Cast your minds back to the mists of March this year and you may remember one Dr Shahan Derkarabetian, a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University's Museum of Comparative Zoology, who combined his love of Warhammer and arachnids when he named a newly discovered Australian spider* – Abaddon despoliator – after the Warmaster of Chaos.
Now, a recent release has piqued the good doctor’s interest once more, and he’s returned to Warhammer Community with an unbiased scientific assessment of the Tarantulos Brood, the latest warband to come to Warcry. Over to you, Dr Derkarabetian.
Shahan: The Tarantulos Brood are infamously known for the unity with which they act, and their ability to communicate with swarms of spiders. This ability is not too far from reality. I would think this trait was acquired from the tainted blood of one of several groups of social spiders, such as Anelosimus eximius, which form social groups that cooperate to capture and envenomate prey, make and maintain communal webs, and raise offspring.
Although none of the models have eight legs, whatever transmutative ingredients the Broodmaster has used have granted him an extra pair of arms, thus moving closer to the sacred spider-form. Looking at the eyes, the arrangement is not quite what we see in any spider groups, which generally have eyes arranged in two rows instead of columns. However, the Broodmaster does have larger central eyes that are typical of several groups of spiders, including jumping spiders and wolf spiders, both of which are active hunters.
Jumping spiders in particular are excellent at hunting and stalking in three-dimensional space due to their high visual acuity and ability to see UV and multiple colors. The columnar eye arrangement of the Tarantulos Brood may be better suited for hunting humans, who have a more vertically oriented body-plan, especially in the enclosed spaces and darkness of the Varanite delves.
The Doomweaver with trident and net is my favorite model. It’s very reminiscent of a group of spiders called net-casting spiders (family Deinopidae), which do not make a typical orbweb, preferring a small, rectangular net that they hold in their front legs while hanging upside-down from plants. When their prey passes underneath, they spring forward and catch them in their net.
The silk that the Tarantulos Brood use would either have to come from a very large spider, or perhaps it’s harvested in bulk from their spider swarms. Spider silk is very strong, and its strength-to-density ratio makes it much stronger than steel. Doomweaver nets of this thickness would certainly be a very useful way of subduing their enemies.
Onto the Broodkin! It’s not obvious what the appendages on their heads are, but they might be the terminal segments of spider legs with a single claw at the tip. I’m not entirely sure how these structures would function in that position, but I’m also not one to question the rationality of Varanite-induced mutations.
I do appreciate the venom-injecting fangs they have below their mouths, which would be very helpful for close-quarters combat. Speaking of venom, those weapons they are carrying – and perhaps all the spikes adorning their body – should be coated in venom. With potent venom harvested from the right kind of chaos-mutated spiders, even a glancing scratch could be fatal, causing tissue decay and necrosis, pleasing the Eightfold Watcher.
However, it is my scientific obligation as an arachnid expert to mention that, in reality, tarantulas (and the vast majority of all spiders, especially the ones you find in your house) are completely harmless to humans.
The spider swarms are the most realistic part of the Tarantulos Brood. Those are most definitely tarantulas, which are in the family Theraphosidae. Tarantulas can be found in a wide variety of habitats, from tropical regions to deserts, so it would be very easy for the Tarantulos Brood to amass quite a spider swarm no matter where they are.
Most of these seem to be painted as Redknee Tarantulas in the genus Brachypelma, although tarantulas can have many different colours including blue, green, or purple. Swarms of Chaos-tainted tarantulas could easily take down large enemies, inflicting countless venomous bites before secreting fluids that digest the prey and consuming their tissue.
Overall, I look forward to trying them out on the battlefield. In my completely objective and scientific opinion, not at all influenced by the ever-present strands of the Eightfold Watcher, the Darkoath Savagers may have to look elsewhere for a fight – they do not stand a chance against the Tarantulos Brood.
Thank you Dr Derkarabetian. You can find the Tarantulos Brood in Warcry: Red Harvest, a new boxed set for Warcry containing all you need to fight savage skirmish battles between the many twisted worshippers of Chaos. The box also contains the Brood’s hated rivals, the Darkoath Savagers, a pile of stunning terrain, and all the dice, rules, cards, and other equipment you need to dive right into Warcry: Red Harvest – which is out now.
* Well, nearly. Technically, Abaddon despoliator is an arachnid and not a spider, as it lacks fangs, venom, or the ability to make webs.