Feaster from Beyond
| Titles | Feaster Beyond the World[1c] Spider-god[6a] The Spider[2b] |
| Status | Active |
| Type | Greenskin god[1b] |
| Domains | Spiders[1b][6b] |
| Home | Great Webbed Void/Great Green[3][6f] |
| Relatives | Gork & Mork[4][5] |
| Affiliation | Greenskins[1a] |
| Followers | Forest Goblins[1a] |
| Symbols | Spiders[2b][4] |
The god known as the Feaster from Beyond,[1b] Feaster Beyond the World,[1c] the Spider-god,[6a] or simply the Spider[2b] is the hideous arachnid deity of the Forest Goblins.[1b]
Contents
Characteristics
Greenskins worship Gork & Mork, but in the dark forests a third god is honored above all others.[4][5] Said to possess eight legs, dozens of multi-faceted eyes, and an insatiable appetite,[1b] from its home in the Great Webbed Void the Spider holds sway over the world’s arachnids, from tiny scuttling things to Giant Spiders like the Tilean Greyback and Scarlet Deathhead of the Great Forest and the more boreal Drakwald Mancatcher, Gigantic Spiders, and the largest of all, Arachnarok Spiders.[1b][6b]
Symbols
Spiders are, unsurprisingly, the foremost symbols of the Spider-god. Worshippers commonly decorate shields, banners, buckles, pole tops, and weapons with the design, and many tribal totems feature Gork, Mork, and daemonic spider faces.[2b][4]
Relationships
Gork & Mork are revered alongside the Spider, all three carved into tree trunks to mark territory[1b] or fashioned onto totems where Forest Goblin raiders meet before attacks,[2b] and all three are said to dwell together in the Great Green.[3]
History
When Human tribesmen of what would become the Empire first cut their way into forests they unwittingly began the bitter War of the Drakwald, which pushed Goblin tribes deep into the dense thickets of the Warhammer world’s forests.[6d] There they encountered many terrors, from Beastmen herds to predators like Giant Spiders. Over time they learned how to coexist with their new environment, even partnering with the latter to hunt the former.[1a][2a][6a] A variety of spiders came to serve as pets and war mounts, were farmed for food,[2a] weapons, armour, and trade goods,[1b][6d] and the largest worshipped as gods.[2b]
Contact with the entity later known as the Spider-god first occurred when the hallucinogenic venom of the Purple Skullback spider was discovered by Goblin Shamans.[6b] Inspired by the ravings of these shamans, who claimed to have discovered a new god, the tribes came to revere it.[1b] Since only shamans in the throes of poison fugues could approach the largest spiders without being attacked,[6b] and the Goblins had not been able to overcome them with violence, the Spider-kult quickly took on both spiritual and practical roles in Forest Goblin life.[6c]
The Spider-kult
Worshippers of the Feaster Beyond the World form groups known collectively as the “Spider-kult” (or, sometimes, “Spider Cult”[2b]).[4] They treat the largest forest spiders themselves as minor gods,[2b] and through Goblin Shamans the Forest Goblins commune with their many-legged deity.[6b] Shamans act as addled priests of the Feaster from Beyond, leading their tribes in worship.[2b][6c][4] They weave the spider dance, shriek ululating battle cries, offer sacrificial gifts to the deity and its children, collect eggs for raising, and summon them to war.[1b][6c] Their god speaks to them,[6d] answers prayers and bestows powers,[6e] blesses items,[5] and will even miraculously heal wounded worshippers.[1c]
The Black Pit
The Feaster from Beyond’s followers revere the dens of spiders,[6c] and for them the most holy ground is the Black Pit, deep in the depths of the Drakwald Forest. Also called the “Valley of Many Eyes”, it is here in this bleak, unwholesome place that great numbers of the largest spiders breed and make their lairs, growing to sizes that defy belief.[6a][6d] When Mannslieb & Morrslieb are in the proper alignment Arachnarok Spiders from across the Old World and beyond will journey through the twisted woods to meet here.[6d]
The surrounding forest is controlled by the Cluster Eye Tribe of Forest Goblins, who declare it a death sentence for others to pass by their web-covered spider-totems around the Pit’s boundaries.[6a] They themselves only approach to dump vast amounts of sacrifices into the dark pits[6d], trade captives, fungus, and spiders for ore and metal weapons from the valley’s Night Goblin inhabitants[1b], or to wake ancient behemoths in times of the greatest need.[6d]
As fractious as any other Greenskins, few threats will truly unite the Forest Goblins save threats against the Black Pit, even if the perpetrators had threatened so unwittingly. In such times even tribes far from the area will journey to defend that sacred chasm.[6d]
Artifacts and Spells
- Spider Banner - Once owned by the Rootgrubba Tribe, this banner of skulls, webs, and the dried husks of offerings has been blessed by the Spider-god, exuding an evil aura. Multiple eyes glare out of this window into that god’s realm, and when the wind moves its tattered edges the only noise heard is the furtive scuttling from beyond. All attacks made by Forest Goblins who march under this shadow are blessed with seething black poison.[5][6f]
- Catchweb Spidershrine - Built on the backs of towering Arachnarok Spiders, these totemic altars empower the Magic of nearby friendly spellcasters.[6c]
- Gift of the Spider God - this prayer to the Feaster from Beyond beseeches it for aid, and in return some of its power is channeled through the shaman to bestow poisonous attacks to allies nearby.[6e]
Sources
- 1: Cluster Eye Tribe (book)
- 1a: “The Cluster Eye Tribe”, pg. 3
- 1b: Old Weirde's Incunabulum”, pg. 5
- 1c: Bograt the Blasted – Forest Goblin Shaman, pg. 13
- 2: Warhammer Armies: Orcs & Goblins (4th Edition)
- 3: Warhammer Armies: Orcs & Goblins (6th Edition), pg. 27
- 4: Realms of Sorcery (1st Edition), pg. 134
- 5: Warhammer Armies: Orcs & Goblins (7th Edition), pg. 45
- 6: Warhammer Armies: Orcs & Goblins (8th Edition)
