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I'm planning to play a drow warlock in D&D 5e, and since there's no official entomancer (Insect-themed spellcaster) class (it exists just as homebrew), I'm trying to make my own version.

My character is taking the Pact of the Chain warlock option, and chose the imp familiar because it has the best stats. I intend to use the imp shapechanged, and I took the Golgari Agent background, which expands my spell list to also have the giant insect spell.

This same background gives me a pet spider, so I was wondering if I could target my shapechanged imp with the giant insect spell once I was able to cast it?

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Welcome to RPG.SE! Take the tour if you haven't already, and check out the help center for more guidance. \$\endgroup\$
    – V2Blast ♦
    Oct 11, 2021 at 15:42
  • \$\begingroup\$ "since there's no official entomancer (Insect-themed spellcaster) class (it exists just as homebrew), I'm trying to make my own version" It does exist in an official subclass - it's the Swarmkeeper Ranger. \$\endgroup\$
    – nick012000
    Oct 12, 2021 at 11:52

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The Shapechanged imp is not actually a spider, so is not an eligible target for giant insect.

The imp’s Shapechanger trait says (emphasis mine):

Shapechanger. The imp can use its action to polymorph into a beast form that resembles a rat (speed 20 ft.), a raven (20 ft., fly 60 ft.), or a spider (20 ft., climb 20 ft.), or back into its true form. Its statistics are the same in each form, except for the speed changes noted.

The form only resembles a spider, it is not actually a spider. Further, its statistics other than speed are not changed, so it is definitely not actually a spider; it is an imp that looks like one.

Since the giant insect spell requires you to target an actual spider, the imp cannot be transformed using giant insect.

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    \$\begingroup\$ I can see a DM responding with "a spider is an arachnid, so no." \$\endgroup\$
    – Slagmoth
    Oct 11, 2021 at 15:52
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    \$\begingroup\$ @Slagmoth: The examples for what you can make giant are 3/4 non-insects ("ten centipedes, three spiders, five wasps, or one scorpion"; two of those are arachnids, and only one is an insect). Clearly the name has nothing to do with the function. Giant Arthropod would be a more accurate name, but clearly Linnaean taxonomy hasn't taken hold in the warlock community. :-) \$\endgroup\$
    – ShadowRanger
    Oct 11, 2021 at 22:22

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