Editing Lloth, Dark Mother

==CURRENTLY UNEDITTED NOTES on myths of Lloth==


LLOTH  Arachne, Demon Queen of Spiders

Demon Power
Female
Chaotic Evil
Attributes: Spiders, Darkness, Elven (Drow)
Domains: Evil, Destruction, Trickery, War
Symbol: Black spider with female Dark Elf head
Typical Worshippers: Dark Elves
Raiment: Black cloak and short sword
Preferred Weapon: Shortsword, whip
Holy Days:

Lloth (loth) also known as; The Spider Queen, Demon Queen of the Abyss, Queen of the Demonweb Pits, Weaver of Chaos, the Hunted Mother of Lusts, Dark Mother of all Dark Elves, Lady of Spiders. She is the patron Power of the Dark Elven race. She is most responsible for the nature, customs, laws, and survival of most Dark Elf communities. Lolth maintains her absolute rule over the Dark elves by means of her clerics, who tirelessly seek out and destroy all traces of dissent, disobedience, rival faiths, or sacrilege and ruthlessly enforce the Way of Lolth. She forments unending chaos in Dark Elf factions and sets the Dark elves at war with each other both for her own amusement and to prevent complacency. Lolth is also a major Abyssal Lord and her title of Demon Queen of the Spiders is well deserved as she is one of the more powerful Demon Lords.

Fear is as strong as steel, while love and respect are soft, useless feelings that none can lean on. All Dark elves who do not worship Lolth must be converted or destroyed. All weak and rebellious Dark Elves must be weeded out. All who impugn the faith must perish. Males or slaves of other races who act independently of Lolth's dictates (and those other priests) must be sacrificed to Lolth. Those of the faithful whose loyalty is weak must be eliminated. Children are to be raised as loyal worshipers of Lolth, and each family should produce at least one priest to serve the Spider Queen better than his or her parents. Arachnids of all sorts are to be revered, and anyone who mistreats or kills a spider must die.

Lolth's priests are the rulers, police forces, judges, juries, and executioners of Dark Elf 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 Dark Elf 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 Taliesin as a snake or spider. (Dark Elf 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. Only female Dark elves may become clerics of Lolth.

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 Dark Elf faithful and/or captured foes, spilled with a spider-shaped knife whose eight descending legs are blades. 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 nonDark Elf. 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 1d4 points of damage, but an impostor or intruder receives a searing flame attack that does 6d6 points of damage (half if a saving throw vs. spell at a -2 penalty succeeds).


-----
The official D&D backstory for the drow is there was a big civil war in elven kind, and the losers went underground to worship spiders and become lesbian B&D fetishists and train and army of scimitar-wielding ranger clones. The details vary between worlds.

Spiders are a bit overdone with drow... maybe you could make it all venemous animals, even even jungle predators, give them a more Aztec feel.

-----
I like this take on the dark elves. It's definetly among the better uses of dark elves I've heard of. The whole civil-war thing is a bit old with many D&D geeks, and it's not really a good story either. Yours is a bit more original, and might suit the midnight setting better. Having said that I'd like to state that I do not want dark elves as a race in a midnight game I play in, not even as an NPC-only race. But a small group of would-be dark elves living beneath the kaladruns is actually kind of cool. Bear in mind though, that surviving beneath the Kaladruns is going to be very hard for someone that is not already as well adapted as the dwarves.

-----
I like the idea of "Dark Elves", but I don't like the whole white hair black skin thing. I think the term dark elf works for the elves that have gone over to the shadow. I do like this take on them though, if I were to use them I would steal this idea

-----

page 348 of Midnight, 2nd edition. On the far side of the Kaladruns, in the Highwood forest is a colony of Huge Monstrous Spiders, freshly awakened (possibly by your Jungle Elves) and hungry.
-----

In the line of "fighting fire with fire", I'd make them a Danisil sect which believes they can enhance their prowesses by drinking demon blood. As their brethren would not approve, they decided to move in as far and remote location they could find (I'd say the White desert, but...)

They took with them their "cattle": a dozen of subdued (through drugs) Tuks who will be the tribe's "bloodgivers".

Of course a few side-effects will drive the Danisil mad over the course of a few years, but they still don't know.

Another idea might be the creation of an "alien": through a "breeding program", the Danisil would create a line of demons that would be released against the orcs (see the Alien movies for a living weapon turned loose). Of course, the "Alien" will escape the Danisil's control and quickly become a "common threat" to all races of Eredane, even those that serve Izrador...

As for Lolth... there is only one God in Eredane, and that's Izrador. I don't think he'd like competition as the Only Evil God on Earth Very Happy I'd rather forget the Goddess-worship part (or make her a powerful Noble Demon). The Spider-thing I don't like either. Why not something more related to the Jungle (snake, vermin, crocodile... there are plenty of scary possibilities). Or take a look at DawnForge for the Night elves and their "goddess"... why not make the Danisil "Goddess" the spirit known as Lathail in the dawn of time?

-----
I don't like this demon-possessed thing, either. It would nullify the "fight evil with evil" means-to-an-end kind of thing. I like the idea that basically good creatures commit travesties to defeat a greater evil. Slowly but surely, these dark elves (I wouldn't call them "Drow", "Dorunsil" is great!) would be twisted into evil beings themselves. Their strict dogma would replace ethics, eventually the elves would start relishing their newfound ways.

I imagine they strike a deal with some isolated dwarven clan on the brink of extinction. These dwarves see the elves as their salvation, knowing them to be honorable fighters against the shadow. They assist the elves in building an underground keep (perhaps some kind of stone parody of an elven homewood, assisted by elven druids who adapt the the earthen environment). Maybe the Dorunsil corrupt the dwarves with them, creating a slave race or just evil dwarves who also oppose the Shadow. I imagine this process to go slowly as well, the dwarves would observe the ruthless and evil manner in which the Shadow is pushed back from their region, then deciding that to survive, they too have to be as ruthless and evil. Perhaps betrayal on either side (dwarves and elves) would make them bitter enemies... I don't know.

I like this Iblis character, maybe he could become the first "priest" to worship Lolth. Maybe the frist Drider...

Oh, and I like spiders, because they are "underground" vermin. Maybe centipedes work as well, I'd go with bugs anyhow. Or maybe those blind cavefish... nah!

Ooh! In the MN2E book, there is mention of dark things from before the time of Izrador slumbering beneath the mountains. Call of Cthulhu, anyone?

-----
Drow
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

    This article refers to the mythical race from Dungeons & Dragons. For the "Drow" of Scottish folklore as well as other examples of Dark Elves and Black Elves from mythology, folklore, and fantasy fiction, see Dark Elf.

Drow (pronounced: draʊ) are a species of elf in the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game. The term is probably derived from the Shetland Isles Drow (Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1970) states: "Drow, n., [scot.] A tiny elf which lived in caves and forged magick metal work."), while the race itself seems based on another Dark Elf, specifically the Dokkalfar of Norse mythology. (See also [1].)

In Irish mythology, a drow is a stone monster of the Fomori, similar to the Scandinavian troll.

The Drow were first mentioned in the Dungeons & Dragons game in the 1st Edition D&D Monster Manual under 'Elf'. They made their first statistical appearance in D&D in the module D1 Descent Into the Depths of the Earth (1978) by Gary Gygax (monochrome cover). The story continued in modules D1-2 Descent into the Depths of the Earth, D2 Shrine of the Kuo-Toa, D3 Vault of the Drow, and Q1 Queen of the Demonweb Pits. The first monster encyclopedia that the Drow appeared in, statistically, was the original Fiend Folio.

Drow, or dark elves as they are called by most surface dwellers, are an offshoot of the elven race. Drow are characterized by white or silver hair, obsidian black skin, red, and rarely gray, violet or yellow eyes, as well as innate spell powers and spell resistance. This is balanced by their weakness in daylight. Also, drow weapons and armor (usually made of adamantite or another specifically Underdark metal) slowly lose their magical properties if exposed to the sun (In the second edition, unless specifically treated adamantite disintegrated upon exposure to sunlight). Drow also employ the unusual dart-firing hand crossbow. Half-drow are the result of crossbreeding between humans and drow, and share characteristics of both.

Drow characters are extremely intelligent, charismatic and dextrous, but share surface elves' comparative frailty and slight frames. As a race they are usually evil. Drow males are commonly wizards or fighters. Females are almost always clerics, and almost never wizards.

Drow hate elves, but wage war with other surface and subterranean races, such as mind flayers, svirfneblin, duergar, and kuo-toa for spoils and territory. Their society is matriarchal, with priestesses of Lolth in the highest seats of power. Males are either enslaved or (rarely) respected if they are powerful wizards, but never allowed to rule. The Drow sometimes use their dark arts to turn human slaves into living sculptures.
Contents
[hide]

    * 1 Influences
    * 2 Drow in the Oerth
    * 3 Drow in the Forgotten Realms
    * 4 Drow in Popular Culture

[edit]

Influences

Whilst the drow were designed by Gary Gygax for the Dungeons & Dragons worlds of Oerth and Abeir-Toril (Forgotten Realms) they may be found in many other published and gamemaster-created campaign settings.

The creation of the fictional Drow was likely influenced by the Drow of Scottish myth, "a tiny elf which lived in caves and forged magick metal work." (Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1970)). Drow are also likley influenced by the fictional dero of Amazing Stories (1940s), an evil 'degenerate' subterrannean race who also enslaved humans and turned them into living sculptures. Gary Gygax was a fan of sci-fi and fantasy pulp of the 1940s, especially from authors of L. Sprague de Camp (Astounding Science Fiction) and Robert E. Howard (Weird Tales). The Derro (of Dungeons & Dragons' Monster Manual II by Gary Gygax) is also a evil 'degenerate' subterrannean race who enslaves humans. The Dark Elves of Norse Mythology and The Lord of the Rings were added to the mix. So, the Drow are most likely to be a fictional fusion of all these influences.
[edit]

Drow in the Oerth

In the world of Greyhawk, the drow were driven underground by their surface-dwelling relatives because of ideological differences. There they eventually adapted to their surroundings, especially by attracting the attention of the goddess Lolth, Queen of Spiders. The centre of drow civilisation is the subterreanean city Erelhei-Cinlu, and its surrounding Vault.

Some Drow, especially of the House of Eilservs, worship a nameless Elder Elemental God instead of Lolth.
[edit]

Drow in the Forgotten Realms

In the Forgotten Realms, the drow were elves of the ancient tribes of Ilythiir, cast down and driven underground by the light-skinned elves because of the drow's betrayal. The drow had fallen under the influence of Lolth, who was cast down into the Demonweb Pits along with her son Vhaeraun by the elven god Corellon Larethian because of Lolth's and Vhaeraun's attempt to take control of the elven pantheon. There the drow eventually adapted to their surroundings, especially by attracting the attention of the goddess Lolth, Queen of Spiders. The centre of drow civilization is the subterreanean city of Menzoberranzan.

Drow may also worship Eilistraee, Ghaunadaur, Kiaransalee, Selvetarm or Vhaeraun.

Amongst the most infamous of drow are the members of House Baenre, whilst Abeir-Toril is also home to some famous good-aligned drow including Drizzt Do'Urden and his deceased father Zaknafein, Liriel Baenre (formerly of Menzoberranzan's aforementioned House Baenre), and Qilué of the Seven Sisters.

The Baldur's Gate series of computer games features drow as enemies and NPCs, as well as part of the game being set in the fictional drow city of Ust'Natha. The drow cleric of Shar, Viconia, features in Baldur's Gate, and Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn as a party member and, in the second game, a possible romantic interest. The Eilistraee-worshipping drow male Solaufein plays a minor role in the second game, but his role can be expanded into a romance with a mod.

See also : The Dark Seldarine of the War of the Spider Queen
[edit]

Drow in Popular Culture

    * The Dark Elves of EverQuest's Norrath are clearly Drow-inspired.
    * Drowtales is a manga where drow are the main species

-----
Lolth
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Lolth (once called Araushnee in the Forgotten Realms, and Lloth in the drow dialect), the Spider Queen, is the fictional goddess of drow elves thought up by Gary Gygax in the Dungeons and Dragons fantasy role-playing game and reappearing in many derived campaign settings, including the Forgotten Realms and Greyhawk settings.

    The following information covers Lolth's representations in those two campaign settings.

Lolth is a tanar'ri demon The most widespread race of fiends are the demons, a chaotic evil race native to the Abyss; they are rapacious, cruel and arbitrary. The dominant race of demons is the tanar'ri. The Abyss and its population are both theoretically infinite in size. "True" tanar'ri such as the balors (originally called Balrogs) and the six-armed serpentine mariliths push other weaker tanar'ri around and organise them into makeshift armies for battle. Demon Lords and Demon Princes such as Lolth, Orcus, Demogorgon, and Graz'zt rule over the demons of their individual layers of the Abyss, inasmuch as the chaotic demons can be ruled over.  and a goddess of formidable power and great cruelty with an affection for arachnids. Goddess of darkness, drow, evil, and spiders (and assassins and chaos in the Forgotten Realms), Lolth has, through deceit and domination, garnered the ears of the dark elves and eventually established herself as their one true deity, keeping them under her thumb by creating a society in which only the strong survive and her priestesses are strongest. Most servants who fail her (and there are many ways to fail the whimsical goddess) are either slain or transformed into creatures called driders: centaur-like creatures that have spider-like bodies below their waists instead of a centaur's equine features. Lolth is also served by a race of shapeshifting tanar'ri called the yochlol. In their natural form, yochlol resemble molten blobs of wax.

Lolth is a Chaotic Evil Intermediate Power. Her symbol is a black spider with the head of a female drow (and in the Forgotten Realms) hanging from a spider web. Lolth dwells in her divine realm in the Demonweb Pits, a demonic realm formed entirely of a single great fractal web, where she is served by legions of powerful mystical slaves. Lolth's residence in this realm is a mobile iron spider-shaped stronghold. In the default Dungeons & Dragons cosmology, the Demonweb Pit is located in the 66th layer of the Outer Plane called the Abyss. In the current iteration of the Forgotten Realms campaign setting, the Demonweb Pit is a plane to itself. However, there appears to be some controversy regarding the status of the Demonweb Pits in that particular campaign: the 3rd edition campaign setting says that the Demonweb Pits are a separate plane, but in the novel Extinction by Lisa Smedman they are explicitly referred to as part of the Abyss, namely the 66th layer (as in the "default" cosmology). Lolth's Third Edition domains are Chaos, Destruction, Evil, and Trickery (and Drow, Darkness, and Spider in the Forgotten Realms).
Contents
[hide]

    * 1 History
          o 1.1 Forgotten Realms
    * 2 Relationships
          o 2.1 Forgotten Realms
          o 2.2 Greyhawk
    * 3 Similarity

[edit]

History

Lolth was banished to the Abyss by Corellon Larethian, who has forevermore been her enemy.
[edit]

Forgotten Realms

Lolth began, in the days before Faerûn existed, as a minor elven goddess named Araushnee, in the Seldarine. Araushnee, known as the Weaver of Destiny, was the goddess of weavers and a spinner of fate, yet despite her small role she came to be loved by the head of the elven pantheon—Corellon Larethian. Their union bore them children in the form of the deities Eilistraee and Vhaeraun. However, Araushnee was a jealous schemer and her influence over Corellon was not enough. She planned to overthrow her consort and take control of Arvandor. In order to do this she made a tentative alliance with Corellon's arch-nemesis Gruumsh, god of the orcs, and attempted to have Corellon assassinated by him through use of her position as Corellon's loved one. These attempts to destroy the First of the Seldarine failed, and worse, the most powerful goddess of the Seldarine—Sehanine Moonbow, who had long been suspicious of Araushnee, discovered these plots and confronted her. Araushnee managed to imprison the other deity though, and roused to action she, Gruumsh, and her son Vhaeraun eventually brought to her cause a great alliance of many great and minor deities of the orcs, goblins and other goblinoids, kobolds, giants, giant kin, ogres, and other such creatures. This army of deities, joined also by the savage deity Malar, the ice queen Auril and the primordial evil Ghaunadaur, marched on Arvandor, to be met in battle by Corellon and the rest of the Seldarine, including Araushnee's other child Eilistraee.

Araushnee and Vhaeraun attempted to help the attackers whilst maintaining a pretence of fighting for the Seldarine, even redirecting an arrow of her daughter to hit Corellon, but Sehanine Moonbow escaped her imprisonment and revealed to Corellon the treachery and betrayal of his consort. As the attacking deities were driven off by the might of the assembled Seldarine and fey deities of Arvandor, Corellon faced Araushnee. Araushnee tried again to kill the god, but this time Sehanine, Hanali Celanil and Aerdrie Faenya all came to battle Araushnee, merging their powers together and forming Corellon's new consort Angharradh. Angarradh easily defeated Araushnee, whom Corellon broken-heartedly transformed into a disgusting spider-bodied demon, naming her "Lolth" and banishing her to the Abyss. He also banished Vhaeraun, and Eilistraee followed, though Corellon knew her innocence.

In the Abyss, Lolth spent many millennia stewing bitterly over her failed plans, along the way rejecting the advances of Ghaunadaur and sending him into a rage that made him destroy the sentience of many of his worshipers. However in her goal to wreak horrible vengeance on Corellon and the Seldarine, it was through Ghaunadaur's example of regaining power through the worship of mortals, that Lolth returned herself to her former power and beyond it, regaining her divinity due to the following she gained from the dark-skinned elves on various world, especially Abeir-Toril. Lolth led her people into their split with the other elven races in the Crown Wars and the Descent into the Underdark, again breaking Corellon's heart, and gaining some of her desired vengeance.

Lolth's worship became absolute with the drow, who infiltrated and dominated their subterranean environment, building temple cities like Menzoberranzan, founded by Menzoberra the Kinless, a priestess of Lolth. The Spider Queen became the leader of the Dark Seldarine, who included her wayward son Vhaeraun, who hated her; Ghaunadaur, who also loathed her; Eilistraee, who had by then returned mostly to her father and Arvandor but also claimed the worship of the few good drow; Kiaransalee, who had once been a drow of another world, a necromancer, who rose as a deity of the undead and then came to Faerûn, slaying Orcus and claiming his worship in the process; and Selvetarm, the son of Vhaeraun, who would become Lolth's one (grudgingly) loyal divine servant and her Champion, after she tricked and corrupted him.

Lolth's recent activities included:

    * During the Time of Troubles, manifesting in Menzoberranzan where she found and slew the minor drow goddess of assassins Zinzerena, assuming her portfolio. She also paid a visit to the old Matron Baenre to help her get rid of the heretic psionicist Matron Oblodra.
    * In 1371 DR, Lolth allied herself once again with Malar in order to invade the homeland of Corellon's people on Toril, Evermeet, by releasing the villainous elf Kymil Nimesin from his extraplanar prison, and unleashing Ityak-Ortheel, the Elf-Eater. Her plots were again foiled by the might of Amlaruil, queen of Evermeet, and the goddess Angharradh, and she was driven off with Malar by Ityak-Ortheel.
    * In 1372 DR, Lolth fell silent, not answering the prayers of her priestesses, and causing chaos amongst the drow, particularly the drow of Menzoberranzan—led by House Baenre, whose own High Priestess of Lolth, Triel, commanded her sister Quenthel to investigate—and Ched Nasad—which was destroyed.


[edit]

Relationships

Lolth has sworn vengeance against Corellon and his people.
[edit]

Forgotten Realms

Lolth opposes at every opportunity the deities of the surface elves, and loathes Corellon with an unparalleled passion. She also considers amongst her major foes Ghaunadaur, Eilistraee, Vhaeraun, Gruumsh and Ilsensine. On occasions she allies with Malar and Loviatar, but these are hardly stable friendships. She is served by Selvetarm, who is too weak to oppose her, and nominally by Kiaransalee, though she and Lolth hate each other and recently this rift has deepened when Kiaransalee stole many of Lolth's worshipers, especially in the case of the city of Maerimydra.
[edit]

Greyhawk

Lolth rules over almost all the drow beneath the Flanaess, led by her High Priestess Eclavadra, a drow of mighty power.

Lolth was, along with Iuz and the demon Zuggtmoy, one of the deities involved in the plots centred around the Temple of Elemental Evil, where she was slain by a band of heroes.
[edit]

Similarity

Although conjured separately, the qualities of Lolth are similar to an ancient spider-like being from J.R.R. Tolkien's The Silmarillion. He describes a creature called Ungoliant (the mother of Shelob from Lord of the Rings) Ungoliant was an ally of Melkor, a.k.a. Morgoth, the "fallen angel" of Tolkien's mythology. It is never stated that Ungoliant had any dealings with elves or men, although she was wounded in a struggle with the Balrogs.

-----
Ungoliant
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

In the fictional world of Middle-earth, Ungoliant (from Quenya ungwë liante: "gloomweaver"; Gwerlum in Sindarin) was an evil spirit in the form of a spider who dwelt in Avathar in the First Age. It is thought that she may have been one of the Maiar whom Melkor corrupted long ago, but she is not listed among the Ainur. The name is pronounced [uŋˈgɔ.li.ant].
Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Ungoliant aided Melkor in his attack on the Two Trees of Valinor; she drained the Trees of their sap and poisoned them after Melkor wounded them, and she drained dry the Wells of Varda, so that nothing remained of the Light that was before Sun or Moon, except in the Silmarils of Fëanor. She and Melkor fled to Middle-earth to escape justice at the hands of the Valar.

Melkor had promised to reward her, "Yea, with both hands", and after their flight from Valinor, the Dark Lord indeed gave her many gems of the Ñoldor, but withheld the Silmarils in his right hand. He refused to give them to the Great Spider to be devoured, for he desired them greatly, and Ungoliant would have slain Melkor in the ensuing battle had not the Balrogs come and saved their master, causing Ungoliant to flee to the Ered Gorgoroth in Beleriand.

While there, she had many offspring, as well as various creatures infesting the Ered Gorgoroth, which came to be a place of horror. The dates of her existence are not precisely known; in The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter 9, Of the Flight of the Noldor, we are told that she "went whither she would into the forgotten south of the world" shortly before the First Age, and that "some have said that she ended long ago, when in her uttermost famine she devoured herself at last."

The great spiders of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings (including Shelob and the spiders encountered by Bilbo Baggins in Mirkwood) were descendants of Ungoliant.

The name Ungoliant is partly derived from the root ungol ("spider"), which also occurs in Cirith Ungol, where Shelob resided in the Third Age.
[edit]

Ungoliant's lineage

        Ilúvatar?
             |
        Ungoliant
             |
Spiders of Gorgoroth and Shelob
             |
    Spiders of Mirkwood

-----
Shelob occupies Terech Ungol beneath Cirith Ungol, and may have once lived in Beleriand, possibly in the Ered Gorgoroth.

Shelob's brood (upon whom she often would often feed) include the giant (but relatively smaller) spiders who capture Bilbo Baggins' Dwarf allies in Mirkwood.

The name Shelob is derived from "lob", an archaic English word for spider. A variation, "cob" is the derivation of the word "cobweb".
[edit]

Film version

In Peter Jackson's film trilogy based on the books, Shelob's appearance is held over until the middle of the third movie, The Return of the King.

In the movie, Shelob can be seen to have a retractable venomous sting at the rear end between the spinnerets, resembling a wasp's sting. This is very much unlike real spiders which inject venom with their fangs but accurate relative to the novel. Shelob also appears to have a gaping mouth, whereas real spiders can ingest only liquid. In the book, on the other hand, "clusters" of eyes are mentioned, which may suggest compound eyes like those of insects; the Shelob in the movie does not have compound eyes, which is appropriate. A hunting spider, as Shelob appears to be, would have two large eyes facing forward, and a few smaller ones on the top of the head (or more accurately, cephalothorax).
-----
Balrog
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

This article deals with J.R.R. Tolkien's Balrogs. For more Balrogs see Balrog (disambiguation)

Balrogs are fictional demon-like creatures from J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium.
Contents
[hide]

    * 1 Balrogs briefly
    * 2 Do Balrogs have wings?
          o 2.1 Arguments for Balrog wings
          o 2.2 Arguments against Balrog wings
    * 3 Miscellaneous
    * 4 External links

[edit]

Balrogs briefly
Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

A Balrog (Sindarin for "Demon of Might"; the Quenya form is Valarauko or Valarauco') was a tall, menacing being in the shape of a Man, having control of both fire and shadow and with a fiery whip of many thongs. They induced great terror in friends and foes alike and could shroud themselves in darkness and shadow. Gandalf defeated a Balrog while the Fellowship of the Ring escaped Moria in The Lord of the Rings (specifically, in Book II, the second half of The Fellowship of the Ring).

The Balrogs were originally Maiar, of the same order as Sauron, but they became seduced by Morgoth, who corrupted them to his service in the days of his splendour before the creation of Arda. During the First Age, they were among the most feared of Morgoth's forces. When his fortress of Utumno was destroyed by the Valar, they fled and lurked in the pits of Angband. In the third age the Dwarves of Khazad-dûm awakened a Balrog while mining for Mithril and were cast out.

The Balrogs were first encountered by the Elves during the Dagor-nuin-Giliath in the First Age. After the great victory of the Ñoldor over Morgoth's Orcs, Fëanor pressed on towards Angband, but the Balrogs came against him. He was mortally wounded by Gothmog, Lord of Balrogs (the only Balrog known by his name). Though his sons fought off the demons, Fëanor died of his wounds soon after, and his spirit departed for the Halls of Mandos.

The Balrogs were supposed to have been all destroyed at the end of the First Age. But it was later discovered that one had escaped and hidden in Moria, Durin's Bane, certainly the best-documented of the Balrogs. He was killed by Gandalf in the War of the Ring, the last of the Balrogs slain.
[edit]

Do Balrogs have wings?
The Balrog from Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Enlarge
The Balrog from Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

Discussion has occurred as to whether the Balrogs had wings. Nothing has been decided conclusively, although the Balrog in the Peter Jackson film version of The Fellowship of the Ring, released in 2001, was clearly winged, albeit with 'wings of shadow', and certainly could not fly. That, however, proves nothing of the Balrogs Tolkien wrote about.

The debate mainly comes from The Bridge of Khazad-dûm, a chapter in The Fellowship of the Ring. There are two references in this chapter.

"His enemy halted again, facing him, and the shadow about it reached out like two vast wings." The Lord of the Rings II 5 "The Bridge of Khazad-dûm"

There is nothing special in this on its own. The Balrog carried with itself a shadow that assumed a winglike form. The next reference is what forms the debate:

"...suddenly it drew itself up to a great height, and its wings were spread from wall to wall..." The Lord of the Rings II 5 "The Bridge of Khazad-dûm"

Readers usually make their own interpretations about this and feel it to be quite obvious. However, this can be seen in two possible ways. For some, the Balrog has a shadow that assumes a winglike form. Later, this shadow is spread from wall to wall. Others, however, think that the Balrog has actual wings that are spread from wall to wall. There is no real conclusion to the debate and it will probably continue as long as Tolkien has readers.
[edit]

Arguments for Balrog wings

The most common argument for those supporting Balrog wings is the second reference in The Bridge of Khazad-dûm. The people supporting Balrog wings believe the sentence to mean that the Balrog had literal wings spreading from wall to wall. There are also other references that may be taken as evidence of Balrog wings. These usually involve discussions about references to speed of travel:

"Swiftly they arose, and they passed with winged speed over Hithlum, and they came to Lammoth as a tempest of fire." The History of Middle-earth Volume X (Morgoth's Ring), The Later Quenta Silmarillion: Of the Rape of the Silmarils

Here, the Balrogs are said to move "with winged speed". This is usually taken as a metaphor for moving very quickly, but there are people who believe this is a strong argument for Balrog wings.
[edit]

Arguments against Balrog wings

    Stop! The neutrality of this section is disputed. Please view the article's talk page.

The first reference to the Balrog is one of the main arguments against wings, as it explicitly refers to "wings of shadow" instead of physical wings. Another common argument is that Balrogs are never exactly described as flying, unless one assumes "winged speed" means flying. There are also numerous situations where a Balrog could have either saved or helped itself by flying but didn't do so.

"Many are the songs that have been sung of the duel of Glorfindel with the Balrog upon a pinnacle of rock in that high place; and both fell to ruin in the abyss." Quenta Silmarillion 23 "Of Tuor and the Fall of Gondolin"

"I threw down my enemy, and he fell from the high place, and broke the mountain-side where he smote it in his ruin." The Lord of the Rings III 5 "The White Rider"

In both the duel with Glorfindel and with Gandalf, the Balrog fell from a great height and did not use its wings. Obviously, it is possible that the wings could not be used for flying. This could be due to its size or its current physical condition (injury or exhaustion as a result of combat). However, even the size of Balrogs are a matter of dispute. Tolkien gives a few statements of the Balrog's size.

"[the Balrog] strode to the fissure, no more than man-high yet terror seemed to go before it." The History of Middle-earth Volume VII (The Treason of Isengard), X The Mines of Moria II: The Bridge

This does not appear in the published version of The Lord of the Rings, so it may or may not be taken as a proof. But the other texts on Balrogs show that they were not of any particular great height.

The entrance is sized so that "...orcs one after another leaped into the chamber." The Lord of the Rings II 5 "The Bridge of Khazad-dûm" and "...clustered in the doorway." The Lord of the Rings II 5 "The Bridge of Khazad-dûm". Though these statements are open to interpretation, it is agreed that Balrogs cannot be very large (clearly not as large as portrayed in Peter Jackson's movie) to fit through such an entrance. The Balrog's size matters both because a large size would make it unlikely that its wings were functional, and also because during the confrontation with Gandalf, its wings were said to span the width of the chasm; which was likely hundreds of feet across. Physical wings on such a small creature could not possibly do this, thus the belief that they are metaphorical wings of shadow.

Some think the strongest objection is the simplest: that taking references like the second statement seriously mean that all lines must be taken literally. For example, shortly before the Balrog's appearance, "Gandalf came flying down the steps and fell to the ground in the midst of the Company." Few would believe that Gandalf literally flew.
[edit]

Miscellaneous

In one of Tolkien's early Middle-earth writings, Lay of the Children of Húrin, "Lungothrin, Lord of Balrogs" is mentioned. It is not, however, certain if it was another name for Gothmog, or it simply meant "a Balrog lord". According to Christopher Tolkien, the latter is more probable, as the name Gothmog was mentioned in the earliest Middle-earth writings, as well as the final version of Tolkien's mythology.

The Balrogs were originally envisioned as being immense in number:

"The early conception of Balrogs makes them less terrible, and certainly more destructible, than they afterwards became: they existed in 'hundreds' (p. 170), and were slain by Tuor and the Gondothlim in large numbers: "thus five fell before Tuor's great axe Dramborleg, three before Ecthelion's sword, and two score were slain by the warrior's of the king's house." The Book of Lost Tales 2, commentary by Christopher Tolkien on The Fall of Gondolin.

"There came wolves and serpents and there came Balrogs one thousand, and there came Glomund the Father of Dragons." The Lost Road, Quenta Silmarillion chapter 16, §15.

As the legendarium became more formidable and internally consistent, and the Balrogs more terrible, this number was much reduced. In the end Tolkien stated that there were "at most" seven Balrogs:

"In the margin my father wrote: 'There should not be supposed more than say 3 or at most 7 ever existed.'" Morgoth's Ring, Section 2 (AAm*): note 50 (just before section 3).

The amount of Balrogs changed to at most 7 at the same time they 'became' Maiar in Tolkien's mind. So this note is the only applicable indication of Balrog numbers that Tolkien wrote.
-----

-----

Drider
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

In the Dungeons and Dragons universe, driders are dark elves, also known as drow, that have been transformed from the waist down so they have the body of a spider. The transformation is typically a punishment for offending their goddess, or failing a test of Lolth.

The EverQuest creatures called Drachnids are basically driders.

Only high-level priestesses in good standing with Lolth are able to initiate the transformation. This transformation is very painful, and lasts at least 12 hours. Due to bloating, driders appear sexless, though they are able to magically reproduce. They develop a poisonous bite. Their digestion changes and they must drink blood of living creatures for sustenance.

In the Drowtales universe, driders come in three "breeds":

    * Ne'kalsaider — Civilized driders that were actually born as driders. From the waist up they are attractive drow, but have 4 pairs of red eyes, and fangs.
    * Waelinder — Cursed newborn driders. At birth, they are sane yet neutered. They look like drow, except they have 7 eyes (the normal 2, a large central eye, and 4 crystal sized ones, all red) and no hope. Few survive and 99% of them go mad, alone in the tunnels.
    * Streekaider — Wild driders who have fallen to madness. Their simple minds still remember the cruel treatment they received. They are some of the most dangerous creatures of the underdark. Even their upper halves become more spider-like at this stage.

They still maintain the spells and special abilities they had developed as a drow. Thus there can exist any character class of drider. They retain intelligence and memories. This usually makes them bitter, spiteful creatures. Some hunt for magic powerful enough to undo the transformation.

Driders play many roles in drow society. The dark elves both fear and are revolted by Driders. After transformation, they are usually pushed to the wild area around a drow city. They are usually found in company with tiny, huge and giant spiders.

-----
Descent into the Depths of the Earth
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Descent Into the Depths is the name of two related First Edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons module. The most common use refers to a combined adventure which re-published two related adventures: D1 Descent Into the Depths and D2 Shrine of the Kuo-Toa.

The original D1 Descent Into the Depths module featured black and white cover artwork. The module is actually the fourth part of a seven-part series beginning with G1-3 Against the Giants modules. After defeating the Giants, the adventurers can journey underground through a vast network of caverns and tunnels called the Underdark.

The D2 Shrine of the Kuo-Toa module also featured black and white cover artwork. Originally produced as two separate monochrome modules, D1 and D2 were eventually combined into the color-covered D1-2 Descent into the Depths of the Earth. The series continued with the module D3 Vault of the Drow.


-----
Vault of the Drow
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Vault of the Drow was a module, coded D3, for use with the First Edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D) ruleset. The module is actually the sixth part of a seven-part series beginning with modules G1-3, and continuing through D1-2 Descent Into the Depths of the Earth before reaching the Vault. The series terminated with module Q1: Queen of the Demonweb Pits.

After traveling for league after league into the Underdark, the adventurers come upon the vast subterranean city of the drow (or "dark elves"), the twisted, corrupt cousins of the surface elves. The adventure is written in a very open-ended fashion, giving DM's free rein to script any number of mini-campaigns or adventures taking place inside the drow capital. An extensive overview of the power structure is given for just this purpose. Eventually, the players will discover the astral gate leading to the plane of the Abyss where lies their true foe...

D3 was eventually reprinted in the compilation volume GDQ1-7: "Queen of the Spiders."
-----
Queen of the Demonweb Pits
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Queen of the Demonweb Pits
Enlarge
Queen of the Demonweb Pits

Queen of the Demonweb Pits (Q1) is an expansion module for Dungeons & Dragons, a game involving sorcery and swordsmanship (among other things...).

Aside from the rule books for Dungeons & Dragons, TSR provided a number of adventure scenarios that could be played in a series or as standalone outings for characters in this role-playing game.

Queen of the Demonweb Pits was the seventh in a massive series of adventures starting, innocuously enough, with persistent raiding by local hill giants and propelling the players from there on an odyssey into the darkest depths of the earth. At the end of the preceding installment (Vault of the Drow), the characters find an astral gate leading to the Abyssal realm of Lolth, Demon Queen of Spiders, goddess of the Drow elves, and architect of the sinister plot that impelled our heroes to lay waste to a veritable horde of hill giants, frost giants, hill giants, kuo-toa and drow on the way. Of course, the characters press on, as they must, into the heart of Lolth's Demonweb Pits.

Q1 was the first module that offered a glimpse into the Abyss: a place that is home to demons in D&D, in which time and space stretch and twist in bizarre ways, in which portals allow additional sojourns into entirely different worlds, and so on. It was that last aspect which made Queen of the Demonweb Pits an unusually open-ended adventure, as each "portal" led to a potentially massive area, from which the enterprising Dungeon Master could, if he chose, launch an entirely new campaign. Of course, at the very end, there is the final confrontation with Lolth, who is an exceptionally difficult challenge. The strange time and space bending effects gave the Abyss the otherworldly feel that it deserved, and the effect of the entire series was a feeling of playing in a massive world of which the players could only see a small part. Queen of the Demonweb Pits was later republished as part of a compilation volume, coded GDQ1-7, containing the entire saga.


----
[[Midnight: the SCROLL BARERS]]
@@ Line 380: / Line 380: @@
 Q1 was the first module that offered a glimpse into the Abyss: a place that is home to demons in D&D, in which time and space stretch and twist in bizarre ways, in which portals allow additional sojourns into entirely different worlds, and so on. It was that last aspect which made Queen of the Demonweb Pits an unusually open-ended adventure, as each "portal" led to a potentially massive area, from which the enterprising Dungeon Master could, if he chose, launch an entirely new campaign. Of course, at the very end, there is the final confrontation with Lolth, who is an exceptionally difficult challenge. The strange time and space bending effects gave the Abyss the otherworldly feel that it deserved, and the effect of the entire series was a feeling of playing in a massive world of which the players could only see a small part. Queen of the Demonweb Pits was later republished as part of a compilation volume, coded GDQ1-7, containing the entire saga.
-----
-===MOCK STATS===
-of Ilercil
-female elf (Caransil) Def4/Cha16
-Hit Dice: 		4d8 + 16d6 (HP 89)
-Initiative: 		+6 (+6 Dex);
-Speed: 		40 ft.
-Armor Class: 	18 (+6 Dex, +2 Def)
-Attack: 		+10/+5/+0 melee, or +18/+13/+8 ranged
-Saves: 		Fort +6, Ref +15, Will +13 (+2 to all saves against Enchantment)
-Alignment: 	LN
-Abilities: 		Str 7, Dex 22, Con 10, Int 11, Wis 14, Cha 14
-Size: 		Medium (4'7", 86lbs)
-CR: 		20
-Languages: 	High elven.
-Feats:		Alertness, Craft talisman, Craft wand, Dodge, Enlarge spell, [Magecraft (charismatic)], Spellcasting (abjuration), Spellcasting (divination), Spellcasting (enchantment), Spellcasting (greater conjuration), Spellcasting (greater evocation), Spellcasting (illusion), Spellcasting (lesser conjuration), Spellcasting (lesser evocation), Spellcasting (necromancy), [Spellcasting (transmutation)], Still spell.
-Defender Abilities:	Cover ally.
-Skills:		Balance +13.5, Bluff +14, Craft +16, Diplomacy +17, Escape artist +11, Gather information +7, Handle animal +7, Heal +10, Hide +13, Intimidate +20, Knowledge (Caraheen) +8, Listen +7, Move silently +13, Open lock +4.5, Profession +17, Ride +8, Search +2, Sense motive +2.5, Spot +6, Tumble +11
-Spell Energy:	21
-th level:		Acid Splash, Arcane Mark, Create Water, Cure Minor Wounds, Dancing Lights, Daze, Detect Magic, Detect Poison, Disrupt Undead, Flare, Ghost Sound, Guidance, Know Direction, Light, Lullaby, Mage Hand, Mending, Open/Close, Prestidigitation, Purify Food and Drink, Ray of Frost, Read Magic, Resistance, Summon Instrument, Touch of Fatigue, Virtue.
-st level:		Charm Animal, Detect Animals or Plants, Detect Astirax*, Detect Undead, Enlarge Person, Entangle, Faerie Fire, Floating Disk, Hold Portal, Hypnotism, Jump, Magic Fang, Magic Missile, Mount, Protection from Good, Reduce Person, Stone Soup*, Summon Nature's Ally I, Undetectable Alignment, Undetectable Aura.
-nd level:		Blindness/Deafness, Blur, Calm Emotions, Daylight, Detect Chaos, Hypnotic Pattern, Locate Object, Minor Image, Protection from Arrows, Rope Trick, Summon Monster II, Summon Nature's Ally II, Touch of Idiocy, Web.
-rd level:		Arcane Sight, Call Lightning, Charm Repair*, Diminish Plants, Silver Wind*, Slow, Summon Nature's Ally III, Wind Wall.
-th level:		Flame Strike, Summon Nature's Ally IV, Wall of Fire.
 ----
 [[Midnight: the SCROLL BARERS]]