Home » Forums » Out Of Character Talk » RPG Discussion » Lolth's Corruption

Lolth's Corruption

6 posts / 0 new
Last post
Mon, 2012-06-25 19:10
#1
Palomides
Palomides's picture
Offline
factotums
Joined: 2010-06-26
Lolth's Corruption

According to some sources, Lolth was formerly Araushnee, the elven goddess of destiny.
Then she became corrupt and turned against the Seldarine.

Personally, I like the idea that she was formerly the goddess of destiny as I see a evolution (devolution?) from a goddess who handled intertwined threads of destiny into the web-spinner she is today.

I've been trying to come up with an idea as to WHY she started down the path she did; but I haven't come up with an idea that completely clicks for me. So I'm asking for suggestions. I don't particularly care if your ideas are cannon or not.

Some germs of ideas I've had were:
-While looking into the future, she saw a threat of some sort and felt that her actions would make the elves strong enough to resist/survive that threat
-A fiend in the form of a spider got into here web of destiny-strands and began corrupting her (like the serpent did in Eden). This fiend was later consumed/synthesized by Lolth

I've got a few other odds and ends, but they aren't very good. So please throw out some ideas. I never like it when someone just "turns evil" for some petty reason. I prefer tales where the path to ultimate corruption begins with a few bad steps that the person rationalizes as needed or justified; and at present, I don't have that starting point for Lolth

Tags:
Wed, 2012-06-27 14:43
#2
Mask
Mask's picture
Offline
Namer
Joined: 2007-04-22
Re: Lolth's Corruption

Here are some more ideas:

http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/19781666/Why_Did_Araus...

Wed, 2012-06-27 19:30
#3
Lord Zack
Lord Zack's picture
Offline
Namer
Joined: 2006-11-10
Re: Lolth's Corruption

Well in my campaign Lolth was a obriyth to begin with. Araunshee was just a disguise she used to seduce Corellon and subvert the ancestors of the drow. However the worship of the elves changed her. When she was revealed and cast back down to the Abyss, she was no longer a true obriyth, but had transformed into a Tanar'ri (similar to Pazuzu and some other demon lords in Pathfinder). Not really all that helpful I guess, but I dunno maybe something about my story might inspire you.

Thu, 2012-06-28 12:06
#4
Palomides
Palomides's picture
Offline
factotums
Joined: 2010-06-26
Re: Lolth's Corruption

Thanks for the link Mask. So far, I've only gotten through about a third of the 43 pages but here are the ideas distilled from it so far:

-She wanted to become the leader of the pantheon
She saw Corellon as weak/unambitious and needing to be replaced

-Socio-political difference [not sure what this comment means]

-A vicious love-triangle caused her to become bitter
She refused to be subservient to Corellon so was replace with someone more submissive

-She was always a demon and claims that she was once an elf are lies
-She was always a demon who secretly replaced Ararushnee

-As a goddess of destiny, she saw that she would rise in power if she was brave enough to take it
-As a goddess of destiny, she saw an incomplete vision of other races driving the elves that worshipped her underground. She decided that the elves needed to become more militant to try to prevent this; but her actions actual caused it
[These last two are more in the vein of what I was aiming for; but I am open to all ideas]

In my campaign, I had taken a comment in the original "Deities & Demigods" book and chose to depict Corellon as female (envisioning her as a more motherly Artemis/Diana type goddess) so I never embraced the idea of a love affair between Corellon and Lolth ("Not that there's anything wrong with that") even though almost all other books ran with this storyline.
Besides the idea that someone becomes an embodiment of evil just because she was jilted seemed a little cliche to me. Just a personal preference.

I do sort of like the idea that she was an evil goddess or demon outside of the elfin pantheon who just tricked the drow into believing she was an ousted member. But even with this solution, it does raise questions of how it was pulled off. Do Corellon and the other elfin gods know Lolth's true nature (or did she covertly replace an existing elfin goddess)?
If the elfin pantheon know the truth, is there are reason that they didn't explicitly explain Lolth's true nature to the good elves? Etc.

Thu, 2012-06-28 16:58
#5
Wicke
Wicke's picture
Offline
factotums
Joined: 2009-04-24
Re: Lolth's Corruption

Palomides wrote:
In my campaign, I had taken a comment in the original "Deities & Demigods" book and chose to depict Corellon as female (envisioning her as a more motherly Artemis/Diana type goddess) so I never embraced the idea of a love affair between Corellon and Lolth ("Not that there's anything wrong with that") even though almost all other books ran with this storyline. Besides the idea that someone becomes an embodiment of evil just because she was jilted seemed a little cliche to me. Just a personal preference.

I love that with mythologies is that both stories can be true at the same time. Corellon can be male and had a failed love affair with Lolth, and Corellon can be female and not have had the affair. It comes down to who's doing the believing and who's telling the story.

Quote:
I do sort of like the idea that she was an evil goddess or demon outside of the elfin pantheon who just tricked the drow into believing she was an ousted member. But even with this solution, it does raise questions of how it was pulled off. Do Corellon and the other elfin gods know Lolth's true nature (or did she covertly replace an existing elfin goddess)? If the elfin pantheon know the truth, is there are reason that they didn't explicitly explain Lolth's true nature to the good elves? Etc.

Maybe it was another god from a different/displaced/forgotten patheon who whispered secrets to Lolth. She may have started off like a normal member of the elven pantheon, but this other god, in an effort to save itself from dying, figured out a way to corrupt/merge with Lolth.

Wed, 2012-07-04 14:24
#6
Hyena of Ice
Hyena of Ice's picture
Offline
factotums
Joined: 2009-09-25
Re: Lolth's Corruption

I wonder if Ghaunadaur had anything to do with it. If he is a Far-Realm being, he could have done something to her, or to many of her followers (which would have affected her) The whole Vast Gate incident occurred a few millennia or centuries earlier.

Obviously he wouldn't be the only influence on her as he has nothing to do with spiders.
Though it should be mentioned that spiders in Greco-Roman myth have a loose, indirect connection with destiny, as Arachne is depicted as weaving a tapestry, and the Mortai (3 fates) are depicted as manipulating a person's fate/destiny by altering the tapestry (each thread represents a single life, with said life ending when the thread is cut by Atropos, the crone.)

Planescape, Dungeons & Dragons, their logos, Wizards of the Coast, and the Wizards of the Coast logo are ©2008, Wizards of the Coast, a subsidiary of Hasbro Inc. and used with permission.