Deepspawn

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 seem at first to be the attacks of separate creatures. 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 such spells once every three rounds. Victims under a hold spell are grasped by tentacle-arms and constricted, as other tentacles fight off other intruders by wielding weapons (including any magical items usable by fighters accumulated from earlier victims). 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.

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. In any round in which a being gets free, it takes only one point of constriction damage. Constricted victims can be swung about by the Deepspawn as bludgeons (doing others struck 1d2 damage, ruining spellcasting, and forcing saving throws for fragile carried items). This causes the constricted being 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 let go 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 victim and 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 (perhaps because they are able to create many poisons in their offspring), and regenerate lost arms and stalks, though slowly, healing 2 hp/day.

Habitat/Society: Deepspawn prefer to let their offspring fight for them, lairing in caverns, dungeons, or ruins amply protected by traps and guardian monsters (their “spawn”). If these defenses are penetrated, the Deepspawn is usually found in a readily-defended room or area, always with at least one or more escape routes.

Deepspawn are native to the Deeps, and have successfully resisted the attempts of dwarves, drow, duergar, cloakers, illithids, and aboleth to exterminate them. Deepspawn seldom lair within 30 miles of each other, but individuals may be much closer together underground (e.g. on different levels).

Ecology: Deepspawn eat anything organic, but prefer fresh meat. By some as-yet-unexplained natural means, a Deepspawn can “grow” and give birth to any creature native to the Prime Material Plane it has ever devoured (but not undead or other duo-dimensional creatures). The “spawn” have the natural attacks, including spell-like powers, alignment, and intelligence of their forebears, but class abilities and other learned skills are not gained. 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 birthing. The Deepspawn then splits open to emit 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.