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## About This Content
## Q1 Queen of the Demonweb Pits
How different things seem now from when you undertook the crushing of a few
rebellious hill giants! What seemed a simple adventure has turned into a major
expedition. Much time has passed since you discovered the conspiracy that led
you to the frost giants, fire giants, and eventually to the long-forgotten
Drow. Through your encounter with the dark elves, you have found the true
source of the evil — the demon queen Lolth!
This module is the exciting conclusion of a series of seven AD&D modules. It
may be played on its own or as the climax of the “Giant” series (G1-G3) and
the ‘Drow’ series (D1-D3). The first of a new series of other-planar
adventures, this module includes several new monsters, maps of the Demonweb
and lair of Lolth, and notes on eight alternate worlds, suitable for expansion
and addition to existing AD&D campaigns.
For characters level 10 to 14.
Product History
Q1: “Queen of the Demonweb Pits” (1980), by David C. Sutherland III, was the
seventh and final book in the GDQ sequence that TSR began publishing in 1978.
It appeared in October 1980 under TSR’s new full-color adventure trade dress.
The next year, the original “Giants”-series and “Descent”-series adventures
were brought up to the same standards in a series of three reprints, covering
G1-3, D1-2, and D3.
The Official Story. As the seventh adventure in a path that ran through G1-3
(1978) and D1-3 (1978), most folks expected the finale to be by the same
author — which is to say Gary Gygax. Instead, Dave Sutherland was brought in
to finish up Gygax’s epic. In a preface to “Queen of the Demonweb,” Gygax
explained why: He said that “The Temple of Elemental Evil” (then also
unfinished) had kept him from finishing Q1 because they were too similar in
nature. He also praised Sutherland’s work to the outer planes, saying that
he’d personally chosen to put the adventure into Sutherland’s “capable hands”
and that the result was “a superior design” and “a fitting climax” (to the
adventure path).
The Real Story. It turns out that Gygax was putting on a good face, and that
Q1 was in fact produced against his express wishes, apparently at the
insistence of Gygax’s partner, Brian Blume. It would be the first outward sign
of a division in the company that would lead to its takeover by Brian and his
brother Kevin in 1982, and Gygax’s subsequent exile to California (where he’d
get the Dungeons & Dragons cartoon on the air).
If you look closer at Q1, you can see the cracks – i.e., that it’s not
actually the sequel Gygax intended. A careful reading of the G- and D-series
modules suggests that the villain of the piece was the Eilservs drow clan, who
worshiped the Elder Elemental God. If anything, Lolth should have been an
erstwhile ally for the player characters in a final adventure against the EEG,
rather than a final foe.
Gygax said that the villain got changed after Sutherland discovered the
“demonweb” pattern in a hand towel and talked Blume into making Lolth the Big
Bad.
New Settings. The entire GDQ series rushes breathlessly through a series of
settings that were very unique for D &D at the time. This final adventure’s
setting – the Demonweb within the Abyss – is the most unique of all. It’s so
different that are even special rules for how spells work there. The idea of a
planar setting would pave the path for everything from the latter T1-4:
“Temple of Elemental Evil” elemental nodes to Planescape and numerous other
looks at the Outer Planes. It was a truly original innovation.
Killing Gods. The original D &D (1974) and AD&D (1977-1979) have a bit of a
reputation for supporting Monty Haul-style games, in which players killed gods
and controlled the welath and the fate of nations. That perception was helped
along by the fact that Supplement IV: Gods, Demi-Gods & Heroes (1976) gave
stats for gods as if they were just high-level monsters. However, the idea
really gained traction here, where Lolth appears as a monster to be killed in
room #32 of her spider ship. After that, it was pretty hard to tell players
that they shouldn’t be slaying deities – especially when the newest deity
book, Deities & Demigods (1980), had appeared just months earlier and was
once more full of statted gods.
New Monsters. The very iconic drider appear for the first time here, as does
Lolth herself.
Future History. TSR rereleased the entire GDQ sequence a few years later in
GDQ1-7: Queen of the Spiders (1987), a 128-page supermodule. Wizards
massively expanded the setting in Expedition to the Demonweb Pits (2007) for
3e.
About the Creators. David C. Sutherland III was brought into TSR in 1976 as
their first staff artist. “Queen of the Demonweb Pits” was his only D &D
design, and his only solo design work other than the T?kumel related
miniatures wargame, Legions of the Petal Throne (1977).
Adapted for Fantasy Grounds by: Shaun Sides

Requires: An active subscription or a one time purchase of a Fantasy Grounds
Full or Ultimate license and the included 2E Compatible ruleset. Compatible
with Fantasy Grounds Unity or Fantasy Grounds Classic

Fantasy Grounds – D&D Classics: Q1 Queen of the Demonweb Pits (1E)