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Giant Wolf Spider 5e: Stats, Tactics and Wild Shape
The giant wolf spider is a CR 1/4 Medium Beast with AC 13, 11 hit points, a 40-foot speed, a 40-foot climb speed with Spider Climb, and Stealth +7. It spins no webs. It hides in a burrow or under debris, then runs prey down. Its bite does piercing plus poison damage: in 2014 the poison allows a DC 11 Constitution save for half and can paralyze a character it drops to 0, and in 2024 the bite hits more often (+5 instead of +3) and deals a flat 5 poison damage with no save. It's also one of the best CR 1/4 forms for a level 2 druid.
Spider Climb.The spider can climb difficult surfaces, including upside down on ceilings, without needing to make an ability check.
Web Sense.While in contact with a web, the spider knows the exact location of any other creature in contact with the same web.
Web Walker.The spider ignores movement restrictions caused by webbing.
Actions
Bite.Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 4 (1d6 + 1) piercing damage, and the target must make a DC 11 Constitution saving throw, taking 7 (2d6) poison damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. If the poison damage reduces the target to 0 hit points, the target is stable but poisoned for 1 hour, even after regaining hit points, and is paralyzed while poisoned in this way.
Stat block from the SRD 5.1 (2014 rules) by Wizards of the Coast, licensed under CC-BY-4.0. Check an encounter with this monster in the encounter calculator.
The bite is weak on contact (+3 to hit, 4 piercing) and decent on the poison: 7 (2d6) on a failed DC 11 Constitution save, 3 on a success. Against AC 14 it hits half the time. Against a level 1 cleric with Constitution 14 (fails the save 40% of the time), a hit averages about 8.6 damage. If the poison damage is what drops a character to 0, they're stable but Poisoned for an hour and Paralyzed for that hour, even if healed.
The real strengths are mobility and senses. Speed 40 outruns most characters in armor. Spider Climb lets it run across ceilings. Darkvision 60 feet and blindsight 10 feet mean darkness doesn't slow it. Stealth +7 averages 17.5 on a roll, above nearly every low-level passive Perception.
The Giant Wolf Spider in the 2024 Rules
SRD 5.2.1 keeps the body (AC 13, 11 HP, speeds, senses, Stealth +7) and rewrites the bite.
Spider Climb.The spider can climb difficult surfaces, including along ceilings, without needing to make an ability check.
Actions
Bite.Melee Attack Roll: +5, reach 5 ft. Hit: 5 (1d4 + 3) Piercing damage plus 5 (2d4) Poison damage.
Stat block from the SRD 5.2.1 (2024 rules) by Wizards of the Coast, licensed under CC-BY-4.0. Check an encounter with this monster in the encounter calculator.
2014 Giant Wolf Spider
2024 Giant Wolf Spider
Bite to hit
+3
+5
Piercing damage
4 (1d6 + 1)
5 (1d4 + 3)
Poison
7 (2d6), DC 11 Con save for half
5 (2d4), no save
Paralysis rider
Yes, if the poison drops the target to 0
No
Expected damage per attack vs AC 14, Con +2 target
about 4.3
6
Web Sense / Web Walker
Yes
Removed (Spider Climb only)
The 2024 spider is more reliable: 60% to hit AC 14 instead of 50%, and 10 damage every time it lands. It loses the paralysis horror and the web traits. Without Web Walker, a 2024 wolf spider gets no special pass through webbing, so if you pair it with giant spiders, keep it on open ground around the lair rather than inside the web.
Giant Wolf Spider vs Giant Spider
The names suggest a smaller and bigger version of the same thing. They play very differently.
2014: +3, 4 piercing + 7 poison (DC 11 Con for half); 2024: +5, 5 piercing + 5 poison
2014: +5, 7 piercing + 9 poison (DC 11 Con for half); 2024: +5, 7 piercing + 7 poison
Webs
None
Web action Restrains a target
Style
Ambush and chase
Trap and wait
A giant spider sets up in a web-filled lair and pins targets with Web before biting. A wolf spider has no Web action, so it relies on speed and stealth: it waits in a hole, then sprints out to bite whoever wanders past. Use giant spiders for a lair. Use wolf spiders for the road, the field, the ruin and the cellar.
How Giant Wolf Spiders Fight
Start hidden, close fast. Put the spider in a crevice or under rubble near where the party will walk. A Stealth roll of 17 or so beats their passive Perception, so it gets a surprise bite. In 2014 it needs to be unseen to stay hidden; in 2024 its Hide check against DC 15 succeeds 65% of the time (8 or higher with +7).
Hit the slow and the isolated. Speed 40 means it can reach anyone in a 40-foot radius, bite, and still have a full move next round. The character in heavy armor with speed 30 can't escape it. The rogue scouting 60 feet ahead is the ideal target.
Fight on walls. A spider clinging to a wall or ceiling 10 feet up is out of reach of most melee attacks. It can drop down, bite and climb back up, provoking an opportunity attack when it leaves. Give it an overhang and a few hand-holds in your map.
2014: work around the paralysis. One spider that paralyzes a downed character has done its job. Two spiders are deadly to that character, because a paralyzed creature takes a critical hit from any attack made within 5 feet, and a crit on a downed character counts as two failed death saves.
Retreat when hurt. Wolf spiders are hunters, not guards. With 11 HP, a spider reduced to 5 or fewer runs back up the wall at 40 feet and comes back later. That gives the encounter a second act: the party knows it's out there.
Running a Giant Wolf Spider Encounter
A giant wolf spider is 50 XP. Wolf spiders work well as the fast flankers in a mixed group: the slower giant spiders hold the web while the wolf spiders run down anyone who breaks away.
2024 difficulty, 4 characters
Budget
Example
Level 1, Low
200 XP
4 giant wolf spiders
Level 1, Moderate
300 XP
1 giant spider + 2 giant wolf spiders
Level 2, Moderate
600 XP
2 giant spiders + 4 giant wolf spiders
Level 3, Low
600 XP
12 giant wolf spiders in waves, or 2 giant spiders + 4 wolf spiders
Budgets are per character from SRD 5.2.1. Under the 2014 Dungeon Master's Guide guidelines four wolf spiders (200 XP, ×2 for a group of 3-6) are a Deadly fight for level 1 characters. Try your mix in the encounter calculator.
How Players Beat Giant Wolf Spiders
•Kill them fast. 11 HP and AC 13 go down to two average hits. Thunderwave (2d8, average 9) won't always kill one, but it pushes everyone who fails the save 10 feet away from the caster.
•Plan for poison. 2024 poison has no save, so Protection from Poison's resistance halves every bite's poison damage for an hour. Against 2014 spiders, keep Lesser Restoration ready: it ends the Poisoned condition and the paralysis with it.
•Don't split up. The spider's speed is built to pick off whoever wandered off. A party moving together denies it easy targets.
•Charm it. Intelligence 3, so Animal Friendship works on it in both editions. Speak with Animals lets you learn what it saw in the ruin, since it has no languages but is a Beast.
•Light up the ceiling. Darkvision and Stealth are its edge. Bright light and someone watching the walls take most of it away.
Giant Wolf Spider Wild Shape
At CR 1/4 with a climb speed and no swim or fly speed, the giant wolf spider is available at druid level 2 under both the 2014 and 2024 rules.
•Scouting. Spider Climb, Stealth +7, darkvision 60 feet and 40-foot speed make it one of the best low-level scouting forms. You can run across a ceiling past guards who never look up.
•2014 combat. You gain the spider's 11 hit points as a buffer. The bite is weak (+3) but the poison's paralysis effect can take an enemy out of a fight without killing it, which is useful when the party wants prisoners.
•2024 combat. You keep your own hit points plus temporary hit points equal to your druid level. The +5 bite for 10 damage is solid at level 2. The 2024 SRD recommends the regular spider as a starting form, but the giant wolf spider is the stronger fighting choice at the same CR cap.
Giant Wolf Spider Encounter Ideas
The night caravan. A merchant's wagons cross a stretch of scrubland where wolf spiders burrow along the road. At dusk, three spiders burst out and chase the slowest wagon at 40 feet a round. The spiders match a draft horse's 40-foot speed, so the wagon can't outrun them. The party has to decide whether to defend the wagon or cut it loose.
The collapsed granary. A village granary fell in last winter. Wolf spiders live in the hollows under the fallen beams, matching the SRD's description of hunters that hide in cavities beneath debris. The village needs the grain sacks still buried there. Every beam the party lifts might be a lid.
The druid's test. A circle of druids asks a young druid PC (or an NPC the party escorts) to bring back a living giant wolf spider for study. Killing one is easy. Catching one at speed 40 on a cliff face is a skill challenge with teeth.
Frequently Asked Questions
What CR is a giant wolf spider in 5e?
CR 1/4 (50 XP) in both the 2014 and 2024 rules. It has AC 13 and 11 hit points.
Can a giant wolf spider make webs?
No. It has no Web action in either edition. The 2014 version has Web Sense and Web Walker, so it can move through and sense other spiders' webs. The 2024 version has only Spider Climb.
What's the difference between a giant wolf spider and a giant spider?
The giant spider is a CR 1 Large creature with 26 HP and a Web attack that Restrains. The giant wolf spider is a CR 1/4 Medium creature with 11 HP, no webs, and a faster 40-foot speed. Giant spiders trap prey; wolf spiders chase it.
Can a druid Wild Shape into a giant wolf spider?
Yes, from druid level 2 in both editions. It's CR 1/4 and has a climb speed but no swim or fly speed, so it fits the level 2 limits.
Is giant wolf spider poison paralyzing?
Only under the 2014 rules, and only when the poison damage drops the target to 0 hit points. That target is stable but Poisoned and Paralyzed for 1 hour. The 2024 bite just deals 5 poison damage.
Stat blocks: System Reference Document 5.1 (2014) and 5.2.1 (2024), Wizards of the Coast, CC-BY-4.0. Tactics, encounter math and ideas are Loreify's own.
This page includes material from the System Reference Document 5.1 and 5.2.1 by Wizards of the Coast LLC, available under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Loreify is not affiliated with Wizards of the Coast.