''Expedition to the Demonweb Pits'' is a super-adventure

module Module, modular and modularity may refer to the concept of modularity. They may also refer to: Computing and engineering * Modular design, the engineering discipline of designing complex devices using separately designed sub-components * Modul ...

for the 3.5 edition of the '' Dungeons & Dragons'' roleplaying game. The adventure is designed for characters of levels 9–12. It involves the machinations of the demon lords

Lolth The drow ( or ) or dark elves are a dark-skinned and white-haired subrace of elves connected to the subterranean Underdark in the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy roleplaying game. The drow have traditionally been portrayed as generally evil and ...

and

Graz'zt In the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role-playing game, "monsters" are generally the antagonists which players must fight and defeat to progress in the game. Since the game's first edition in 1974, a bestiary was included along other game man ...

and was heavily influenced by the 1980 adventure module ''

Queen of the Demonweb Pits ''Queen of the Demonweb Pits'' (''Q1'') is an adventure module for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' roleplaying game written by David Sutherland. The "Q" in the module code is an abbreviation for "queen". The module, a sequel to the D series of modul ...

''.

Plot summary

''Expedition to the Demonweb Pits'' revolves around the reading of the Dark Pact. The demon lord Graz'zt seeks to form an alliance with Lolth against Orcus. Lolth spurns his offer, and Graz'zt, not taking rejection lightly, now schemes to undermine Lolth. With the aid of his cambion son, Rule-of-Three, Graz'zt plans a Demon Council within the Abyss. While he is doing this, Rule-of-Three spreads word among the drow that their goddess is coming to the

Prime Material Plane The planes of the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' roleplaying game constitute the multiverse in which the game takes place. Each plane is a universe with its own rules with regard to gravity, geography, magic and morality. There have been various offic ...

to wage the eternity war against their hated cousins, the surface elves and their god,

Corellon Larethian In the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' role-playing game, Corellon Larethian is the leader of the elven pantheon, and the god of Magic, Music, Arts, Crafts, Poetry, and Warfare. Corellon is also considered a member of the default ''D&D'' pantheon. Corel ...

. After the Demonic Council is arranged, Rule-of-Three and Graz'zt involve a group of mortals (the PCs) about Lolth's coming. Their goal is to bring attention to Lolth in her own Demonweb and then use the mortals to embarrass her in the eyes of the other demon lords, while at the same time, sealing the Dark Pact of planar binding using the divine spark Lolth gives it. It is the PC's goal to prevent the reading of that pact.

Items

''Expedition to the Demonweb Pits'' offers the characters many items, including two new legend items: ''Thaas'' and ''Spidersilk''. ''Thaas'' is an ancient magical elven bow dedicated to slaying demons. ''Spidersilk'' is a suit of fine armor for arcane spell casters that grants many spider-oriented benefits.

Publication history

The adventure was written by

Wolfgang Baur Wolfgang Baur (born 1968) is an American game designer, best known for his work with '' Dragon'' magazine. He designs role-playing games and is known for his work at Wizards of the Coast. Baur is also the founder of Open Design LLC, later known ...

and

Gwendolyn F.M. Kestrel Gwendolyn is a feminine given name, a variant spelling of ''Gwendolen'' (perhaps influenced by names such as ''Carolyn'', ''Evelyn (name), Evelyn'' and ''Marilyn (given name), Marilyn''). This has been the most popular spelling in the United Stat ...

, and was published in April 2007 by Wizards of the Coast. Cover art was by

David Hudnut David Hudnut is an artist whose work has appeared in role-playing games. Career His ''Dungeons & Dragons'' work includes the cover art for ''Heroes of Battle'' (2005), ''Heroes of Horror'' (2005), and the adventures '' Red Hand of Doom'' (2006), ...

, with interior art by David Bircham,

Miguel Coimbra Miguel Coimbra (born 9 December 1977) is a French freelance illustrator and graphic artist. Career Coimbra started drawing in his childhood. His special interest in games and the fantasy theme was aroused through the trading card game ''Magic: T ...

, Ed Cox,

Carl Critchlow Carl Critchlow is a British fantasy and science fiction comic illustrator. He is best known for his character Thrud the Barbarian, which originally appeared in ''White Dwarf'' magazine, and for his work for the ''Lobster Random'' comics. Care ...

, Eric Deschamps,

Wayne England Wayne England (d. 9 February 2016) was an English artist whose work regularly appeared in role-playing games, wargaming rulebooks and magazines and was used on cards for collectible card games such as ''Magic: The Gathering''. He died on 9 Feb ...

, Erik Gist,

Brian Hagan Brian Hagan is an artist whose work has appeared in role-playing games. Education Brian Hagan graduated from Savannah College of Art and Design in 1994.

Ralph Horsley Ralph Horsley is an artist whose work has appeared in role-playing games. Career His ''Dungeons & Dragons'' work includes cover art for the adventure '' The Shattered Gates of Slaughtergarde'' (2006), and interior art for ''Monster Manual III'' ...

, Howard Lyon,

Ted Pendergraft TED may refer to: Economics and finance * TED spread between U.S. Treasuries and Eurodollar Education * ''Türk Eğitim Derneği'', the Turkish Education Association ** TED Ankara College Foundation Schools, Turkey ** Transvaal Education Depart ...

, Arnie Swekel, and

James Zhang James Zhang is an artist whose work has appeared in role-playing games. Career Zhang has done interior illustrations on a number of ''Dungeons & Dragons'' books for Wizards of the Coast, including '' Sharn: City of Towers'' (2004), the ''Eberron ...

. When asked whether this adventure was influenced by module ''Q1: The Demonweb Pits'', designed as a revision, or a completely new expedition, Wolfgang Baur explained: "Of course ''Expedition'' was influenced by ''Q1'', since there would be no Demonweb Pits without that classic module. But we took the plot in a new direction, focusing on Planescape elements such as the cities of Sigil and Zelatar, plus a wider web than the first one. Many elements carry across the history of the Demonweb: from 1st edition's ''Q1'', from "The Harrowing" in ''Dungeon'' magazine #84, and from 2nd edition's ''Planes of Chaos''. It's a place that has grown over time, and we're continuing that exploration. Possibly with more demons than usual."

Critical reception

''Expedition to the Demonweb Pits'' received a mixed reaction on its release. Wayne Tonjes described it as "very convoluted", with "a few too many places where the plot requires the players to make one specific choice to access key phases of the campaign." However, he did also say it "fulfill dits goal of introducing a whole new spin on a classic module for old school gamers and new players alike." Nickolas Davis of ''The Gamer'' named it the second best adventure published for 3.5, after ''

Eyes of the Lich Queen ''Eyes of the Lich Queen'' is an adventure module for the 3.5 edition of the '' Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role-playing game. Plot summary ''Eyes of the Lich Queen'' takes place in the Eberron setting. The player characters mount an expediti ...

''.

References

External links

Excerpt from Wizards.com
* Baur, Wolfgang, and Gwendolyn FM Kestrel. ''Expedition to the Demonweb Pits'' ( Wizards of the Coast, 2007). {{DEFAULTSORT:Expedition To The Demonweb Pits Dungeons & Dragons modules Greyhawk modules Planescape Role-playing game supplements introduced in 2007