When a sand spider attacks, its two speckled, tan legs erupt from the sand, plunging forward with murderous speed, followed by a spider the size of a horse. They attack as often in broad daylight as at night.
Drag Prey into Tunnels. Sand spiders lurk beneath the arid plains and dry grasslands. These carnivores hunt desert dwellers and plains travelers by burrowing into loose sand so they are completely hidden from view. When prey walks over their trap, the spider lunges up from hiding, snares the prey, and drags it down beneath the sand, where it can wrap the prey in webbing before quickly stabbing it to death.
Spider Packs. More terrifying than a lone sand spider is a group of sand spiders hunting together. They build connected lair networks called clusters, containing one female and 2 or 3 males. They work together with one sand spider attacking to draw attention, and 2 or 3 others attacking from trapdoors in the opposite direction, behind the skirmish line.
Sand Spider
Large beast, unalignedArmor Class 15 (natural armor)
Hit Points 105 (14d10 + 28)
Speed 30 ft., burrow 20 ft.
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 (+5) | 17 (+3) | 14 (+2) | 4 (-3) | 12 (+1) | 4 (-3) |
Skills Perception +4, Stealth +6 (+9 in sand terrain)
Senses darkvision 60 ft., tremorsense 60 ft., passive Perception 14
Languages —
Challenge 7 (2,900 XP)
Spider Climb. The sand spider can climb difficult surfaces, including upside down on ceilings, without needing to make an ability check.
Ambusher. The sand spider has advantage on attack rolls against surprised targets.
Actions
Multiattack. The sand spider makes two attacks with its impaling legs and one bite attack.
Impaling Leg. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (1d12 + 5) piercing damage. If the sand spider scores a critical hit with this attack, it rolls damage dice three times instead of twice. If both impaling leg attacks hit the same target, the second hit does an extra 11 (1d12 + 5) piercing damage.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 16 (2d10 + 5) piercing damage plus 13 (3d8) poison damage, or half as much poison damage with a successful DC 13 Constitution saving throw.
Reactions
Trapdoor Ambush. When a creature walks over a sand spider’s hidden burrow, the spider can use its reaction to attack that creature with two impaling leg attacks. The creature is considered a surprised target for both attacks. If one or both attacks hit and the target is a Medium or smaller creature, then the sand spider and the target engage in a Strength contest. If the creature wins, it can immediately move 5 feet away from the sand spider. If the contest results in a tie, the creature is grappled (escape DC 15). If the sand spider wins, the creature is grappled and dragged by the sand spider 30 feet into its lair. If the creature is still grappled at the start of the sand spider’s next turn, it becomes restrained instead. The restrained creature can escape by using an action to make a successful DC 15 Strength (Athletics) check.