Lolth
Goddess of Dark Drow (a.k.a. Queen of Spiders, Queen of the Demonweb Pits, Dark Mother, the Lady of Chaos, the Mistress of Lies)
Lolth (pronounced: /lɑːlθ/ lalth or: /loʊlθ/ lolth or: /loʊɑːlθ/ loalth), known as the Queen of Spiders as well as the Queen of the Demonweb Pits, was the most influential goddess of the drow, within the pantheon of the Dark Seldarine.
Divine Domains
Chaos, Darkness, Demonic, Destruction, Drow, Envy, Evil, Lust, Pride, Spider, Trickery, War, Wrath
Artifacts
Favored weapon: Spider (dagger)
Divine Symbols & Sigils
Physical Description
General Physical Condition
Lolth could appear either as a 12 feet (3.7 meters) diameter, crimson-eyed black widow spider, or a 6 feet (1.8 meters) tall, beautiful female drow often garbed entirely in clinging spiders or sometimes in artful, drow chainmail dresses or tunics. The form most commonly found in the Abyss however, thought to be her true form, was a combination of the others, a giant spider with the upper torso of a female drow with six arms.
Lolth-Queen-of-Spiders.jpg
Special abilities
Lolth could readily transform at will between her drow, drider, and giant spider forms, with some sources claiming that certain powers of hers were tied to specific forms, but during the transformation process she could not utilize any of her spell-like powers. She was capable of moving between places almost instantaneously. She could also communicate telepathically, out to a range of 90 feet.
She could also cast a number of divine and arcane spells, though only while in her drow form. While she typically drew from the chaos and evil domains for her divine spells, she was said to be capable of drawing from any sphere or school of magic. While in her drow form, Lolth had access to the innate drow abilities dancing light, darkness, and faerie fire, and she could enact an effect similar to charm person upon a human or demihuman by physically embracing them.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Dawn Age
Before her fall, Lolth was known as Araushnee, the lesser elven goddess of destiny and artisans. She was consort to Corellon, leader of all the elf deities, and ruled with him and Sehanine as the indisputable heads of their pantheon. Unflinching as the fallen night, she too had played a part in the creation of the earliest elves; her cutting jests brought forth tears of laughter from Corellon from which mortal fey were spawned, as did Sehanine's arcing acrobatics. Sometimes the laughter between the three was dark and mocking, but more often, it was true and heartfelt.
Araushnee would become the main goddess of the dark elves, whose nightly complexion matched her own, and have twins with Corellon, Vhaeraun (the elder) and Eilistraee (the younger), as well as a third child, Vandria Gilmadrith.
War of the Seldarine
Yet another sign of Corellon’s weakness. He should have slain the orc when he had the chance. I would have. Or, at the very least, I would have gelded him!
The events regarding Lolth's rebellion were lost to time and the timelessness of the Feywild, and too distorted by shadows and echoes for anyone to be sure of her first betrayal. Not even the likes of Sehanine or Corellon could say if she had always thought differently to them, or if there had been some kind of inciting incident. Some divinations suggest the troubles dated back to before Arvandor was even complete, when the orc god Gruumsh, Corellon's long-standing rival, tried to destroy it. Though she respected his wish to face Gruumsh alone, she secretly admired his rage, and at some point dallied with him. The passions of her soul would grow darker to the point she even consorted with the lords of the Abyss, but though they aided her corruption, they were not responsible for her fall from grace.
Morality & Philosophy
Lolth was 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 enjoyed, but thrived upon torture, destruction, and death, whether personally performing it or causing it. Every interaction was ultimately done with malice, ill will seething from her every move, and even those who knew her well could be surprised by just how deep her viciousness went. Her malevolence could be compared to the rage of the brutal orc deity Gruumsh, but where his fury was as mindlessly violent as a force of nature, her malice was complicated and deliberate. Furthermore, Gruumsh could at least be said to be steady and constant in his hate, whilst Lolth's was utterly capricious.
Lolth demanded absolute fealty and obedience from all drow, and questioning her motives or wisdom was considered a sin. This applied even to male drow despite her considering them to be unclean, and she took vengeful notice if one abandoned her faith. She also secretly desired the worship of other types of elves, as well as humans, and enjoyed corrupting them into her service even more than torment and devastation. In contrast, she fomented unending chaos amongst the drow, eternally setting them against each other. Ostensibly this was to weed out the weak and complacent, leaving only the strongest, cruelest, and most devious to serve her, and to some degree she believed this, but it was also simply for her own amusement and supremacy.
Despite her demands for loyalty, those who blindly obeyed Lolth's demands would find themselves quickly led to their deaths. In truth, Lolth's capricious nature meant that there were few hard-and-fast rules, and much uncertainty as to her desires. The successful had to pay attention to her ever-changing wants, for her favor was fickle, and those who she played favorites with (a frequent occurrence) would inevitably find her turning on them without warning. The Spider Queen was technically capable of displays of kindness and aiding those she fancied, and would always give one chance for the disfavored to redeem themselves, but this usually meant a dangerous mission and in others might just mean silently watching their next move. She could never be relied on and her ultimate motivation was almost always manipulative.
Lolth's promotion of infighting amongst her worshipers led many to believe she was insane, and this assessment was not baseless. Indeed, ever since her fall from grace her sanity had frayed and fractured until she became the petty, conniving monster she was commonly known as. Her will was not merely fluid, but often times contradictory, although even if she was mad, the drow placed more importance on a deep and devious sense of cunning than mental stability. Ironically, for all her demands for obedience, nothing demanded her attention and admiration more than treachery, even towards herself (if only temporarily). Guile and political ruthlessness were the signs of her favorite servants, and she ultimately admired ambition more than she did loyalty.
Social
Contacts & Relations
Lolth disdained planar beings less powerful than herself, viewing them as either pawns or foes. At the same time, she held those more powerful than herself in contempt, coveting the status of the most powerful beings and seeking to ascend to their station through deception, betrayal, and murder.
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