Handmaiden of the Dark Queen

Beneath the great gods stand many lesser powers. Some prefer obscurity; others, the minor figures of evil, were long ago slain or bound into servitude by stronger beings. The handmaidens of the Dark Queen are among the latter. Greatest of them was Veshyra, whose cunning and talent won her high rank in the Abyssal court and the name Princess of the Abyss.

She wanted more. Jealous of her mistress, she dreamed of hanging her own spider sign among the evil constellations. She built the Gloomdeep, a demi-dimension meant as her seat of power, and bred spider dragons there to mock the queen's own dragons. When the Dark Queen found out, she sealed Veshyra inside the Gloomdeep forever.

Veshyra has two shapes, a stunning and wicked female drow and a giant spider, but the Dark Queen's power now pins her in spider form. In either shape she works magic at 16th level: detect magic and detect invisibility are always on, and at will, one per round, she can use web, telekinesis, dispel magic, know alignment or read magic. Poison, acid, lightning and fire do not affect her, and only weapons of +2 or better can wound her.

As a spider she fights with a bite and a pair of claws. A double claw hit in one round slows the victim automatically for 3d4 rounds, as the spell, and the victim must also save vs. paralysis or lose 1d6 hours to paralysis. Her bite calls for a save vs. poison at -3: failure brings a coma of 1d4 days, and even success leaves the target slowed and at -3 to attack and damage until the fight ends. Her drow shape lets her cast wizard spells at 16th level and priest spells at 12th.

The handmaidens are coddled slaves of the Dark Queen's court who bully anyone of lower standing in her palace. Veshyra has abandoned that court to reign alone and rules her drow servants with total tyranny.

A noble of evil fits no natural food chain. Veshyra is the apex hunter of her realm, feasting on whatever her drow slaves bring.