Demonweb

Some Abyssal layers are the realms of demon lords, and others are the realms of gods. The Spider Queen Lolth is a demon that became a god, and her infinite realm is the nexus of some of the most nefarious plots in the Abyss. Lolth seeks to expand her realm by drawing worlds of the Material Plane into her cosmic Demonweb, gaining additional power with each conquest. The Demon Queen of Spiders covets the status of the most powerful gods and seeks to achieve their station through treachery, deceit, and murder.

The Demonweb takes the form of an immense network of overlapping 20-foot-wide floors of polished stone, each about three inches thick. Examination of the pathways reveals a subtle movement in the apparently natural patterns upon the stone, which constantly shift to form the twisted bodies and faces of condemned souls. Curved walls of sticky webbing surround the pathways, creating tube-like corridors. The webbing is only slightly adhesive—enough to feel strange but not enough to hinder movement. Climbing the web passage requires a DC 10 Climb check. The webbing is immune to fire, cold, and electricity, has hardness 10, and 20 hit points per 5-foot section.

A billowing infinity of putrid gray clouds suffuses the layer beyond the web tunnels. Characters who venture into the clouds must succeed on a DC 22 Fortitude save to resist being forever drawn into the chaos of the Abyss. Far beneath Lolth's Web, in wells of utter darkness, lie the dreaded Demonweb Pits.

Here and there, solid metal doors lead off from a pathway, apparently into the fog. These portals in fact lead to a variety of demiplanes and Material Plane worlds that figure into Lolth's political and military schemes. Many of these worlds have been utterly defeated by Lolth's minions and swarm with dark elves, demons, and other servants of the Queen of the Demonweb Pits.

In the Demonweb, evil or chaotic spells function as if cast by a caster of twice the normal level. Web spells spread out to fill twice the area they normally would. The save DC of the poison spell increases by 3. Spider climb lasts twice as long, as does any spell that summons any kind of vermin. Evil creatures heal naturally at twice the normal rate.

Within the Demonweb, teleportation is utterly impossible, blocked by Lolth's divine will. Certain of her most favored agents retain specially cursed geometric sculptures that allow instant travel to and from specific locations in the Demonweb. Common keys, in order of rarity and value, include iron pyramids, silver spheres, eight-pointed bronze stars, and pale blue crystal cubes.

Adventurers in the Demonweb must avoid the drow patrols that sweep the pathways as well as the demons and arachnid horrors that do Lolth's bidding. The numerous metal doors leading to other worlds bear no markings whatsoever, and trial and error remains the best means of exploration without native cooperation. In extremely rare cases, a persuasive PC might convince one of Lolth's servants to betray another, but none will ever betray the will of their beloved demon queen.