The ash tree spiders are the hidden villains of an M.R. James story previously covered by the podcast. In the story, they are the children, at least metaphorically, of a witch who has cursed a family. Here they are interpreted as infernally-tainted animals.
These statistics are based on those written, for a familiar spider, by Mark Lawford in Magi of Hermes.
Order: Corrupted Beast
Infernal Might: 5 (Animal)
Characteristics: Int -3, Per -2, Pre -6/+6*, Com -6, Str -4, Sta +1, Dex +3, Qik +1.
* Corrupted beasts have a -6 Pre when communicating, and a +6 Pre when threatening or intimidating.
Size: -3
Natural Qualities: Ambush Predator, Grapple, Loathsome Appearance, Venemous
Virtues and Flaws: Gigantic (major virtue) Monstrous Appearance, Corrupted Beast (Tainted With Evil).
Personality Traits: Sinister +2
Reputations: None
Combat
Bite: Initiative +1, Attack +10, Defense +6, Damage -3*
Dodge: Initiative +1, Attack N/A, Defense +4, Damage N/A.
Grapple: Initiative +1, Attack +6 Defense +4, Damage N/A.
* Spiders are venomous. Poison Strength 9. The poison causes the victim to blacken and swell. The spiders drain blood, but that’s not a combat manoeuvre. Spiders fight as a trained group.
Soak: +1
Fatigue Levels: OK, 0, -1, –3, –5, Unconscious.
Wound Penalties: –1 (1–2), –3 (3–4), –5 (5-6), Incapacitated (7–8), Dead (9+)
Abilities: Awareness 4 (prey), Brawl 3 (bite), Climb 5 (web), Hunt 4 (stock), Stealth 4 (stalking), Survival 3 (local area), Weaving 5 (web)
Powers:
Painless bite: 1 point, Init: N/A, Animal or Corpus. The spider’s bite is painless, which makes it able to repeatedly poison sleepers.
Silence, 0 points, Init 0, Animal. As a side effect of the Monstrous Appearance Flaw, these spiders make no sound when they walk, jump or climb. If they move objects, those still make a sound. The scraping sound in the story, for example, is caused by them pushing up the window sash.
Vis: 1 pawn, Perdo
Appearance: A spider the size of a kitten.
Games From Folktales 