Deepspawn

Deepspawn were monstrous aberrations that could spawn many other varieties of monsters.

Description
Deepspawn looked like large, rubbery spheres of mottled grey and brown. Six arms projected from their bodies; three were tentacle-arms, and three were jaw-arms, ending in mouths of many teeth. A deepspawn also had over 40 long, retractable, flexible eye stalks, but it extended only three or four at a time, well away from harm.

Ecology
For a deepspawn to give birth to other monsters, it first needed to devour one. It made an exact "record" of the creature, and replicated the creature 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 exact duplicates could be created by a deepspawn. They had an intense, inborn loyalty to the parent. 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 spawn kept around as general servants.

History
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 throneroom. This had been orchestrated by Amir Tarseth, the king's brother-in-law and leader of Clan Tarseth.

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.

Appearances

 * War in Tethyr