Lolth

Much of the information in this article is taken directly from the transcript of the supplemental episode by the same name.

## Araushnee, the Weaver of Destiny

Lolth was known as Araushnee, the "Weaver of Destiny", a lesser deity of the Seldarine, the elven pantheon of gods. As a goddess of weavers and a spinner of fate, the destiny of the Sisrinesti (dark elves) was placed in her by the decree of her husband, Corellon Larethian, creator of the Elves and leader of the Seldarine. The union between Corellon Larethian and the Weaver of Destiny brought two children: the lesser deities Vhaeraun, the Masked Lord, and Eilistraee, the Silver Maiden. Despite all of this, Araushnee was a vain and jealous schemer who envied her husband. She continued to spend many years alongside the traitor angel, Asmodeus. His dark whispers elevated evil thoughts of betrayal to her mind and it came to head when the Primeval Pact was being written.

Certain deities complicated matters during this time, especially when it came to what certain deities wished to be considered as "Blasphemous" or "Transgression." What was considered blasphemous to one deity was acceptable or even encouraged by another. Gruumsh, God of Orcs for instance, wanted "being an elf" to be considered a blasphemous act, while Erythnul, God of Slaughter wished to declare "Having an excessive amount of blood in one's body (he defined excessive as "more than a mug-full")" as an act considered blasphemy. Naturally, the more rational gods quickly vetoed these extreme suggestions in favor of more reasonable ideas. Araushnee, given her vanity, was naturally one of the more troublesome petitioners. Araushnee petitioned to have any negative word said about her, whether it came from the mouth of a halfling, dwarf, or elf, to be considered as blasphemy. The other deities, including Corellon, denied her request. After all, how could a mortal have free will if every word they spoke was to be punished and controlled? Still, as appeasement, they allowed her to have any negative word said by those under her domain (the dark elves) to constitute blasphemy, and gave her permission to deal with the dark elves as she saw fit.

But to Lolth, this was an insult and being denied her vanity, she secretly planned to overthrow Corellon and replace him as First of the Seldarine. She would do this by using her position as a loved one of Corellon. She had hoped to bring her children Vhaeraun and Eilistraee to great power. Her daughter Eilistraee refused to take part in her mother's scheme and secretly revealed the treachery and betrayal of Araushnee to Corellon. Distraught but determined, Corellon faced his betrayer in battle and soundly routed her. Corellon looked upon the defeated form of his betrayer, mother of his children and once beloved by him. It was then that the First of the Seldarine broken-heartedly cursed his love into the form of a hideous spider-bodied demon, stripping her of her divinity and branding her with the name Lolth, casting her into the Abyss, never to return. Corellon also banished Vhaeraun, knowing of his son's duplicity and involvement in his mother's plots. Though Corellon knew his daughter's innocence, Eilistraee chose to share the fate of her mother and brother, the Silver Maiden no doubt sensing that the dark elves would one day need a reprieve from the path of hate and evil that they would eventually set upon, as they followed their dark goddess - their Spider Queen.

## Lolth, the Spider Queen

In the Abyss, many millennia passed by as Lolth raged bitterly over her failed plans. She relieved her frustrations on the creatures she had been given a missive to protect. As her first act of sadism, she stripped the dark elves of their family ties to the elven race by taking away their true name, the Sisrinesti, and bestowing upon them the name "Drow," which means "nothing." Her future acts included instilling a violent matriarchy to subjugate them. The Drow were now her playthings to do do as she saw fit.

It was not enough. Her heart still burned with revenge, but she could not abide trying to survive the constant warring of the demon lords. In a moment of lucidity, the Spider Queen eventually abandoned her children and fled to the Nine Hells by following the River Styx. She landed on Cania, the icy hell of Archduke Mephistopheles. Because of his avaricious ambitions demanding all of his attention, Mephistopheles could not stop Lolth claiming [the] underbelly of the layer as her own. She was free to plot and bide as the Devils above her quietly schemed for souls. The Seldarine would be hers one day and now she had time to think and freedom to play with her servants through what the Drow call Lolthtanchwi.

## Death

While on their way down to the ninth layer of Hell to save Jeminya, the party had to defeat Lolth in Cania.

At one point in the battle against Lolth, Ravvas stabbed one of the other party members. Lolth lauded Ravvas on his loyalty to her, and Ravvas told the party that he was going to do the one thing Lolth couldn't do: kill them. While this was true because none of the party had committed blasphemy against Lolth (since they weren't Drow and thus didn't fall under her jurisdiction), Lolth took it personally and backhanded Ravvas across the room.

Bells started to toll, and Lolth was confused. It was then revealed that Ravvas and Simula had switched places at one point, and the Ravvas they'd been traveling with since Oin had released him from his spell was actually Simula in disguise, and since Lolth had harmed someone who hadn't committed blasphemy against her, she had broken the Primeval Pact.

Since Lolth hadn't named a successor, her powers and domain passed to the individual in her presence who most closely resembled her: Simula.

## Prayer of a Cleric of Lolth

"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."