Isn't he also adding GIANT animal people, too?
Sadly you can't play aquatic people... (at least not yet!...?!)
Been playing a Brown Recluse Spider Man, carrying a steel spear, an iron whip and my large copper dagger combined with an iron shield, two wooden shields and steel armor.
Makes short work of other living things, though I could imagine that swords would be better. Or whips and scourges. But I have yet to find any good ones.
And about the poison/venom/syndromes: they are not really worth it in adventure mode as it takes forever before they affect anything. Tried killing a lion by bitting it and waiting for it to rot to death (or such) ... I waited like two days before the rot even set in, and while it was stunned from the pain of the bites, I had to stab it in the head because I was running out of food waiting.
For a moment I also played a Black Mamba Man and bit an Elf (twice) to see how long it'd take for the venom to take effect - but here as well it took a bit longer than I considered "useful".
It's a fun addition for the occasional FUN kill, but I wouldn't make my choice just on that. Having 6 arms available on the other hand ...
Downside: you can't swim. At all. Unless you like watching a spider flounder helplessly in a bit of water, don't try it.
Also played a Giant Tortoise Man, not bad. Not bad. Quite standard from what I saw, no enemy tried hitting me in the shell though, so I can't tell if that helps or not.
I think I should really try out the Elephant Seal Madness - I love being able to throw enemies around and such.