Spider scrolls are a special category of consumable from the Dragonborn add-on (Dragonborn). Instead of casting a spell, using one throws a live (or dead) spider that has been imbued with magic. Each one is a modified Albino Spider, a species native to Solstheim that turned out to be able to channel magic. The siblings Merilar Rendas and Servos experimented on these spiders inside White Ridge Barrow, using a device called the Imbuing Chamber to breed obedient magical sub-species. The research eventually cost Merilar her sanity, but the chamber still works, and once it is unlocked you can use it to make spiders of your own. Every spider you craft ends up in the Scrolls section of your inventory and is thrown just like a scroll is read.
All spider scrolls weigh 0.5 and are worth 100 gold. Depending on the type, a spider fights beside you, lies in wait as a living mine, turns an enemy to your side or simply follows you around.
All spider scrolls
| Name | Effect | Value | Weight | Form ID |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flame Cloaked Spider | Tosses a Flame Cloaked spider on the ground that will cause fire damage to enemies that get too close. | 100 | 0.5 | 0401952C |
| Frost Cloaked Spider | Tosses a Frost Cloaked spider on the ground that will apply Ice Damage to enemies that get too close. | 100 | 0.5 | 040206D9 |
| Poison Cloaked Spider | Tosses a Poison Cloaked spider on the ground that will Poison enemies that get too close. | 100 | 0.5 | 0401CAB0 |
| Shock Cloaked Spider | Tosses a Shock Cloaked spider on the ground that will apply Shock Damage to enemies that get too close. | 100 | 0.5 | 04020960 |
| Jumping Flame Spider | Tosses a Jumping Fire spider on the ground that will launch itself at nearby enemies and explode if it lands near them. | 100 | 0.5 | 04014480 |
| Jumping Frost Spider | Tosses a Jumping Frost spider on the ground that will launch itself at nearby enemies and explode if it lands near them. | 100 | 0.5 | 040206DB |
| Jumping Poison Spider | Tosses a Jumping Poison spider on the ground that will launch itself at nearby enemies and explode if it lands near them. | 100 | 0.5 | 0401445E |
| Jumping Shock Spider | Tosses a Jumping Shock spider on the ground that will launch itself at enemies and explode if it lands near them. | 100 | 0.5 | 04020961 |
| Exploding Flame Spider | Tosses a dead spider on the ground which explodes when an enemy gets too close. | 100 | 0.5 | 04019534 |
| Exploding Frost Spider | Tosses a dead spider on the ground which explodes when an enemy gets too close. | 100 | 0.5 | 040206D3 |
| Exploding Poison Spider | Tosses a dead spider on the ground which explodes when an enemy gets too close. | 100 | 0.5 | 0401707B |
| Exploding Shock Spider | Tosses a dead spider on the ground which explodes when an enemy gets too close. | 100 | 0.5 | 0402095F |
| Mind Control Spider | Creatures and people that this spider attaches to will fight for you for 30 seconds. | 100 | 0.5 | 04016E1C |
| Oil Spider | Spawns a spider that secretes a flammable oil when it feels threatened. | 100 | 0.5 | 0402749D |
| Glowing Spider | Spawns a glowing spider that will follow you around. Only one can be spawned at a time. | 100 | 0.5 | 04027490 |
| Pack Spider | Spawns a spider that can be used to haul items. Only one can be spawned at once. | 100 | 0.5 | 040274A5 |
| Cloaking Flame Spider | Tosses a Flame Cloaked spider on the ground that will cause fire damage to enemies that get too close. | 100 | 0.5 | 0401DA03 |
| Cloaking Flame Spider | Tosses a Flame Cloaked spider on the ground that will cause fire damage to enemies that get too close. | 100 | 0.5 | 0403319E |
| Cloaking Flame Spider | Tosses a Flame Cloaked spider on the ground that will cause fire damage to enemies that get too close. | 100 | 0.5 | 0403319F |
| Cloaking Flame Spider | Tosses a Flame Cloaked spider on the ground that will cause fire damage to enemies that get too close. | 100 | 0.5 | 040331A0 |
| Cloaking Flame Spider | Tosses a Flame Cloaked spider on the ground that will cause fire damage to enemies that get too close. | 100 | 0.5 | 040331A1 |
The five Cloaking Flame Spider entries are separate records in the game data that share the Flame Cloaked Spider’s effect text. The sources do not describe a separate way of obtaining them.
How the Imbuing Chamber works
You make spiders in White Ridge Sanctum by loading the Imbuing Chamber with a spider pod and one or two other ingredients, then flipping the switch. The type of pod and the added ingredient decide which spider you get:
- Cloaked spiders: Albino Spider Pod + Salt Pile + a gem. A ruby gives flame, a sapphire frost, an emerald poison and an amethyst shock.
- Jumping spiders: Albino Spider Pod + the matching gem, without salt.
- Exploding spiders: Damaged Albino Spider Pod + the matching gem.
- Mind Control Spider: Albino Spider Pod + a soul gem of any size. The gem does not need to be filled.
- Oil Spider: Albino Spider Pod + Dwarven Oil.
Gem recipes produce three spiders, and a flawless version of the gem doubles that to six. The Mind Control and Oil recipes produce a single spider each. Every successful batch also gives you a recipe note (for example “Recipe – Flame Cloaked Spider” or its “2x” variant for the flawless version), so you have a record of each combination.
The Spider Experiment Notes, which sit on a table inside a cage in White Ridge Barrow, record the ruby results and hint that other gems are worth trying. According to the notes, diamonds and garnets lack the power needed for imbuing.
Where to find them
- Crafting: the Imbuing Chamber in White Ridge Sanctum is the main source of every working spider scroll.
- Albino Spider pods: found where Albino Spiders live, including Fort Frostmoth, Fahlbtharz, Highpoint Tower and White Ridge Barrow itself. Most of these places do not respawn, so pods are a limited resource.
- Respawning pod: one spider pod on Solstheim does come back. It lies just south of Bloodskal Barrow, close to the Shrine of Kynareth.
- In the wild: cloaked and jumping spiders also appear as enemies in various dungeons.
Highlights
Cloaked spiders are the strongest all-round choice. They act much like a summoned follower: they wrap themselves in a cloak spell (similar to Flame Cloak or Frost Cloak), bite and slash anything nearby, and never despawn on their own. They only disappear when killed. In the wild, the flame variant is the most common and the shock variant the rarest.
Jumping spiders are ambushers. They leap at a nearby target and explode when they land close to it, which makes them useful as fast thrown damage.
Exploding spiders are thrown dead and act as proximity mines that detonate with fire, frost, poison or shock when an enemy walks too close.
Mind Control Spider latches onto a target and makes it fight for you for 30 seconds. It works on almost anything regardless of level, including hold guards. Essential non-combatants such as jarls and merchants are immune. The spider is used up afterwards. Using it on a citizen counts as assault, and killing that person counts as murder.
Oil Spider leaks flammable oil when threatened. Set the oil alight with a fire spell for a burning trap.
Glowing Spider and Pack Spider exist in the game data but cannot actually be made at the Imbuing Chamber. Their intended recipes use a Glowing Mushroom and Bone Meal respectively. The Glowing Spider was meant to light up its surroundings, and the Pack Spider was meant to carry items for you (carry weight 60).
Tips
- Up to six summoned spiders can follow you at once. Throwing another one removes the oldest.
- Pods are scarce, so use the flawless gems on them. A Flawless Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald or Amethyst doubles the yield from three spiders to six.
- Mark the respawning pod near Bloodskal Barrow if you plan to rely on cloaked spiders long-term.
