Lolth vs the Renegade Drow

This essay examines the role of the Demon Queen of Spiders, Lolth, and the rival god-worshiping drow villains in the classic Advanced Dungeons & Dragons "Drow" module series.

By R. Nelson Bailey

Roslof's cover art for the Q1 Queen of the Demonweb Pits module.

The book Designers & Dragons: ’70 to ’79 details the history of role-playing game companies founded during that period. In the section concerning TSR — the company that created Dungeons & Dragons — it notes the 1980 release of module Q1 Queen of the Demonweb Pits, written by Dave Sutherland, with Gary Gygax.[1] Here, it reveals something surprising: thwarting and destroying Lolth was not originally the ultimate objective established in the “Giant” series (G1–3) and continued in the “Drow” series (D1–3). As Designers & Dragons explains:

“Sutherland had even changed the final antagonist of the series from the servitors of the Elder Elemental God to Lolth — and the result didn’t necessarily make a lot of sense.” [2]

This raises many questions about the role of the “drow servitors” versus Lolth and her followers in the series. What are the objectives of the renegade drow houses that instigated the giants’ war on humanity? Who is the Elder Elemental God, and what are its aims? Could it be that Sutherland had rewritten the culmination of the module series by elevating Lolth to the role of the final enemy? More importantly, is there any merit to the claim that Sutherland altered the series' intended conclusion?

This essay argues that, as revealed through the modules themselves, Gary Gygax ultimately shifted the series’ focus away from the Elder Elemental God and its drow servitors, positioning Lolth as the definitive final enemy and central objective of the “Giant–Drow” saga.

The essay will address these questions by examining the text of the primary source materials — specifically, the original six modules authored solely by Gary Gygax and released in 1978.

The original monochrome covers of the D1–3 “Drow” series.

The first question concerns the aims of the “drow servitors” in the series. In the G1–3 modules, no motivations are provided beyond the destruction and looting of human kingdoms. However, D3 Vault of the Drow articulates their motives and goals with greater clarity. The principal agents in this narrative are House Eilservs and their leader, Eclavdra. As the highest-ranking noble house in the Vault, the Eilservs seek to establish an overlord who would rule all other houses.[3] This “absolute monarch” would be drawn from their own ranks, thereby ensuring their dominance over the other noble houses.[4]

However, the priestesses of Lolth rejected this plan, as it threatened their own power base and was deemed too Lawful for the Chaos-loving drow. In response, House Eilservs abandoned Lolth and redirected their worship to the mysterious Elder Elemental God. This rift created a power struggle among the noble houses of the Vault. It is presumed that House Eilservs instigated the giants’ war on humanity in an effort to expand their own power.

The role of the Elder Elemental God in the modules is minimal.[5] The motivations, beliefs, and sphere of influence of the god and its followers are never addressed. Beyond the Eilservs’ decision to worship the god in opposition to their Lolth-worshiping enemies, no further details are directly provided in the text. As noted in D3 Vault of the Drow, a temple dedicated to the Elder Elemental God exists in the Vault. However, this temple is not described for player characters to explore.[6] The god appears to be associated with themes of darkness, insanity, repeated eye motifs, and tentacle imagery found on the altar, walls, and ceremonial rods.[7]

The revised covers of the D1–3 “Drow” series.

The modules suggest that Lolth is the final objective of the player characters in the series. The module directs the party to investigate the Fane of Lolth — such as through the clues provided by the rakes on p. 16 of D3 — rather than the scarcely mentioned temple of the Elder Elemental God. Unlike the god’s temple, the Fane is extensively detailed and explicitly designed for party exploration. That Lolth constitutes the actual objective of the series is made explicit in the modules, as this is stated twice on p. 21 of D3.

In Area 14 of the Fane of Lolth, the module notes that the characters can travel to the Abyss to confront her in her Demonweb. In Area 5 of the dungeon level, the text explains that the characters will require the Egg of Lolth if they choose to do so. The module indicates that the significance of the Egg, as well as the mechanics of traveling to the Abyss, will be addressed in Q1. Furthermore, the statistics for Lolth are included in D3, and the final module is titled “Q1 Queen of the Demonweb Pits.” If the drow servitors of the Elder Elemental God were intended as the final objective, one would expect the series to conclude with a module title reflecting that antagonist instead.

Given the textual evidence in the modules, it appears unlikely that the destruction of the Eilservs and their Elder Elemental God power base was intended as the ultimate objective of the “Giant–Drow” series. The Eilservs function as the initial instigators who set the events of the early adventures into motion. However, the available evidence strongly suggests that Gygax restructured the climax of the series to center on Lolth, the Demon Queen of Spiders, as the ultimate antagonist and overarching narrative goal. This raises the possibility that such an outcome may have aligned with the Eilservs’ broader, unstated ambitions.

Conclusion

The “Giant–Drow” series presents a facinating case of shifting narrative focus in early Advanced Dungeons & Dragons module design. What begins with the renegade drow of House Eilservs and their mysterious allegiance to the Elder Elemental God ultimately shifts toward Lolth, the Demon Queen of Spiders, as the climactic adversary. The modules themselves make this clear: the richly detailed Fane of Lolth in D3 Vault of the Drow, the inclusion of Lolth’s statistics, and the transition to Q1 Queen of the Demonweb Pits collectively establish her as the true final objective.

Although Sutherland’s authorship of Q1 and Gygax’s unrealized vision for the Elder Elemental God leave room for speculation, the textual evidence overwhelmingly indicates that Lolth supplanted the Elder Elemental God as the saga’s central antagonist. While the drow servitors may have initiated the conflict, it is Lolth who ultimately emerges as the primary threat.

Ultimately, this shift highlights both the fluidity of early Dungeons & Dragons module design and Lolth’s enduring role as one of the game’s most iconic antagonists. Whether the result of authorial accident or deliberate redirection, the saga concludes with players confronting a goddess in her own realm—a finale that firmly establishes Lolth, rather than the Elder Elemental God, as the true culmination of the “Giant–Drow” narrative.

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Works Referenced

Applecline, Shannon. Designers & Dragons: A History of the Roleplaying Game Industry – ’70 to ’79. Evil Hat Productions, 2014.

Gygax, Gary. D1–2 Descent into the Depths of the Earth. TSR, 1978, 1980.

Gygax, Gary. D3 Vault of the Drow. TSR, 1978, 1980.

Gygax, Gary. G1–2–3 Against the Giants. TSR, 1978, 1981.

Gygax, Gary. GDQ1–7 Queen of the Spiders. TSR, 1986.

Sutherland, David C., III, and Gary Gygax. Q1 Queen of the Demonweb Pits. TSR, 1980.

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Citations & Footnotes

[1] In the introduction to Q1, Gary Gygax states that he was too busy to write the module, which by that time was already two years overdue. He notes:

“…my ideas for DEMONWEB, it suddenly struck me that what I had sketched out was far too similar to another module ‘rough’ I was committed to: the TEMPLE OF ELEMENTAL EVIL…”

Instead, Dave Sutherland devised an alternate Demonweb and, using Gary’s brief notes and advice, wrote the adventure. Some commentators have remarked that Q1 is strange and not very “Lolth-like.” This suggests that the goals culminating in Q1 are largely Sutherland’s invention, not fully in line with Gygax’s vision of what the module would have been had he written it himself. Some fans have even gone so far as to produce their own versions of what they consider to be a more “Gygaxian” Demonweb.

[2] Shannon Applecline. Designers & Dragons: A History of the Roleplaying Game Industry – ’70 to ’79 (Evil Hat Productions, 2014), p. 49.

[3] Gary Gygax. D3 Vault of the Drow (TSR, 1978, 1980), p. 18.

[4] The compilation module GDQ1–7 Queen of the Spiders notes this very sentiment; see p. 4.

[5] The insignificance of the Elder Elemental God’s role is underscored by the fact that it is mentioned only three times across the six modules (G1–3 and D1–3).

[6] The god’s temple was added in GDQ1–7 Queen of the Spiders, however.

[7] The Elder Elemental God has a strong Lovecraftian influence. August Derleth even associated some of the Cthulhu Mythos gods with the four traditional elements of air, water, earth, and fire.