#Poor guy. He deals with enough and now we're gonna add peeling his exoskeleton off to the list

[karniss-bg3]

(Answer when ever you have time) But do you think driders molt if so how would kar’niss deal with that I imagine he would be very fragile during that and after for awhile till it hardens again man needs blood after that (and freaks me out I heard spiders can get stuck)

This is a question that has questions of its own. The first is why do spiders molt? The simple answer is so they can shed their old exoskeleton for a new, bigger one. They do this as they grow to accommodate larger organs and limbs. Now I’ve read different sources while researching. Some say they molt until they are fully grown and then that’s it. Others claim that spiders molt until the end of their life cycle, just with less frequency. Someone with experience caring for spiders would be able to confirm one way or another, or perhaps it depends on the species. With that in mind it makes me wonder, is Kar’niss is fully grown or will he continue to increase in size overtime? Or is the drider curse all or nothing? Meaning that once a drow is changed that is their final form and that’s it. The drow body may continue to age but the rest of them is locked in place.

That’s where it gets complicated because now we’re dealing with elvish aging and all that fun mess. We don’t know Kar’niss’ direct age. Physically he appears to be in his late twenties or early thirties. In elvish terms he might date around 150 to 200 years old by proxy, but that is a pretty wild guess on my part since drow can live up to 750 years. It doesn’t help that his features have been heavily altered by the drider curse which could make him appear older than he actually is.

Putting technicality aside, if Kar’niss does continue to molt then I imagine it’d be a physically taxing and unpleasant process. I wrote a fic a while ago suggested by an Anon on this concept. He’d likely feel very vulnerable and hide away from everyone during this process. He’d be agitated and quick to bark at anyone who came into his vicinity. I also agree that he’d likely be starving after the process considering how much energy goes into shedding an old skin and growing a new one. He’ll be one cranky guy so Tav would need to tread carefully.

As for getting stuck, it is an unfortunate risk for any creature who molts. Thankfully I think Kar’niss might have an easier time of it because he has hands and opposable thumbs. The chitin does go up his arms and on portions of his chest but not on his face. It’s weird to think about a drider body trying to molt. I watched a video of a tarantula molting and it was wild. It started with one spider and ended with two, except the other spider was an empty husk. I’ve tried to picture Kar’niss doing that and my brain cannot compute, the humanoid torso throws the whole thing off. Maybe his hands wouldn’t save him...ugh, no. It’s like getting stuck in a fleshy straight jacket.

I’ll just add that to the tally of nightmare fuel I’ve encountered while running this blog. We’re up to four! If I get five on my punch card I can redeem a free ice cream cone. \o/

Thanks for the ask!