Bronze Spiders

Bronze Spiders are eight-legged machines of sacred bronzeUndefined as a material, as of yet., animated with divine power. Some say they come from a secret realm of a clockwork god, hence why they protect some tunnels so fiercely. Despite their mechanical nature, bronze spiders have a remarkable stealth that enables them to drop down upon adventurers caught unawares.
* entries in blue-violet are homebrew additions
== Spider Skills ==
As forgotten servitors of ancient places, Bronze Spiders should be equipped with whatever skills they need to maintain their sites. Housekeeping is common, but other models or variants of the Spiders may be equipped for prospecting, masonry, carpentry, and gardening. There may even be an entire ecosystem where Spiders with Professional Skill (Beekeeping) raise honey bees in apiaries--that may explain why some lonely shrines always have fresh candles...Fanon
== Lesser Bronze Spider ==
(Fanon)
Lesser Bronze Spiders are the simple servitors of a forgotten civilization, built for scouting and reporting back with their strange, mechanical clicks. They're not as tough or combative as larger Bronze Spiders, but they can be clever, using tow cables to steal items from above, or to pull shields from hands. They're opportunistic and prefer to skirmish and scavenge than fight in earnest. Despite being Unfazeable, they will "rout" if they are outmaneuvered or outmatched, and will return when they have better numbers (or stronger Constructs with them). 
== Tactics ==
===Catch and Chomp===
On a margin of success of 4 on a parry (6 or less), the Bronze Spider may bind the weapon it has caught in its mandibles! An adventurer can use DX-based or ST-based weapon skill rolls to disengage on their turn, but if they fail, the bronze spider will attempt to knock down its opponent with an all-out shove—this does 13 knockback, but leaves it vulnerable!
=== Spider Speed ===
Multi-legged creatures can still move (somewhat) after losing a limb! Note that lots of legs means it's easier to cripple a single one,see Crippling Extra Limbs -- injury over HP/(number of limbs) -- (Basic Set: Campaigns, p.421) so a Bronze Spider need only take 3 HP of damage to a leg to lose it.Lesser Bronze Spiders have weird math for their legs (HP 10 / 8 legs is 1.25 HP per leg), so instead of rounding up to "over 2", just say 1 HP is damaged and 2 is crippled. As magical, mechanical constructs, Bronze Spiders are likely to be immune to the knockdown and stunning of major wounds.Constructs can be vulnerable to major wounds as a setting-wide standard! For instance, androids in Reign of Steel recoil from heavy damage as if affected by normal stunning.
Legs 	Speed
All (8) 	7
7 	6
6 	5
5 	4
4 	4
3 	2
2 or less	0 (falls)
=== Out with a Bang ===
Bronze Spiders of any size might be "cutting edge magi-tech" beyond the usual TL3-4 setting. They are, in essence, sci-fi within fantasy, and could be very valuable to the right buyer. If Bronze Spiders represent a sort of "Secret, Sacred Technology", be sure to include an ability to self-destruct--the armor remains somewhat intact, but the internal clockwork and crystal mechanisms become nigh-impossible to replicate.Fanon
==Errata==
*The Bronze Spider "skills" entry lacks the Brawling skill.
== See Also ==
* For the regular, non-metallic spider, try Giant Spider!
* For the fanon, experimental "species" of constructs inspired by Bronze Spiders, see Motores.
== Notes ==
==References==
*Dungeon Fantasy Monsters 1, p.5