Arachnidia

Description

This discipline grants Tarantalus some of the abilities of their Ananasi heritage. Thus the Tarantalus may produce venom, cling to walls, spin webs, and many other spider like traits.

Basic Disciplines

Touch of Venom: You are able to produce venom from poison sacks under your finger nails. Wounds caused in hand to hand combat by raking with your nails will cause aggravated damage to other kindred. When you learn this level of Arachnidia your finger nails automatically become as hard as glass, and take on a black oily sheen. Once used, the venom sacks must be refilled, which costs one blood trait. Mortals injected with this venom immediately become paralyzed, and will die within 10 minutes unless they receive medical attention.

Cling of the Spider: (Prerequisite: Touch of Venom) You are able to crawl across any surface that will hold your weight. Thus you could crawl up a wall and upside down across the ceiling. You must have bare hands and feet to use this power. No challenge is necessary as long as you do not excede crawling speed. To move faster you must win a static physical challenge difficulty of six.

Intermediate Discipline

The Weaver's Gift: (Prerequisite: Cling of the Spider) You may spin webs from special glands hidden in your arms. These spinnerets may be used to create webbing similar to that of a spider, although on a much grander scale. The webbing, almost five millimeters thick is very difficult to see, even from a short distance, requiring a static mental challenge (difficulty six) to notice. You may use this webbing to seal things off, capture opponents, or lower yourself from a height. It takes two rounds to snare an opponent. You must declare your intent, and then win two sequential physical challenges against your target. Other Tarantalus are immune to the effects of the Weaver's Gift, and may pass through such webbing with little difficulty.

Coccoon: (Prerequisite: The Weaver's Gift) You may spin a hard white human shaped coccoon in which to sleep. You may suspend this cocoon from any surface that will support your weight. This coccoon, which takes 10 minutes to weave, will protect you from fire and sunlight, and may be dissolved at will. While inside the coccoon you are completely cut off from the outside world, and can not hear nor see anything transpiring outside. The coccoon has the physical traits Rugged, and Tough, used solely for resisting damage, and may soak three points of damage before being destroyed.

Advanced Disciplines

Carapace: (Prerequisite: The Weaver's Gift) You may turn your skin into a hard exoskeleton. Your skin becomes as hard as stone, although you lose none of your agility. Characters using this discipline appear as though they are wearing a suite of black armour. To grow a carapace you must spend one blood trait and be undisturbed for fifteen minutes. This carapace allows you to automatically resist one point of normal damage per round.

Creeping Horde: (Prerequisite Carapace) You may transform youself into an oozing swarm of spiders. In this form you may crawl, with ease, across any surface, and may slip through even the tiniest of openings. The transformation requires the expenditure of one blood trait and takes five minutes to complete. Alternately, you may spend three blood traits to transform instantaneously. While in this form you gain the physical traits Quick, Nimble, and Tenacious. As a swarm of spiders you may not use any social traits.

Weave Spirit Web: (Prerequisite: Web Sight) Using this level of Arachnidia you may connect any two physical locations with invisible silk like strands. These strands actually stretch through the spirit realm, and may not be altered, not detected physically. A mental trait must be permanently expended to link any two locations, and you must physically travel from one location to the other before the web is complete. These spirit webs may be detected by those with spirit sight, astral travelers, wraiths, and lupines in the gauntlet, with a static mental challenge dificulty 8. Once detected, spirit webs are easily destroyed by any creature capable of entering the Gauntlet. Tarantalus may use Web Sight to view any location connected by a spirit web from the other location.