Spider, Sword (CR 5)
Large Vermin
Alignment: Always neutral
Initiative: +0; Senses: Spot +12
AC: 17 (-1 size, +8 natural), touch 9, flat-footed 17
Hit Dice: 5d8+10 (32 hp)
Fort +6, Ref +1, Will +1
Speed: 20 ft., climb 20 ft.
Space: 10 ft./5 ft.
Base Attack +3; Grapple +11
Attack: 8 legs +6 melee, bite +1 melee
Full Attack: 8 legs +6 melee, bite +1 melee
Damage: Leg 1d6+4, bite 1d8+2 plus poison
Special Attacks/Actions: Impalement, poison
Abilities: Str 18, Dex 10, Con 14, Int -, Wis 11, Cha 3
Special Qualities:
Feats:
Skills: Climb +12, Hide +0, Jump +4, and Spot +12
Advancement: -
Climate/Terrain: Warm forest and underground
Organization: Solitary or brood (2-5 in drow pens)
Treasure/Possessions: None
Source:
Monster Compendium: Monsters of Faerûn
Impalement (Ex): Against formidable prey, a sword spider jumps high into the air to land atop an opponent, with all eight legs together in a tight mesh of blades. It makes only a single attack roll (+5 melee), but if that attack is successful, the opponent takes damage from three leg blades if size Small or smaller, four blades if Medium-size, five blades if Large, six if Huge, and all eight if Gargantuan or larger. If the spider descends more than 20 feet to make this attack, it adds +1 point of damage to each leg.
Poison (Ex): Those hit by a sword spider's bite attack must succeed at a Fortitude save (DC 16) or be injected with poison. The initial and secondary damage is 1d6 points of temporary Strength damage.
Skills: Sword spiders have racial bonuses of +4 on Hide checks, +6 on Jump checks, and +12 on Spot checks.
Sword spiders lash out with the sword-like blades on each leg in melee combat. They can direct their attacks against creatures on all sides, but usually cannot bring more than four legs to bear against a single enemy
Sword spiders are about 12 feet in diameter, with a sleek, hairy black body, striped with dark brown fun Their. legs have chitinous plates with raised, sharp ridges that cut like sword blades, hence the spider's name.