Huntsman (Creature)

A huntsman (plural "huntsmen", old Dunni "*hunta*" or ᚻᚢᚾᛏᚫ, Druggish "*succo*") is a large, spider-like beast that inhabits the caves and forests of Dunn, particularly the warmer regions near the world's center.

## Etymology

The word "huntsman" comes from the old Dunni word "hunta", a name used exclusively for these beasts. Though not native to Drugoth, they were later introduced to the area, so a word was made for them. The Druggish word for "huntsman" is "succo", meaning "bloodsucker".

## Distribution

Huntsmen, being endothermic creatures, and quite large at that, require warm temperatures to survive. Therefore, they mostly live in the central regions of the world, in the deserts, warm forests, and mountains. During warmer eras, they may spread outwards even to Drugoth, and have been a somewhat constant bane on the nation of Dunland.

While some species live in trees (such as *Succo arborealis*, the Forest Huntsman), most huntsmen live in caves and grottos in the ground, or burrows which they excavate themselves with their powerful forelegs. All huntsmen can produce silk, like spiders, and use silk to reinforce their burrows and facilitate easy climbing.

## Habits

While huntsmen can produce silk like spiders, they do not weave webs for entrapping prey. Rather, they prefer to stalk their prey, running them down and attacking with their venomous fangs and large claws. Huntsmen venom has paralytic properties, and the larger or more potent species are capable of paralyzing prey as large as elk, horses, and people. Most huntsmen are nocturnal, and have very poor eyesight, relying instead on smell, sound, and vibrations in the ground to guide them. Many species "tap", a method where the spider uses its palpae to knock on the ground and use echolocation to navigate an environment. Huntsmen usually live alone, but in thickly covered areas (such as caves or dense forests), the offspring of a single huntsman may fail to spread, forming densely populated areas known as "lairs".

## Physical Appearance

Huntsmen share a common ancestry with spiders, and, as such, closely resemble them. They are air-breathing, eight-legged arthropods with palpae and fangs used for injecting venom and eating. Unlike other arthropods, huntsmen (and spiders) have two body sections instead of three, the abdomen, which houses the digestive tract, sex organs, and silk glands, and the cephalothorax, which houses the stomach, the venom glands, and the head. Huntsmen's entire bodies are encased in chitin, a hard, keratin-like material, though they may grow thick hairs through it. The chitin armor is typically much thicker on the spider's back in order to protect the spider's heart.

Huntsmen have four pairs of eyes on top of the thorax above the palpae and fangs, giving it the appearance of a face.

Huntsmen also have two razor-sharp claws per leg, which make them be excellent climbers. These claws may also be used in combat, but not alwas.

## Size

Huntsmen occur in a large array of sizes. The smallest known species, *Succo sabulus* or the common ground huntsman, has a legspan a little under an inch and is only big enough to prey on small insects, while the largest known species, *Succo ruberconlis* or the Redback Mountain Huntsman, may have a legspan of up to thirty feet and a body the size of an elephant. Due to the rule of diminishing returns, large huntsmen are rare as the strength required to hold up a large body may be too much for the huntsman's spindly legs. Most huntsmen weigh around 90 pounds (40 kg) and are roughly dog-sized, with legspans of anywhere from three to ten feet (1-3 meters).