Seveltarm

Selvetarm: The Champion of Lolth, The Thane of Lolth, The Spider That Waits, The Spider Demon, Prince of the Aranea, Lord of the Venomire

Symbol: Crossed sword (right) and mace (left), overlaid with a black spider
Home Plane: The Demonweb Pits (Lolth’s Iron Fortress)
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Portfolio: Drow warriors
Domains: Chaos, Drow, Evil, Spider, War
Worshippers: Aranea, Barbarians, Drow, Fighters, Warriors, Those who like to kill
Aliases: Zanassu
Cleric Alignments: CE-CN-NE
Favored Weapon: “Venommace” (Mace) & “Thalack’velve” (Longsword)

History/Relationships: Selvetarm (Pronounced Sel-veh-tarm) is the “Champion of Lolth”, a cruel and malicious deity who cares for nothing, save battle and destruction. Selvetarm has a great hatred for all things, except for a well-honed and deadly fighting style. Although Selvetarm can wait for hours for his prey to stumble into a well prepared ambush, Lolth’s champion prefers to battle with reckless abandon.

Selvetarm was not always such a hateful, destructive power. He once walked a solitary path, not quite good, yet not quite evil. As the child of the forced union between Vhaeraun and Zandilar the Dancer, Selvetarm had many conflicting emotions within in.

Eventually, Selvetarm crossed paths with his aunt, Eilistraee. He began to appreciate her goodness, as demonstrated through her teachings, deeds and actions. His path began to align with that of the path of goodness. Eilistraee began to hope that with Selvetarm, she could further help mend the rift that had developed between the Tel’Quessir and the Drow. Her hopes were dashed, however, when Selvetarm was unwittingly snared in Lolth’s web of intrigue.

With her silver tongue, Lolth convinced her naïve grandson, Selvetarm, that if he killed Zanassu, a minor Demon Lord, and absorbed his power, he would be more appealing to Eilistraee. Lolth had her own reasons for calling on her dim-witted grandson to do this. Zanassu claimed sovereignty over spiders, which offended Lolth. For this slight, Lolth wanted the Demon Lord eliminated. By convincing Selvetarm to destroy Zanassu, she would accomplish her goal without even lifting a finger, which appealed to Lolth very much.

Selvetarm triumphed over Zanassu, since the Demon Lord was still weak and reeling from a defeat by Qysara Shoon V, that banished him back to the Abyss. As the victor, Selvetarm absorbed the Spider Demon’s essence. In doing so, however, the malignant force that was Zanassu overwhelmed the small amount of goodness within him that Eilistraee was slowly nursing. This caused Selvetarm to snap, and completely lose his mind. Lolth, who was on hand watching the battle, quickly stepped in and bound Selvetarm to her will, making him, in essence, her slave.

Since this defining moment approximately ten centuries ago, Selvetarm has begrudgingly served at his mistress’ side. With no regard to his own goals and well-being, the Spider Demon defends the interests of Lolth, whether they be in divine politics, or on Faerûn.

During the Time of Troubles, Selvetarm manifested his avatar as a large spider creature. The deity appeared in the Drow city of Eryndlyn, a city where the clergy of Lolth did not rule absolute, and was in contention with cults dedicated to Kiaransalee, Vhaeraun and Ghaunadaur. Selvetarm devastated the factions that opposed Lolth, before being driven away into the Underdark by the combined might of all those who opposed Lolth. Selvetarm was praised by Lolth’s clergy in the city as, “The Swordarm of Lolth, sent to demonstrate her absolute rule”.

During the recent Silence of Lolth, Selvetarm served as the defender of his mistress, while she was concentrating her power, and prone to attack. When Vhaeraun appeared to destroy Lolth’s prone form, the Spider Demon appeared to defend Lolth. The two deities battled, and both eventually tumbled off of the Demonweb, apparently falling into Ghaunadaur’s Caldron of Slime. Both deities survived, and Selvetarm seemed to have permanently injured Vhaeraun in some fashion.

For the most part, Selvetarm has ignored his Aranea followers in Calimshan. For one thousand years, Selvetarm ignored his followers in Lost Ajuutal, barely granting his priests and priestess’ there spells. Sixty-six years before the Time of Troubles, the avatar of Selvetarm, a giant spider, seemingly randomly returned to the city, and cloistered itself in the Spider Demon’s temple in the city. Shortly before the Time of Troubles actually occurred, the avatar left once more, headed north, presumably into the Underdark, and to the city of Eryndlyn.

Magical divinations and portents give surprising impressions on the future of Selvetarm. Most divinations about the Spider Demon are answered with vague impressions and images that I interpret to be the future, Eilistraee, Sava, a Drow board game, Lolth, and death.

Like his mistress, Selvetarm has few allies. Before he absorbed Zanassu’s essence and became evil, Selvetarm was allied with Eilistraee. However, since absorbing Zanassu, he sees Eilistraee as a pathetic weakling who needs to be crushed. Garagos is Selvetarm’s only true ally, since both revel in the glory of destructive combat. Lolth, however, limits how much influence Garagos has over Selvetarm, since as far as she is concerned, the Spider Demon is her puppet, and her puppet alone.

Selvetarm, for being such a minor deity, has an impressive list of enemies. The majority of his enemies are the enemies of his mistress, though undoubtedly, if left to his own divices, Selvetarm would choose to be hostile to most of them anyway. Selvetarm’s enemies include Blibdoolpoolp, Deep Duerra, Diinkarazan, Diirinka, Eilistraee, Ghaunadaur, Gzemnid, Ilsensine, Ilxendren, Laduguer, Laogzed, Maanzecorian, while he was still alive, Psilofyr, Sharess, The Blood Queen, The Great Mother, the Seldarine, and anyone else who manages to gain the enmity of Lolth.

Selvatarm has no deific realm of his own, since Lolth does not allow him to create one. She allows his to share her Iron Fortress, however, though all this really entails is a sort of guard duty, ensuring that nothing befalls the Mistress of the Demonweb Pits.

Dogma: War is the ultimate expression of individual power, and only through battle and death can one realize the respect of one’s comrades. Hone fighting skills constantly and teach those who will follow into the fray. Never give nor receive quarter, and die amidst the bloodlust of battle against overwhelming odds. Cultivate as many weapon tricks and combat maneuvers as a spider has arms, and never fear that hidden venom, like a secret vengeance waiting to strike, will serve you ill.

Avatars/Manifestations: Selvetarm rarely manifests himself to his faithful. When he does, it is normally by directly dispatching his avatar, since the Spider Demon rarely works in more subtle ways. Selvetarm’s avatar appears as a gargantuan black spider, sometimes with the head of a Drow male, and sometimes not. It crawls on its back six legs, and carries a large mace and a large sword in it’s front two appendages.

Selvetarm sometimes manifests as a tiny sphere of absolute darkness that slowly grows from an inch in diameter to a foot in diameter, before exploding in a shower of blades very similar to the Blade Barrier spell. The main difference between this and the actual spell is that Selvetarm’s is much more deadly (No Saving Throw). The Spider That Waits sometimes shows his favor by having his faithful discover rogue stones, web stones and small slivers of dried silver bark. He demonstrates his displeasure by causing metal weapons and armors to rust and shatter, even after the most minor of glancing blows.

Agents/Petitioners: Selvetarm has very few agents of his own, since Lolth usually appoints her own agents to aid Selvetarm in the few cases were he needs assistance. Selvetarm does call upon Aranea, Drow, Myrlochar, Retrievers, and spiders of all different shapes, sizes and species.

The Church of Selvetarm: Outside of the Drow city of Eryndlyn, and the small temple of the Spider That Waits in Undermountain, Selvetarm is not very well known. There are very few Drow cities where his actual nature is acknowledged. Few are aware that the Spider Demon is a divine being, since most tales depict him as a Tanar’ri, or some other kind of servant of Lolth.

On the surface world, Selvetarm is even less known. Only the Aranea of Lost Ajuutal and the Humans of Volothamp know of him directly, though they know him still as Zanassu. He does appear in a few Calashite tales, as the Demon of the Swamp, a malicious entity that is capable of insidious plots, powerful enchantments, and unchecked battle fury. For the most part, however, the world remains ignorant to Selvetarm and his followers.

The majority of Selvetarm’s few holy places are small shrines that are scattered in the Underdark, and in the Spider Swamp. Selvetarm has even fewer temples, counting two that are actually his own. Many temples of Lolth feature areas where males can pay homage to Selvetarm, under close scrutiny and supervision by a priestess of Lolth, of course. It is through Lolth that Selvetarm accommodates most of his followers.

The titles given to priests and priestess’ of the Spider Demon very greatly from hierarchy to hierarchy. The Selvetargtlin use the following titles: Edge of the Axe, Crush of the Mace, Steel of the Blade, Tusk of the Boar, Hunger of the Swarm, Claw of the Cave Bear, Talon of the Wyrm, and Bloodlust of the Berserker. A little less than three-fourths of his total clergy consists of male Drow. Male Aranea make up the second largest group, while Female Aranea and Female Drow round out the Spider Demon’s clergy.

Day-to-Day Activities: Selvetarm’s Drow faithful spend most of their days guarding fortifications, honing their fighting abilities, participating in patrols around Drow cities, and in nearby areas of the Underdark, guarding caravans, and getting into fights with one another over status and perceived slights. Many spend a large portion of their time training others in the art of war.

The Spider Demon’s Aranea faithful, in Calimshan, used to spend a great deal of their time charming, manipulating and controlling the viziers of Volothamp and the surrounding areas. They also spent a lot of time appeasing the avatar of Selvetarm that had cloistered itself in the Apostolaeum of the Spider That Waits. Since the avatar of Selvatarm left, the Aranea lost all of their control in Volothamp. Today, they are working to regain that control in the Human city, as well as search for the avatar of Selvetarm, that wandered north in DR 1358, the Year of Shadows, just before the Avatar Crisis.

Holy Days/Important Ceremonies: The Drow faithful of Selvetarm are expected to observe and participate in all Lolthite ceremonies, since the Spider Demon is a vassal to the Spider Queen. A small group of heretics, who have begun worshipping Selvetarm since the Time of Troubles, are persecuted for failing to recognize Lolth’s power, and for failing to celebrate it. All of his Drow worshippers, heretic or not, constantly cry out Selvetarm’s name during battle, every time they strike an enemy. It is important for Selvetarm’s name to be the last thing a foe ever hears.

Selvetarm’s Aranea clergy venerate the Spider Demon with a totally different set of rituals, which stress patience, craftiness, and subtlety- a far cry from the tenets that Selvetarm’s Drow clergy stress. The Aranea do not observe any of Lolth’s holy ceremonies, and instead perform their own, which usually include animal sacrifices –boars and lizards, usually- and prayers beseeching Selvetarm to return to them. Their most holy day is the 6th of Kythorn, the day that the avatar of Selvetarm returned to the Spider Swamp after a thousand year absence. This day is celebrated with fasting and ritual combat.

Major Centers of Worship: Selvetarm has two major centers of worship- the Chapel of the Sericeous Sargh, in Undermountain, and the Apostolaeum of the Spider That Waits, in the Spider Swamp of Calimshan. His Drow worshippers run the former site, while the latter site is administered to by his Aranea followers. The Chapel of the Sericeous Sargh is only a small chapel, but yet, it is still a very important site for Selvetarm. This chapel, which houses a large onyx depiction of the Spider Demon, is home to the Selvetargtlin, the group of Drow heretics who worship Selvetarm alone, and do not bow to Lolthites. The group recently built the site, and is still working on defending and reinforcing it. Because of its location, priests and priestess’ from the chapel can raid the surface world, the Promenade, the holy site of Eilistraee, and the Underdark.

The Apostolaeum of the Spider That Waits is much older than the Chapel of the Sericeous Sargh. The temple is located in the ruins of the city of Lost Ajhuutal, which many believe was the capital of the Maridlands, thousands of years ago. Beginning in –530 DR, the Aranea of Calimshan were sentenced to death upon sight. They fled to the Spider Swamp, where they established a peaceful relationship with the coastal city of Volothamp. In 290 DR, Qyasara Shoon V blamed the Aranea for a plague, and the persecution of Aranea began anew. The survivors began worshipping Zanassu, the Spider Demon, for he promised to stop the Qysara from persecuting them. The Apostolaeum of the Spider That Waits was built to pay homage to Zanassu. In DR 292, the Year of Frostfires, Zanassu challenged the Qysara, but lost. Weakened, and banished back to the Abyss, Selvetarm arrived, and managed to destroy the Demon, and absorb his power.

Affiliated Orders: Selvetarm has virtually no special orders, due to his fragmented church, and his subservience and obedience to Lolth. One special group within the church of Selvetarm is the Order of the Spiderswords, a devout order of warrior priests, who are and who train Spiderswords, Selvetarm’s nearly unstoppable berserker warriors.

Another important group are the Selvetargtlin, a group that worships Selvetarm as his own deity, and not as a servant to Lolth. The “official” church of Selvetarm considers these rogues heretics, but the fact that Selvetarm continues granting them spells means that he supports the ideas they espouse.

Priestly Vestments: Selvetarm’s Clerics wear long, rich scarlet robes lined with chain mail. They keep their hair long, and braid it in long rows. Some Clerics soak the ends of their braids in alchemically treated blood, that hardens into rock hard clumps that can be used as a weapon, by whipping his/her hair back and forth (-4 to Hit, 1d4 Points of Damage).

Gauntlets very similar to the Dragon Bracers used by the Cult of the Dragon are used by Selvetarm’s faithful as well. Because they are his very own weapons, Selvetarm mandates that during his holy ceremonies, all priests and priestess’ much have on them a longsword and a mace. The holy symbol of the faith, during rituals and ceremonies, is worn on a large platinum disk worn around the neck.

Adventuring Garb: Selvetarm’s priests and priestess’ employ the best weapons and armors available. They eschew the use of shields, except for spiked bucklers, and any other shields that have spikes that can be used for bashing. They also eschew the use of crossbows, bows, and other ranged weapons.

Drow Clerics commonly employ Boots of Elvenkind, Drow-Elven Chainmail, and Piwafwi. Clerics of the Spider Demon normally use two melee weapons in combat at once. The most common combinations include sword and dagger, sword and axe, and sword and mace. The latter is the combination that high ranking priests and priestess’ use exclusively.