Editing Shield Spiders (section)

== Appearance ==
Shield Spiders are large spiders that have a black and silver pattern on their carapace which gives them an appearance of being armored, hence the name. This armor covers their back and legs.<ref name="1.29"/> The abdomen carapace is weaker.

Shield Spiders can grow to any proportions given enough time, so that there is no "usual" or "normal" size for them. While a three-foot tall Shield Spider is considered "mature", individual spiders can grow to the size of two wagons,<ref name="6.30"/> or twice the size of considerable buildings.<ref name="5.28">[https://wanderinginn.com/2018/10/13/5-28/ Chapter 5.28]</ref>

Shield Spider blood is a pale blue ichor.<ref name="4.49"/>

=== Reproduction ===
Shield Spiders lay small, white eggs in sacs, the size of each sac depending on the mother's age: In average, a spider lays a few hundred eggs in one sac, older spiders may produce thousands. After having filled one sac, they produce the next.<ref name="6.30">[https://wanderinginn.com/2019/07/13/6-30/ Chapter 6.30]</ref>

A baby Shield Spider is not much larger than a spider on Earth. However, they can be dangerous as adult ones, in large numbers.<ref name="1.29"/>

Shield Spiders are active all around the year, even in winter,<ref>[https://wanderinginn.com/2017/05/10/2-01-t/ Chapter 2.01 T]</ref><ref name="3.22L"/> but they spawn excessively in the spring.<ref name="6.30"/>

=== Nests ===
Shield Spiders nests, also called ''Pits'', are covered with a camouflaged layer. Inside the nest lies generations of Shield Spiders waiting for prey to fall into the trap, from tiny hatchlings to several foot sized specimens. Often, there is one dominant, large spider which is considered the ''matriarch''<ref name="6.30"/> of her nest. Nest populations can range from least fifty, or as many as three hundred.<ref name="3.22L">[https://wanderinginn.com/2017/10/10/3-22-l/ Chapter 3.22 L]</ref>

Shield Spider pits can be hidden in different surroundings, usually held together by their sticky spiderweb<ref>[https://wanderinginn.com/2018/07/24/5-05/ Chapter 5.05 mentions glue crafted from webs]</ref>: Within the Floodplains, the Shield Spiders camouflage the pit with a layer of dirt, dead grass and sticks that collapses when the prey walks over the nest.<ref name="1.29"/> Prey includes rats, rabbits, [[Corusdeer]], [[Fortress Beavers]] and unsuspecting travellers.<ref name="6.30"/>

Eggs laid in the late season of the year can provide a problem in the Floodplains in early spring, when they hatch.

Shield Spiders are territorial and and can kill rivaling nests.<ref>[https://wanderinginn.com/2019/10/12/6-48-t/ Chapter 6.48 T]</ref>

=== Powers/Abilities ===
Shield Spiders are notorious for tracking and killing their prey across thousands of leagues, making it almost pointless to run from them. What is worse, single mature Shield Spiders are hunting outside of their nest. They prefer to herd fleeing prey straight into the pits. If the net collapses, the inhabitating spiders are swarming all over it, both to protect the eggs and to find the prey.<ref name="1.29">[https://wanderinginn.com/2016/12/04/1-29/ Chapter 1.29]</ref>

They are considered to be a Silver-rank threat, while a nest of them might even lead to the notification of a Gold-rank team. Their carapace is extremely tough and can resist acid and steel blades, while their bite is so poisonous that not even a Healing Potion could cure it.<ref name="1.29"/>

[[Rags]]' tribe could clear out smaller Shield Spider pits with few casualties even before she migrated out of the area of Liscor, provided that there were at least two Hobgoblins and enough Goblins present.<ref>[https://wanderinginn.com/2017/05/21/2-02-g/ Chapter 2.02 G]</ref>

=== Weaknesses ===
They can be burnt, especially their dry, webbed pits are vulnerable to fire.<ref name="1.29"/>

Blunt force or piercing through the carapace is the strategy that experienced warriors employ,<ref name="6.30"/> but this is the brute force approach for which enormous strength is required.<ref>[https://wanderinginn.com/2018/02/17/4-13-l/ Chapter 4.13 L]</ref>

Acid works rather slow against their thick armor, although it can corrode the joints once it gets into there.<ref name="1.29"/>

While spiders are not known for being noisy, Shield Spiders scream when they die<ref name="1.29"/> or when  provoked.<ref name="5.06M">[https://wanderinginn.com/2018/07/27/5-06-m/ Chapter 5.06 M]</ref>