Spawning Soulrider (Monitor)

When soulriders absorb sufficient planar energy, they become gravid with countless tiny eggs. Such soulriders instinctively return to the Universe via the Dead Roads to lay their spawn, although the exact metaphysical process has yet to be fully understood. Fiends and others keen to enter the mortal world have begun capturing and studying spawning soulriders, though such experiments carry their own risks, for soulriders prevented from returning to the Universe will continue to grow larger as they absorb more energy.

Once back in the Universe, spawning soulriders become fiercely protective of their near-translucent eggs and tiny spawn, using their remora-like maws to fend off potential threats. Anyone disturbing a soulrider in the process of spawning might find out what it feels like to have pieces of their soul torn away.

Resembling a lamprey or hagfish with a long whiplike tail, a soulrider uses its harmless sucker to hitch rides on a creature's soul. This seemingly simple connection transcends the physical, attaching directly to the host's soul and even riding along with the soul to its final destination. Once there, a soulrider leaves its host to absorb the surrounding planar energies, adapting to the new environment and growing large enough to produce spawn. However, it can only do so in the mortal Universe, so it must find a portal or other way to return. With this cycle, they've spread to every plane in the Outer Sphere, as well as many mortal worlds.

Although increasingly widespread, soulriders only appeared a little over a century ago. Thought to be a fleshwarper's attempt to cheat Pharasma's judgment by attaching several innocent souls to their own, soulriders' numbers have grown explosively since then.

Soulriders require little more than air to survive, but they're instinctually aware of their need for a mortal soul. Although their suckers are harmless, soulriders who feel threatened or become impatient will finish off their hosts or nearby threats with their tail.