In a long-forgotten age, the terrifying Ungoliant spawned many-legged horrors that killed their prey with strong webs and poison. Of Ungoliants children, only one survives in the Third Age, but many of less lineage live on to trouble the unhappy world. They weave their webs of shadow over their breeding grounds in Mirkwood Forest, and slink through secret passes in the Misty Mountains to enter the West.
Hunger or rage can drive the Spiders to an open attack, but they prefer to ambush their prey and sting them into a death-like state they mockingly call a beautiful sleep. Wise travellers heed the warning signs-- a thin creaking and hissing noise before an attack. The Spiders move swiftly, rending with their poisonous jaws, crushing with their bloated bodies, and vomiting darkness to ensnare their prey.