(You need to abide by these as clergy, not as a worshiper)

• Cleric (must be female), Witch, Ranger, or Fighter (may be male or female)

• You must be a Drow

• You must make a sacrifice to Lolth regularly. Sacrificing an item worth 100 coins, the cleric of another god, or an Elf will sate Lolth for a month; sacrificing an item worth 80 coins or a "lesser" race will sate Lolth for two weeks; sacrificing an item worth 40 coins or a non-arachnid magical beast will sate Lolth for one week; sacrificing an item worth 8 coins or a non-sentient surface-dwelling mammal will sate Lolth for a day.

• Non-Cleric Initiation: Make the greatest possible sacrifice, as above (100 coins, the cleric of another god, or an Elf)

Lolth’s clerics are almost exclusively female (although there are a few males). They represent the rulers of most Lolthite communities, and strictly follow the Spider Queen's will, forcing the Drow into extreme subservience to their deity, and into the constant state of conflict that dominates their lives. Each priestess strives for the favor of the Spider Queen and is ready to anything in order to gain status in her god's eyes. Their vestments are normally adorned with spider motifs. Her rituals require them to wear darker clothes or no clothing at all. Her clergy sacrifice the living and treasure for her glory.

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Hierarchy

Members of Lolth's clergy must be Drow. Of them, 96% are female; there are male priests of Lolth (4%), but the Spider Queen very rarely allows them to attain the use of many spells

Titles used by Lolthite priests vary widely from city to city but are strictly enforced within their respective domains. As an example, in Llonsbane, deep beneath Bethar Garmak, Lolth's clergy are known collectively as Yom'yathrins. In ascending order, the hierarchy of titles for the Temple City of Lolth include Noamutha, Khalessa, Kyorla, Alura, Quartha, Talintha, Elamshina, and Xundusa. High-ranking priests of the Spider Queen are collectively known as yathtallars. If they rule a noble house they are known as Ilharess (Matron Mother), but otherwise they are titled Streea'Valsharess (Black Widow). Specialty priests are known as arachnes.

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The priest who follows Lolth's dogma blindly is on a slippery path leading to swift death. Success in the service of Lolth lies with those who are attentive to the ever changing, often contradictory will of Lolth. Lolth's capricious nature makes hard-and-fast rules few and uncertainty great. Of course, questioning Lolth's motives or wisdom is a sin. Aiding non-Drow against Drow is a great sin, as is ignoring the Spider Queen's commands. (Lolth often tests her priests by ordering the sacrifice of a favored consort.) Drow who lose the favor of Lolth are always given a single chance to redeem themselves. This is usually a dangerous or difficult mission, though Lolth may test certain individuals by setting no task at all and observing what they do. Those who willfully fail are destroyed. Lolth commands other worshipers to do this (in turn, testing them). Those who fail through mischance or poor planning or execution are usually transformed into Driders. Lolth often plays favorites among her Drow worshipers, but those who ride high one season are warned that Lolth can turn her dark face upon them without warning and undoubtedly will sometime soon.

Vestments

When participating in rituals, priests of Lolth work unclad or wear robes (black, trimmed with dark red and purple-or, for lesser or novitiate priests, dark purple or red trimmed with black). In some cities ornate helms carved to resemble writhing spiders are worn by Lolth's clergy, while in others heads are always left uncovered. Jewelry worn by the Spider Queen's priests consists of spider medallions and other spider designs, all made of platinum. The holy symbol of the faith is a platinum disk at least 3 inches in diameter with an embossed depiction on both its obverse and reverse in jet black enamel of a black widow spider or a platinum spider figurine on a platinum or other highly-valued chain necklace.

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When adventuring, Lolth's clergy favor Drowcraft chainmail. Some priests also carry bucklers with similar properties to that of Drowcraft chainmail and with magical enchantments. Clerics of the Spider Queen typically wield maces—again with similar properties to that of Drowcraft chainmail. In addition to maces, crusaders and arachnes sometimes wield short swords and long daggers. Most senior clerics of Lolth carry snake-headed whips of fangs, and delight in using them often.

Rites and Duties

Lolth requires homage-submission in prayer, plus offerings regularly from her priests. Ceremonies involving the sacrifice of surface Elves are performed monthly during nights of the full moon as deliberate affronts to Corellon, Lolth's hated rival. Rituals to Lolth are customarily practiced in female only company in a sacred room or area. Rituals requiring extraordinary power or a public display may be celebrated in the open and in all sorts of mixed company When Lolth's aid is required, sacrifices must be made. These are traditionally the blood of Drow faithful and/or captured foes, spilled with a spider-shaped knife whose eight descending legs are blades.

In other cases, gems or other precious objects may be burned in braziers, as prayers of offering are chanted. In large, important rituals, priests of Lolth customarily use eight braziers to provide additional flame material and in homage to Lolth (the flames represent her eight legs). The most powerful rituals to Lolth defy detailed description and are seldom seen by non-Drow. Rituals to Lolth involve the burning of precious oils and incense, live offerings, and riches of all sorts, particularly gems. These are customarily placed in a bowl-shaped depression in a black altar (or burning brazier). These offerings are always consumed in the flames of Lolth at some point in the ritual. If Lolth is particularly displeased, or impostors are present, the black-and-red flames that leap from the braziers to consume the offerings may also arc to consume other valuables present, such as magical items, jewelry, and clothing. Typically, Lolth's flames do little more than humiliate a burned priest, destroying his or her garment, but an impostor or intruder receives a searing flame attack intended to kill them. If this occurs, every priest of Lolth present in the chamber instantly receives a free darkfire spell with the strong command to use it, forthwith, to blast those who would so insult Lolth.

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As an example of the words of a sacrificial rite, what follows is a secret sacrificial prayer in Abyssal known only to high priests:

"Great Goddess, Mother of the Dark, grant me the blood of my enemies for drink and their living hearts for meat. Grant me the screams of their young for song, grant me the helplessness of their males for my satisfaction, grant me the wealth of their houses for my bed. By this unworthy sacrifice I honor you, Queen of Spiders, and beseech of you the strength to destroy my foes.

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Lolth's priests are the rulers, police forces, judges, juries, and executioners of Drow society. They wield power daily, and most do so in a manner in keeping with the cruel and capricious nature of Lolth herself. Priests of Lolth strive to act as Lolth wishes and to manipulate (often by brutal force) their fellow Drow to do so too. The ultimate aim of every priest is to achieve and keep the Favor of Lolth. The spirits of priests who die in her favor are believed to go to the Abyss, where they become yochlol and other servant creatures. Those who die in Lolth's disfavor are thought to pass into torment on another plane somewhere, perhaps to someday return to the Realms as a snake or spider. (Drow beliefs are confused on such matters, and often change with time and location.) The duties of a good priest, then, are to do whatever is necessary to gain and to keep the Spider Queen's favor. Although treachery and cruelty are often rewarded, Lolth does not look kindly on those who let personal grudges and revenge-taking bring defeat or shame to their House, clan, city, or band.

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Affiliated Orders
The Militant Myrlochar, also known as the Order of Soul Spiders, is an elite military order composed solely of male crusaders and found in the few Dark Elven cities where Lolth is revered and males are permitted to enter her priesthood. The Militant Myrlochar directly serve the ruling Matron Mothers of the city in which they are based as agents of uncontrolled destruction, tirelessly hunting any creature designated as their quarry or who interferes with their pursuit and wreaking havoc until recalled (which rarely happens) or destroyed (their most common fate).

The Handmaidens of the Spider Queen is an order of female crusaders with no permanent ties to any individual city. Also known as the Daughters of the Yochlol, the Handmaidens serve as instruments of Lolth's will in times when the Spider Queen needs to bring an entire city into line. At least three times in recorded history the Handmaidens of the Spider Queen have assaulted and destroyed an entire Dark Elven city that threatened to drift from Lolth's web of chaos. When not assembled into an army of chaos and vengeance, the Handmaidens work in small companies scattered throughout the Underdark, harassing merchant trains and conducting hit-and-run raids on cities ruled by clergy of Duergar or Goblinoid gods.

Drow in the Realms have embraced offshoots of the major faiths, usually following a charismatic mortal leader who claims to be something more. The only such cult known to be still active, albeit in a debased form, is the She-Spider Cult, a Bethar Garmak-based sect that tried to link worship of Shar with devotion to Lolth. Opposed in the end by both goddesses, the Cult enjoyed initial success as a secret society operating slaving and drug running operations in Sulgate. They eventually degenerated into a criminal gang without divine support. The Cult still stages fake rituals to thrill worshipers and to slay foes under the guise of sacrifices.

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