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The Widow of the Canopy

Legend says the Widow was once a weaver who made a deal with a Shadowfell entity for eternal life. She was granted her wish, but her body was warped into a form that could forever weave the silk of the void.

Monsters
Huge monstrosity · Hard/Deadly · Unique

The Widow of the Canopy

A colossal, ancient arachnid fused with shadow energy and human-like intelligence, acting as a sentinel for planar rifts.
AC18
HP195/195
CRHard/Deadly
Init
STR
DEX
CON
INT
WIS
CHA
ConditionsNone

Combat

AC 18 · HP 195 · Hard/Deadly

The Widow of the Canopy

Huge monstrosity (giant spider), neutral evil
Armor Class18 (Natural Armor)
Hit Points195 (17d12 + 85)
Speed
40 ft.,
Climb 40 ft.
STR
DEX
CON
INT
WIS
CHA
Saving ThrowsDexterityConstitutionWisdom
SkillsStealthPerceptionAthletics
Damage Resistances
Necrotic,
Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing from Nonmagical Attacks
Immunities
Poison
Weaknesses
Fire
Senses
Blindsight 30 ft.,
Darkvision 120 ft.,
Web Sense,
Passive Perception 17
Languages
Common,
Sylvan,
Abyssal,
Telepathy 60 ft.
ChallengeHard/Deadly
Legendary Resistance. If the Widow fails a saving throw, she can choose to succeed instead (3/Day).
Spider Climb. The Widow can climb difficult surfaces, including upside down on ceilings, without needing to make an ability check.
Web Walker. The Widow ignores movement restrictions caused by webbing.
Gloom Weaver. While in dim light or darkness, the Widow can take the Hide action as a bonus action.

Spells

Darkness (level 2, evocation). Magical darkness spreads from a point within range to fill a 15-foot-radius sphere.

Actions

Multiattack. The Widow makes three attacks: one with her Bite and two with her Leg Slams.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 18 () piercing damage plus 13 () poison damage. The target must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or be poisoned for 1 minute.
Leg Slam. Melee Weapon Attack: to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 14 () bludgeoning damage. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a Strength saving throw or be knocked prone.
Ethereal Webbing (Recharge 5-6). The Widow shoots a strand of ghostly silk at a creature she can see within 60 feet. The target must succeed on a Strength saving throw or be restrained and pulled up to 60 feet toward the Widow. If the Widow is on a ceiling or high in a tree, the target is suspended in the air.

Reactions

Shadow Shift. When the Widow is hit by an attack, she can use her reaction to cast Darkness centered on herself and move up to half her speed without provoking opportunity attacks.

Legendary Actions

Skitter. The Widow moves up to half her speed without provoking opportunity attacks.
Cast Darkness. The Widow casts the Darkness spell at will without requiring components.
Web Cocoon (costs 2 actions). The Widow makes a Bite attack against a restrained creature. If it hits, the target is also encased in webbing and is blinded until it escapes.
Role
Boss
Built for
10

Gear

  • Soul-Spun Silk (Material, 2500 gp)A rare silk used to craft Cloaks of Arachnida or Robes of Eyes.

Feats

Alert
Mobile

Augmentations

Extraocular Perception: Can see in all directions simultaneously, cannot be surprised.

Notes for the game master

High verticality encounter
Uses Darkness to break line of sight for casters
Ethereal webbing bypasses physical shields but not magical barriers

Tactics

  1. Opening

    Casts Darkness at the start of the fight and uses Ethereal Webbing to pull a healer or wizard 40 feet up into the trees.

  2. Mid-fight

    Focuses on staying out of reach of melee fighters by clinging to the high canopy, using Leg Slams to knock intruders off her webs.

  3. End of the fight

    If reduced to 50 HP, she pulls all nearby creatures toward her with a massive web burst and tries to drag them through the Shadowfell rift.

  4. Retreat

    The Widow will not retreat. She is tied to the rift and will dissolve into shadow if it is closed or if she is defeated.

How it fights

Uses Darkness to negate Advantage and prevent targeting
Pulls targets upward to cause falling damage if they break free
Attacks prone targets with Advantage

Who it attacks first

Spellcasters with light-producing magic
Archers or ranged attackers
Isolated targets near the edge of the grove

Works well with

Works well with Shadows or Will-o-Wisps that benefit from her Darkness.

How to beat it

Daylight spell (dispels her darkness)
Flying characters (immune to falling damage tactics)
Fire damage (destroys her webs)

Ways to avoid a fight

She may bargain if offered a powerful soul to feed the rift.
Players can use Stealth and Deception to navigate her webs without alerting her eyes.

Ecology

A spider of nightmare proportions, the Widow possesses a midnight-black exoskeleton that seems to absorb light. Her abdomen is not hairy, but smooth like polished obsidian, and is studded with dozens of wet, blinking human-like eyes that weep a faint, silvery ichor. Her legs end in razor-sharp points that can pierce plate armor, and her mandibles glow with a cold, violet light.

Behavior

She is a patient, tactical hunter who speaks in a telepathic chorus of whispers. She prefers to isolate her prey one by one, dragging them into the lightless canopy where they cannot be rescued. She views herself as the gardener of the Shadowsilk Grove.

How it lives

The Widow feeds on the souls and physical remains of those who stumble into her grove. Her presence corrupts local flora, turning trees into blackened, twisted husks.

Lair

The Shadowsilk Grove, a valley of towering ancient oaks completely shrouded in thick, opaque webbing that pulses with magical energy.

Habitat
Deep, ancient forests where the veil between the Material Plane and the Shadowfell is thin.

Signs that it is near

Silvery, translucent webs hanging from branches like funeral veils
Absolute silence; no birds or insects inhabit the area
Feeling of being watched by dozens of eyes from the darkness
Trees that appear to be 'bleeding' black sap

Tags

Arachnid,
Shadowfell,
Apex Predator,
Legendary

Lore

Legend says the Widow was once a weaver who made a deal with a Shadowfell entity for eternal life. She was granted her wish, but her body was warped into a form that could forever weave the silk of the void.

What drives it

To prevent anyone from closing the Shadowfell rift she guards, which provides her with infinite longevity and power.

After the fight

Once defeated, the Shadowsilk Grove begins to wither. The human-like eyes on her abdomen remain open, and if not destroyed, they continue to whisper the secrets of the Shadowfell to anyone nearby.

Variants

Hatchery Matriarch: Can summon Swarms of Spiders as a legendary action.
Void-Touched: Immune to Force damage and can teleport through shadows.

Hooks

Plot hooks

The local village's best weavers have all gone missing, following a 'call' from the forest.
A scholar needs a sample of the Widow's soul-silk to bridge a gap in planar theory.
The sun has not risen over the Shadowsilk Grove in a week.

How to use it

Final boss of a 'cursed forest' arc
Guardian of a planar gateway

Treasure

A collection of humanoid eyes preserved in jars (valuable to necromancers)
Ring of Evasion found on a previous victim
1500 gp in assorted gemstones stuck in the webbing

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