muninrob4 жыл бұрын
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...)
@thehillz7263 жыл бұрын
could there be other spiders or other bugs with similar abilities that are smaller? like an ecosystem of ethereal bugs and other vermin?
@AJPickett3 жыл бұрын
Seems likely.
@randallbaumgardt34242 жыл бұрын
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.
@That80sGuy19725 жыл бұрын
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.
@DamienZshadow4 жыл бұрын
Lol that opening was banger
@ginger-ham48003 жыл бұрын
Question: Can they partially phase? Like, having half the body inside the wall but still striking with the front legs.
@AJPickett3 жыл бұрын
Not as far as I am aware.
@jacobfreeman54443 жыл бұрын
That would be a rather complex operation. Even archmages would be hard pressed to replicate that action.
@jeramiedavis67824 жыл бұрын
Im using one of these in my arcane golden terrerium adventure.
@plasmastuck33715 жыл бұрын
a phase spider travelling through the deep ethereal wouldn't be able to phase out would it?
@jacobfreeman54443 жыл бұрын
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.
@jeffreylucier52667 жыл бұрын
nice
@stevenseufert25207 жыл бұрын
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.
@AJPickett7 жыл бұрын
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.
@elricengquist99897 жыл бұрын
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.
@AJPickett7 жыл бұрын
That makes a great deal of sense, and is easy to factor using the stats of the creature.Great!
@epiccthulu4 жыл бұрын
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...
@AJPickett4 жыл бұрын
I've put spell gaunts on my list.
@marcosreed98943 жыл бұрын
Started a campaign and this is going to be a useful critter for an encounter en route to a recently discovered ruin.
@venkelos6996 Жыл бұрын
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!
@almitrahopkins18732 жыл бұрын
Myconids can use their spores to prevent phase spiders from traveling in the ethereal because that cloud is made of living particles.
@dynamicworlds17 жыл бұрын
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!
@AJPickett7 жыл бұрын
Yes, I can do that, thanks for the feedback on the audio.
@dynamicworlds17 жыл бұрын
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.
@Raivan317 жыл бұрын
A bit late to bother but as long as the volume stays constant.... I watch this stuff late at night.
@jesterknight60734 жыл бұрын
most spiders eat there wounded so if a party does manage to wound the spider will the young eat the mother spider?
@jacobfreeman54443 жыл бұрын
I would think they wouldn't during a fight. Too much risk. But if the action moved away from the mother? Well...why not?
@MustiiDrums3 жыл бұрын
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
@aubreyackermann84323 жыл бұрын
Colonial tarantulas? Some of them are blue
@MustiiDrums3 жыл бұрын
@@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
@blakmajk35122 жыл бұрын
👍🏼👍🏼
@dragonballtalk85273 жыл бұрын
Spider they said in the song at beginning
@dragonballtalk85272 жыл бұрын
Spider.....dance dance dance
@Zasek21126 жыл бұрын
I like to think they come from the feywild.
@kevinferreira66084 жыл бұрын
Maaan it's the Weaver's pet! (Perdido Street Station)
@shadowofoblivion72337 жыл бұрын
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.
@ronnieleno91525 жыл бұрын
I want one as a mount
@AJPickett5 жыл бұрын
They make very poor riding arachnids.
@antimatterstudios83954 жыл бұрын
Don’t you mean the FaZe spider?
@Ultra_DuDu7 жыл бұрын
Aggresive spiders... well, i guess magic can explain that...
@deadmanmouse24634 жыл бұрын
Spiders can be very aggressive, your just to big to notice.
@spiderpsycho_88875 жыл бұрын
ok yeah but how do I get it to kill a baby?
@AJPickett5 жыл бұрын
How do you not?
@omega3118884 жыл бұрын
invent a new magic spell.. trans-planar fireballs :P
@grottybt50062 жыл бұрын
Surprised you never did gibberlings
@AJPickett2 жыл бұрын
Thats a good point.
@zmishiymishi53492 жыл бұрын
They dont produce webbing and dont lay eggs... Id like to think it is not a spider
@Shakkarz2 жыл бұрын
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
@spookywizard12657 жыл бұрын
It has 8 eyes
@AJPickett7 жыл бұрын
Crimson Wizard source? If you prefer 8 eyes, that is fine, I was just reporting the published descriptions.
@firetarrasque46677 жыл бұрын
I think he saw it on the drawing.
@spookywizard12657 жыл бұрын
The 5e book picture, maybe it has changed or been forgotten over the edidtions
@AJPickett7 жыл бұрын
Yeah, artists sometimes pay attention to the details of the description.... sometimes.
@deideisgirl597 жыл бұрын
lmao i "tamed" a phase spider and i took it to sigil.
@AJPickett7 жыл бұрын
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.
@deideisgirl597 жыл бұрын
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!!
@dragonballtalk85273 жыл бұрын
I killed one of these in neverwinter ps4
@dragonballtalk85272 жыл бұрын
And I'll kill another too soon
@davidlewis88143 ай бұрын
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!!!