Queen of the Spiders
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''Queen of the Spiders'' is an
adventure module An adventure is a playable scenario in a tabletop role-playing game. These can be constructed by gamemasters for their players, and are also released by game publishers as pre-made adventure modules. Different types of designs exist, including l ...
for the ''
Dungeons & Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by TSR (company)#Tactical Studies Rules ...
'' fantasy
role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within ...
. It was published by
TSR, Inc. TSR, Inc. was an American game publishing company, best known as the original publisher of ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D''). Its earliest incarnation, Tactical Studies Rules, was founded in October 1973 by Gary Gygax and Don Kaye. Gygax had bee ...
in 1986 and is a compilation of seven previous related modules, often referred to as a "supermodule." Together, the seven adventures form an integrated campaign that begins in the
World of Greyhawk Greyhawk, also known as the World of Greyhawk, is a fictional world designed as a campaign setting for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy roleplaying game. Although not the first campaign world developed for ''Dungeons & Dragons''— Dave Arnes ...
, continues underground into the
Underdark The Underdark is a fictional setting which has appeared in ''Dungeons & Dragons'' role-playing campaigns and ''Dungeons & Dragons''-based fiction books, including the Legend of Drizzt series by R. A. Salvatore. It is described as a vast subterrane ...
, and concludes in the Demonweb Pits, the
abyssal The abyssal zone or abyssopelagic zone is a layer of the pelagic zone of the ocean. "Abyss" derives from the Greek word , meaning bottomless. At depths of , this zone remains in perpetual darkness. It covers 83% of the total area of the ocean an ...
lair of the demonic goddess
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 ...
. The campaign was originally intended for use with the rules from the first edition of ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons''. The 152-page supermodule bears the code "GDQ1–7" for "Giants, Drow and Queen," and can be further combined with two other campaigns to form an even larger campaign. The larger campaign begins with T1–4, ''
The Temple of Elemental Evil ''The Temple of Elemental Evil'' is an adventure module for the fantasy role-playing game ''Dungeons & Dragons'', set in the game's ''World of Greyhawk'' campaign setting. The module was published by TSR, Inc. in 1985 for the first edition ' ...
'', continues on to A1–4, ''
Scourge of the Slave Lords ''Scourge of the Slave Lords'' (A1–4) is an Adventure (Dungeons & Dragons), adventure module for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role-playing game, published by TSR, Inc. in 1986. It combines the contents of four earlier modules, all set in ...
'', and concludes with GDQ1–7.


Plot

A new beginning was added to the adventure. Giants have been raiding civilized lands in increasing numbers. The player characters have been called upon to combat the giants and to investigate the giants' reasons for invading and the strength of their forces. The first module, ''Steading of the Hill Giant Chief'', takes place in a gigantic wooden fort populated by hill giants and ogres. Here, the players uncover evidence of an alliance with other types of giants, as well as some mysterious letters from those behind the scenes. In the second module, ''Glacial Rift of the Frost Giant Jarl'', the action moves north to colder lands, where the setting is a system of caves clustered around a deep and narrow chasm in glacial ice. Here, the protagonists encounter frost giants, yeti and winter wolves, among other monsters. The third module, ''Hall of the Fire Giant King'', is set in a volcanic region where King Snurre has assembled a horde of fire giants, trolls and hell hounds. A secret passage from this module leads deep into the earth, where the adventurers discover the true nature of the force behind the raids – the drow in the service of Lolth, the demoness. The fourth module, ''Descent into the Depths of the Earth'', is on a larger scale than the others, with a map covering many kilometres of a deep underground region, later known as the Underdark. In the Underdark, there are many unique monsters previously unknown to surface adventurers, including the drow, which had been considered mythical. Troglodytes, jermlaine and svirfneblin (deep gnomes) made their first appearances in ''D&D'' literature in this module. In the next module, ''Shrine of the Kuo-Toa'', the adventurers explore a subterranean complex populated by the Kuo-toa, a race of fish-frog monsters in the service of the lobster goddess Blibdoolpoolp. Players next make their way to the ''Vault of the Drow'', a deep subterranean eldritch land in a huge cyst deep under the earth. The adventure is completed with ''Queen of the Demonweb Pits''. It takes place primarily in the eponymous Demonweb Pits, the 66th level of the Abyss.


Publication history

The seven adventures described above were compiled in the GDQ1–7 supermodule. These included: * The three modules in the ''
Against the Giants ''Against the Giants'' is an adventure module written by Gary Gygax and published by TSR in 1981 for the '' Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role-playing game. It combines the G series of modules previously published in 1978: ''Steading of the H ...
'' series: G1, ''Steading of the Hill Giant Chief''; G2, ''Glacial Rift of the Frost Giant Jarl''; and G3, ''Hall of the Fire Giant King'' * The three modules in the "
Drow The drow ( or ) or dark elves are a dark-skinned and white-haired subrace of Elf (Dungeons & Dragons), elves connected to the Subterranea (geography), subterranean Underdark in the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy roleplaying game. The drow have ...
" series: D1–2, ''
Descent into the Depths of the Earth ''Descent Into the Depths of the Earth'' is an adventure module for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') fantasy roleplaying game coded D1–2. It was written by Gary Gygax, and combines two previously published modules from 1978, the origina ...
'' (which incorporates the earlier D1, ''Descent into the Depths of the Earth'' and D2, ''Shrine of the Kuo-Toa''); and D3, ''
Vault of the Drow Vault may refer to: * Jumping, the act of propelling oneself upwards Architecture * Vault (architecture), an arched form above an enclosed space * Bank vault, a reinforced room or compartment where valuables are stored * Burial vault (enclosure ...
'' * Module Q1, '' Queen of the Demonweb Pits'' All of the component modules were originally written by
Gary Gygax Ernest Gary Gygax ( ; July 27, 1938 – March 4, 2008) was an American game designer and author best known for co-creating the pioneering role-playing game ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') with Dave Arneson. In the 1960s, Gygax created an ...
, except for ''Queen of the Demonweb Pits'', which was written by
David C. Sutherland III David C. Sutherland III (April 4, 1949"United States Social Security Death Index," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/JT69-9Y8 : accessed 12 Feb 2013), David C Sutherland, 6 June 2005; citing U.S. Social Security Administra ...
and Gygax. The omnibus collection was produced with the assistance of
Jeff Grubb Jeff Grubb (born August 27, 1957) is an author who writes novels, short stories, and comics and a computer and role-playing game designer in the fantasy genre. Grubb worked on the ''Dragonlance'' campaign setting under Tracy Hickman, and the ''F ...
and
David Cook David Cook may refer to: Entertainment * David Cook (game designer) (active since 1980s), American game designer for TSR * David Cook (singer) (born 1982), winner of the seventh season of ''American Idol'' * David Cook (writer) (1940–2015), Briti ...
. The book was published by TSR in 1986 as a 128-page book with a 24-page map booklet, and credited to Gygax. Artist
Keith Parkinson Keith A. Parkinson (October 22, 1958 – October 26, 2005) was an American fantasy artist and illustrator known for book covers and artwork for games such as ''EverQuest'', ''Guardians'', ''Magic: The Gathering'', and '' Vanguard: Saga of Heroes ...
provided the cover art for the supermodule, which also features art by George Barr. The re-release was packaged as a sequel to A1–4.


Reception

Peter Green reviewed ''Queen of the Spiders'' for ''
White Dwarf A white dwarf is a stellar core remnant composed mostly of electron-degenerate matter. A white dwarf is very dense: its mass is comparable to the Sun's, while its volume is comparable to the Earth's. A white dwarf's faint luminosity comes fro ...
'' #85. In his conclusion to the review, Green wrote that " TSR have proven over the years that they are capable of better products than this. Instead of wasting time with old material, they should concentrate on presenting new roleplaying ideas." ''Queen of the Spiders'' was ranked as the single greatest ''Dungeons & Dragons'' adventure of all time by ''
Dungeon A dungeon is a room or cell in which prisoners are held, especially underground. Dungeons are generally associated with medieval castles, though their association with torture probably belongs more to the Renaissance period. An oubliette (from ...
'' magazine in 2004, on the 30th anniversary of the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' game.


References

*


External links


Supermodules
at Acaeum.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Queen Of The Spiders Greyhawk modules Role-playing game supplements introduced in 1986