Deepspawn are infamous horrors who give birth to many other varieties of monsters; a single Deepspawn can make a vast area dangerous, even for alert, well-armed adventurers.
Deepspawn look like large, rubbery spheres of mottled grey and brown. Six arms project from their bodies; three are tentacle-arms, and three are jaw-arms, ending in mouths of many teeth. A Deepspawn also has over 40 long, retractable, flexible eye stalks it extends only three or four at a time, well away from harm.
Combat[]
When found, Deepspawn are usually half buried in a pile of slippery, shifting coins and other treasure. This may conceal their arms, so that tentacles and mouths erupting from the treasure may at first seem to be the attacks of separate monsters. The treasure may hamper opponents and even shield the Deepspawn from some damage (as determined by the DM).
A Deepspawn attacks by casting hold spells at intruders, casting spells once every three rounds. Victims under a hold spell are gripped by tentacle-arms and constricted, as other tentacles fight off other intruders by wielding weapons—including any magical items usable by fighters. Deepspawn love to engage prey with weapons, and then bite them from behind with a jaw-arm.
A tentacle-arm can slap for 1d4+1 points of damage, grasp items or beings and move them about (with 17 Strength), wield delicate keys or weapons, or constrict victims.
Constriction requires a successful attack roll (automatic if the victim is under a hold spell), and does 1d4 points of damage, plus 1d4+1 points per round thereafter. ln any round in which a being gets free, it takes only 1 point of constriction damage. Constricted victims can be swung about as bludgeons—doing 1d2 damage to any others struck, ruining spellcasting, and forcing saving throws on fragile items. This action causes the constricted victim no extra damage unless driven onto points or blades (determine damage on a case-by-case basis).
Victims may only escape constriction by severing the tentacle-arm or tearing free. Tentacle-arms release their victims if severed. Each arm has 2 HD; severing occurs if damage equal to half a tentacle-arm's hit points is dealt in a concentrated area by edged or pointed weapons. To tear free, roll a d20 for both the victim and the Deepspawn on each round of constriction, adding their respective strengths (17 for the Deepspawn). If the victim has the higher total, it wins its freedom.
Deepspawn can also cast ESP and water breathing at will, and may employ a heal spell (self only), once a day. If a Deepspawn's life is threatened, it hurls caches of seized weapons as missiles, unleashes any magical items it has, and tries to escape by a planned route. Deepspawn seem immune to all known venoms, and regenerate lost arms and stalks, though slowly, healing 2 hp per day.
Habitat/Society[]
Deepspawn prefer to let their offspring fight for them. Their lairs are in caverns, dungeons, or ruins and are amply protected by traps and guardian monsters (their "spawn"). If these defenses are penetrated, the Deepspawn will usually be found in a readily-defended room or den, and it will always have at least one or more escape routes.
Deepspawn are native to the Deeps, and have successfully resisted attempts by dwarves, drow, duergar, cloakers, illithids, and aboleth to exterminate them. Deepspawn seldom make their lairs within 30 miles of each other, but individuals may be much closer together underground, on different levels.
Ecology[]
Deepspawn will eat anything organic, but prefer fresh meat. By some unexplained, natural means, Deepspawn can "grow" and give birth to any creature native to the Prime Material plane it has ever devoured (but not undead or other dual dimensional creatures). The "spawn" have the natural attacks, magical abilities, alignment, and intelligence of their creators. Class abilities and other learned skills are not passed on to them. A spawn "grows" in 1d4 days (varying with size and complexity) in a Deepspawn, which must ingest meat, vegetable matter, and water or blood to fuel the "birth". The Deepspawn then opens and ejects a fully active spawn. Spawn are never hostile towards their parent, and cannot be made to attack them even by magical means. Spawn can attack or defend themselves within one round of emerging. At the DM's option, they may use certain powers or abilities clumsily for a few rounds.
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