Barking spider

s barking spider
Difficulty	7
Attacks	Bite 1d2 physical, Bite 1d2 physical

s barking spider
Difficulty	7
Attacks	Bite 1d2 physical, Bite 1d2 physical
Base level	5
Base experience	59
Speed	15
Base AC	3
Base MR	0
Alignment	0 (neutral)
Frequency (by normal means)	1 (Very rare)
Genocidable	Yes
Weight	100
Nutritional value	100
Size	Large
Resistances	poison resistance
Resistances conveyed	poison resistance (33%)
A barking spider: has no hands. is an animal. can lay eggs. is poisonous to eat. is carnivorous. is normally generated hostile. does not appear in Gehennom.
Reference	SLASH'EM_0.0.7E7F2/monst.c#line1516

A barking spider, s, is a type of monster that appears in SLASH'EM, SlashTHEM and Hack'EM. The barking spider is a type of large, carnivorous and oviparous arachnid.

A barking spider has two weak bite attacks, and possesses poison resistance.

A barking spider corpse is poisonous to eat, and eating a barking spider corpse or tin has a ¹⁄₃ chance (33%) of granting poison resistance—in Hack'EM, it instead grants +5% additional poison resistance.

As the name suggests, a barking spider will make the same noises as a dog when chatting to one.

Generation

Randomly generated barking spiders are always created hostile, and are not generated in Gehennom.

Barking spiders appear among the random s that are part of the first quest monster class for Tourists and make up ²⁴⁄₁₇₅ of the monsters randomly generated on the Tourist quest. They also appear among the random s that are part of the second quest monster class for Rangers and make up ⁶⁄₁₇₅ of the monsters randomly generated on the Ranger quest.

Barking spiders generated at level creation are given a random item to hide under.

Strategy

Despite their 15 speed, barking spiders are generally not a threat, since their attacks are not poisonous and deal very low damage in spite of likely out-speeding most early heroes. Giant ants and killer bees are generally more of a concern.

History

The barking spider first appears in SLASH 6.

Origin

"Barking spider" is a common name for several spiders from Australia and may refer to either of two species: Selenocosmia stirlingi, and Selenocosmia crassipes (or Phlogius crassipes). The former is also referred to as a whistling spider, while the latter is also known as the "Queensland whistling tarantula", "Eastern tarantula" or "bird-eating tarantula". Both barking spiders are named for their ability to produce a "hissing" sound when disturbed, provoked or threatened, a trait shared with many other tarantulas: Their appearances in NetHack play the term more literally, causing them to produce a full range of dog-like noises.

Whistling spiders are native to arid Australian deserts, while bird-eating tarantulas are found throughout North Queensland in rain-forests, gullies and other sheltered cooler areas. Both species live in underground burrows that either occur naturally under rocks or roots, or are dug out among leaf litter or desert shrub, though periods of heavy rain may force Selenocosmia crassipes into the open. The entrance to the burrow is sometimes lined with spider silk, and the spider waits in the burrow for insects, lizards or frogs to come near the entrance before grasping and injecting venom into them. Despite the informal name given to Selenocosmia crassipes in particular, they are unlikely to encounter birds let alone feed on them.

Encyclopedia entry

Eight legged creature capable of spinning webs to trap prey.

"You mean you eat flies?" gasped Wilbur.
"Certainly. Flies, bugs, grasshoppers, choice beetles,
moths, butterflies, tasty cockroaches, gnats, midges, daddy
longlegs, centipedes, mosquitoes, crickets - anything that is
careless enough to get caught in my web. I have to live,
don't I?"
"Why, yes, of course," said Wilbur.

[ Charlotte's Web, by E.B. White ]