And now for something a little different. Ladies and gentleman, allow me to introduce to you, Black Arachnia, the Broodmother, hailing from the popular online game, Defense of The Ancients 2 (Or Dota 2, as it's more oftenly called)
Firstly, let me tell you all her official in game lore. And by tell, I mean copy pasta.
For centuries, Black Arachnia the Broodmother lurked in the dark lava tubes beneath the smoldering caldera of Mount Pyrotheos, raising millions of spiderlings in safety before sending them to find prey in the wide world above. In a later age, the Vizier of Greed, Ptholopthales, erected his lodestone ziggurat on the slopes of the dead volcano, knowing that any looters who sought his magnetic wealth must survive the spider-haunted passages. After millennia of maternal peace, Black Arachnia found herself beset by a steady trickle of furfeet and cutpurses, bold knights and noble youths--all of them delicious, certainly, and yet tending to create a less than nurturing environment for her innocent offspring. Tiring of the intrusions, she paid a visit to Ptholopthales; and when he proved unwilling to discuss a compromise, she wrapped the Vizier in silk and set him aside to be the centerpiece of a special birthday feast. Unfortunately, the absence of the Magnetic Ziggurat's master merely emboldened a new generation of intruders. When one of her newborns was trodden underfoot by a clumsy adventurer, she reached the end of her silken rope. Broodmother headed for the surface, declaring her intent to rid the world of each and every possible invader, down to the last Hero if necessary, until she could ensure her nursery might once more be a safe and wholesome environment for her precious spiderspawn.
So let's see... Where do I start? I suppose an optimal place would be that she is a
giant, talking spider that I can play as in a video game. Being the bug lover and avid video gamer I am, this is like purchasing some chicken nuggets at the drive through, pulling out exact change from my pocket, and finding out as I enjoy them that there was an additional nugget then meant to be. If you try to think of as many video games that let you be any sort of arthropod, I bet you won't even make it up to five.
Enough about me nerding on about bugs in video games though, and more of me, well, nerding on about a specific bug in a certain video game. As a character I find, Black Arachnia, or Broodmother as she is more often referred to, very interesting and even a bit sympathetic. Firstly, she's at least a thousand years old. I'd bet anyone with that kind of longevity would have seen plenty in their time and no doubt become moderately experienced in a number of things. The thing Broodmother must be experienced the most with though, must be, well, being a mother! A single mother at that. Granted, being a spider mother compared to being a human one probably has quite a few differences, but definitely difficult nonetheless. She's a strong, independent female spider who don't need no male spider.
Apparently though, some wizard (Dota 2 is placed in a fantasy setting, in case you didn't know) decided to build his "lodestone ziggurat" whatever the heck that is, specifically right next to Broodmother's home, thinking that he can use her many children as a means of scaring off whoever wants his "lodestone ziggurat". Broodmother however, isn't entirely happy with this, as I'm sure any good mother wouldn't want complete strangers brandishing large sharp pieces of metal and staffs that shoot fire balls near their children either. So she pays him a visit and tries to level with him, work something out, you know? Turns out he's a mean, stubborn old geezer though. He must of said some pretty nasty things to Brood for her outright turn him into the spider equivalent of a birthday cake. Problem solved, right? Apparently not, as his absence only encourages even more people to barge into her home. She must of been pretty fed up at this point, and when one of her young is actually stepped on by some moron who thinks he's a valiant knight, Broodmother decided it was time to take things into her own pedipalps. (That's the spider equivalent of hands by the way)
She also has another bit of lore, this time in the form of a cosmetic set of items for her to wear. (The items don't effect gameplay, their for apparel purpose only)
Many are the knights and noble youths who have intruded on the hunting grounds of the Broodmother, disturbing her peace with the clatter of armor, their boots setting atwitch her silken web. The intruders are like succulent shelled insects upon whose innards she's gorged, all the while growing curious of the adornments that drape their bodies, until that day when a blacksmith found his way into her web. Armor he promised her, the finest in the land, if only she would set him free. And so a deal was struck, and the blacksmith measured, and toiled, taking as his materials the finest steel to be found among the husked corpses of silk-wrapped knights. When the new armor was finished, the spider kept her promise and set the blacksmith free. Then she watched her brood devour him.
Hmmm. Well okay, maybe Broodmother's morals are a little darker then I might make them out to be. But in her defense, her experience with other humans isn't exactly one that she should be trusting of them. Also, imagine this. You take your children to the park, and their you find someone handing out 100% legit free ice cream and candy, and you tell your kids that they can't have any, without being able to give them any reason whatsoever. Yeah...
Which brings her to the field of combat as we see her in Dota 2. She's hands down my favorite hero to play as. Compared to the rest of the cast, (A total of 101 playable characters, and growing) She's actually considered not as good or viable. But that just makes me want to use her even more. And it's not just because she's a spider and I love all bugs, really. Her play style literally makes me feel like I'm a giant spider! Now this might not entirely make sense, but I'm going to list her abilities and how they're used. I think you guys will get the picture.
Her first skill is called "Spawn Spiderlings" and basically what is does is that she shoots this glob of green stuff at an enemy, and if it kills said enemy or they die shortly there after, they will leave little spider babies in their wake. These "Spiderlings" can be controlled to move and attack other units. Further more, when a enemy unit is killed by or dies shortly after being attacked by a spiderling, they will leave behind a "Spiderite" a slightly weaker version of the spiderling. With this skill, you can quickly amass an army of adorable little spiders to swarm anything that stands in your way!
Her second skill is called "Spin Web" and it's the main thing that makes me feel like I'm literally a spider. If you think she goes all spiderman and binds the bad guys with silk that shoots out like silly string on steroids, your mistaken. No, rather she spins a web on the ground in a moderately large area. Whenever Broodmother, or her children for that matter, stand in this web, they get three bonuses. Firstly, they become invisible from enemy sight. Secondly, they receive a speed boost. And lastly, they are granted with bonus health regeneration. Again, it's mainly because of this skill that I feel like a spider. You wait in your web for enemies to pass by and then ambush them in an area that gives you an advantage!
The third skill "Incapacitating Bite" isn't as flashy as the first two, but it still adds to the overall spider feel. It's passive, meaning it's always in effect. What it does is that whenever she strikes an enemy, their movement speed is slowed and their accuracy is reduced, making them miss their own attacks. This is like the venom spiders use on insects once they are stuck in their web before they start to wrap them up.
Finally, her fourth and ultimate "A dota 2 heroes most powerful skill" is called "Insatiable Hunger". When she activates it, she gains bonus attack damage and lifesteal for a short duration. "Lifesteal" means that when she attacks someone, some of the damage dealt is returned to her as health. It's perfect for when you catch an enemy hero all alone, as any damage they deal to you is almost entirely negated as she chows down on them.
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