Deepspawn

Deepspawn were monstrous aberrations that could birth many other varieties of monsters, known as their "spawn."

Description
Deepspawn were mottled grey and brown, and looked like rubbery spheres in diameter. Six arms, each up to long, projected from their bodies, three of which were tentacle-arms able to wild weapons while another three were jaw-arms, ending in mouths of many teeth. A deepspawn also had over 40 long, retractable, flexible eyestalks, but it extended only three or four at a time, well away from harm.

Abilities
A deepspawn could birth a copy of any creature native to the Material Plane. To do so, it first needed to devour the creature. It then made an exact "record" of the creature and replicated it using ingredients from the surroundings. If the deepspawn could claim resources from the dead and dying on a battlefield, it could produce a new spawn every three days. Typically, it gathered materials from the wild and could only produce offspring at a much slower rate.

Only an exact duplicate of a creature could be created by a deepspawn, and spawn even retained the learned abilities and dim memories of the original creature. Spawn had an intense, inborn loyalty to their deepspawn "parent" that could not be shaken, even through magic. They were sent away to live on their own unless there was sufficient food in the area to support them. There were typically one to four spawns kept around as general servants.

Personality
Deepspawn possessed genius intellect, which was paired with an inscrutable worldview that made them quite dangerous. They laired in caves and ruins, often well defended by deadly traps and patrolling spawn. They created spawn to serve and protect them.

Combat
Deepspawn preferred to fight on their own terms, and would bury themselves for protection and await enemies in easily defended&mdash;but also easily escapable&mdash;locations. They used all six of their tentacle- and jaw-arms to strike at foes simultaneously, and would wrap their tentacles around enemies to constrict them. They also possessed the innate ability to cast certain spells, including hold monster, detect thoughts, water breathing, and heal.

History
The first to encounter the deepspawn were the dwarves of the Deep Kingdom beneath the eastern Shaar, which swiftly began a long campaign by many cultures to exterminate or make use of the strange monsters. Circa -9000 DR, the dwarves of Shanatar engaged in a great civil war in which they made extensive use of soldiers created via deepspawn, leading the conflict to become known as the Spawn Wars.

Over the centuries, the deepspawn fended off incursions from not only the dwarves, but races like the duergar and drow as well as more monstrous groups like aboleths, cloakers, and illithids.

In the month of Eleasias in the Year of Larks, &minus;183 DR, Darrom Ithal, the first king of Tethyr, was assassinated by the teleportation of a deepspawn directly into his throne room. This had been orchestrated by Amir Tarseth, the king's brother-in-law and leader of Clan Tarseth.

In the, the recently founded town of Hillsfar was nearly destroyed by an army of spawn emerging from the Beast Marches, with the horde only being contained by winter of that year thanks to assistance from Cormanthyr.

During the Tethyrian Interregnum, a deepspawn known as The One Below laired below the surface of the city of Zazesspur. On Mirtul 3, during a time period known as the Days of Terror, Zaranda Star and her Star Protective Services slew the monster and ended its chaos. It had been allied with the Twisted Rune and a tanar'ri. After that deepspawn's death, a second deepspawn, known as Clusterfang, joined the Rune and took residence under the city in its predecessor's place.

In the mid-14 century DR, the mad wizard Radoc had a deepspawn in his forces that helped him to spawn many mongrelfolks, trolls, and other types of monstrous minions. In 1367 DR, having gotten word that his foe Grintharke had fallen, Radoc took the deepspawn and his other forces to assault Hellgate Keep. During this siege the deepspawn crawled underground and hid itself within an underground cave, close to the Chambers Below. After the siege on Hellgate Keep had failed, that deepspawn remained within this cave. Sparingly using his forces against the Keep's ruler, Kaanyr Vhok, and rallying his forces against him. It's actions soon came to the attention of the cambion, who proceeded to engage in many negotiations with the deepspawn that were half-hearted, for neither was willing to be subservient to the other. Some time after the Keep's destruction in 1369 DR, Vhok and his men slew the deepspawn's minions, injured it, and stole its accumulated treasures before caving in its lair. The deepspawn managed to survive this, subsisting off of spiders, worms, and the trolls it would spawn.

During the mid-to-late 14 century DR, a business called Hired Horrors in Skullport began selling deepspawn for ten thousand gold pieces each. This operation was run by a cabal of four wizards&mdash;Aurin the Generous, Chantos Graybeard, Ysele the Cat, and Lord Ithvar Wordkiller&mdash;who had figured out how to breed the deepspawn. Their operation catered to clientele looking to stock dungeons with monsters, and was capable of transporting deepspawn to anywhere on Toril.

By the 1370s DR, the Zhentarim had begun abducting deepspawn and placing them along the caravan routes used by their merchant rivals.

Rumors & Legends
Some claimed that a deepspawn dwelled within the jungle of Jundarwood, though throughout Faerûnian history deepspawn were often a source of blame for strange happenings.

Some hunters and sages in the Border Kingdoms voiced suspicion that Bloutarrans had installed a deepspawn within a cave in the forest north of their town as it seemed that those townspeople always came back from a stag hunt with two or more prizes in hand.

Around 1479 DR, it was rumored that the farmer Nars Thormil, who lived near Wheloon in Cormyr, used a deepspawn he had captured to duplicate thimdrors and sell them to the best eateries in Saerloon and other nearby settlements.

Notable Deepspawn

 * Beautiful Flower, a deepspawn that has been residing in the Crypt of Orbakh in Myth Drannor for centuries by 1369 DR, endlessly spawning creatures inside the tomb creating a mini-ecosystem.
 * Clusterfang, a deepspawn who forged an alliance with the Twisted Rune in Calimshan and was active across the Lands of Intrigue during the mid-to-late 14 century DR.
 * The One Below, Clusterfang's predecessor in the mid–14 century DR.

Appearances

 * Adventures
 * Hellgate Keep &bull; Pool of Radiance: Attack on Myth Drannor
 * Novels
 * Obsidian Ridge &bull; War in Tethyr