Spider Rider (4e Class)

Spider Rider

A spider rider.

“

The powers of spiderkind lie within me. I am the chosen of Arachne's Nexus!

”

Class Traits

Role:	Striker. You dart in to attack, deal massive damage, and then retreat to safety. Your attacks rely on speed and mobility, since you prefer to use hit-and-run tactics whenever possible.
Power Source:	Arachane. Your powers are drawn from the web of power from which all spiders are spawned.
Key Abilities:	Dexterity , Charisma, Strength.
Armor Proficiencies:	Cloth, Leather,Scale, Plate, Light Shield,heavy shield.
Weapon Proficiencies:	Simple Melee, Lance, Longsword, Longbow, Shortbow.
Bonus to Defense:	+2 Reflex
Hit Points at 1st Level:	12 + Constitution Score.
Hit Points per Level Gained:	5
Healing Surges per Day:	6 + Constitution modifier.
Trained Skills:	Arachana. From the class skills list below, choose four more trained skills at 1st level. Class Skills: Acrobatics (Dex), Arachana (Cha), Athletics (Str), Dungeoneering (Wis), Endurance (Con), Heal (Wis), Nature (Wis), Perception (Wis), Stealth (Dex), Thievery (Dex).
Build Options:	Swift rider, brutal rider.
Class Features:	Fighting Style, Deadly Charge, Spider Empathy, Spider Mount.

Spider riders are the chosen knights of the spider queens who wage a constant war against each other over mastery of the spiderkind for the spider queen that they sever and against those that are enemies of their spider queen. As masters of mounted combat, they excell at lightning fast charges and dart around their enemies at a speed few can match.

As a spider rider you are a master of riding and as a lord among spiderkind. You are a master of mounted combat, and can easily out maneuver almost any foe you face. You can dart in and out of combat with your trusty blade, or you could charge headlong into the melee with your lance, and worry about the consequences later.

Will you charge head on at your enemy, devastating them with a deadly attack, or will you dart in and out of combat with your sword, striking them down with swift attacks?

Spider Rider Overview

Characteristics: Mounted combat is your niche and will provide the full benefit of your powers, and, due to the nature of your spider as well as your riding prowess, you can fight mounted better than any, pretty much anywhere you go, be it dungeon or forest. You are moderately resilient in battle, but you prefer to use hit-and-run tactics to prolonged combat up close; you hit hard and you hit fast, knocking your foe reeling, and then you fall back for the next attack.

Religion: Spider riders are the favored servants of Lolth and Arachne (but never both of them!), although some spider riders (most commonly Arachne's riders) may worship other deities, albeit to a lesser extent than their spider queen. Spider riders are constantly at war with one another, fighting for the supremacy of their goddess.

Races: With their connection to spiderkind, and their favor in both spider queens' eyes, drow make the best spider riders, as do other spydric races. Humans are occasionally riders of Arachne, as are elves, half-elves and eladrins, but spider riders of other races are all but unheard of.

Creating a Spider Rider

The swift rider and the brutal rider are the two spider rider builds, one relying on speed and precision, the other on brute strength. Dexterity, Charisma and Strength are the spider rider's most important ability scores.

Swift Rider

You like powers that allow mobility so that you can out maneuver your foes easily. You dart in and out of the fray, dealing blows with amazing precision and dodging your foes attacks with amazing grace. Most of your attack powers rely on Dexterity, so that should be your best ability score. Charisma should be your second best, as it strengthens your bond with the arachania. Strength is useful if you want to use powers from the other spider rider build. You should select the swift charge tactic. Look for powers that take advantage of your high charisma score, as well as those that aid your speed and maneuverability.

Suggested Feat: Powerful Charge

Suggested Skills: Acrobatics, Bluff, Insight, Stealth.

Suggested At-Will Powers: Darting Attack, Precise Attack.

Suggested Encounter Power: Weaving Attack.

Suggested Daily Power: Swift Charge.

Brutal Rider

You like powers that deal a hefty amount of damage, aided by your strength, and also damage your foes in other, nastier, ways. Your attacks use Dexterity, so keep that ability score as your highest. Strength should be a close second, as it increases your damage directly. As a third ability score, charisma works well, as it strengthens your connection to the the arachania. You should select the brutal charge spider rider tactic. Look for powers that deal large amounts of damage.

Suggested Feat: Powerful Charge

Suggested Skills: Acrobatics, Intimidate, Athletics, Dungeoneering.

Suggested At-Will Powers: Brutal Strike, Piercing Attack.

Suggested Encounter Power: Mighty Charge.

Suggested Daily Power: Mighty Attack.

Spider Rider Class Features

All spider riders share these class features.

Fighting Style

Spider Riders have a variety of different ways in which they defeat their foes. Some dart in and out of combat with unmatched precision and speed, others rely on brute strength.

Choose one of the following options:

Darting Charge: You gain a bonus to you deadly charge damage equal to your charisma modifier.

Brutal Charge: You gain a bonus to your deadly charge damage equal to your strength modifier.

The choice you make also provides bonuses to certain spider rider powers. Individual powers detail the effects (if any) your spider rider tactics selection has on them.

Deadly Charge

Once per round, when you charge against an enemy, your attacks against that enemy deal extra damage. The extra damage is based on your level. If you can make multiple attacks in a round, you decide which attack to apply the extra damage to after all the attacks are rolled.

Level	Deadly Charge
1st-10th	+1d6
11th-20th	+2d6
21st-30th	+3d6

Spider Empathy

You can speak the spydric language and can pinpoint the location of any spiderkind creature within 6 squares. Spiderkind creatures can understand anything spoken to them in spydric (regardless of Intelligence score) and can speak spydric themselves.

Spider Mount

You have a loyal mount in spider form. The spider mount has the following game statistics.

Level: The spider's level is equal to your level.
Size: The spider is large size.
Type: The spider is a spiderkind Magical Beast [Spider]. Choose one of the following keywords at 1st level; araneidae, ctenidae, lycosidae, salticidae, scytodidae or theraphosidae. The spider gains that keyword (and is a spider of that species).

Hit Points: The spider does not have its own hit points. Instead, you and the spider share the same hit points. They take damage and heal as if they where a single creature. If one of you is killed, both of you are.

Healing Surges: The spider does not have healing surges; see above for details.

Ability Scores: The spider's Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma scores are equal to your Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma scores. The spider's Strength, Constitution and Dexterity scores are determined with the 16-point buy method (starting with three 10s). The spider has a +2 bonus to her Strength and Dexterity scores. Her Strength and Dexterity scores both increase by 1 at 4th level and every 4th level thereafter, and her Strength, Dexterity and Coinstitution scores all increase by 1 at 11th and 21st level.

Defenses: The spider does not have defense scores (AC, fortitude, reflex and will) of its own. When an enemy wishes to attack the spider, that enemy must attack you and spider as if you were one character, using your defenses. If the attacker can only see and attack one of you, they still attack you and your spider as one creature.

Bond: You and the spider can communicate empathetically and telepathically and can see out of each other's eyes at all times.

Languages: The spider can speak any languages you can.
Vision: The spider has all vision qualities you do, and has tremorsense out to 6 squares.

Speed: The spider has a speed of 8 squares. The spider also has a climb speed equal to her land speed with the spider climb ability (you automatically fall out of your saddle if you are riding your spider and she is climbing on a wall or ceiling).

Skills: The spider is trained in the same skills as you, and uses the same skill check modifiers as you for skills based in either Intelligence, Wisdom or Charisma.
Feats: The spider does not have feats of its own. Instead, it gains all of the benefits of the feats that you take. In the case of feats that grant a power or ability with a limited usage, either you or your spider can use up the granted power or ability, rather than you both geting seperate usages of the power or ability.

Attacks: The spider has a bite attack (Dexterity Vs. AC) that deals 1d8 damage.

Powers: The spider does not have any other powers of it's own, instead taking part in your powers when you use them; whenever the symbol [B] appears in any of your powers, it represents the damage die of the spider's bite attack (in the same way that [W] represents the damage die of the weapon you are using).

Riding the spider: The following rules replace the normal rules for mounted combat where they conflict:

• Mounted Combat: You do not need the mounted combat feat to gain the special mount abilities of the spider, nor do you suffer any penalties for riding the spider without the mounted combat feat.
• Targeting: You and the mount are attacked as one creature (see above).
• Mount Benefits: You gain the special benefits of the spider when riding it without any prerequisites.
• Mounting and Dismounting: Mounting or Dismounting the spider is a minor action for you, but a standard action for other characters.
• Enclosed Spaces: The spider is considered native to subterranean regions. If you are riding the spider and she has to squeeze into a medium space, you do not suffer the -5 penalty to attack for squeezing, although your spider still suffers this penalty.
• Other Characters: Other characters (or other spider riders) cannot ride the spider on their own, but can be carried on the spider when you ride it, taking any penalties as normal if they do not have the mounted combat feat.
• Aquatic Combat: The spider uses the same rules as characters do for aquatic combat.

Unmounted Combat: When you are not mounted on the spider and are in an encounter, you and the spider combined can still take only a normal set of actions— a standard action, a move action and a minor action, just like when you are riding the spider. In addition to this, you may only use your spider rider powers that are either at-will powers or specifically say that you can use them when you are not mounted.

Spider Rider Powers

Spider rider powers are called weaves. In battle, spider riders draw upon the web of power that all spiders spawned from, the very strength of the spider queens. Using this power, spider riders can gain qualities of various species of spider to use against their foes.

---

Back to Main Page → 4e Homebrew → Classes, Paragon Paths, and Epic Destinies → Classes
Back to Main Page → 4e Homebrew → Sourcebooks → Arachonomicon; the Book of Spiderkind → Classes