Lolth (LOALTH)

(a.k.a. Queen of Spiders / Queen of the Demonweb Pits)

The Spider Queen sits alone in the Demonweb Pits, presiding over the drow and their manifold schemes and betrayals. She revels in blood, hungers for sacrifice, and toys with worshipers and victims alike. Hers is a cold cruelty born of the blackest pits in the endless Abyss.
Lolth exists on her home plane in the form of seven monstrous spiders and one beautiful drow maiden. She took these forms when, through the force of her own horrific will, she transformed into the greater goddess she is today.
Lolth appears to her worshipers from time to time, but never because she is summoned. Lolth serves no one, and she demands absolute fealty from all drow, though only females can serve her as arachne. Males are considered unclean, if occasionally necessary. Still, if one turns his back on her, she takes vengeful notice.
Lolth is a cruel, capricious deity who is believed to be insane by many because she pits her own worshipers against each other. Malicious in her dealings with others and coldly vicious in a fight, she covets the power given to the deities worshiped by the surface races. She can be kind and aid those that she fancies, but she thrives on the death, destruction, and torture of anyone, including those of her own worshipers that have displeased her.

Religion

Lolth’s church promotes the superiority of the Queen of Spiders over all other beings. It is responsible for the perpetuation of the evil rumors and fear the surface elves hold for the drow and their deity. Even Lolth’s most devout clerics hate and fear her, worshiping her only for the power she grants. In most cities, her clerics control thenoble houses and thus the cities themselves. Her clerics act as the rulers, police force, judges, juries, and executioners of their society. Their cruel and capricious acts are designed to keep the citizens in fear of them and hateful of outsiders.

Clerics

Clerics of Lolth pray for spells after waking from trance or before retiring to trance. Her clerics are always female. They practice monthly sacrifices of surface elves, preferring to perform them on the nights of the full moon to offend Sehanine Moonbow of the elven pantheon. Other private church ceremonies take place behind closed doors in darkened rooms with no males present, while public ceremonies allow a mix of genders. A common ritual is the summoning of a yochlol (a servitor demon with amorphous, spider, and elven shapes) for information or physical aid. Lolth’s clerics sometimes multiclass as fighters or sorcerers.

Divine Domains

Chaos, Drow, Evil, Darkness, Destruction, Spider, Trickery

Divine Symbols & Sigils

Current: 8-pointed silver star with red gemstone in the center Old: Black spider with female drow head hanging from a spiderweb

Tenets of Faith

• Fear is as strong as steel, while love and respect are soft and useless. 
• Convert or destroy nonbeliever drow. 
• Weed out the weak and the rebellious. 
• Destroy impugners of the faith. 
• Sacrifice males, slaves, and those of other races who ignore the commands of Lolth or her clerics. 
• Raise children to praise and fear Lolth; each family should produce at least one cleric to serve her. 
• Questioning Lolth’s motives or wisdom is a sin, as is aiding nondrow against the drow, or ignoring Lolth’s commands for the sake of a lover. 
• Revere arachnids of all kinds; those who kill or mistreat a spider must die.

Mental characteristics

Personal history

Lolth was once Araushnee, the consort of Corellon Larethian, and bore him Eilistraee and Vhaeraun. She betrayed her lover, tried to invade Arvandor with a host of evil spirits, and was banished to the Abyss in the form of a spider demon.  She is the ruler of the drow pantheon and is allied with Loviatar and Malar. Her foes include the Seldarine (the elven pantheon), Ghaunadaur, Eilistraee, nondrow Underdark deities, and Gruumsh .

Divine Classification

Greater Deity

Alignment

Chaotic Evil

Gender

female