Lolth
Lolth is known as the Queen of Spiders as well as the Queen of the Demonweb Pits, Lolth is the goddess of the drow.
Lolth is a goddess of cold cruelty not out of place in the darkest depths of the endless Abyss, reveling in betrayal and bloodshed and toying with everyone from her minions to her victims. She not only enjoys, but thrives upon torture, destruction, and death, whether personally performing it or causing it. Every interaction is ultimately done with malice, ill will seething from her every move, and even those who knew her well are surprised by just how deep her viciousness goes. Her malevolence could be compared to the rage of the brutal Kostchtchie, but where his fury is as mindlessly violent as a force of nature, her malice is complicated and deliberate. Furthermore, Kostchtchie could at least be said to be steady and constant in his hate, whilst Lolth's is utterly capricious.
Lolth demands absolutely featly and obedience from all drow, and questioning her motives or wisdom is considered a sin. This applies even to male drow despite her considering them to be unclean, and she takes vengeful notice if one abandons her faith. She also secretly desires the worship of other types of elves, as well as humans, and enjoys corrupting them into her service even more than torment and devastation. In contrast, she foments unending chaos amongst the drow, eternally setting them against each other. Ostensibly this is to weed out the weak and complacent, leaving only the strongest, cruelest, and most devious to serve her, and to some degree she believes this, but it is also simply for her own amusement and supremacy.
Despite her demands for loyalty, those who blindly obey Lolth's demands will find themselves quickly led to their deaths. In truth, Lolth's capricious nature means that there are few hard-and-fast rules, and much uncertainty as to her desires. The successful have to pay attention to her ever-changing wants, for her favor is fickle, and those who she plays favorites with (a frequent occurrence) will inevitably find her turning on them without warning. The Spider Queen is technically capable of displays of kindness and aiding those she fancies, and will always give one chance for the disfavored to redeem themselves, but this usually means a dangerous mission and in others might just mean silently watching their next move. She can never be relied on and her ultimate motivation is almost always manipulative.
Lolth's promotion of infighting amongst her worshipers leads many to believe she is insane, and this assessment is not baseless. Her will is not merely fluid, but often times contradictory, although even if she is mad, the drow place more importance on a deep and devious sense of cunning than mental stability. Ironically, for all her demands for obedience, nothing demands her attention and admiration more than treachery, even towards herself (if only temporarily). Guile and political ruthlessness are the signs of her favorite servants, and she ultimately admires ambition more than she does loyalty.
Any attempt by the drow to emulate her however is doomed to fail, for unlike other humanoids, their arachnid deity is without their form or psychology. They are ashamed that they cannot fully live up to her demands, and in truth, the Spider Queen is one they can never truly please. Any boon she grants to them is only in service to escalating conflict and causing further strife, and in the end, she cares nothing for them.
Relationships
Lolth disdains planar beings less powerful than herself, viewing them as either pawns or foes. At the same time, she holds those more powerful than herself in contempt, covets the status of the most powerful beings and seeking to ascend to their station through deception, betrayal, and murder.Worshipers
Lolth's follower base is varied. It mainly consists of drow, but also includes aranea, chitine, draegloths and deep dragons. She has gained a few elven followers, and tries to gain more worshipers at all times. Lolth drives her worshipers into heavy infighting under the pretense of culling the weak, while her actual goals are to hold absolute control over the dark elves, to prevent the rise of alternative faiths or ideas, and to avoid complacency (even though she finds amusement in the strife that plagued her followers' communities). However, in the long run, her influence proves to be an obstacle to the growth and success of her drow followers, preventing them from unifying against common enemies or for a common cause.Clerics
Lolth's clerics were almost exclusively female (although there are a few males). They represent the rulers of most drow communities, and strictly follow the Spider Queen's will, forcing the drow into extreme subservience to their deity, and into a constant state of conflict that dominates their lives. Each priestess strives for the favor of the Spider Queen and is ready to do anything in order to gain status in her goddess' eyes. Her clergy sacrifices the living and treasure for her glory. Their vestments are normally adorned with spider motifs. Her rituals require them to wear darker clothes or none at all.Orders
Militant Myrlochar, Order of Soul Spiders
The Militant Myrlochar, sometimes known as the Order of Soul Spiders, is an elite fighting organization composed exclusively of male crusaders, and is found in the dark elven cities where Lolth is worshiped and males are allowed entrance into her priesthood. They directly serve the reigning Matron Mothers of the city and are employed to kill their targets. They are usually used without pause until they get killed.Handmaidens of the Spider Queen
The Handmaidens of the Spider Queen are an order of female crusaders. Also called the "Daughters of the Yochlol", they have no ties to specific cities, and are used when Lolth wants an entire city to be brought back into line. At least three times in recorded history have the Handmaidens of the Spider Queen destroy entire drow cities to prevent them from straying too far from Lolth.Rituals
Like all religions, the worship of Lolth involves a number of rituals and rites, and many of them include sacrifice. As an example:"Great Goddess, Mother of the Dark, grant me the blood of my enemies for drink and their living hearts for meat. Grant me the screams of their young for song, grant me the helplessness of their males for my satisfaction, grant me the wealth of their houses for my bed. By this unworthy sacrifice I honor you, Queen of Spiders, and beseech of you the strength to destroy my foes.”— A secret sacrificial prayer in Abyssal known only to high priestesses:
Divine Classification
Demon
Alignment
Chaotic evil
Current Location
Species
Realm
Children
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