if you thought we were done with spiders with the ananasi you were wrong today we're going
to be talking about the rust spider which is actually a bane hello everyone welcome
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when we talk about rust spiders we are talking about a catch-all name that applies to many
infected weaver spiders weaver minions that have been corrupted by the worm
the rust spider is classified as a bane what's interesting is that not only do the guru use
the name rust spider to talk about these these beings that have been corrupted so do the black
spiral dancers and with the rust spider every servant of the worm who has been corrupted still
maintains its original purpose just with a slight variation on that because it's worm tainted now
pattern spiders will continue to expand the web except it will be more of a corrupted version
rusting version if you will netspiders still run the internet but you will probably find viruses
and 4chan that was probably the spawning of a rust spider being that a rust spider is an infected
weaver spirit it's important to know what a bane is what a bane can do and what a bane is not and
what it can't do or doesn't do rather banes come in all sorts of shapes sizes emotions general not
good feelings and if a person does see a bane let's hope you never do but if a person does
you will suffer the effects of delirium because banes cause delirium some banes are self-aware and
know that they do this and they like to take on the most horrific forms possible to get the most
fear factor from their chosen target whoever they're bothering and they try to make them as
scared as possible others will also embody some of the other traits from humankind that we've
talked about already go to the seven deadly sins if you want some inspiration it's not totally
correct to say that a bane feeds on this emotion it's more correct to say that a bane reinforces
this negative emotion it's something that they latch onto and they amplify it would already
have to be there a bane in and of itself doesn't cause a negative emotion they are just drawn
to it most banes have the ability to possess their host some of the weaker ones just won't
and the abilities and skill set of the bane will typically be in line with its concept
or its emotion the thing that it ties itself to it will be tailored to do that thing really well
and as we've talked about in other videos banes will also have varying degrees of power level so
have fun with that at your table now since a bane is literally defined by its purpose
that means there are very few if any morally gray veins it's not very often you run into a bane that
has a conscience and is able to think outside the box if you do decide to go that route with a bane
i would suggest maybe making it a very high level or high powered bane and the same could actually
be said to be true of many other spirits that are within the world of darkness gafflings jagglings
the higher up in the spiritual food chain you go the more personality they tend to have but when
it comes to most banes they are the spiritual representation of the human emotion what makes
the rust spider unique as a bane is as we've just discussed most banes are pretty singular in their
purpose but a rust spider actually serves two masters the weaver and the worm most spirits when
they are corrupted will fall entirely to the worm and they will continue on in their twisted purpose
now the weaver guardian spirits are going to be the ones that have changed the most and that's
because they would normally not allow any worm tainted spirit past them that is something that
they actively root out and kill this is their job and the ones that I'm referring to specifically
are the hunter spiders this would be their job but when a hunter spider has been tainted by the worm
and corrupted and becomes classified as a rust spider it will allow worm tainted spirits
enemies to pass by freely old enemies are now friends a rust spider is also not easy
to identify at least from a distance because the nature of the rust spider is intact they still
do the things that they were supposed to do the pattern spider still builds out the weaver's web
it still maintains its same shape but it does have a slightly different coloration on it and
that's only noticeable if you get up close i keep saying pattern spider but a pattern spider is one
of the most basic foot soldiers units that the weaver is going to use the pattern spider takes
items from around the world and it wraps them up in its silk and it adds them to the weaver's web
pattern spiders are usually quite shiny they're quite bright I've run games where they're
basically just white light but you could also use them as a representation of computer parts that
would also work for a pattern spider but when you get up close their bodies are a little bit more
rusted they're orange looking they get pitted and a little bit old the shine is gone and depending
on how long and even how bad the corruption is you would even see some organic parts starting to form
on the rust spider instead of its holy mechanical nature or totally mechanical body and when it
moves it would be a little less precision because that's kind of what the weaver is known for is
everything works just so a rough spider would be a little bit more jerky and not nearly as smooth
now where can rust spiders be found they are naturally occurring that's kind of a weird
term to call an infected weaver minion but yes they do occur on their own they don't have to be
just wholly corrupted you would find them however around blight pits or areas of extreme worm taint
and black spiral dancers can actually create rust spiders as well there is a specific gift that they
call claws of corrosion and this allows them to generate and make their own rust spiders and it's
actually a very common practice when they're setting up an urban pit and this is because
the black spiral needs some friends or allies when they go into an area and try to set up it's easier
than trying to convert those to your cause instead you just go out grab one and infect it now a note
for you storytellers out there who want to use a rust spider in your game please know that a rust
spider is not aggressive if you leave it alone it'll leave you alone and this unfortunately
means that less experienced guru they tend to overlook these creatures even though it really
should be a sign that there's some bigger problems around and that really needs to be investigated
so what are my final thoughts on the rust spider and how would you use them in the game rust
spiders are good for flavor i don't think that they should necessarily be the main enemy or set
them up as a big baddie nothing stopping you from doing that they are definitely good to be used to
show that there's more to the world than what your wolves or what your players are seeing especially
if you decide to sprinkle some into your campaign and they decide to follow it it doesn't have to
be anything dangerous or hardcore unless you decide to put them in an urban pit in which case
you're mean i could see a case being made for the hunter spider as a rust spider as a passage
negotiator someone who man's a doorway and kind of like your bouncer at a nightclub except there's
weird conditions or special requirements to get through and it's not functioning as intended
but it's still working somewhat and some other groups have definitely found a way to exploit that
so that could be a lot of fun as well if a glass walker character sees these spiders it should be
particularly alarming so keep that in mind if you're using that for npcs or if you just are
playing a glass walker who knows a lot about the lore this should alarm you if you see one but
you know who isn't corrupted and is functioning as intended my patrons patrons who support my
channel at the maple level of their chosen game will get a monthly poll of a video topic that
they can select and i will do one for them out of the options that get voted on and the rust spider
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screen now my name is nathaniel this has been the maple table thanks for stopping by everyone