Harvestmen - better known as daddy longlegs (daddies longlegs?) - are common sights for us in our gardens and lawns. If you know any trivia about them, it is probably that they are not actually spiders or that they have very poisonous bites but their mouth parts are too small to be dangerous to humans. It is true that these oddball arachnids are not actually spiders - spiders have a distinct two-part body (the cephalothorax and the abdomen), while the cephalothorax and abdomen of harvestmen are fused into one mass. But their bites are not extremely poisonous; in fact, no species of harvestman has venom glands.
Aside from a ball-like body and a lack of venom, harvestmen also differ from spiders in a couple key ways. They have only two eyes, where spiders have - I think we can agree - far too many. Harvestmen do not spin silk and so can make no webs. Also, they can actually eat solid food. Spiders use poison to paralyze and liquefy their prey, wrap them up in their silk, and then suck the bug smoothie up with their gross mouthparts. Harvestmen are on no such juice cleanse. Their tearing pedipalps can rip off chunks of meat and swallow them whole - a rare ability amongst arachnids, and one that I am sure makes them a hit at parties. A less popular party trick they can do is secrete a stinky fluid from their scent glands to make them unappealing prey.
I have wanted to stat up a giant harvestman for a while, but their strange anatomy made that a challenge. Making them in the Gargantuan size category would be true to their actual size, but so much of that space is just open air because of their trademark long, spindly legs. As a compromise, I settled on a Large-sized body, with their legs not included in their size category but accounted for with special rules. If you are playing out a giant harvestman fight on a battlemap, you might use a Large-sized model as a stand-in for its head and eight coins as counters to represent the position of its legs. It might look something like this:
The following text in gold is available as Open Game Content under the OGL. Open Game Content is ©2018 Jonah Bomgaars.
Giant Harvestman CR 3
XP 800
N Large vermin
Init +3; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception -1
DEFENSE
AC 16, touch 12, flat-footed 13 (+4
natural, +3 Dex, -1 size)
hp 30 (4d8+12)
Fort +7, Ref +4, Will +0
Immune mind-affecting effects, vermin traits
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft.
Melee bite +6 (2d6+6 plus grab)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 20 ft.
STATISTICS
Str 18, Dex 17, Con 16, Int --, Wis 9, Cha 2
Base Atk +3; CMB +8 (+12 grapple); CMD
21 (33 vs trip)
SQ longlegs
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Longlegs (Ex)
The giant
harvestman’s size category is based on its body; its eight legs are long and
thin and splay out far from the creature’s central mass. Each leg sets down 30
to 40 feet from the harvestman’s body. This configuration typically holds the
harvestman’s body 20 feet above the ground, although it can adjust to 30 feet
as a move action.
Unless otherwise stated, all attacks
directed at the harvestman are aimed at its body. Its legs can be attacked
separately with melee or ranged weapons. Each leg has DR 5/bludgeoning, an AC
of 19, and 10 hp. The legs are immune to damage from area-of-effect spells and
spell-like abilities. Damage dealt to the legs does not come from the giant
harvestman’s hit points, but each leg lost deals 4 damage to the giant
harvestman. It can lose one leg and suffer no additional ill effects, but each
subsequent leg lost reduces the harvestman’s move speed by 5 feet and deals 2
permanent Dexterity drain. A harvestman with 3 or fewer legs has a move speed
of 5 ft. and a Dexterity of 1.
Then the giant harvestman’s body moves as
part of a move action, all of its legs move the same distance. As a free
action, the giant harvestman can adjust the position of up to two of its legs
per turn, shifting them up to 15 feet in any direction, so long as they remain
within 40 feet of the body. Its legs provoke attacks of opportunity when moving
or adjusting.
Stinking Secretion (Ex)
Once per
hour as a move action, the giant harvestman can secrete a noxious chemical from
its pores as a defense mechanism. All creatures within 30 feet of the harvestman’s
body must make a DC 15 Fortitude save or become nauseated for 1d3 rounds.
ECOLOGY
Environment any
Organization solitary, pair, or
aggregation (3-12)
Treasure incidental
Harvestmen,
also known as daddy longlegs, are spider-like creatures known for their long,
spindly legs. Giant harvestmen have thick bodies twelve feet long, but their
legs extend some thirty to forty feet out from their bodies, allowing them to
hold their bodies high above the ground while waiting in ambush to strike. They
grasp their prey with strong, pincer-like mouth-parts.
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Plot Hooks and Encounter Ideas
- An aggregation of giant harvestmen has taken up residence in the local forest where they have been terrorizing wood gatherers, hunters, and foragers.
- As the party rides along the narrow forest road, the merchant they are escorting is plucked screaming off his horse by a giant harvestman astride the path.
- The city barely survived the deadly siege, but now they are beset by another threat - giant harvestmen attracted by the stench of carrion are striding easily over the walls and attacking the survivors, and only our heroes are in good enough fighting shape to fend them off.
-your ozoporous d20 despot
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