The definitive high-level campaign arc in the history of D&D. A series of devastating giant raids reveals a conspiracy orchestrated by the drow of the Underdark, which in turn leads to the Vault of the Drow and ultimately to a confrontation with Lolth, Demon Queen of Spiders, in her planar domain — the Demonweb Pits.
Story Arcs
Against the Giants
A coordinated uprising of hill giants, frost giants, and fire giants threatens the civilized lands. The adventurers are dispatched as a strike force to infiltrate and destroy each steading in turn — the Steading of the Hill Giant Chief, the Glacial Rift of the Frost Giant Jarl, and the Hall of the Fire Giant King. Each fortress reveals evidence of a sinister puppet master: the dark elves of the Underdark.
Descent into the Depths of the Earth
Following the trail from the fire giant hall, the adventurers descend into the Underdark — a vast subterranean wilderness of fungal forests, underground lakes, and passages carved by alien hands. They navigate through kuo-toa settlements, mind flayer enclaves, and drow outposts, fighting or negotiating their way toward the Vault of the Drow.
Vault of the Drow
The Vault is an enormous underground cavern lit by a false sky of phosphorescent fungi, where the drow city of Erelhei-Cinlu sprawls in decadent splendor. The adventurers must infiltrate this city of intrigue, navigate the deadly politics of drow noble houses, and locate the gateway to Lolth's domain. Betrayal lurks at every turn in a society built on treachery.
Queen of the Demonweb Pits
The climactic confrontation. The adventurers pass through a portal into the Demonweb Pits — Lolth's domain on the Abyss. A surreal, web-filled demiplane of shifting passages and trapped pocket dimensions, it culminates at the Demon Queen's spider-ship throne. The adventurers must confront Lolth herself and end her manipulation of the surface world.
Session Outlines
These outlines are for planning reference only. Actual sessions are not created by the template.
The Hill Giant Steading
The party is dispatched to the Steading of the Hill Giant Chief Nosnra. The steading is a massive timber fortress filled with hill giants, dire wolves, and ogre servants. A feast is in progress when the party arrives — an opportunity for a surprise assault or infiltration. The chief's treasure room contains an incriminating letter from the drow, written in Undercommon, pointing to a deeper conspiracy. The dungeon level beneath the steading holds prisoners and a passage to the frost giant lair.
The Dungeons Below
Exploration of the steading's dungeon level. Imprisoned merchants and soldiers provide intelligence. Orc slaves work the kitchens and may be turned into reluctant allies. A secret passage leads deeper underground. The dungeon is guarded by tougher creatures than the upper level — stone giants, carrion crawlers, and a manticore. Find the escaped slave who knows the route to the frost giant lair.
The Glacial Rift
The party treks through frozen mountains to reach the Glacial Rift of Frost Giant Jarl Grugnur. The rift is a massive ice cavern split by a frozen river, with the frost giant halls carved into the glacier walls. Frost giants hurl boulders from ice ledges, winter wolves patrol the rift floor, and the jarl's pet white dragon lurks in an ice cave. Environmental cold is a constant hazard. The jarl's chambers contain more drow correspondence and a map to the fire giant hall.
The Frost Giant Depths
The lower ice caves beneath the rift contain the frost giants' treasure vaults, prisoner pits, and an ice temple to Thrym. A powerful frost giant shaman guards a portal leading toward the Underdark. Among the prisoners is a drow deserter willing to trade information about the conspiracy for freedom. Defeat the jarl and secure evidence of the fire giant alliance.
The Hall of the Fire Giant King
The volcanic Hall of Fire Giant King Snurre Iron Belly is built around an active lava flow. Fire giants, hell hounds, and a pair of red dragon allies defend the complex. The king's throne room is a grand basalt hall where Snurre holds court in full battle armor. His war room contains detailed invasion plans and a drow ambassador. The ambassador's quarters hold the definitive proof of drow involvement and a tunnel leading into the Underdark.
The Fire Giant Depths and the Drow Gate
The dungeon beneath the fire giant hall is the most dangerous yet. A cell block holds exotic prisoners from the Underdark. A temple to Surtur contains powerful fire magic. The drow outpost at the deepest level is manned by drow warriors and a priestess who attempts to destroy the evidence and flee into the Underdark. Capturing her or finding her records provides the route to the Vault of the Drow.
Into the Underdark
The party descends into the Underdark proper. Miles of winding tunnels, vast caverns, and underground rivers stretch ahead. Random encounters with Underdark denizens — hook horrors, ropers, umber hulks — test the party's endurance. The first major landmark is a kuo-toa temple-village built on the shores of a sunless sea. The kuo-toa may be negotiated with or fought through.
The Sunless Sea
Crossing the underground sea by boat is treacherous. Aboleth lurk in the depths, creating illusory islands to lure travelers. Kuo-toa raiders patrol in their shell-boats. On the far shore, a mind flayer outpost offers a dark bargain: safe passage through their territory in exchange for a "small" service. The mind flayers are enemies of the drow and may provide useful intelligence, but their motives are never benign.
The Drow Outposts
As the party nears the Vault, drow patrols become frequent. Fortified outposts guard the approaches, manned by drow warriors, driders (cursed drow-spider hybrids), and enslaved monsters. Stealth, diplomacy, or brute force — each approach has consequences. A captured drow scout reveals the layout of the Vault and the power dynamics between its noble houses.
Erelhei-Cinlu: City of the Drow
The party enters the vast Vault of the Drow, an enormous cavern lit by luminescent fungi that create an eerie false sky. The drow city of Erelhei-Cinlu is a decadent metropolis of obsidian spires and web-draped plazas. Disguise and subterfuge are essential — the party must navigate the city, gather intelligence about Lolth's temple, and find the gateway to the Demonweb. Drow noble houses may be played against each other.
Intrigues of the Noble Houses
Navigating drow politics is as dangerous as any dungeon. House Eilservs opposes Lolth's faction and may offer covert assistance. House Tormtor is fanatically loyal to the Spider Queen. The party must choose allies carefully — every drow has an agenda, and betrayal is the national sport. A ball or gladiatorial arena event provides a dramatic set piece. The location of the Demonweb portal is revealed.
The Fane of Lolth
The gateway to the Demonweb is in Lolth's temple-fortress, a massive spider-shaped building at the city's heart. Elite drow priestesses, yochlol (handmaidens of Lolth), and driders guard the approach. The party must fight or sneak into the inner sanctum where the portal shimmers with abyssal energy. Stepping through takes them to the Abyss.
The Demonweb
The Demonweb Pits are a maze of webbing stretched across an infinite void. Pathways of solidified web lead between pocket dimensions — trapped worlds that Lolth has collected as trophies. Bebiliths (abyssal spider-demons) hunt intruders, and phase spiders shift between planes. The web itself is semi-alive, vibrating to alert Lolth of intruders. Navigation requires solving spatial puzzles as passages twist through multiple dimensions.
The Pocket Dimensions
Before reaching Lolth, the party must pass through several pocket dimensions embedded in the web — each a different reality. A frozen tundra where frost giants serve Lolth, a shadow city of undead, a volcanic wasteland patrolled by demons. Each dimension has an exit that must be found. The dimensions drain the party's resources, softening them for the final confrontation.
The Spider Queen's Throne
The climactic confrontation with Lolth in her throne room — a vast chamber aboard her spider-shaped planar vessel. Lolth appears first in her drow form, beautiful and deadly, before revealing her true spider-demon aspect. She is attended by yochlol handmaidens, drow elite warriors, and a retriever construct. The battle is multi-phase: defeat her mortal form, survive her transformation, and deliver the killing blow that banishes her from the Material Plane. Victory shatters the drow conspiracy and the giant alliance collapses. Epilogue: the long journey back to the surface world.
NPCs
Chief Nosnra
Hill Giant · Hill Giant Chief
A brutish but cunning hill giant who leads his kin from a massive timber steading. He feasts nightly on stolen livestock and captured prisoners. Though not the mastermind, he eagerly participates in the giant alliance for the promise of plunder. His animal hide armor is enchanted, and he wields a massive tree-trunk club.
Jarl Grugnur
Frost Giant · Frost Giant Jarl
The proud and ruthless lord of the Glacial Rift. A tactical warrior who commands respect through martial prowess. His frost giant kin are the most disciplined of the giant forces. He keeps a white dragon as a pet and consort. His ice-forged greataxe has slain a hundred warriors.
King Snurre Iron Belly
Fire Giant · Fire Giant King
The most powerful of the three giant lords, a towering fire giant in blackened iron armor whose belly is literally plated with riveted iron. His volcanic hall is the seat of the giant alliance, and he answers directly to the drow ambassador. His flaming greatsword can cleave through castle walls. He is the lynch-pin of the conspiracy.
Eclavdra
Drow · Drow Priestess and Ambassador
A high priestess of Lolth and the true architect of the giant conspiracy. She serves as ambassador to King Snurre while manipulating all three giant lords through a combination of magic, flattery, and threats. Stunningly beautiful and utterly ruthless, she is one of the most dangerous individuals in the Underdark. If cornered, she flees to the Vault of the Drow.
Obmi
Dwarf · Renegade Dwarf Agent
A notorious duergar mercenary who serves Snurre as a spy and assassin. Short even for a dwarf, he compensates with vicious cunning and a magical war hammer. He has betrayed his surface kin and works willingly with the drow for gold and power. He may be encountered as a recurring antagonist throughout the campaign.
Lolth
Demon · Demon Queen of Spiders
The ultimate antagonist — a greater demon goddess who rules the drow and weaves plots spanning centuries. In her drow form, she appears as a breathtakingly beautiful dark elf woman. Her true form is a massive spider-demon hybrid of terrifying power. She resides in the Demonweb Pits, a planar domain of infinite webs and trapped worlds, ruling from a spider-shaped planar vessel.
Belgos
Drow · Drow Deserter
A former drow warrior who fled the Vault after being marked for sacrifice to Lolth. Found imprisoned in the frost giant lair, he offers genuine intelligence about the Underdark route and drow defenses in exchange for freedom. He is haunted by his past but sincerely wants to escape Lolth's influence. His information is accurate but incomplete.
Nedylene
Drow · Noble House Matron (Anti-Lolth Faction)
The matron of House Eilservs, a drow noble house that secretly opposes Lolth's dominance. She offers covert assistance to the party in Erelhei-Cinlu — not out of goodness, but because destroying Lolth's influence would elevate her house. She is a formidable wizard and politician who will betray the party the moment it becomes advantageous.
Locations
Steading of the Hill Giant Chief
A massive timber longhouse built on a grand scale, surrounded by a timber palisade. The great hall is large enough to seat forty hill giants at feast. Enormous wooden beams, animal pelts the size of wagons, and crude trophies of battle decorate the interior. Below lies a dungeon level of stone-walled chambers and cells.
Glacial Rift of the Frost Giant Jarl
A massive crevasse in a glacial mountain range, its walls carved with frost giant halls and caverns. A frozen river runs along the rift floor, and ice bridges span the gap at various levels. The constant howl of arctic wind makes communication difficult. Everything is coated in ice and frost — footing is treacherous.
Hall of the Fire Giant King
A fortress carved into the heart of a volcanic mountain. Rivers of magma flow through channels in the basalt floor, providing heat and light. The construction is masterful — fire giant engineering at its finest, with soaring obsidian pillars and iron-banded doors. The air shimmers with heat.
The Underdark Passages
Miles of winding tunnels, vast caverns, and underground waterways connecting the surface to the Vault of the Drow. Bioluminescent fungi provide dim light, and the passages are home to countless predators. The kuo-toa village and mind flayer outpost are waypoints on this treacherous journey.
Erelhei-Cinlu
The great drow city within the Vault, an enormous cavern with a ceiling hundreds of feet high lit by phosphorescent fungi. Obsidian spires, web-draped plazas, and slave markets fill the city. Noble house compounds are fortified estates, each a dungeon in its own right. The streets are dangerous — assassination, slavery, and betrayal are commonplace.
The Demonweb Pits
Lolth's personal domain on the Abyss — an infinite web stretched across a void of darkness. Pathways of solidified webbing connect pocket dimensions that Lolth has collected as playthings. The web vibrates with every footstep, and phase spiders and bebiliths patrol endlessly. At the center, Lolth's spider-shaped planar vessel serves as her throne room.
Quests
Shatter the Giant Alliance
The three giant lords — hill, frost, and fire — have formed an unprecedented alliance that threatens to overwhelm civilized lands. You must infiltrate and destroy each stronghold in turn, eliminating their leaders and breaking the alliance before the giants can march.
Uncover the Puppet Master
Evidence found in each giant stronghold points to a hidden power behind the alliance. Coded letters in Undercommon, exotic gifts from the Underdark, and references to "the dark ones" suggest the drow are pulling the strings. Follow the trail underground and expose the conspiracy.
Navigate the Underdark
The path from the fire giant hall to the Vault of the Drow leads through miles of treacherous Underdark passages. Negotiate or fight past kuo-toa, mind flayers, and drow outposts. Secure allies where you can — even unlikely ones.
Infiltrate Erelhei-Cinlu
The drow city is a web of intrigue and danger. You must navigate its politics, find the gateway to the Demonweb Pits in the Fane of Lolth, and survive long enough to use it. Consider which noble houses might serve as temporary allies against the Spider Queen's faction.
Destroy Lolth's Influence
Enter the Demonweb Pits, navigate its trapped dimensions, and confront Lolth herself. Banishing the Demon Queen from the Material Plane will collapse the drow conspiracy, shatter the giant alliance, and save countless lives. This is the ultimate test of heroism.
Encounters
Hill Giant Feast
The party crashes Chief Nosnra's great feast, where dozens of hill giants carouse with dire wolves at their feet. The giants hurl boulders and overturn massive tables as barricades. Ogre servants join the fray with crude weapons.
Frost Giant Ambush in the Rift
Frost giants launch boulders from ice ledges above while winter wolves charge along the frozen river below. The icy terrain makes footing treacherous, and a white dragon strafes the party with its freezing breath.
Fire Giant Throne Room
King Snurre confronts the party in his obsidian throne room, flanked by fire giant guards and hell hounds. Magma channels crisscross the floor, creating hazardous terrain. Snurre fights with devastating power, his flaming greatsword leaving trails of fire.
Drow Patrol in the Underdark
A drow raiding party, mounted on giant lizards and accompanied by driders, intercepts the party in the Underdark tunnels. They attack with poisoned crossbow bolts and faerie fire before closing with paired scimitars.
Lolth, Queen of the Demonweb
The final battle against Lolth in her spider-ship throne room. She begins in drow form, wielding magic and a venomous staff, before transforming into her massive spider-demon aspect. Yochlol handmaidens and a retriever construct defend their queen as the Demonweb itself shifts and warps around the combatants.
Factions
The Giant Alliance
Chaotic Evil
An unprecedented confederation of hill, frost, and fire giant clans united by drow manipulation. Each giant lord believes he leads the alliance, unaware that all three are pawns. Their combined military force threatens to overwhelm the civilized nations of the Flanaess. Destroying the alliance requires eliminating all three leaders.
The Drow of the Vault
Neutral Evil
The dark elves of Erelhei-Cinlu, ruled by noble house matrons who serve Lolth. They engineered the giant uprising to destabilize the surface world, creating chaos they can exploit. Their society is a web of treachery, assassination, and demonic worship. Not all houses support Lolth equally — some secretly plot against her dominance.
House Eilservs (Anti-Lolth)
Neutral Evil
A powerful drow noble house that chafes under Lolth's dominance and plots to elevate a different demonic patron. They may offer covert aid to the party as a means to weaken Lolth's faction, but their endgame is their own power, not the good of the surface world. A dangerous and unreliable ally of convenience.
The Underdark Denizens
True Neutral
The kuo-toa, mind flayers, svirfneblin, and other Underdark races are not aligned with the drow conspiracy but have their own agendas. The kuo-toa worship alien gods and may bargain for passage. The mind flayers seek knowledge and "specimens." The svirfneblin (deep gnomes) are the most likely genuine allies, as they suffer under drow oppression.
Recommended Characters
Pre-built characters designed for this campaign setting. Create them separately from the character templates page.
Gorath Stonefist
Goliath · Barbarian · Level 5
A goliath barbarian who has turned against the giant hierarchy that once enslaved his people. Gorath channels his fury into a berserker rage aimed at toppling the giant lords and freeing the smaller races crushed beneath their tyranny.
Durin Ironhelm
Dwarf · Fighter · Level 5
A veteran dwarven warrior and Battle Master whose clan has fought giants for generations in the deep mountain passes. Durin combines centuries of accumulated tactical knowledge with relentless personal determination to be the bane of giantkind.
Use This Template
Create a new campaign pre-populated with all the arcs, NPCs, locations, quests, encounters, and factions from this template.