Perhaps one of the most well known monsters in the world of DDO is Whisperdoom. The other day I was running Suppply through Tangleroot and I hit the quest Whisperdoom’s Spawn. When I came upon the great spider I began to wonder how Whisperdoom might actually compare to a few other strong and well known spiders: Shelob, from Lord of the Rings and Aragog from Harry Potter.
Whisperdoom in here glory (screenshot courtesy of DDOWiki).
Shelob from Lord of the Rings.
Aragog from Harry Potter.
All three spiders are unique and fearsome in their own way and they all have similar qualities as well. First off, all three spiders are quite monstrous and large. Whisperdoom and Shelob are both black widow type spiders while Aragog is more of wolf/brown spider in behavior and structure. Whisperdoom and Shelob also appear to be larger than Aragog, at least in my humble opinion. One thing that Whisperdoom and Aragog have in common is that they have very large broods. In Harry Potter, Aragog seems to have fathered quite a number of offspring while we all known that Whisperdoom has quite a brood herself, which we encounter in at least three different quests. However, Aragog seems to have one ability that Shelob and Whisperdoom do not seem to have, he can talk to humans. Although, if I remember correctly, Shelob somehow made a deal with Sauron that allowed her to stay in Modor. However, I’m not sure how she was able to do that without speaking, unless it was a telepathic thing. Also, Whisperdoom, with the help of a clan of ogre mages, is capable of casting spells, many of which need a verbal component, unless of course she as the ability to cast spells silently…
So which of these great beasts would be the most dangerous? I have to admit, I think Whisperdoom is the most powerful and dangerous of the three. Both Shelob and Aragog seem to be venerable to regular weapon types as opposed to Whisperdoom who seems to have quite a bit of damage reduction and the ability to regenerate. Whisperdoom is also immune to cold, electric, sonic, holy, anarchic, and axiomatic damage. Her ability to cast spells and her fondness for dispelling buffs makes her particularly dangerous. Both Aragog and Shelob do not seem to have the ability to attack with magical methods. This puts these two great beasts at a disadvantage. Out of these three beasts, Whisperdoom would be the least one I would like to encounter. What are your thoughts?
Thanks for reading everybody and happy hunting!!!
Erdrique's Blog 
She’s a lot easier to hit when you come across her again in Spawn of Whisperdoom
{booming voice} The Hatchery {end booming voice}
😀
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Whisperdoom herself is special. She’s a magical beast, not a spider. That’s why she is very very hard to kill since she has high DR to most everything and uses magic herself to kill you. Light damage is her biggest vulnerability. Ultimately, in a “bar fight,” Whisperdoom’s magic would annihilate Shelob and Aragog as well as his mobs stand no chance against Whisperdoom’s hardier brood (and her magic).
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I read LOTR and want to remember Shelob thinking or talking, but I guess I was wrong. I found these discussions when googling: http://forum.barrowdowns.com/showthread.php?t=2104
http://www.lotrplaza.com/showthread.php?15024-Could-Shelob-talk
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True, Whisperdoom being classified as a magical beast helps her quite a bit. Hey Micki, I thought I remember something similar as well about Shelob.
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My heart lays with Shelob I’m afraid. Whenever presented with this sort of comparison I favor age, experience, the foul bitterness of life lived. How would Shelob manifest in Eberron? At least as great as the greatest Ancient Arachnid I think. The fear of Shelob would be a primal fear. She would be the kind to manipulate from behind the scenes. Whisperdoom might instead be something akin to a fear of what-is-to-come. Brute dread.
Hairy aragog might be the whiny brat with the inhaler sitting on the sidelines. “I can do that….
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Reblogged this on DDOCentral.
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