PAPER SPIDER

Init +6
Melee Atk
 • paper cut +8 (0; poison)
AC 22
HD 1d4
MV 20
Act 1d20
SP poison, paper thin
Fort +0
Ref +4
Will +0
AL N

A paper spider is as deadly an assassination tool now as it was 1000 years ago. The means to create one is known to precious few, and closely guarded, it is said, by a single family, who create them for pay without concern for whom they may be used against.

Deceptively simple, they are literally made from paper, much thinner than parchment, and often left between the pages of books. There they can wait, perhaps for centuries, until the page they are resting on is turned to, whereupon they leap at the reader. They move with lightning quickness, almost-unerringly finding exposed skin, and by the tiniest of paper cuts they deliver the poison they were infused with upon their creation.

Most lose their enchantment and are again nothing more than mere paper, after they strike. Most—but not all...

Needless to say, more than one wizard has tried to eliminate his rivals through the use of paper spiders. They have also been left under dinner plates or goblets for nobles, and in rolled messages meant only for the eyes of leaders, from kings to ship captains to captains of the guard.

A few sample poisons that the paper spider is well suited for are:

• Bearbug saliva (Fort Save DC 12; partial paralysis on success, lasting 1d4 minutes; complete paralysis on failure, lasting 4d8 minutes. Partial paralysis can be in the lower extremities only [1-3] or in all extremities [4-5])

• Bearbug musk (Fort Save DC 16; 2d5 Stamina damage)

• Nalvaengur blood (Fort Save DC 18; 1d4 Agility damage for success, otherwise 1d6 Agility and 2d3 Intelligence damage)

• Bhlestic bile (Fort Save DC 13; coma; subsequent save each month or death; reversing the coma requires rare herbal tinctures)