Demonweb Pits

The Demonweb Pits was originally the 66th layer of the Abyss. By the end of the Silence of Lolth, Lolth had moved her domain in the Demonweb Pits to its own planar space.

The realm is ruled over by Lolth, the primary drow deity, who resides in a huge iron fortress that moves under its mistress's will on spider-like legs. Her deific consort Selvetarm once lived with her there until he fell before a wielder of the Crescent Blade. Now every creature who resides in the Demonweb Pits answers solely to Lolth.

Old Demonweb Pits
The Demonweb Pits was a huge inverted cone of webbing formed of planar materials and inhabited by spider fiends, drow petitioners and the Spider Queen Lolth. It served as Lolth's dominion within the Astral Sea.

When Quenthel Baenre and her companions visited the Demonweb Pits in the Abyss during the Silence of Lolth in 1372 DR, they found the realm unusually empty of souls. The realm consisted of black emptiness with an acrid smell and giant spider web. It was very hot there. The Pits were covered in corpses of monsters and demons dead and dying, particularly goristos. Lolth dwelt in a black temple suspended in the web. Her stone face covered the entrance.

When Quenthel's expedition returned to the same location in 1373 DR, they found the Demonweb Pits abandoned and in ruins. A gate guarded by abyssal widows led to the new Demonweb Pits.

New Demonweb Pits
The new Demonweb Pits was a plane of rocks with chasms and rocky gorges. There were many pits and craters. The land looked dead. There were giant petrified spiders with webbing over everything from the songspiders. There was a distant red sun during the day and eight bright red stars at night.

There was a river of souls flowing to Lolth's city, an iron citadel in the Infinite Web. Lolth stood atop a dais in a temple on a pyramid with webs on the walls.

There were a number of geographical features on the plane, including the Plains of Soulfire and the Pass of the Soulreaver at the base of the Mountain of Eyes.

The plane was inhabited by spiders (including songspiders), chwidencha. The Soulreaver dwelt in the Pass of the Soulreaver and was a gray spectral form, with a bloated serpentine body containing screaming drow souls.

Gods and domains
All drow gods were originally located in the Demonweb Pits Lolth claimed to be the queen of them all.

Lolth's son, Vhaeraun, maintained a realm named Ellaniath where he schemed against his mother almost constantly, an activity Lolth actually encouraged. His death by his sister gave her all of his dominion as well as his portfolio.

Lolth's other child, Eilistraee, also had a place in the Demonweb when she was living though she rarely, if ever, visited it, having defected to the Seldarine long ago. However, with her death at Lady Penitent's hand, her dominion has ceased to be.

Kiaransalee had her own citadel made of bones called Thanatos in a desolate area of the plane. She grudgingly worked for Lolth as her servant since her own layer of the Abyss was stolen from her by the reincarnated demon prince Orcus. However with her death due to the high magic of Q'arlynd Melarn, she was forgotten by all her worshipers and her dominon now belongs to Lolth's will.

Ghaunadaur resided at the very bottom of the pits, surrounded by slime and fungus that caused multicoloured lights to appear. However, in 1379 DR, fed up with the Spider Queen, he removed his dominion to the Deep Caverns.

Appearances

 * Novels:
 * Condemnation
 * Annihilation
 * Resurrection