Soul Spider: Terror of the TunnelsSoul Spider
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Average Height: 5' (legspan)
Average Weight: 150 lb
Eye Color: Red
Body Color: Black
Main Diet: Unknown
Primary Habitat: Dridder Forest
The Soul Spider is an incredibly mysterious species, and new information about them comes only in the rare eyewitness account, as few have lived to tell the tale.
Soul Spiders are large black spiders inhabiting the tunnel network under the Dridder Forest. They have an average leg span of about five feet and stand two feet off the ground. Their exoskeleton is pitch black, with small dark grey hairs covering their entire bodies. This allows them to blend in perfectly with the deep shadows of their natural habitat. So good is their camouflage that eyewitness reports believed that they materialize out of the shadows themselves. The only warning one has of their approach is their eyes. A Soul Spider’s eyes glow deep red in the darkness, quite an unnerving sight to any sentient being, and it is their eyes that give them their name. It is said in tales that if someone that is feint of heart looks into a Soul Spider’s eyes, they can lose their soul forever.
Wither they materialize out of shadows or not, it is known that Soul Spiders are extremely agile. Able to scurry along passages and up walls at lightning speeds, escape by foot is rarely possible; and it is with this speed that Soul Spiders are able to dodge attacks and move from shadow to shadow in a blink of an eye. However; being creatures of darkness they loath the light, and tend to shy away from it when in small groups. This is their only weakness, and should be exploited if you run into a Soul Spider. While in the tunnels that make up their home, a light source as small as a candle can keep you safe from two or three spiders; and that is why having plenty of batteries for your flashlight is essential if you plan to brave the tunnels of Dridder Forest.
A single Soul Spider or small group may not attack someone with a light source, but that doesn’t mean they won’t follow them. Soul Spiders are known to follow their prey for miles waiting for the light source to be exterminated; and when it does, not even the most powerful magic known can save you. Their poison will paralyze almost instantly, and slowly dissolve a being from the inside out. The spider is then free to gorge itself on the flesh of their victim.
The larger predators of Felarya have little to fear from a single Soul Spider, as the venom loses potency the bigger the body; and it is possible for human sized beings to defeat one in combat. HOWEVER: If the treat is too large for a single spider, or if the light source shines too brightly, the Soul Spider will summon others to its aid. There have been reports of bands fighting their way through hundreds of Soul Spiders to have just as many seeping into the tunnel from the walls. This is why even large predators fear the Soul Spider, as a Chilotaur starts to look a lot less frightening when they’re body is covered in a writhing black carpet of spiders.
Very few beings have fought a Soul Spider hoard and lived to tell the tale, and the terror felt from fighting for your life in the midst of glowing red eyes has cost more then one adventure their sanity. Some even come back with stories of how in the midst of combat their former friends would rise up from death with glowing eyes to attack their former allies. It is therefore speculated that Soul Spiders can posses the bodies of the fallen, which may account for the tales that their stare can steal away your soul.
The larger predators of Dridder Forest use the tunnel network for travel and ambush, and they have learned to fear the glowing eyes in the darkness. The Dridder tribes situated around the forest seem to know the most about Soul Spiders, being spiders themselves; however, they share very little of their knowledge with the other races, as they fear the Soul Spiders as well.
As previously stated, the rarity of “Soul Spider Survivors” and incorporation of the Didders severely limits research on the spiders themselves as well as the tunnels they live in. The elf Lehem currently living in Negav is known for his obsession with the creatures, devoting his life to the study of Soul Spiders. Some say he has even captured one and brought it back alive.
Dridders are known to dig a new passage on occasion, but there were plenty of tunnels under the forest before the Dridders came along. This poses the question: Did the Soul Spiders dig the tunnels? Or was the species responsible for them wiped out by the Soul Spiders?
Nobody knows for sure…
(Short n' Sweet version)The Soul Spider is an incredibly mysterious species of giant spider. They are only known to inhabit the tunnels found in the Dridder Forest, being seen outside of the tunnels only on the blackest of nights.
Soul Spiders have a leg-span of about five feet and stand four feet off the ground. Their carapace is completely black and they are covered in silver hairs that have the ability to absorb light. All eight eyes glow bright red, creating quite the disturbing sight to anyone they follow through the dark tunnels.
When entering the Dridder Forest it is important to have a light source at all times, as it is the only way to keep Soul Spiders at bay. They hate light of any kind, so much so that even a candle can keep one or two spiders away. Light isn’t foolproof though, as the spiders can mass to sap the light with their special hairs.
Soul Spiders will attack and devour anything without a light source. Even the largest of Chilotaurs need fear them, as in complete darkness the Soul Spider can travel incredibly quickly and will attack in huge swarms. If need be they can even morph into the shadows and move about like wraiths.
It is said that a Soul Spider can consume not only the body of their victim, but their very soul itself. Those few eyewitness reports of both predator and prey alike tell tales of their comrades being struck down by the spiders only to rise again to attack them, their eyes glowing red.
The leading expert in the study of Soul Spiders is the elf Lehem. He lives in the city of Negav where he studies day and night to solve the secret of the mysterious creatures, where they came from and why they stay so hidden. Surviving against these deadly and rare creatures requires all the knowledge you can get!
Subject: Soul Spider 
Wed May 12, 2010 12:36 am
