Drider
Large Monstrosity, chaotic evil
2,300 XP
Special Abilities
Fey Ancestry
The drider has advantage on saving throws against being charmed, and magic can't put the drider to sleep.
Innate Spellcasting
The drider's innate spellcasting ability is Wisdom (spell save DC 13). The drider can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components:
At will: dancing lights
1/day each: darkness, faerie fire
Spider Climb
The drider can climb difficult surfaces, including upside down on ceilings, without needing to make an ability check.
Sunlight Sensitivity
While in sunlight, the drider has disadvantage on attack rolls, as well as on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight.
Web Walker
The drider ignores movement restrictions caused by webbing.
Actions
Multiattack
The drider makes three attacks, either with its longsword or its longbow. It can replace one of those attacks with a bite attack.
Bite
Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 2 (1d4) piercing damage plus 9 (2d8) poison damage.
Longsword
Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d8 + 3) slashing damage, or 8 (1d10 + 3) slashing damage if used with two hands.
Longbow
Ranged Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, range 150/600 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d8 + 3) piercing damage plus 4 (1d8) poison damage.
Quick Reference
Running This Encounter
Driders are cunning ambush predators that use their web-slinging abilities to control battlefield positioning. Position the drider on elevated terrain or within its web-filled lair to maximize the use of its eight legs for climbing and superior mobility. Use the drider's spellcasting to disable key party members before closing to melee range. Ensure multiple web obstacles exist to slow pursuit and provide cover.
Combat Tactics
The drider opens combat with spellcasting (Faerie Fire, Tasha's Hideous Laughter, or Darkness) to disable or expose enemies, then repositions using climbing and web terrain to maintain distance. Once targets are softened, it closes with melee attacks using its multiple limbs to make bite attacks while maintaining web-covered escape routes.
Environment & Setting
Subterranean lairs with dense webbing, multiple levels, and narrow passages that favor the drider's eight-legged locomotion. Ruins of drow temples, deep caves with stalactites, or underground chasms provide ideal settings where the drider controls vertical space.