Like veilspun, the silkspun were long confined to the Tangled Wood, though they were not restricted to the Wispwillow Grove. They have since branched out to other regions, and can be found in most environments in some form or another.
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Physiology
While silkspun can vary greatly, they all share these traits in common: silk, venom, and an enhanced tactile sense.
Not all silkspun rely as heavily on their silk as others, but all have the ability to produce it, and it comes spilling out of glands near their clawtips. The skill of weaving is something that must be honed to become masterful at it, and silkspun who dedicate more time to spinning silk may be able to create different kinds (stronger silk, or softer, or stickier, or stretchier, etc).
Silkspun also have varying degrees of venom between them. Venom's primary objective is to paralyze prey, and most have potent enough venom to immobilize animals smaller than themselves, some faster than others.
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Low Venom
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On a smaller creature, a weak venom will paralyze, given enough time. Given more time, the creature should recover fully. On other silkspun, or larger creatures, a weaker venom may just cause irritation and rash, sometimes soreness.
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Mid Venom
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A medium venom will kill small creatures if enough of it is injected, and will paralyze a similarly sized creature after some time. A significantly larger creature should just experience pain and rash, although worse than what a weaker venom would have done.
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High Venom
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A high potency venom will easily kill small creatures, and will paralyze a similarly sized creature as quickly, killing them as well with enough time and quantity. If a large amount of it is injected, it can cause severe illness in a large creature that is sensitive enough to it.
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Max Venom
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The highest strength of silkspun venom will cause severe illness in even significantly larger creatures without medical attention, and in worst case scenarios, kill them.
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All silkspun also possess fine hairs on their legs, some more sensitive than others, that enhance their sense of touch, their awareness of vibrations, and can let them sense changes in air pressure. Many (though not all) have poor vision, and their enhanced physical touch counteracts this. A creature without this sense may hear a thud in the distance, while a silkspun may have a sense of the size and speed of what hit the ground, if it landed upright, and how many limbs it has. Highly sensitive silkspun may be able to feel a creature's heartbeat in close range.
While they may also experience lethargy in low temperatures like other veilspun, they are usually able to remain awake and avoid torpor. Because of this, a few can even be found as far as the Southern Icefield.
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Weaver, Prowler, Unorthodox
There are 3 loose categorizations of silkspun: weavers, prowlers, and unorthodox.
Weavers rely heavily on their silk for their way of life, and are usually the most skilled at spinning it. They often have customs surrounding the act of weaving, either in gifting woven crafts, expressing themselves through the curation of their webs, trading techniques with other weavers, or other such practices. Weavers all have a need to spin silk at some point, becoming agitated or even distressed if they have gone too long without doing so.
You can read more info/lore about weaver silkspun
here.
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Prowlers tend to be the most physically able of the silkspun, and consequently rely more on dexterity or strength than their silk. They still make use of it, though it is not as central to their life as it is to weavers. They all seem to have a powerful grip, and it is difficult to pull something out of their claws or them off of a wall. They are light on their feet, and often a blur in the air. While all silkspun are omnivorous, prowlers often have to eat more meat and fish than their relatives to compensate their higher energy expenditure.
You can read more info/lore about prowler silkspun
here.
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Some silkspun don't quite follow the form of prowler or weaver, combining these ways of life or mostly forgoing them. These are the unorthodox silkspun, each its own little category in a way. They do not have the innate need to spin silk like weavers do, but may not necessarily stalk prey or have the high-calorie diets of prowlers. While silkspun are rarely seen with non-object or non-buglike familiars, the outliers with the odd fish or cat are most likely to be unorthodox silkspun.
You can read more info/lore about unorthodox silkspun
here.
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Characteristics
Silkspun may live in communities like other veilspun, though many are solitary or have rather complicated social lives. Sociability depends on the individual personality more than the variation.
They tend to live in dim, quiet, and dry places, especially weavers, who are inclined towards caves, abandoned buildings, and dense brambles. Prowlers may have a den they return to or live a nomadic lifestyle. Some silkspun are awake during the night, others are active during the day or in the slivers between the two.
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Familiars
Silkspun can become attached to a special item and have any familiars that are object-based, but favor buglike familiars, such as:
