Araenae

Araenae (pronounced a-rein-eh) are a species of magical beasts that had lived deep under the ground for countless centuries. By appearance, it is difficult to tell the difference between an ordinary giant spider and an Araenae. Araenae tend to have much more expressive faces, and larger eyes, but otherwise are very similar to those dangerous beasts. Araenae generally take offense to that comparison. In the distant past, the araenae lived primarily within their subterranean dwellings deep beneath the earth and were driven out by an ancient malice, eventually forcing them to adapt to the various climates and environs of the surface world.

######  **Physical Description**

The araenae have four subraces, and each has its own distinctive appearance. Each subrace of araenae share similar qualities: all arenae are carapaced invertebrates with eight legs (four forelimbs that can be used to manipulate and hold objects and four legs), mandibles, fangs, and four eyes. The majority of araenae’s carapaces are covered in a thick, soft fur. Female araenae are generally larger than the males, and are Medium sized when fully grown. Araenae lay eggs and mature quickly, reaching physical maturity in ten years. As an araenae grows they must shed their carapace and molt; this process is rapid during an araenae’s younger years (happening every six months to a year until they have reached roughly ten years of age), but slows down to once every five years once they have reached maturity. Araenae grow in size each time they molt, but once reaching maturity the increases in size are fairly minor. The theoretical maximum age of an araenae is around 50, when molting and their increases in size become too strenuous for their size, but some members of the race have utilized magic or other techniques to survive their late-life molting steps and have lived much longer.

######  **Society**

The araenae are traditionally a matriarchal society. The largest females rule, laying the greatest number of eggs. They primarily worship a deity known as the Fateweaver, said to have created the araenae, though a few sects worship other deities. Some subraces trend more towards the above societal structures, whereas others vary.

######  **Relations**

Generally, araenae are friendly to outsiders; inviting them into their homes, sharing their food, and delighting them with tales and music. However, each subrace tends to stray from the above generalizations in their own ways.

######  **Subraces**

Each araenae belongs to one of four subraces; The air-riders (araicidae), The cave-dwellers (araphosidae), The sand-hunters (arazidae) and the wave-skimmers (araonetae).

 **Random Starting Age**

 **Aging Effects of Araenae**

 35

Note: Adjustments to statistics from old age are cumulative

**Random Length and Weight**

### Racial Traits

**Ability Score Racial Traits:** Araenae are above average when it comes to grace and dexterity. They gain +2 Dexterity. Their other ability score bonus and penalty are determined by their subrace.

**Size:** Araenae are Medium creatures and receive no bonuses or penalties due to size.

**Type:** Araenae are magical beasts with the araenae subtype.

**Base Speed:** Araenae have a base speed of 40 feet, and a base climb speed of 20 feet. They gain a +8 racial bonus on Climb checks.

**Languages:** Araenae begin play speaking Araenae, Common, and Web-speak. Araenae with high intelligence can choose from the following list: Common, Dwarven, Elven, Halfling, Giant, Draconic, and Undercommon.

#### Web-speak Language

Web-speak isn’t a “true” language insomuch as it is a method that araenae have developed to speak using their ability to sense movements on their webs using their web vision ability. “Speaking” using web-speak involves rapidly tapping a rhythm upon their webs that encodes a message to other araenae that can perceive the message. This encoded message can technically be of any language, but is almost always araenae. Araenae can also speak to each other using web-speak by tapping directly on each other’s carapaces. Using all 10 of their limbs an araenae can communicate in web-speak at roughly twice their normal speaking rate. If limited to just their forelimbs and mandables, they can do so at their normal speaking rate (such as communicating while moving).

Web-speak is incredibly difficult to learn for a non-araenae, since it was designed to be used by creatures with at least 6 arms (including their mandables), and requires either tremorsense or the web vision ability to even detect the vibrations when messages are delivered over webs. If a non-araenae chooses to learn web-speak they can communicate with it, though they do so with a number of disadvantages:

* If they do not have at least 6 arms, they can communicate at only roughly 1/10th their normal speaking rate.
* If they don’t have tremorsense, or another way to detect vibrations such as the web vision or web abilities, they can only perceive messages in web-speak that are tapped directly onto their skin.

### Defense Racial Traits

**Plated Chitin:** Araenae have thick chitin protecting their body, granting them a +1 bonus to natural armor.

### Movement Racial Traits

**Web Walker:** When climbing on webs, araenae treat their climb speed as 40 feet. Their movement is never impaired by webs, magical or otherwise. An araenae can climb on webs without needing to use their forelimbs.

### Offense Racial Traits

**Spider Maw:** Araenae possess a primary bite attack that deals 1d8 points of damage.

**Web:** Araenae possess the web universal monster ability. They may use their web ability a number of times each day equal to their Constitution modifier + 1/2 their level. Araenae gain a +2 racial bonus to the DC of their webs. Webs created by an araenae are not vulnerable to fire (taking half damage from it), and the araenae can choose whether to make their webs sticky or not when they create them. An araenae can also weave their webs into silken thread. One spool of araenae silk thread is worth 20 gp, an araenae has a +5 racial bonus on Craft checks made to weave their webs into silk, and weaving their webs into silk has a Craft DC of 30. An araenae does not need to provide any material components when weaving their silk in this way, but needs to spend the normal time to do so. A spool of araenae silk thread weighs 1 lbs, and can be either used by an araenae as a weapon (see the spool of araenae silk thread weapon) or as a material to craft silken cloth or clothing.

### Senses Racial Traits

**Dark Vision:** Araenae can see perfectly in the dark up to 60 feet.

**Low-light Vision:** Araenae can see twice as far as humans in conditions of low light.

**Web Vision:** While touching webs, an araenae has tremorsense out to the distance of the web or 200 feet, whichever is shorter.

### Weakness Racial Traits

**Exotic Anatomy:** Armor and clothing designed to fit araenae costs 100% more. Slotted wondrous magic items automatically adjust to fit an araenae, as normal.

### Other Racial Traits

**Arachnid Limbs:** Araenae have limbs that are very different from a standard creature. They have 10 limbs, two mandibles, 4 forelimbs, and 4 hindlimbs. The araenae’s mandibles and forelimbs have three small claws that can be used to manipulate and hold items, and the araenae’s hindlimbs have two large claws that help them maneuver and climb. While not holding items or wielding weapons with their forelimbs, an araenae using them to move alongside their hindlimbs. None of these claws are sharp or dangerous enough to be used as natural weapons.

An araenae can use their mandibles to hold items as if they were a single hand (including maintaining a grapple), cannot be used to wield weapons or shields, and can be used as well as a pair of hands for other purposes (such as somatic components or spells, manipulating objects, and so on).

An araenae’s forelimbs are much weaker than the arms of a normal creature. They can use an individual forelimb to hold items, but must use two of their forelimbs in concert to wield a light weapon, one-handed weapon, or shield, and must use all four of their forelimbs to wield a two-handed weapon. While holding or wielding weapons with their forelimbs their speed is also decreased, reducing their base land speed by 5 for every forelimb they are using in this way. If these limbs are granted natural Attacks, those natural Attacks can be used as normal and do not reduce the araenae’s speed. The claws at the end of an araenae’s forelimbs are treated as hands for all other purposes. Araenae have developed a number of weapons to leverage their unique anatomy in combat, providing a number of benefits to the araenae or reducing the drawbacks of wielding them.

Due to having four hindlimbs, the araenae gains a +4 racial bonus to CMD versus Trip. When holding or wielding weapons in their forelimbs, this bonus increases by +1 for each forelimb they are using to move. The claws at the end of each hindlimb are considered feet for all other purposes.

**Subrace:** Araenae come in many subtypes, granting them additional racial traits.

## Araenae Subraces

### Air-Riders (Araicidae)

The araicidae (air-ah-iss-id-eh) are the masters of the forest canopy and tall cliffs. Their carapace and fur is a dull-brown or gray in color, dotted with patterns of vibrantly colored fur that feature all of the colors of the rainbow. Air-riders are most commonly known for their ability to use their webs to glide through the air.

**Society:** Air-riders live in small colonies along tall cliffs or within forest canopies. They stay out of danger by keeping out of reach. Most of their colonies have cleverly designed pulley and lift systems to allow outsiders into their homes if they so choose.

**Adventurers:** Air-riders are one of the more adventurous subraces, often using their skills to explore their surroundings and to quickly deliver goods over vast distances for other races using their web gliders.

#### Air-Rider Racial Traits

**Ability Score Racial Traits:** Air-riders are cunning, but also quicken to act without thinking. They gain +2 Intelligence, and -2 Wisdom.

**Safe Fall:** Air-riders never take fall damage from falls shorter than 100 feet. If they fall over 100 feet, subtract 100 from the distance fallen when determining damage.

**Natural Glider:** Air-riders always treat Fly as a class skill and get a +5 racial bonus to Fly checks.

**Jumper:** Air-riders are always treated as having a running start when making Acrobatics checks to jump and get Skill Focus (Acrobatics) as a bonus feat.

**Web Glider:** Air-riders can craft and use web gliders. An air-rider can craft a mundane web glider by expending one use of their web special ability and spending 1 minute. They can also craft masterwork web gliders, but doing so requires them to spend additional resources and time to do so (as normal for crafting an item).

**Emergency Glider:** Air-riders can create a weak and fragile web-glider as an immediate action by using one of their daily uses of their web ability. This functions as a normal common web glider, but after 1 minute falls apart.

**Death From Above:** Air-riders gain Death from Above as a bonus feat. When using Death from Above the air-rider’s bite attack deals double damage. This doubling applies to all modifiers of the damage roll as well.

#### Web Gliders

A large sheet of thin araenae silk webbing designed to allow a creature to safely descend from a large height.

**Common:** A web glider can be held with both hands to descend from large heights without harm. You only fall 60 feet per round when using a web glider and do not suffer falling damage while doing so, for every 5 feet you fall while using a web glider, you move laterally 20 feet. Gliding in this way requires a DC 15 Fly check each round, otherwise you fall straight down (albeit at a slower speed). If sundered, a web glider has a hardness of 0 and 10 hit points.
After reaching the ground the webglider becomes tangled and matted, destroying it. Common web gliders require daily maintenance from an air-rider araenae to remain useful, and thus are almost never sold. An air-rider araenae can create a common web slider by spending 10 minutes and one use of their web ability.

**Price** - gp; **Weight** 2 lbs. **Craft** DC 0

**Masterwork:** A masterwork web glider is carefully and meticulously woven to make it more durable and reusable. When falling using a masterwork web glider you move forward 30 feet for every 5 you fall, and it is not destroyed after being used. If sundered, a masterwork web glider has a hardness of 5 and 20 hit points.

**Price** 100 gp; **Weight** 2 lbs. **Craft** DC 25

### Cave-Dwellers (Araphosidae)

The araphosidae (air-ah-foss-ih-day), known colloquially amongst other racers as cave-dwellers, are the most plentiful subrace of araenae. They have changed very little since being driven from their ancestral homelands, and have taken to living amongst dense forests or within near-surface caverns. They are the most enigmatic of the subraces, enjoying the trade of outsiders and welcoming them into their web-filled caverns or forests. Their cities and towns feature massive spires of spun webs, massive string instruments spun from ironweb, and numerous art pieces. Cave-dwellers have thicker and softer fur than others of their kind that range in color from bright white to dark ash to umber brown.

**Society:** Cave-dwellers tend to live in underground or forest towns and cities made of web and stone or web and wood. These settlements are a sight to behold, decorated in all manner of colorfully dyed webbing and silk. Cave-dwellers most closely follow the traditions of their ancestors, and have a love for all things musical.

**Adventurers:** Cave-dwellers are rarely adventurers, but those who do are often seeking something specific. Cave-dwellers love to learn new things, and this often inspires adventure as well. Whether it’s a new piece of music, a new crafting technique, or even arcane lore. Sometimes a cave-dweller simply succumbs to wanderlust and adventures to fulfill that desire.

#### Cave-Dweller Racial Traits

**Ability Score Racial Traits:** Cave-dwellers are empathetic and hold all people in regard. However they are less sturdy than others of their kind. They gain +2 Charisma, and -2 Constitution.

**Base Speed:** Cave-Dwellers have a climb speed of 40 feet, rather than 20. When climbing on webs, this climb speed is increased to 60 feet.

**Fantastic Hearing:** Cave-Dwellers quarter the range penalty of hearing-based perception checks. (+1 DC / 40 feet).

**Musical Inclination:** Cave-Dwellers always treat Perform (String) as a class skill, and gain Skill Focus (Perform: String) as a bonus feat.

**Improved Dark Vision:** Cave-dwellers can see in the dark perfectly up to 120 feet, rather than 60.

**Improved Web Vision:** While touching webs, a cave-dweller’s tremorsense range is doubled to 400 feet, or to the distance of the web (whichever is shorter).

### Sand-Hunters (Arazidae)

Masters of ambush, the arazidae (air-ah-zi-day) are known to hunt among the deserts, wastes, and hills they call home. Called sand-hunters by outsiders due to their skills at ambush from underground burrows, the sand-hunters are often regarded as the most deadly of the araenae. The fur of a sand hunter is thinner and coarser than other araenae, and ranges in color from white, to sandy beige, to dark brown.

**Society:** This subrace has adapted to the looser soil found within deserts, wastelands, and rolling hills, and have mastered the art of ambush hunting. Surprisingly, this subrace is the most friendly to other sentient creatures. Often offering to share their hunts with others in need, offering shelter during storms, or offering water to a thirsty traveler. Arazidae love to share tales of their hunts, and take pride in taking down strong and dangerous beasts from stealth. Arazidae most often travel alone, but some work as a team to take down even more dangerous prey. The Arazidae love Exotic spices, and tend to trade much of their hunted game for such things. When not hunting, they spend the majority of their time amongst other races.

**Adventurers:** Sand-hunters are the most adventurous of the araenae, forming tight bonds with other araenae and outsiders to best take down the largest and most powerful game they can find. Many act as scouts for their people, venturing off into distant and uncharted lands.

#### Sand-Hunter Racial Traits

**Ability Score Racial Traits:** Sand-hunters are stronger than others of their kin, but despite their friendliness their isolation has often caused them to lack when it comes to the power of their personality. They gain +2 Strength, and -2 Charisma.

**Stealth Hunting:** Sand-hunters gain Skill Focus (Stealth) as a bonus feat. A sand-hunter can use their webs to create web-burrows from which to ambush prey. If they have at least 10 minutes and are in a location of soft ground, they can use a daily use of their web ability to create a camouflaged burrow that can hold a single Medium-sized creature. They can expand the size of this burrow to fit one additional Medium creature for every 10 minutes and daily use of their web ability spent. A sand-hunter can create web-burrows in other forms of terrain given enough time and resources, but building times for web-burrows in such conditions vary. For example, in a dense forest the sand-hunter would be required to gather leaves, branches, rocks, and logs to properly build their web-burrow which would dramatically increase the time required to build one. Generally, this time should vary between 10 minutes and 2 hours at the GM’s discretion.

The sand-hunter makes a single Stealth check as part of creating their web-burrow. They can take 10 on this check, but cannot take 20. This check determines the perception DC to notice the web-burrow. Creatures hiding within the web-burrow can either use the results of the above Stealth check as their effective Stealth checks to hide (subtracting any penalties to their Stealth skill from armor check penalties), or may make a Stealth check to hide with a +10 circumstance bonus while within the web-burrow. The entrance of a web-burrow is hinged, allowing creatures inside of it to quickly exit. Entering or exiting a web-burrow counts as difficult terrain. A creature inside of a web-burrow is considered to have partial cover.

Web-burrows are constructed in such a way that it is treated as webs for the purpose of their web vision racial trait, and those webs extend to a range of 100 feet from the burrow due to webs hidden below the ground. Due to being formed primarily of webbing, creatures that can sense movement upon webs automatically detect the presence of a web-burrow when they come within 100 feet of one. The sand-hunter can choose to reduce this distance as part of its creation, to a minimum of 0 feet. This reduces the range at which they can detect creatures, but also reduces the range at which other web-detecting creatures can detect the web-burrow.

Once built, a web-burrow in ideal conditions will persist for up to one week without further maintenance (a dry climate), a web-burrow built in unideal conditions requires maintenance each day (a wet climate, for example). When creating a web-burrow, the sand-hunter can expend additional uses of their web ability to extend this duration for each use spent (2 weeks or 2 days for 2 uses, 3 weeks or 3 days for 3 uses, and so on).

A sand-hunter does not only use these burrows for ambushes, they also use them as hidden stores of goods, or a safe place to rest. If sleeping, they are automatically woken by a small or larger creature disturbing the area around their burrow.

**Sand Stride:** Sand-hunters do not suffer from difficult terrain due to loose earth, gravel, or sand.

**Ambush Striker:** Sand-hunters gain a +1 racial bonus to attack rolls against flat-footed targets, targets that have been denied their Dexterity bonus to AC, and targets they are flanking.

### Wave-Skimmers (Araonetae)

Araonetae (air-ah-oh-net-eh) are aloof and strange araenae who live on the coasts of seas, lakes, and rivers. These reclusive araenae are rarely seen by outsiders, and generally don’t interact with other races. Wave-skimmers have no fur, and have longer and thinner limbs that give them an alien and intimidating appearance. They possess sensory hairs, but they are very small and harder to notice at a glance. The carapace of a wave-skimmer is dark in color, ranging from deep blue to dark gray to a muddy brown.

**Society:** These rarely seen araenae are opposed to outsiders and rarely trade for outside goods. Wave-skimmers on the coasts of seas are more reclusive, whereas those who live alongside lakes and rivers are generally more favorable to outsiders and are less reclusive. Wave-skimmers primarily survive off fish and kelp, and can craft elaborate underwater lairs. They spend the majority of their time underwater, only surfacing to hunt different game, gather resources, or trade. Wave-skimmers don’t often worship the Fateweaver, instead worshiping gods of water or the seas.

**Adventurers:** Wave-skimmers rarely adventure. Those rare few who do are often outcasts from their settlements, or those that succumbed to the madness of the deep oceans. Wave-skimmers are often clerics or oracles of their ocean gods, but they also specialize in more martial classes such as fighter or rogue.

#### Wave-Skimmer Racial Traits

**Ability Score Racial Traits:** Wave-skimmers are particularly hardy, but the darkness and vastness of their aquatic domains have had an effect on their minds. They gain +2 Constitution, and -2 Wisdom.

**Base Speed:** Wave-skimmers gain a swim speed equal to their base land speed. Using their forelimbs to hold items or wield weapons reduces this swim speed as it does their base land speed. They also gain a +8 racial bonus on Swim checks.

**Wave Skimming:** Wave-skimmers can skim across the surface of water. As long as they are on the surface of relatively calm water and refrain from combat, they can walk on the surface of water at their normal movement speed. If they take an action besides moving, or attempt to walk on wave-filled or stormy water, they must make Swim checks each round to continue skimming acrossthe surface or fall into the water on failed check. They cannot take 10 on this check.

**Web bell:** Despite preferring to live on the water, wave-skimmers breathe air. They have learned to create webbing that holds air within it, known as a web bell, to allow them to survive and breathe beneath the weaves. A wave-skimmer can craft a mundane web bell by expending one use of their web special ability and spending 1 minute. They can also craft masterwork web bells, but doing so requires them to spend additional resources and time to do so (as normal for crafting an item). Wave-skimmers also use this method to trap air within their underwater homes, utilizing special techniques that draw air from the surrounding water into the structure to replace the air which is lost from breathing.

**Wave-sense:** While submerged in water, or skimming on the surface of water, the wave-skimmer has blindsense 60 against creatures and objects that are touching the same body of water.

**Deepsight:** While underwater wave-skimmers have Darkvision 120 feet.

#### Web Bells

This thin and ephemeral lattice of webs can be worn over one’s head to create a bubble of air to allow breathing underwater for a short time.

**Common:** A common Web Bell allows a creature to survive underwater for an hour by storing air and filtering it in from the surrounding water, after which the bell is destroyed. A Web Bell is not airtight, it doesn’t protect from gaseous poisons or allow a creature to survive in a vacuum. Due to its temporary nature, these items are almost never sold by wave-skimmers. If sundered, it has a hardness of 0 and 10 hit points.

**Price** — gp; **Weight** 1 lbs. **Craft** DC 0

**Masterwork:** A masterwork Web Bell is carefully and meticulously woven to make it more durable and reusable. This Bell can hold and filter enough air for a creature to breathe for 2 hours. If sundered, it has a hardness of 10 and 20 hit points.

**Price** 100 gp; **Weight** 1 lbs. **Craft** DC 25

### Araenae Favored Class Options

Araenae have the following Favored Class Options:

* All: Gain a +1/3 bonus to one of the following skills: craft (cloth), craft (clothing), craft (traps) or Perform (string).
* All: Attacks made using your Web Weaver’s Spool veil deal an additional +1/2 points of damage.
* Alchemist: +1/2 to DC of all crafted Poisons and to Araenae Venom.
* Bard: +1 bardic performance round per day.
* Fighter: +1/2 to damage rolls versus targets you are flanking, or that are denied their Dex to AC.
* Cleric: Select one domain power granted at first level that is normally usable a number of times per day equal to 3 + Wisdom modifier. Add +1/3 to the uses per day.
* Druid: Wild Shape natural AC increased by +1/3.
* Guru: Add one weapon with the araenae property to your list of philosophy weapons.
* Helmsman: Grant your bonded vessel +1/6 of the Arms mech enhancement. This mech enhancement can be gained even if your bonded vessel already has the Arms enhancement, does not stop you from granting your bonded vessel that enhancement normally, and can be gained multiple times in this way. Arms your bonded vessel gains in this way are treated as if they were forelimbs as described in your arachnid limbs racial trait. You cannot exchange this mech enhancement for other enhancements.
* Huay: When polymorphed into a creature with the web special ability, increase the DC of that ability by +1/3.
* Hunter: Increase the natural armor and poison DC of Arachnid companions by 1/2.
* Magus: Gain 1/6 of a new magus arcana.
* Monk: +1 base speed and climb speed.
* Oracle: Add +1/3 to the oracle’s level for the purpose of determining the effects of one revelation.
* Promethean: Add +1/10 to the number of 1st level abilities you can grant with your fleshsculpting ability. Also add +1/4 to the essence capacity of the Warper of Flesh forbidden knowledge.
* Radiant: Gain +1/3 point of essence that can only be invested in your allies using your akashic bond ability.
* Ranger: +1/3 to Stealth and initiative checks while in Favored Terrain.
* Rogue: +1/3 Araenae Venom DC and +1/8 sneak attack die.
* Sorcerer: Select one bloodline power at 1st level that is normally usable a number of times per day equal to 3 + Charisma modifier. Add 1/3 to the uses per day.
* Spellweaver: +1/6 to the DCs and CMB of spells that grapple, entangle, or immobilize foes.
* Vizier: Gain +1/6 daily uses of your veilshifting ability.
* Volur: Select a single veil with the [brand] descriptor: Treat its DC as +1/5 higher when shaping it using your brandshaping ability. A specific veil may only receive a total +1 bonus from this favored class bonus at a time.
* Witch: The duration of the Fortune and Misfortune hexes are increased by 1/4 round. The DC of those hexes is +1/4 higher.
* Wizard: +1/4 CL for Divination spells.