Lolth

Overview

Lolth stands as one of the most feared and reviled deities in Skazka's surface world, a lesser goddess whose influence far exceeds her divine rank through cunning and manipulation rather than raw power. Born of both drow and spider heritage, she possesses the ability to shift seamlessly between her seductive drow form and her terrifying arachnid shape, using whichever appearance best serves her current scheme. Known as the Weaver of Lies and the Spider Queen, Lolth delights in corruption, betrayal, and the systematic destruction of trust between mortals. Her beauty is matched only by her cruelty, and she is not above using her considerable sensual appeal as a weapon to ensnare victims in webs of desire and deceit. Those who worship her do so out of fear, ambition, or a twisted appreciation for her artistry in turning allies into enemies. While she claims dominion over the drow people, her true domain is chaos itself - she thrives in the shadows between conflicting factions, whispering poison into willing ears and watching civilizations tear themselves apart from within.

Influence

Deception: Lolth grants her clerics the power to weave illusions, speak honeyed lies that sound like truth, and see through the deceptions of others. Her followers excel at creating false identities, forging documents, and manipulating emotions through carefully crafted falsehoods.

Strife: The Spider Goddess thrives on conflict and division. Clerics of this domain can sow discord between allies, amplify existing tensions, and turn enemies against each other. They possess abilities to incite rage, create paranoia, and break bonds of trust and loyalty.

Desire: Perhaps her most insidious domain, this grants power over lust, obsession, and want. Her clerics can inflame passions, create unnatural attractions, and bind others through their deepest desires. This domain also governs the magic of seduction, charm, and emotional manipulation.

Symbols

The entwined dagger: A curved dagger wrapped in spider silk, often depicted dripping with either blood or venom. This symbol represents Lolth's dual nature of seduction and betrayal - the silk appears delicate and beautiful, yet binds the weapon that delivers death.

The inverted web: An eight-pointed web turned upside down, with a single dewdrop at its center. The inverted nature represents the overturning of natural order and hierarchy, while the dewdrop symbolizes the tears of those caught in her schemes. Often carved into obsidian or woven with silver thread.

The twin shadows: Two overlapping silhouettes - one of a graceful drow maiden, the other of a massive spider - cast upon a wall or surface. This symbol appears spontaneously in places where Lolth's influence is strong, representing her shapeshifting nature and the duality of beauty and horror.

Tenets

Fracture the Bond — Make trust your prey. Turn allies into rivals; sow discord until every pact frays.

Veil the Fang — Beauty is a blade. Practice deception and seduction as sacred crafts; hide the strike in silk.

Weave the Greater Web — Betrayal is liturgy. Orchestrate layered schemes—desire as thread, lies as knots—each strand serving the ultimate web.

Rites

Ritual of Seven Betrayals — Over seven new-moon nights, betray seven people, each treachery greater than the last, ending with one you profess to love. Success wins Lolth’s favor and sharper illusion/enchantment. Webs hung with seven venoms mark the space.

Web-Walker’s Communion — Submit to bites from sacred spiders, then hang in consecrated webs to trance and receive Lolth’s visions. Many die of the venom—her sanctioned culling.

Dance of Dual Forms — Priestesses perform a shedding dance, mimicking drow and spider, casting off adornments to unveil true intent; the lead shifts (or seems to) between both forms. Used to initiate followers and bless great deceptions.

Lore

Ancient texts speak of how Lolth was once a surface elf who made a pact with an ancient demon lord of spiders after being betrayed by her lover and exiled to the Underdark. The transformation into her current half-spider, half-drow form was both a curse and a gift - she gained immense power but lost her ability to truly love or trust. This origin story explains her obsession with betrayal and her particular hatred for surface elves and their gods.

Classification	Lesser Power
Aliases	The Spider Queen, Mistress of webs
Domains	Deception, Strife, Desire
Favoured	Dark Elves
Alignment	Lawful evil
Holy Symbol	A web streatched across a circle
Known forms	A drider