Lolth

Overview
Lolth is a deity who revels in chaos. She patterns her life & the lives of her worshippers on a regimen of chaotic acts & the veneration of spiders. The way that new-born spider broods tear each other apart to survive especially appeals to her. She promotes this by encouraging her worshippers to kill their rivals, thus ensuring that they are the strongest of the 'brood' in a perverted form of Darwinism. Her love of chaos often makes her appear mad but the wise see her as a calculating individual who is always several steps ahead of those who believe that they can anticipate her. She is cruel & dominating, forcing her will upon her followers & her enemies, a will which instructs the strong to crush the weak in the most torturous way imaginable.

Relationships
Lolth is a fervent enemy of the Seldarine, especially Corellon Larethian, Sehanine Moonbow & Fenmarel Mestarine for the parts they played in foiling her scheme to overthrow the Seldarine. She is also an enemy of both her children Vhaeraun & Eilistraee, though she appreciates all the effort her son puts into his plans to get rid of her. It is in accordance with her views on the chaotic nature of the Drow. Gruumsh was a former ally, now her enemy. He blames her for the failed attack on his arch-nemesis Corellon. Lolth also shares an emnity with Ghaunadaur, another former ally who went mad with rage when she refused his romantic interests. She also opposes every single non-drow Underdark deity. Lolth does have tentative alliances with Loviatar, Malar & several tanar'ri lords, including Errtu who was the caretaker of Menzoberranzan, her favourite city during the Time of Troubles. The only alliance she has that could possibly be described as solid would be the one she has with Selvetarm. He is her consort and although he is not hugely enamoured of that fact he guards her vigilantly.

History
Lolth was formerly Araushnee, Elven goddess of destiny, artisans and dark elves. She was the lover of Corellon and had him completely smitten by her grace & beauty but she grew power-hungry and a sense of never-before seen greed and cruelty entered into her mind. She began by aiding Corellon's enemies. In a fight with his nemesis Gruumsh, Araushnee aided the orc god and Corellon had to flee. She then sent her new ally Malar to hunt her weakened lover but through sheer skill of arms Corellon and with the help of Sehanine Moonbow, managed to defeat the Beastlord.

Corellon still had no idea that his beautiful consort was behind the attacks but Sehanine Moonbow had found out the truth after discovering that Araushnee had started an affair with Fenmarel Mestarine in an effort to make him aid her in an upcoming rebellion. Although at first entranced by her advances he eventually spurned her. Sehanine confronted Araushnee & was imprisoned as a result.

With her subtle plans failed, she instead organized an attack on the entire Seldarine with her "Anti-Seldarine" consisting of Vhaeraun, Malar, Ghaunadaur, Gruumsh, Auril & a host of other gods of goblinoids, orcs, Jotunbrud and Kobolds as well as Eilistraee (who was only an unwitting participant in her schemes).

Sehanine escaped from her imprisonment & warned Corellon of the impending attack. Despite their force of numbers, the Anti-Seldarine were defeated. While her allies fled, Araushnee directly confronted her former lover but then Sehanine, Hanlani Celanil & Aerdrie Faenya came to the rescue, merging their powers together to become a single deity. Araushnee was defeated & cast into the Abyss along with both of her children (despite the fact that Corellon knew Eilistraee had been tricked). Araushnee's banishment also involved Corellon turning her into a bloated spider demon so that he wouldn't be persuaded to reconsider his descision due to her beauty.

Araushnee took the name Lolth & turned the 66th layer of the Abyss into her new home. Without another home Vhaeraun, Eilistraee & Ghaunadaur took up small residences there, though Vhaeraun & Eilistraee rarely visited them, preferring to wander in the Plane of Shadow & Arvandor respectively. Ghaunadaur took the opportunity of living in the same realm as Lolth to announce his love for her but Lolth prized physical beauty, an attribute Ghaunadaur didn't have and rejected his advances. The Drow demi-power Kiaransalee created a tower of bones in the realm and was thusly subjugated by Lolth's will into becoming her reluctant vassal. Also, she learned of the demon prince Zanassu who claimed divine dominion over spiders. Considering her new body, she thought it was her sole right to own such a portfolio and angrily tricked Selvetarm into attacking the demon prince, killing him. She gained a divine portfolio & a new consort. She used her regained divinity to turn the 66th layer into the Demonweb Pits, morphing it into a giant funnel-shaped web to fit her spidery appearance.

Some time afterwards the moon elf Kethryllia Amarillis intruded into the demonweb, reminding Lolth of a way to regain more of her divinity by having the surface elves worship her once more. She began corrupting the surface elves, especially the dark-skinned & warlike Illythiri of whom she used to be the sole patron. It was her actions during the second Crown War that ended up causing the Illythiri to turn to darkness when she sent the balor lord Wendonai & other demonic servants to offer corrupting power to the dark elves. Just before the Illythiri were turned into Drow they had begun openly worshipping Lolth and, over 11 thousand years later, she still holds dominion over them.

Although she has attempted to inspire a couple of invasions of Evermeet Lolth seems to have been content to sit and watch her worshipers killing each other in the Underdark at least until the Time of Troubles. She spent most of her time as an avatar tracking down the new drow demi-power in the realms, Zinzerena. She killed Zinzerena easily & became more chaotic in nature as a result, actually spreading the faith of Zinzerena (who wanted to rebel against Lolth) in Menzoberranzan, and granted spells in her name seemingly just for the sheer irony. When the Time of Troubles ended, Lolth also began granting spells to the followers of Moander after he was killed by Finder Wyvernspur.

Then came the Silence of Lolth. Clerics suddenly couldn't recieve spells, throwing the entire priestess-run drow society into turmoil. 2 great drow cities were destroyed, while others were taken over by Vhaeraunites. Lolth emerged again though. She had moved the Demonweb Pits from the Abyss to it's own separate plane where spiders destroy each other day-by-day & Lolth weeds out the weak even from her dead as they have to traverse the plane's barren, mad spider-infested lands to get to the demonweb itself.

Dogma
''Fear is as strong as steel, while love and respect are soft and useless. Convert or destroy nonbeliever drow. Weed out the weak and the rebellious. Destroy impugners of the faith. Sacrifice males, slaves, and those of other races who ignore the commands of Lolth or her clerics. Raise children to praise and fear Lolth; each family should produce at least one cleric to serve her. Questioning Lolth's motives or wisdom is a sin, as is aiding nondrow against the drow, or ignoring Lolth's commands for the sake of a lover. Revere arachnids of all kinds; those who kill or mistreat a spider must die.''