Soul Spider: Terror of the Tunnels

This is an idea I made up a long time ago for one of my stories. I finally decided to post it here in hopes it could be added to the Wikia. I for one feel that the Dridder Forest section of the wikia is sorely lacking in information, so I pray that this submission can flesh it out more.
Read and fear! The Soul Spider!
Here's the DA link with a picture: Soul Spider


Soul 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 (tunnel network)



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 flash 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. 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…

do we really need more spiders?......well...i guess thats a stupid question...its just kinda hard to make a spider look cute and inocent.

I really like this idea racemaster7, its obvious you put a lot of thought into it and it was worth it. At the core of this creature they kind of just sound like normal spiders whom are big as a dog, dont like the light, and travel together in packs, which in its self has a lot of potential since swarms of things are always more frighting then something by themselves and the light keeping them back alows adventures to have a small dispirit hope of keeping them at bay which would most likely be short lived as their light source ran out.

but what really strikes me about this creature is the lore and mystery of them. I like how people think that looking into their eyes will suck out their soul, but you never defined in your description of them whether that was true or not. there is just enough known about these creature to make them easy to fully imagine, yet not so much as they lose their mystique.

very nice idea you have here.

EliteCreature wrote:

do we really need more spiders?......well...i guess thats a stupid question...its just kinda hard to make a spider look cute and inocent.

Since those who would have an issue with what you said are unable to say anything at this time, I feel I have an obligation to inform you that spiders can be quite cute and cuddly, there is actually a thread dealing with just that here https://felarya.forumotion.com/off-topic-discussion-f6/eww-spiders-are-gross-d-t1246.htm

im still not that into spiders.....not scared by them....hell my next door neighbor has 6 stinking tarantulas....did you know that most genuses of tarantulas can actually die from a fall greater than 4 inches?
Oh...and my freind lets his spiders out all the time...i still can't figure out why they like crawling on people???

zalzas wrote:

I really like this idea racemaster7, its obvious you put a lot of thought into it and it was worth it.

I am very glad that you think so sir. Sir I have not seen or heard of before because I am very unfortunately unable to fully graft myself into the Felayian community which has nothing to do with my tendencies to be slightly long winded. THE DRIDDER FOREST NEEDS MORE CONTENT! The state of affairs over at the Wikia oozes the need for a fleshing out of its locals. It oozes for content more then a Boomer with a upset stomach. You have drawn dridders on many occasions and profess your like of the arachnid order, you and I need to weave a web of imaginative information to develop the Dridder Forest into a beautifully crafted nightmare (with or without the Zerg infestation).
The tunnels in the Dridder Forest were lightly described if at all, "some predators pop out and stuff" was the extent that I gleaned from it. Something had to make these tunnels genuinely threatening: something to make you really fear these dark passageways. "It is dark: and you will most likely be eaten by a Grue." Can the spider kill you with its poison? Yes. Can the spider take control of your body before or after your death? Maybe. I started an entire story arc simply to explore these creatures in all their fascinating details, a story arc in which one elf sets out to set the record straight about these denizens of the darkness.

I've gone off again haven't I? Sorry about that. I guess now that I finally got some feedback on this I'll have to email Karbo again.

EliteCreature wrote:

do we really need more spiders?......well...i guess thats a stupid question...its just kinda hard to make a spider look cute and inocent.

What about spiders isn't cute and innocent? Some spiders might not be cuddly, but they certainly do pull on your heartstrings. Ok ok ok... So maybe Funnel Web spiders aren't so adorable, but have you ever seen a Wolf spider up close? You should defiantly take that thread into consideration, even if 90% of the pictures are of jumping spiders.