The Scarlet Widow
Basic Info
| Race | Drider (Female) |
| Height | ~8 feet (standing) |
| Status | Hostile — in combat |
| First Seen | C16 (tracks and spider silk) |
| First Contact | C17 (whispers, then direct combat) |
| Location | Underdark — Behir cavern |
Capabilities
| Legendary Actions | Confirmed (Darkfire Bolt) |
| Spellcasting | Likely — whispering and casting while descending |
| Stealth | Exceptional — tracked party through parallel passages while avoiding detection |
A female drider — larger, smarter, and more dangerous than any the party has encountered. She stalked them for days before striking at their weakest moment.
What the Party Knows
The Scarlet Widow is a female drider approximately eight feet tall when standing. She has been following the party since at least C16, when Selene found spider silk and tracks near camp. She is unusual in several ways that Lireal identified:
She is female. Most driders in drow society are male — the transformation is typically a punishment inflicted on males who fail Lolth. A female drider is rare and suggests either exceptional power or an unusual transformation.
She is not enslaved. Driders typically serve as mindless enforcers for drow houses. This one acts independently, with intelligence, patience, and strategy.
She is larger than normal. Roughly eight feet tall, compared to the standard drider frame.
She possesses Legendary Actions. During C17, she used a Darkfire Bolt as a Legendary Action — striking Selene for 14 damage and applying an ongoing necrotic rider (additional 1d6 necrotic on future hits against Selene).
Timeline
C16 — Signs
Spider silk found near camp. Tracks identified as spider-like. Something was testing the perimeter of Selene's Longbow of Warning but staying outside its trigger range.
C17 — The Hunt
As the party traveled toward Neverlight Grove, the Scarlet Widow shadowed them through parallel passages. Feminine whispers echoed through the tunnels from all directions: "I found you." / "I can't get too close." / "The blue one's weapon — it makes noise." / "I'm coming for you."
She identified Selene's Longbow of Warning as a threat and stayed just beyond its range. When the party emerged into a larger cavern, Lireal briefly spotted her lurching to a halt in a large hole in the wall. She cackled — "I'm going to get you" — and retreated.
C17 — The Strike
After the party killed a behir and then dealt with Othorion's Blackrazor berserk episode — exhausted, scattered, and low on resources — Selene's bow triggered again. The Scarlet Widow was descending from the ceiling on a silken strand, whispering and casting.
Selene fired a Mighty Deed shot and severed the web strand (succeeded on DC 18 Dex save). The Scarlet Widow fell but succeeded on her acrobatics check — landed on her feet, skittered like Shelob, twirled, and hissed directly at Selene. She used a Legendary Action to hit Selene with a Darkfire Bolt (14 damage plus necrotic rider), breaking Selene's concentration on Pass Without Trace.
The session ended mid-combat.
Open Questions
- Who is she? Female driders of this power and independence are extraordinarily rare.
- Why is she targeting this party specifically?
- Does she have a connection to Othorion's drow heritage?
- What other Legendary Actions does she possess?
- How long has she been following them — since before C16?
Threads
- C17: Mid-combat — session ended with initiative still running
- Identity: Unknown to the party
- Darkfire Bolt: Selene marked with ongoing necrotic damage rider