The Albino Spider is a pale, ghostly-white spider added in the Dragonborn expansion. It haunts old forts, towers and barrows on Solstheim, and on paper it is weak: level 5 with only 41 health. Its real value lies in what it leaves behind, because its egg pods are the raw material for a strange piece of old machinery that produces enchanted spiders.
Not to be confused with the far more common Frostbite Spider of the mainland, the albino variety is unique to the island and finite in number, which makes every pod you collect count.
Variants
Several elemental relatives of the Albino Spider exist. Some appear as ordinary enemies, while others can be made by the Dragonborn. Examples mentioned in the sources include:
- Flame Cloak Spider – wrapped in a burning cloak
- Jumping Flame Spider – leaps at its target and explodes on contact
- Poison Cloaked Spider – created from an emerald, an Albino Spider Pod and a Salt Pile
The colour and quality of the gem decide the result. A green emerald gives a poison spider, and a flawless gem produces a stronger version of the same spider (for example “Poison Cloaked Spider 2x”).
Where to find them
Albino Spiders do not respawn, even in areas where other enemies return, so the pods from these sites are effectively a one-time supply. The exception is a single respawning pod near a Shrine of Kynareth south of Bloodskal Barrow.
Making spider scrolls
The machine that crafts enchanted spiders sits in a cell in the sanctum of White Ridge Barrow, close to the dungeon’s exit. After the first visit it is quicker to fast travel to the barrow and walk straight south to a small shack, where a trap door serves as a back entrance. Place an Albino Spider Pod (normal or damaged) together with a gem in the component slots, then activate the machine itself rather than the slots. The finished spiders appear in the scrolls section of your inventory and can be used like any other scroll.
Notes
Although the creature has a Lesser soul listed in the game data, it cannot be captured with Soul Trap or any other method.
