City of the Spider Queen, designed by James Wyatt, is an adventure module set in the Forgotten Realms using the Dungeons & DragonsĀ® 3rd-edition ruleset. It focuses on drow, the Silence of Lolth, and the cult of Kiaransalee.
Daggerdale is reeling from a sudden series of murderous drow raids. As a grave threat to the entire surface world develops in the war-torn dark elf city of Maerimydra, intrepid heroes must discover its source and destroy it, if they can.
Designed to take 10th level characters as far as 18th level, City of the Spider Queen draws the heroes into the deepest reaches of the Underdark and plunges them into an epic adventure with dire consequences.
- 13 new monsters
- 13 new magic items
- 16-page full-color map booklet[3]
Contents[]
- Introduction
- Part 1: Spinning the Web
- Part 2: The Deep Wastes
- Part 3: Maerimydra
- Part 4: The Undying Temple
- Appendix 1: Monsters and Magic
- Appendix 2: Creature Statistics
Plot[]
The adventure starts off as adventurers respond to the summons of Randal Morn, who asks them to investigate recent drow raids on Daggerdale. In Part 1, their hunt takes them through ancient Dordrien crypts in the Dagger Hills to the drow outpost of Szith Morcane, founded long ago by drow from the nearby city of Maerimydra. Within Szith Morcane, the party stumble across the true cause of the raids, a newly installed cult of Kiaransalee. The cult used the Silence of Lolth to take control of Szith Morcane and is galvanizing the natives of the outpost into increased activity against the surface world.
Within the Commoners level of Szith Morcane, a tunnel leads off to the northeast, toward Maerimydra. In Part 2 of the adventure, an expedition through roughly 100 miles (160 km) of winding Underdark tunnels is embarked upon. Navigating past numerous dangerous locales and evil denizens, including the Lake of Shadows, the Wailing Cliff, and Vournoth's Mire, the adventurers eventually find their way to the besieged city of Maerimydra.
At Maerimydra, in Part 3, the adventurers find the drow city a burning ruin as the forces of Kurgoth Hellspawn's army have overrun the former metropolis. The cult of Kiaransalee still defends Castle Maerimydra, strengthened by large numbers of undead minions. The summoning of the Undying Temple by their leader, Irae T'sarran, has created a growing local corruption in the Weave of magic. The majority of this part takes place within Maerimydra (the City of the Spider Queen) as the adventurers battle the servants of Irae T'sarran, in addition to the invading armies of the Kurgoth Hellspawn.
Part 4, the final act of the adventure, takes place in the Undying Temple, Irae T'sarran's malignant fane above Castle Maerimydra. Constructed partially in the Material Plane and partially in the Ethereal Plane, the temple stands at the heart of an expanding area of disruption in the Weave. Inside this shrine, the adventurers confront Irae's fiendish and undead servitors and lastly even the priestess herself.
Index[]
Characters[]
- Alisannara Morcane ā¢ Badrazel ā¢ Cabrath Nelinderra ā¢ Chahir ā¢ Chiirikk ā¢ The Claw ā¢ Dessa sik-Morcane ā¢ Dorina T'sarran ā¢ Duneth Wharreil ā¢ Filzaur ā¢ Flenser ā¢ Ghindul ā¢ Ghunda ā¢ Glouroth ā¢ Gok'llak ā¢ Guk ā¢ Hamadh ā¢ Ice ā¢ Irae T'sarran ā¢ Jhorganni ā¢ KĆ¢ras ā¢ Khumarr ā¢ Kurgoth Hellspawn ā¢ Lady Quallem ā¢ Laerekh ā¢ Larala Dumian ā¢ Latar ā¢ Logala Thenduk ā¢ Maas ā¢ Mort ā¢ Nobruzzal ā¢ Paelinn ā¢ Phaikkul ā¢ Quthnorak ā¢ Randal Morn ā¢ Ripper ā¢ Rhavauz ā¢ Sekrr ā¢ Skred ā¢ Solom Ned'razak ā¢ Sshumath Daerindra ā¢ Stamkk ā¢ Susztam Mar-Shinn ā¢ Taharak ā¢ Theod ā¢ Thulk ā¢ Thurrak ā¢ Tierak Morcane ā¢ Tooman Thendrik ā¢ Tusk ā¢ Umaerh ā¢ Velasta T'sarran ā¢ Velina T'sarran ā¢ Wisp ā¢ Wyrruth ā¢ Yashar ā¢ Zedarr T'sarran
- Referenced only
- Azmaer Dhuurniv ā¢ Chaumyk Vorn ā¢ Dreveth the Gray ā¢ Dulwar ā¢ Gurdren Myrinn ā¢ Imaerphil Clovenshield ā¢ Indrizil ā¢ Larynda Telenna ā¢ Maalthiir ā¢ Shevaril Starcloak ā¢ Tunfer the Stout ā¢ Vaustal Urle ā¢ Vournoth
Creatures[]
- aboleth ā¢ abyssal ghoul ā¢ animated object ā¢ aranea ā¢ balor ā¢ bebilith ā¢ beholder ā¢ black dragon ā¢ black pudding ā¢ blood fiend ā¢ bodak ā¢ bugbear ā¢ bulette ā¢ chuul ā¢ cloaker ā¢ cornugon ā¢ death tyrant ā¢ deathkiss beholderkin ā¢ deep rothĆ© ā¢ delver ā¢ dire bat ā¢ dire bear ā¢ dire lion ā¢ displacer beast ā¢ doomsphere ā¢ dracolich ā¢ draegloth ā¢ drider ā¢ drider vampire ā¢ drow ā¢ duergar ā¢ elephant ā¢ fire giant ā¢ ghast ā¢ ghost ā¢ giant spider ā¢ goblin ā¢ gray render ā¢ grimlock ā¢ half-dragon ā¢ half-drow ā¢ half-fiend ā¢ hamatula ā¢ hezrou ā¢ human ā¢ iron golem ā¢ jade spider ā¢ keening spirit ā¢ kir-lanan ā¢ kraken ā¢ kuo-toa ā¢ lich ā¢ lizard ā¢ maurezhi ā¢ medusa ā¢ mind flayer ā¢ mohrg ā¢ nightmare ā¢ nightwalker ā¢ nycaloth ā¢ ochre jelly ā¢ ogre ā¢ ogre mage ā¢ orb wraith ā¢ phasm ā¢ purple worm ā¢ quasit ā¢ quth-maren ā¢ revenant ā¢ roper ā¢ salamander ā¢ shade ā¢ shadow dragon ā¢ skeleton ā¢ silveraith ā¢ spectre spiderstone golem ā¢ spirit naga ā¢ stone giant ā¢ tomb tapper ā¢ troglodyte ā¢ umber hulk ā¢ vampire ā¢ vampire spawn ā¢ vrock ā¢ wererat ā¢ white dragon ā¢ wraith spider ā¢ yrthak ā¢ zombie
- Referenced only
- half-elf ā¢ gnoll ā¢ svirfneblin
Locations[]
- Buildings & Sites
- Castle Maerimydra ā¢ Coliseum of Maerimydra ā¢ Courtyard of Lolth ā¢ Dordrien crypts ā¢ Fane of Lolth ā¢ Grand Boulevard ā¢ Inverted Tower ā¢ Lake of Blood ā¢ Lair of the Hidden ā¢ Naga Crawls ā¢ Shattered Tower ā¢ Shrine of the Claw ā¢ Undying Temple ā¢ Vournoth's Mire
- Settlements
- Dagger Falls ā¢ Maerimydra ā¢ Szith Morcane
- Wilderness
- Dagger Hills ā¢ Deep Wastes ā¢ Lake of Shadows ā¢ Wailing Cliff ā¢ Underdark
- Realms
- Daggerdale
- Planes
- Ethereal Plane ā¢ Material Plane
- Referenced only
- Ch'Chitl ā¢ Cormanthor ā¢ Hillsfar ā¢ Jhaamdath ā¢ Mines of Tethyamar ā¢ Plane of Shadow ā¢ Shade ā¢ Shadowdale ā¢ Temple of Tyr ā¢ Twisted Tower ā¢ Vault of Gnashing Teeth ā¢ Zhentil Keep
Magic[]
- Magic
- weave disruption
- Magic Items
- amulet of dark blessing ā¢ claw of the revenancer ā¢ death spear ā¢ eyes of the spider ā¢ fang scarab ā¢ folding boat ā¢ hand of Kiaransalee's glory ā¢ piwafwi ā¢ ring of see invisibility ā¢ ring of silent spells ā¢ robe of gentle repose ā¢ rod of the twisted Weave ā¢ spectral dagger
- Spells
- forbiddance ā¢ guards and wards ā¢ planar ally ā¢ scrying ā¢ true resurrection
- Referenced only
- great revenance
Organizations[]
- Families
- House Morcane ā¢ House T'sarran ā¢ Quallem family
- Groups
- Hidden ā¢ Howling Wing ā¢ Screeching Wing
- Referenced only
- House Chƻmavh
Religions[]
- Deities
- Kiaransalee
- Priests
- Church of Ghaunadaur ā¢ Church of Kiaransalee ā¢ Church of Laogzed ā¢ Church of Lolth ā¢ Church of Umberlee ā¢ Church of Vhaeraun
- Temples
- Courtyard of Lolth ā¢ Fane of Lolth ā¢ Shrine of the Claw ā¢ Undying Temple
- Referenced only
- Lolth ā¢ Temple of Tyr ā¢ Tyr
Miscellaneous[]
- drow poison ā¢ faerzress ā¢ Silence of Lolth ā¢ yellow mold
Credits[]
- Designer: James Wyatt
- Developer: Richard Baker
- Editors: Michele Carter, Gwendolyn F.M. Kestrel
- Managing Editor: Penny Williams
- Creative Director: Richard Baker
- Vice President of RPG R&D: Bill Slavicsek
- Vice President of Publishing: Mary Kirchoff
- RPG Category Manager: Anthony Valterra
- Project Manager: Martin Durham
- Production Manager: Chas DeLong
- Art Director: Robert Raper
- Graphic Designers: Robert Campbell, Cynthia Fliege, Dee Barnett
- Cover Art: Todd Lockwood
- Interior Artists: Scott Fischer, Rebecca Guay, Vince Locke, Raven Mimura, Puddnhead, Christopher Shy, Ben Templesmith, Sam Wood
- Cartographers: Dennis Kauth, Rob Lazzaretti
- Graphic Production Artists: Carmen Cheung, Sonya Percival
Appendix[]
See Also[]
- Spiral of Manzessine, an adventure designed to be inserted into the middle of Chapter 2.
Trivia[]
- This adventure was ranked the 24th greatest adventure of all time by Dungeon magazine for the 30th anniversary of the Dungeons & Dragons game in 2004.[4]
Gallery[]
External Links[]
Disclaimer: The views expressed in the following links do not necessarily represent the views of the editors of this wiki, nor does any lore presented necessarily adhere to established canon. Please consider using affiliate links before purchases to support the wiki.
- City of the Spider Queen on the DMs Guild store (affiliate link)
- City of the Spider Queen on the DriveThruRPG store (affiliate link)
- City of the Spider Queen Art Gallery. Wizards of the Coast. (2006-04-17). Archived from the original on 2016-11-01. Retrieved on 2021-07-03.
- City of the Spider Queen Map Gallery. Wizards of the Coast. (2002-09-20). Archived from the original on 2016-11-01. Retrieved on 2021-10-21.
- James Wyatt (2002-09-07). Underdark Campaigns (Zipped PDF). Web Enhancement for City of the Spider Queen. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2017-10-28. Retrieved on 2009-10-07.
- James Wyatt (2002-09-01). Excerpts: City of the Spider Queen (HTML). Excerpts Archive. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2016-11-01. Retrieved on 2021-10-21.
References[]
- ā 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 James Wyatt (September 2002). City of the Spider Queen. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 1. ISBN 0-7869-1212-X.
- ā James Wyatt (September 2002). City of the Spider Queen. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 6. ISBN 0-7869-1212-X.
- ā James Wyatt (September 2002). City of the Spider Queen. (Wizards of the Coast). ISBN 0-7869-1212-X.
- ā Erik Mona, James Jacobs and the Dungeon Design Panel (November 2004). āThe 30 Greatest D&D Adventures of All Timeā. In James Jacobs ed. Dungeon #116 (Paizo Publishing, LLC) (116)., pp. 68ā81.
Connections[]
Adventures
Anauroch: The Empire of Shade ā¢ City of the Spider Queen ā¢ Cormyr: The Tearing of the Weave ā¢ Into the Dragon's Lair ā¢ Pool of Radiance: Attack on Myth Drannor ā¢ Shadowdale: The Scouring of the Land ā¢ Sons of Gruumsh ā¢ The Twilight Tomb