Shriezyx

Long ago, Thassilonian wizards created shriezyx in twisted experiments to act as guards and test subjects. These 300-pound aberrations have outlived their creators and mostly make their homes inside Thassilonian ruins, caverns, and deep in the Darklands. Their bodies are covered in hard, extremely flammable chitin that molts as they grow.

While a shriezyx looks like a bestial, three-eyed spider, the truth behind these creatures is far more grotesque. Instead of spinning silk, a shriezyx spits strands of unformed, sticky flesh from its mouth. When fresh, theses fleshy strands are coated in a nerve-numbing toxin that slows prey. The weblike flesh-spittle coats shriezyx lairs and nests, wrapped around the bones for their former meals. Fortunately for those who stumble into these lairs, a shriezyx's toxin dissipates when exposed to air, leaving the fleshy webs only sickeningly sticky. Unfortunately for those same travelers, shriezyx are often communal creatures that gather in large numbers and are quick to attack intruders.

Deros and other subterranean peoples sometimes keep shriezyx as guards or mounts, using food and threats of fire to keep them in line. Most shriezyx owners are quick to dispose of any eggs, fearing a swarm could grow beyond their control, but some breeders have realized that a shriezyx's offspring retain much of its parent's demeanor and save the eggs of the most loyal (or most fire-fearing) shriezyx in hopes of creating a profitable, easier-to-control herd. While crueler masters might use shriezyx as test subjects, alchemists often see these creatures as beloved pets. Their grotesque webs make great alchemical reagents and provide ethically sourced flesh for experiments, while the molted exoskeleton can be used to create bombs and other explosives.