| Climate/Terrain: | Any |  |
| Frequency: | Very rare | |
| Organization: | Solitary | |
| Activity Cycle: | Any | |
| Diet: | Omnivorous | |
| Intelligence: | Genius (17-18) | |
| Treasure: | K, L, M, Qx2, Vx2, X | |
| Alignment: | Chaotic evil | |
| No. Appearing: | 1 | |
| Armor Class: | 6 | |
| Movement: | 6, Sw 8 | |
| Hit Dice: | 14 | |
| THAC0: | 7 | |
| No. of Attacks: | 6 | |
| Damage/Attack: | 3-12 (x3)/2-5 or by weapon type (x3) | |
| Special Attacks: | See below | |
| Special Defenses: | See below | |
| Magic Resistance: | 77% | |
| Size: | H (14' diameter, tentacles tp 20') | |
| Morale: | Elite (15-16) | |
| XP Value: | 12,000 |
Deepspawn are infamous horrors that give birth to many other types of monsters, such that a single deepspawn can make a large area perilous to even alert, well-armed adventurers. Deepspawn look like large, rubbery spheres of mottled gray and brown. Six limbs project from their bodies; three are tentacle arms, and three are jaw arms, ending in many-toothed mouths. A deepspawn also has over 40 long, retractable, flexible eyestalks.
Combat: A deepspawn attacks by casting hold spells at intruders, casting one every three rounds. Victims under a hold spell are then grasped by tentacle arms and constricted, as other tentacles fight with wielded weapons (including any magical items usable by fighters gained from earlier victims). Deepspawn often engage prey with weapons and then bite them from behind with a jaw arm. A tentacle arm can slap for 1d4+l, grasp items or beings and move them about (with 17 Strength), or constrict.
Constriction requires a successful attack roll (automatic if the victim is under a hold spell), and inflicts 1-4 points of damage plus ld4+l points per round thereafter. Constricted victims can be swung about by the deepspawn as bludgeons (inflicting 1-2 points of damage on others, ruining spellcasting, and forcing saving throws for fragile carried items). This causes the constricted being no extra damage.
Victims may only escape constriction by severing the tentacle arm holding them 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, she or he wins free.
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 (1-6 damage per weapon, regardless of type, all in a single round), unleashes any magical items it has, and tries to escape. Deepspawn are immune to poison (perhaps because they are able to create many poisons in their offspring), and regenerate lost arms and stalks, though slowly, healing 2 hit points of damage day.
When found, deepspawn are usually half-buried in a pile of slippery, shifting treasure. This may conceal their arms, so that tentacles and mouths 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 a rule of thumb, increase AC to 4).
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 Underdark, 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.
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 creatures which exist in multiple planes). The spawn have the natural attacks, including spell-like powers, and intelligence of their forebears, but class abilities and other learned skills are not gained. A spawn grows in 1-4 days within 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, though they are at -2 to hit the first round after emergence.