Queen of the Demonweb Pits

Greyhawk Source

Queen of the Demonweb Pits
Cover of Queen of the Demonweb Pits, art by Jim Roslof (1980).
Type:	Adventure
Code/Abbreviation:	Q1
Edition:	first Ed AD&D
Author(s):	David Sutherland with Gary Gygax
Series:	G1 G2 G3 D1 D2 D3 Q1 Expedition to the Demonweb Pits
First Published:	October 1980
Pages:	32
ISBN:	978-0935696-20-2
Class:	Officially Published Source

Queen of the Demonweb Pits (Q1) is an adventure for the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game. The "Q" in the adventure code represents the first letter in the word "queen." Queen of the Demonweb Pits is also the title of a 2001 novel based on the adventure.

Queen of the Demonweb Pits was the seventh in a massive series of adventures set in the World of Greyhawk, starting with persistent raiding by local hill giants and ending in the Abyssal realm of Lolth, Demon Queen of Spiders, goddess of the drow elves and architect of the sinister plot described in the series involving hill giants, frost giants, fire giants, kuo-toa, drow, and other creatures. Her realm, the 66th layer of the Abyss, is referred to as the Demonweb Pits.

As such, the Q1 adventure was the first to offer a glimpse into the Abyss itself, home to the D&D race of demons. Time and space stretch and twist in bizarre ways in the Abyss, and there are many portals in the Abyss that allow sojourns into entirely different worlds. These factors made Queen of the Demonweb Pits an unusually open-ended adventure, as each "portal" could potentially lead to a massive area, from which the dungeon master could, if they chose, launch an entirely new campaign.

At the very end of the adventure, the players face a final confrontation with Lolth, an exceptionally difficult challenge.

Cover Blurb

"This adventure Is the exciting conclusion of a series of seven AD&D™ adventures. It may be played on Its own or as the climax of the "Giant" series (Q1-2-3) and the "Drow" series (D1-2, and D3). The persistent adventurers must now face the Demon Queen herself, and on her own plane!
The first of a new series of other-planar adventures, this adventure Includes several new monsters, maps of the Web and laif(sic) of Lolth, and notes on eight alternate worlds, suitable for expansion and addition to existing AD&D™ campaigns."

Index

Art

• Jim Roslof: Cover
• Jeff Dee: Spell Failure^(p.7), Prisoners^(p.9), Kingdom of Caer Sidi^(p.14), Fort^(p.15), Labrynth^(p.16), Maldev^(p.17), Spider Ship^(p.19),Wild Magic^(p.20), Chimera^(p.23), Animated Statue^(p.25), Spidermites ^(Backcover).
• David S. LaForce: Cartography, Adventurers^(p.2), Ixitxachitl^(p.5), Adventurer vs Drider^(p.8), Jackalwere^(p.11), White Dragon^(p.22), Drider ^(p.28), Pedipalps ^(p.28), Uropygi^(p.29), Scorpion^(p.29), Solifuid^(p.29).
• Erol Otus: Drow and Demons ^(p.1), Castle in the Clouds^(p.27), Lolth^(p.32)
• David C. Sutherland III:
• Unconfirmed: Ship's Bridge ^(p.24), Yochlol^(p.30)

Characters

• Trose, a human CG cleric trying to escape Lolth's web by bribing her with werewolves^(p.8)
• Micarlin, Zebeyana, Molvoyos, Erelda, Lesaonar, five drow undertaking Lolth's test. All are female cleric/fighters except Lesaonar who is a male magic user/fighter.^(p.9-10)
• Ardulace and Anatlab, Minolin and Riklaunim, Lirdnolu and Adinirahc Drow lieutenants of Lolth—each is a female and her consort, respectively.^(p.12)
• Alfric, a 'Pharisee' elf Duke of Caer Sidi, and his consort Meriven.^(p.14)
• Vlad Tolenkov, a vampire magic user of the night world ^(p.18)
• Trinax, a human cleric and prisoner of Lolth^(p.18)

Creatures

• Animated Statue ^(p.25)
• Badger, Giant ^(p.17)
• Bear, Brown ^(p.17)
• Bear, Cave ^(p.17)
• Bone Colossus ^(p.18)
• Bugbear ^{(p.9,14,15,17,20)}
• Catoblepas ^(p.16)
• Chimera ^(p.23)
• Crab, Giant ^(p.15)
• Crocodile ^(p.16)
• Crocodile, Giant ^(p.16)
• Demon I ^(p.9)
• Demon II ^(p.10)
• Demon III ^(p.13)
• Demon IV ^(p.17)
• Demon V^(p.20,27)
• Dragon, Black ^(p.16,21)
• Dragon, Red ^(p.17,27)
• Dragon, White ^(p.15,22)
• Dragon Turtle ^(p.15)
• Drider ^{(p.8,22,28- First Appearance)}
• Dog ^(p.14)
• Drow ^(p.9-12)
• Dolphin ^(p.15)
• Dwarf ^{(p.14,16,17,25)}
• Eel, Lamprey ^(p.15)
• Elf ^(p.13,16,25)
• Ettin ^(p.15,23)
• Gargoyle ^(p.14,22)
• Gargoyle, Kopoacinth ^(p.15)
• Ghast ^(p.12-13,18)
• Ghoul, Lacedon ^(p.15,18)
• Giant, Frost ^(p.14,21)
• Giant, Hill ^(p.17,21)
• Gnoll ^{(p.9,14,16,17)}
• Gnome ^(p.16)
• Griffon ^(p.14)
• Groaning Spirit (Banshee?) ^(p.16)
• Hag, Sea ^(p.15)
• Half-elf ^(p.16)
• Halfling ^(p.16)
• Harpy ^(p.16,18,24)
• Heiracosphinx ^(p.27)
• Human ^{(p.8,15,16,17,18,25,27)}
• Human, Cavemen ^(p.16)
• Ixitxachitl ^(p.15)
• Jackal ^(p.15)
• Ki-rin ^(p.27)
• Leech, Giant ^(p.16)
• Lizard, Giant ^(p.16)
• Locathah ^(p.15)
• Lycanthrope, Jackalwere ^(p.11,18)
• Lycanthrope, werebear ^(p.17)
• Lycanthrope, werewolf ^(p.8,18)
• Lycanthrope, Wolfwere ^(p.15)
• Mane ^(p.19,26,27)
• Manticore ^(p.14)
• Minotaur ^(p.9,14)
• Morkoth ^(p.15)
• Naga, Spirit ^(p.27)
• Nightmare ^(p.27)
• Octopus, Giant ^(p.15)
• Ogre ^{(p.10,14,15,17,21-22,27)}
• Orc ^(p.14)
• Pedipalp, Giant^{(p.8,22,28- First Appearance)}
• Pedipalp, Huge^(p.8,28)
• Pedipalp, Large^(p.8,28)
• Pegasus ^(p.17)
• Peryton ^(p.17)
• Quasit ^(p.19,21)
• Remorhaz ^(p.15)
• Roper ^(p.16,23)
• Sahaugin ^(p.15)
• Salamaner ^(p.24,26)
• Scorpion, Giant^(p.8,15)
• Scorpion, Huge^(p.8)
• Scorpion, Large^(p.8)
• Shadow ^(p.27)
• Shambling Mound ^(p.16)
• Sheep ^(p.14)
• Spider, Giant^(p.8,16,20)
• Spider, Huge^(p.8,16)
• Spider, Large^(p.8,16)
• Spider, Phase ^(p.16)
• Solifugid, Giant^{(p.8,22,25- First Appearance)}
• Solifugid, Huge^(p.8)
• Solifugid, Large^(p.8)
• Stirge ^(p.16)
• Succubus ^(p.23-24)
• Toad, Giant ^(p.16)
• Troll ^{(p.8,17,18,20)}
• Umberhulk ^(p.17)
• Unicorn ^(p.14)
• Vampire ^(p.18,27)
• Whale ^(p.15)
• Wolf, Winter ^(p.15)
• Yeti ^(p.14)
• Yochlol ^(p.23-24)
• Zombie ^(p.12)

Locations

• Demonweb Pits on the 666th layer of the Abyss.

Multiple other worlds, planes and locations connected via gates in the Demonweb:

• Caer Sidi: A fairytale like land with similarities to Arvandor (it seems to be stuck in permanent twilight, etc.).^(p.13-14). It delves into old folklore about the fey (being damaged by iron, etc.). It is ruled by neutral aligned elves known as the Pharisees,The name "pharisee" is a dialect reduplicative plural of 'faeries' or "phaerees" which was used in some southern British regions). Caer Sidi takes its inspiration from Three Hearts, Three Lions by Poul Anderson, which in turn takes its inspiration from Middle Welsh mythological poems in the Book of Taliesin (14th century).
• Frozen Lands: A place where the temperatures are below freezing, with snowy mountainous landscapes. Lolth has a strong foothold there, but there are still free human settlements. ^(p.15)
• The Great Ocean: an alien water world with yellow skies, blue sun and pink waters and the rare island. Has sea faring humans. ^(p.15)
• The Black Fen: a vast swamp land with grey vegetation, ringed by mountains. Lolth has oppressed the humans here and uses it as a breeding ground.^(p.15-16)
• The Labyrinth of Arachne: A maze used to breed giant spiders.^(p.16)
• Maldev: Main article: Guldor: Maldev is a mountain dwarf kingdom on a world with sharp mountains and large stars. Kandelspire is a dwarven castle in these lands.^(p.17)
• The Nightworld of Vlad Tolenkov: Main article: Nightworld of Vlad Tolenkov: A sunless world, where humans and undead live have been confirmed to inhabit.^(p.17-18)
• Lolth's Prison: Main article: Lolth's Prison: A miniture desert world (Diameter of 2,000 yards) with black skies, 5 suns, and stars. Prisoners are sent here.
• Spider Ship of Lolth:

Critical reception

Q1 was and remains very controversial for fans of First Edition AD&D.^{[citation needed]} Unlike the six adventures that lead to it, Queen of the Demonweb Pits was not authored by Gary Gygax, the creator of the game and genre. Instead, Gygax determined that the dungeon he designed for Q1 was too similar to the ones he planned to use in Module T1-4 Temple of Elemental Evil. When David C. Sutherland III displayed a dungeon map he had created based upon a placemat design, Gygax suggested that it be used for Q1.^{[citation needed]} Sutherland would go on to write the majority of the adventure. Many fans believe that the adventure, the climax of six prior adventures, each more difficult than the last, was too lighthearted and whimsical, especially when compared to its immediate predecessor, Vault of the Drow.^{[citation needed]} Others were puzzled by the relative lack of demons or drow in the adventure, and were put off by the odd use of a massive steam-driven "Spider Ship" that serves as Lolth's base.^{[citation needed]} Several fan-created "alternative endings" to the GDQ series have been posted on the Internet.^{[citation needed]}

Related publications

• Much of the adventure's version of the Abyss was incorporated into TSR's first edition of the Manual of the Planes, and thus later into the Planescape campaign setting.
• The adventure was later republished as part of the Queen of the Spiders superadventure (coded GDQ1-7), containing the entire saga.
• Queen of the Demonweb Pits was made into novel of the same name by Pauli Kidd for the Greyhawk Classics series. The novel was published by Wizards of the Coast in 2001.
• In 2007, the adventure's setting was revisited in the Wizards of the Coast adventure Expedition to the Demonweb Pits.

External links

Disclaimer:Any lore presented through the following links does not necessarily adhere to established officially published content, and the views expressed do not necessarily represent the views of the editors of this wiki.

• Queen of the Demonweb Pits at the Acaeum.com
• Queen of the Demonweb Pits at the TSR Archive
• Queen of the Demonweb Pits at the Pen & Paper RPG Database
• RPGGeek
• DriveThruRPG
• RPGNet
• Pen and Paper RPG Database,
• TSR Archive

References

Bibliography

• Kidd, Pauli. Queen of the Demonweb Pits (novel). Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2001. ISBN 0-7869-1903-5.
• Mona, Erik, James Jacobs, et al. "The 30 Greatest D&D Adventures of All Time." Dungeon #116. Bellevue, WA: Paizo Publishing, 2004.
• Sutherland III, David C, and Gygax, Gary. Queen of the Demonweb Pits. Lake Geneva, WA: TSR, 1980. ISBN 0394515412.