An aranea is an intelligent, shapechanging spider with sorcerous powers. In its natural form, an aranea resembles a typical giant spider, with a humpbacked body a little bigger than a human torso and venomous fangs. Although considered a Large creature, an aranea's mass is no more than a typical human's; its size comes from its long legs. An aranea can be distinguished from other giant spiders by the hump on its back that houses its brain and by the fact that, in addition to eight legs, it has a fifth pair of limbs, each about 2 feet long, located ahead of the first pair of legs. These limbs end in hands, each equipped with three clawed fingers and a double-jointed thumb.