Lolth

Cruel and capricious, Lolth (loalth) embodies the absolute evil of the drow. She is malicious in her dealings with others and coldly vicious in a fight,. coveting the power of deities worshiped by the surface races. Some believe her to be insane, because the Queen of Spiders pits her own worshipers against one another in an endless struggle for "station." She can be kind and aids those she fancies, but she thrives on death, destruction, and torture—including those of her own worshipers who have displeased her. Although she can appear in the form of a giant black widow spider with crimson eyes, Lolth's true form is that of a human-sized, exquisitely beautiful female drow.

The Queen of Spiders is the subject terrifying legend among most surface dwellers and seen as virtually synonymous with the greatly feared drow. Few elves are even willing to discuss their deep-dwelling kin, let alone the dark deity who is blamed in large part for their depravity. Only the drow clerics of Eilistraee are even willing to speak of Lolth, and their fury at her enslavement of their kin exceeds even that of the other elven subraces. In the Underdark, her church is a well-known evil, hated by dwarves, svirfneblin, and other races for the cruelty of her clerics. Dark elves who venerate other evil deities, as well as all male drow who pay her homage, revile the church of the Spider Queen for its power—though they would seize such power for themselves if they could.

Clerics of Lolth pray for spells after waking from trance or before retiring to trance. They are always female. Lolth requires regular homage from her clerics: submission in prayer, plus offerings. Lolth's aid requires sacrifices, traditionally the blood of drow faithful or captured foes, spilled with a spider-shaped knife whose eight descending legs are blades. Ceremonies sacrificing surface elves are performed monthly during nights of the full moon as deliberate affronts to Sehanine, Lolth's hated rival. Rituals customarily take place among women only, in a sacred room or area, but those requiring extraordinary power or a public display may be celebrated in the open and in mixed company. The most powerful ceremonies defy description and are seldom seen by non-drow.

Rituals to Lolth involve the burning of precious oils and incense, live offerings, and riches of all sorts, particularly gems. These are customarily placed in a bowl-shaped depression in a black altar or a burning brazier, from which black-and-red flames leap to consume the offerings. If the deity is angered, or impostors are present, the flames may also arc to consume other valuables, such as magic items, jewelry, and clothing. Large, important rituals customarily use eight braziers, to provide additional flame and to represent Lolth's eight legs.

Lolth allows herself to be contacted directly (such as with a commune spell) only when it pleases her to do so. Otherwise, the call reaches her servant yochlols (amorphous demons able to take the form of an elf or spider). When Lolth is displeased, she sends a yochlol or a myrlochar (a spider demon of lesser rank) to attack the cleric.

Divine Domains

Death, Trickery

Divine Symbols & Sigils

Black spider with female drow head hanging from a spider web, or a black spider web on a blood-red background.

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 non-drow 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.

Holidays

Lolth requires homage/submission in prayer, plus offerings-regularly from her priests. Ceremonies involving the sacrifice of surface elves are performed monthly during nights of the full moon as deliberate affronts to Sehanine, Lolth's hated rival. Rituals to Lolth are customarily practiced in female-only company in a sacred room or area. Rituals requiring extraordinary power or a public display may be celebrated in the open and in all sorts of mixed company

When Lolth's aid is required, sacrifices must be made. These are traditionally the blood of drow faithful and/or captured foes, spilled with a spider-shaped knife whose eight descending legs are blades (2d6 points of damage). In other cases, gems or other precious objects may be burned in braziers, as prayers of offering are chanted. In large, important rituals, priests of Lolth customarily use eight braziers to provide additional flame material and in homage to Lolth (the flames represent her eight legs). The most powerful rituals to Lolth defy detailed description and are seldom seen by non-drow. Rituals to Lolth involve the burning of precious oils and incense, live offerings, and riches of all sorts, particularly gems. These are customarily placed in a bowl-shaped depression in a black altar (or burning brazier). These offerings are always consumed in the flames of Lolth at some point in the ritual. If Lolth is particularly displeased, or impostors are present, the black-and-red flames that leap from the braziers to consume the offerings may also arc to consume other valuables present, such as magical items, jewelry, and clothing. Typically, Lolth's flames do little more than humiliate a burned priest, destroying his or her garments and dealing him or her minor damage, but an impostor or intruder receives a searing flame attack. If this occurs, every priest of Lolth present in the chamber instantly receives a free darkfire spell to wield, even if she or he is carrying a full load of spells or has other darkfire spells memorized. The spell comes with the strong command to use it, forthwith, to blast those who would so insult Lolth.

Lolth enters the Prime Material Plane in avatar form or allows herself to be contacted only when it pleases her to do so. Otherwise, Lolth's servant yochlol are reached. Such contact rituals require the use of a brazier of burning oils, coals, or incense-burned in a vessel fashioned of a valuable black material (such as onyx, obsidian, or a golden bowl whose interior is studded with black pearls). The flames provide material that the magic transforms into an interplanar gate temporarily linking the 66th layer of the Abyss with the Prime Material Plane. Through this link, the yochlol appear, using flame material to fashion semblances of themselves. If called with sufficient force, a yochlol can emerge fully from its gate. Lolth usually orders her handmaidens to remain in the Prime Material Plane only so long as the flames that brought them remain-the dying of the summoning flame then allows a yochlol the safety of being sucked instantly back to the Abyss. Yochlol who are summoned can keep the gate that brought them open while they communicate with Lolth and others in the Abyss. (Such communication demands their full attention, causing their Prime Material forms to go momentarily blank faced and unhearing.) They can also send one creature of the Abyss into the Prime Material Plane, loose of all control and against the wishes of the summoner. This act causes the destruction of the gate and the disappearance of the yochlol. Such sends are usually myrlochar.

Divine Goals & Aspirations

Day-to-Day Activities

Lolth's priests are the rulers, police forces, judges, juries, and executioners of drow society. They wield power daily, and most do so in a manner in keeping with the cruel and capricious nature of Lolth herself. Priests of Lolth strive to act as Lolth wishes and to manipulate (often by brutal force) their fellow drow to do so too. The ultimate aim of every priest is to achieve and keep the Favor of Lolth. The spirits of priests who die in her favor are believed to go to the Abyss, where they become yochlol and other servant creatures. Those who die in Lolth's disfavor are thought to pass into torment on another plane somewhere, perhaps to someday return to the Realms as a snake or spider. (Drow beliefs are confused on such matters, and often change with time and location.) The duties of a good priest, then, are to do whatever is necessary to gain and to keep the Spider Queen's favor. Although treachery and cruelty are often rewarded, Lolth does not look kindly on those who let personal grudges and revenge-taking bring defeat or shame to their House, clan, city, or band.

Priestly Vestments

When participating in rituals, priests of Lolth work unclad or wear robes (black, trimmed with dark red and purple-or, for lesser or novitiate priests, dark purple or red trimmed with black). In some cities ornate helms carved to resemble writhing spiders are worn by Lolth's clergy, while in others heads are always left uncovered. Jewelry worn by the Spider Queen's priests consists of spider medallions and other spider designs, all made of platinum. The holy symbol of the faith is a platinum disk at least 3 inches in diameter with an embossed depiction on both its obverse and reverse in jet black enamel of a black widow spider or a platinum spider figurine on a platinum or mithral chain necklace.

Adventuring Garb

Lolth's clergy favor drow chain mail. Typically such armor is enchanted. Some priests also carry adamantite bucklers with similar properties to that of drow chain mail. Clerics of the Spider Queen typically wield adamantite maces-again with similar properties to that of drow chain mail. In addition to maces, crusaders and arachnes sometimes wield adamantite short swords and long daggers. Priests who are not clerics may also employ hand-held crossbows that are coated with drow sleep poison that renders a victim unconscious. Likewise, crusaders and arachnes sometimes employ small javelins coated with the same poison as the darts. Most senior priests of Lolth carry snake-headed whips of fangs, and delight in using them often.

Mental characteristics

Personal history

History/Relationships

Lolth was once Araushnee, the consort of Corellon Larethian, patron of artisans, the deity of elven destiny, and—later, by Corellon's decree—the keeper of those elves who shared her darkly beautiful features. The Weaver of Destiny bore her lover two children, Eilistraee and Vhaeraun, before she betrayed him and tried to invade Arvandor, along with Ghaunadaur, Malar, and many other fell deities. For her crimes, Araushnee was banished to the Abyss in the form of a spider demon, where she took the name Lolth. As the original patron of the dark elves, the Queen of Spiders established herself as the unchallenged ruler of the drow pantheon. Lolth finds it convenient to ally herself on occasion with Loviatar and Malar, and, since the Time of Troubles, to masquerade as Moander, an ancient deity of rot, corruption, and decay. Lolth's foes include the (the elven pantheon), Ghaunadaur, Eilistraee, non-drow Underdark deities, and Gruumsh.

Symbol: Black spider with female drow head hanging from a spider web
Home Plane: Lolth's Web (the Demonweb Pits)
Alignment: Chaotic evil
Portfolio: Spiders, evil, darkness, chaos, assassins, the drow race
Worshipers: Drow and depraved elves, sentient spiders
Cleric Alignments: CE, CN, NE
Domains: Death, Trickery
Favored Weapon: A spider fang (dagger)
ALIASES: Araushnee, Lloth (Menzoberranzan and Uluitur), Megwandir, Moander, Zinzerena
ALLIES: Loviatar, Malar, Selvetarm
FOES: Deep Duerra, Eilistraee, Ghaunadaur, Gruumsh Ibrandul (dead), Kiaransaleen, Laduguer, Moander (dead), the Seldarine, Vhaeraun, Blibdoolpoolp, the Blood Queen, Diinkarazan, Diirinka, Great Mother, Gzemnid, Ilsensine, Ilxendren, Laogzed, Maanzecorian (dead), Psilofyr

Divine Classification

Intermediate God