Deepspawn

* 3e
* 2e

**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.[*citation needed*]

## History

In the month of Eleasias in the Year of Larks, −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.

## Appendix

### Gallery

Deepspawn.jpg*An image of a deepspawn originally intended for publication in* Player's Guide to Faerûn*.*Races of faerun cover.jpg*Adventurers battling a deepspawn from the cover of* Races of Faerûn*.*
### Notes

1. ↑ *Monster Compendium: Monsters of Faerûn* lists their size as Large; however, this is considered an error, as its listed dimensions (14') and the face and reach listed in both this source and in the "Monster Update" web enhancement of *Player's Guide to Faerûn* indicate that this was intended to be a huge monster, as in earlier editions.

### References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Greenwood, Martin, Grubb (1993). *Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting 2nd edition (revised), Monstrous Compendium*. (TSR, Inc). ISBN 1-5607-6617-4.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 James Wyatt and Rob Heinsoo (February 2001). *Monster Compendium: Monsters of Faerûn*. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. {{#regex:32–33|%(,)(\S)%|$1 $2}}. ISBN 0-7869-1832-2.
3. ↑ Richard Baker and James Wyatt (2004-03-13). Monster Update (Zipped PDF). Wizards of the Coast. p. 3. Archived from the original on 2016-11-01. Retrieved on 2018-09-10.
4. ↑ James Butler, Elizabeth T. Danforth, Jean Rabe (1994). *Elminster's Ecologies*. (TSR, Inc), p. **Cannot cite pages from this boxed set.** See {{Cite book/Elminster's Ecologies}} for a list of citations that may be used.. ISBN 1-5607-6917-3.
5. ↑ Ed Greenwood (September 2011). “Eye on the Realms: Thormil's Secret”. In Steve Winter ed. *Dungeon* #194 (Wizards of the Coast), pp. {{#regex:28–30|%(,)(\S)%|$1 $2}}.
6. ↑ Steven E. Schend (1997). *Lands of Intrigue: Book One: Tethyr*. (TSR, Inc.), p. 25. ISBN 0-7869-0697-9.
7. ↑ Steven E. Schend (1997). *Lands of Intrigue: Book One: Tethyr*. (TSR, Inc.), p. 40. ISBN 0-7869-0697-9.
8. ↑ Steven E. Schend (1997). *Lands of Intrigue: Book Three: Erlkazar & Folk of Intrigue*. (TSR, Inc), p. 21. ISBN 0-7869-0697-9.
9. ↑ Steven E. Schend (1997). *Lands of Intrigue: Book Three: Erlkazar & Folk of Intrigue*. (TSR, Inc), p. 24. ISBN 0-7869-0697-9.