Looking for talking Spider

[Dr.Epic]

So I basically need to find a monster to serve as a boss encounter for a level one party of about 5 PCs. It has too be a spider or at least very spider like in shape and it has to speak common. Ideas?

[Keld Denar]

Ettercap advanced by either HD or by class levels (or both). Ettercaps are essentially humanoidish spiderish creatures, often surrounded by various breeds of spiders.

[Dusk Eclipse]

In b4 drider? don't remember the CR though.

[Fax Celestis]

Aranea, maybe?

[Lev]

I'd make a custom monster based loosely around an Aranea if I were you, and I'd probably allow it to shoot about 1-2 dozen spines out of it's legs (roll attack rolls behind screen with a few d20's at a time to make it seem like a serious threat, make only 1-4 actual attacks per round to balance it) that deal 1 acid damage per round until the spine is removed with a move action.

Make the spine shot a full round action so it keeps the spider either attacking or mobile and use that for the player's ability to use strat when they pick up on it's behavior.

A good trick would be to use the webbing special as creatively as possible, web a door or web 2 players at once tethering them together or to initiate the fight have the spider on a large rafter, shoot a web at a player and then drop using the rafter like a pulley to elevator them up while they are webbed upside down (good for the ranged weaponer to make upsidedown shots!), or make the terrain have lots of holes in it or have just little platforms of rock or something and spiderwebbing beneath it so the spider when injured can drop down to the web and cast silent image (lots of options then open up, especially if you cast ghost sound first, like you could make the sound of hundreds of little clicks at the same audiorange of 20 humans then next round have a silent image of little spiders crawling all over everything as the Aranea gets into a better position.

[Desril]

This probably won't count, but I'm in a party with an average level of 1.5 (3 ecl 2s, 3 ecl 1s) and we fought a drider at the end of the last session. The DM didn't realize it's CR and when he did he just decided to remove it's SLAs.

Our Scout//Fighter (level 2) killed it. In a single attack. With a single arrow.

He won initive, and moved 10ft to gain Skirmish. Shot. Nat 20. Nat 20. And then he rolled a 12. As he did so, the words "I SPEND AN ACTION POINT!" were called out, and he rolled a 6, getting his attack high enough to hit.

CR 7, wiped out in round 1 by a level 2, with a bow. It was probably the Crowning Moment of Awesome out of all our campaigns...and I got a (admittedly less epic but still cool) CMoA in the next encounter.

[awa]

It wont be very bright but a giant spider with either the half dragon, findish or half fiend template would work.
but honestly id probaly second the etercap or arania depending on the nich you want for the monster

[Rixx]

Find CR-appropriate monstrous spider (not hard) and say it can talk.

Boom. Talking spider.

[Ravens_cry]

Entomanothropy for the squishy, squishy, win.

[Skaven]

Find CR-appropriate monstrous spider (not hard) and say it can talk.

Boom. Talking spider.

This.

if you really need a reason, just pull some wizard did it thing out. From curse to polymorph, its all easy in D&D.

[hamishspence]

Fiendish template gives vermin Int 3, Int 3 grants the ability to speak 1 language.

The Watchspider from Waterdeep City of Splendours, is a magical beast, and quite intelligent.