Lolth

Lolth
Domain	Trickery
Alignment	Chaotic Evil
Home Plane	Demonweb Pits
Allied With	Gruumsh (ex), Kiaransalee, Selvetarm
Opposed To	Corellon, Fenmarel, Sehanine

Lolth (pronounced LOALTH), or Lloth in Menzoberranzan, known as the Queen of Spiders or the Queen of the Demonweb Pits, was the most influential goddess of the drow, within the pantheon of the Dark Seldarine.

She drove the drow into heavy infighting under the pretense of culling the weak, while her real goals were to hold absolute control over the dark elves, prevent the rise of alternative faiths or ideas, and avoid complacency (even though she found amusement in the strife that plagued her followers' communities). However, in the long run her influence proved to be an obstacle to the growth and success of the drow, preventing them from unifying against common enemies or for a common cause.

Her sacred animals were arachnids. She considered them valuable enough to kill those who mistreated them.

History

Dawn Age

Lolth was formerly Araushnee, the lesser elven goddess of destiny and artisans. She was Corellon Larethian’s consort, and the main goddess of the dark elves.[48] They had twins together, the elder Vhaeraun, the younger Eilistraee.

War of the Seldarine

At some point, Araushnee grew ambitious and started to plot against Corellon. During her first attempt, she aided Gruumsh in trying to kill her husband by imbuing the scabbard that he had crafted for his sword with magic that would cause the weapon to shatter during the fight. However, this plan failed due to Sehanine Moonbow's interferring with it: she knew that Araushnee had tampered with the scabbard, because the Weaver had conducted this very first step of her betrayal during the night, when Sehanine's sight could reach her.

Later, Araushnee agitated Malar into attacking the wounded Corellon, after she witnessed the Beastlord killing the orc god Herne on Faerûn, but even that failed, as the elven lord managed to chase his aggressor away.

Araushnee’s next move was gather a host of gods on hostile footing with the Seldarine, forming an army to assault Arvandor and overthrow Corellon. The army itself was so badly organized, that she was confident that they would fail. Her true plan was to give the cursed scabbard back to Corellon, as during the battle that would later unfold, the item would cause arrows shot by Eilistraee to hit his chest instead. According to Lolth's plan, that would have killed Corellon while turning her daughter into a scapegoat.

Before the attack by the anti-Seldarine faction was ready, Sehanine confronted Araushnee about her betrayal (as mentioned above, she knew Araushnee to be a traitor), but Araushnee struck first and imprisoned her with the help of her son Vaheraun. Together, they also made sure that Eilistraee would find and deliver the scabbard to Corellon, and that she would be in his vicinity during the battle.

Once the battle started, the Weaver's plan almost went as she expected, supported even further by Ghaunadaur's entrance. When an ogre god charged Corellon, who had been immobilized by the Elder Eye, Eilistraee swiftly fired a few arrows to save her father, but the scabbard drew the projectiles towards the Protector instead, nearly slaying him. Despite all, the anti-Seldarine army lost and retreated as expected, and after the battle Araushnee tried to finish Corellon with a dose of poison crafted by Eilistraee to aid her followers in the hunt, pretending it to be water from Elysium with healing qualities gathered by her daughter. However her plan ultimately failed due to Sehanine's intervention, as the Lady of Dreams had managed to break out from Vhaeraun’s prison, albeit at immense cost to herself. Sehanine, Aerdrie Faenya, and Hanali Celanil joined into the triune goddess Angharradh, and used their combined magic to save Corellon’s life.

When the elven lord awakened, a trial was called in, Vhaeraun and Eilistraee became members in exile of the Seldarine--in the case of Eilistraee willingly, as she had foreseen that the dark elves would have needed her light and hope in the future--while Araushnee was made into a tanar’ri and sentenced to banishment. Furious for her defeat, he attempted one last time at her lover's life, by turning into a spider monster and attacking him. Despite all, the Protector still loved her and couldn't bring to finish her off, letting her escape.

Aftermath

After her exile, Araushnee took the name "Lolth“. She conquered the 66th layer of the Abyss, the Demonweb Pits, for herself. Lolth was initially opposed by Kiaransalee, an elven goddess whom she swiftly subjugated, and Ghaunadaur, with whom she had a longer conflict. That Which Lurks tried to subsume her, but failed, and in his rage robbed his followers of their intellect. It also downsized his follower base and his power with it, thus allowing Lolth to emerge victorious.

After securing control over her layer, she plotted to exact vengeance against Corellon. Being unable to directly strike at him, she planned to be worshipped as a goddess by the elves, bringing misery to them--and therfore to their "father". When the moon elf Kethryllia Amarillis came to retrieve her lover in the Abyss during a battle for the city of Sharlarion, Lolth became interested in the world the elf came from, Toril. She sensed the presence of Vhaeraun, at that time the major deity in Ilythiir, and her attention was drawn there. Her fascination grew as she witnessed the Ilythiiri--at the time under Ka'Narlist--preparing for war when Kethryllia had unknowingly revealed their position to them. Lolth admired the old mage’s craftiness and he became her first worshipper and consort.

Ilythiir, the southern empire, was much to her liking, as it was richer and more cosmopolitan, but mainly because of the fierceness of its people, of their ambitions, and of their ability to act on those.

Followers

Lolth’s follower base was varied. It mainly consisted of drow but also included aranea, chitine, draegloths and deep dragons. She gained a few elven followers, and tried to gain more worshipers by assuming the aspect of Moander, a deity of rot.

Clerics

Lolth’s clerics were almost exclusively female (although there were a few males). They represented the rulers of most Lolthite communities, and strictly followed the Spider Queen's will, forcing the drow into extreme subservience to their deity, and into the constant state of conflict that dominated their lives. Each priestess strove for the favor of the Spider Queen and was ready to anything in order to gain status in her goddess' eyes. Their vestments were normally adorned with spider motifs. Her rituals required them to wear darker clothes or no clothing at all. Her clergy sacrificed the living and treasure for her glory.

D&D 5e Deities
The Faerûnian Pantheon
Lawful Good:	Ilmater - Torm - Tyr
Lawful Neutral:	Azuth - Helm - Kelemvor - Savras
Lawful Evil:	Bane - Loviatar
Neutral Good:	Chauntea - Deneir - Eldath - Lathander - Mielikki - Milil - Mystra
(True) Neutral:	Gond - Oghma - Silvanus - Tempus - Waukeen
Neutral Evil:	Auril - Bhaal - Myrkul - Shar
Chaotic Good:	Lliira - Selûne - Sune - Tymora
Chaotic Neutral:	Leira - Mask
Chaotic Evil:	Beshaba - Cyric - Malar - Talona - Talos - Umberlee
The Edalon Pantheon
Lawful Good:	La'Kata
Lawful Neutral:	Kenutat
Chaotic Good:	Riguna
Chaotic Neutral:	Marig - Vancira
Chaotic Evil:	Henat
Other Important Gods
Lawful Neutral:	The Raven Queen
Neutral Good:	Mat'Selesnya
Chaotic Evil:	Lolth