A six-foot long hairy, gray spider crawls forth. An hourglass-shaped patch of silver fur dominates its back. Light bounces of its silverymetallic mandibles while its multiple eyes glow bright red.
Temporal Crawler CR 6
XP 2,400
N Medium magical beast (time)
Init +8; Senses darkvision, 60ft, low-light vision; Perception +10
Environment Elemental Planes of Time
Organization solitary or cluster (2-5)
Treasure none
Temporal crawlers are man-sized spiders from the Elemental Planes of Time. Upon close inspection, it appears that the hourglass-shaped markings along its back are animated and sand appears to shift from one chamber to the other. If a temporal crawler is slain, the silver hourglass on its back fades to gray and the “sand” inside stops flowing.
How temporal crawlers first arrived on the Material Plane is unknown but sages believe they jumped through a portal to this plane opened by a time elemental or time flayer.
These extraplanar creatures are carnivorous and prey on the flesh of living creatures. They build their lairs near populated areas where the food supply is more than adequate. Temporal crawlers hunt day or night, but prefer to leave their webs at night when they have an easier time corralling their prey.
Temporal crawlers spend most of their time hunting on the Material Plane where prey is easiest to catch. They spin their webs in locations frequented by living creatures and lie in wait. When its prey enters a 10- foot area around its webs and is slowed, the temporal crawler rushes out and attacks. If it can paralyze its prey with its bite, the temporal crawler cocoons it in its web. A creature killed is cocooned and stored as food.
Temporal Crawler from the Tome of Horrors Complete, Copyright 2011, Necromancer Games, Inc., published and distributed by Frog God Games; Author Scott Greene.