Queen of the Spiders

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:

All of the component modules were originally written by Gary Gygax, except for Queen of the Demonweb Pits, which was written by David C. Sutherland III and Gygax. The omnibus collection was produced with the assistance of Jeff Grubb and David Cook. The book was published by TSR in 1986 as a 128-page book with a 24-page map booklet. There had been a lengthy delay in the publishing of the final chapter after the first six modules had appeared. Gygax had had trouble developing ideas for it until he received Sutherland's development, and was highly impressed by it. The seven modules were repackaged as a sequel to A1–4. The GDQ1–7 compilation is credited to Gygax. Artist Keith Parkinson provided the cover art for the supermodule, which also features art by George Barr.

Reception

Peter Green reviewed Queen of the Spiders for White Dwarf #85. Green summed up his feelings in his conclusion to the review, "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 magazine in 2004, on the 30th anniversary of the Dungeons & Dragons game.