Deepspawn
ClassHit Die: d12
| Level | BAB | Fort | Ref | Will | Special |
| 1st | +0 | +0 | +0 | +2 | Mother Body, Gene Devour, Spawn Child, Genius Intellect, +1 Int |
| 2nd | +1 | +0 | +0 | +3 | Deep magic, Extra Appendages, +1 Con |
| 3rd | +2 | +1 | +1 | +3 | Favorite Child |
| 4th | +3 | +1 | +1 | +4 | Growth, Treasure Dungeon, +1 Int |
| 5th | +3 | +1 | +1 | +4 | Early Birth, Rubbery Hide |
| 6th | +4 | +2 | +2 | +5 | Mother Embrace, Defy Doom, +1 Con |
| 7th | +5 | +2 | +2 | +5 | Deep Hold, Extra Appendages, +1 Int |
| 8th | +6 | +2 | +2 | +6 | Mother of All Monsters, Growth, +1 Con |
Class Skills: (6 + Int. Mod.) x4 at first level. The Deepspawn's class skills are Apraise, Bluff, Climb, Diplomacy, Escape Artist, Hide, Listen, Knowledge(any), Move Silently, Spot, Survival, Swim
Proficiencies: A Deepspawn is proficient with its own natural weapons.
Class FeaturesMother Body: At first level, the Deepspawn loses all racial bonuses, traits, and abilities and gains aberration traits (basically darkvision 60 feet). It is a medium sized aberration with base speed 20 feet, swim speed equal to its base speed, with one bite natural attack dealing 1d6+Str mod damage and one tentacle that can be used for a slam attack dealing 1d2+1/2 Str mod. Its tentacle can be used for fine manipulation, but can only properly hold weapons fit for a creature one size category smaller than the deepspawn. It can wield weapons, but isn't proficient with them.
In addition it gains a bonus to its Natural armor equal to its Int mod, which increases by an extra 1 whenever it grows in size.
• One headband, hat, or phylactery on the body. A Deepspawn
can only wear a helmet specially designed to fit over the
creature’s entire body.
• Three pairs of eye lenses or goggles over the eyes.
• Three amulets, brooches, medallions, necklaces, periapts,
or scarabs on up to three tentacles (one item per tentacle).
• One belt worn about a tentacle.
• One pair of bracers or bracelets on a pair of tentacles.
• Up to three rings on up to three tentacles (one ring per tentacle).
Deepspawns cannot wear vests, vestments, shirts, robes, suits of armor, cloaks, capes, mantles, gloves, gauntlets, boots, or
shoes.
As a fullround action, a Deepspawn can hungrily eat a dead body of its own size or smaller (bigger bodies can be quickly eaten by spending one extra round for each size category bigger). It then stores all of the genetic information about that creature, altough the Deepsawn itself cannot directly acess it. It does however allow the Deepsawn to make Knowledge checks about that kind of creature as if it had maximized ranks on the respective skill. If it already had maximized ranks on the respective skill, then it gains a racial bonus on that check equal to its Deespawn level.
Gene Devour doesn't work with constructs outsiders, elementals, undead and other dual-dimensional creatures, as their existences aren't based on genes.
Spawn Child: 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. By some yet unexplained, natural means, deepspawn can grow and give birth to any creature that it has sucessfully used Gene Devour with, as long as it has less HD than Deepspawn levels (so at first level the Deepspawn is limited to creatures with less than 1 HD like cats and sparrows).
The Spawn Child has the same type, natural attacks, magical abilities, alignment, and intelligence as the creature devoured by the Deepspawn, and it retains learned abilities (class abilities, skills and feats), as well as some dim memory of its former existence.
The Spawn Child grows in 24 hours whitin the deepspawn's body (which can still take actions as normal during the process, altough it can only grow one creature at a time), then emerges fully formed and ready for immediate action. The Deepspawn can delay the birth as much as it wants if it would happen sooner than it desires, but then must spend a fullround action making them come out. Spawn Child have overwhelming affection for the Deepspawn that gave them life and will never attack their “mother” even by magic means.
However the Spawn Child isn't a mindless cohort. It will fight for the Deepspawn if born during combat, and be friendly to it, but otherwise will then seek a life of its own. The Deepspawn may direct it towards a certain style of life when it is born like “guard this area” or “raid the countryside”, after which the Spawn Child will follow that lifestyle to the best of its ability, and may even change it if it's contrary to its “instincts”. They'll also conflict with other Spawn Child if they're too different, and/or natural enemies.
The Spawn Child will never become a personal follower or cohort to the Deepspawn (but see Favorite Child).
Deepspawn are more than monster factories. Their disgusting appearance belies the powerful brains hidden inside their main body. The Deepspawn may, as a swift action, either add its Int mod to attack and damage rolls with its natural weapons, or perform one basic attack with each of its “slam” tentacles, which then cannot be used again for the rest of the turn. Either way if the Deepspawn targets both a bite and a slam tentacle (even if wielding a weapon) against one target, that target counts as flanked.
Ability Score Increase:the Deepspawn gets +1 to Int at levels 1, 4, 7 and +1 Con at levels 2, 6, 8, for a total of +3 Int, +3 Con at 8th level.
Deep Magic: At 2nd level the Deepspawn can use Water Breathing and Detect Toughts as SLAs 1/day per HD. Save DCs are 10+1/2 HD+Int mod.
Extra Appendages: At 2nd and 7th levels the Deepspawn grows a pair of extra tentacles, one with jaws that can be used for performing another bite attack and the other exceptionally dextrous, whic can be used for fine manipulation, which work the same way as the ones gained with Mother Body. So a 6th level Deepspawn has 3 bites and 3 slam natural attacks.
Favorite Child:At 3rd level when the Deepspawn gives birth to a Spawn Child, it may whisper them sweet words and praise that make them loyally fanatic to the Deepspawn. It will now follow it and obey its orders as a cohort. Only one Favorite Child at a time, any attempt to have simultaneous ones will always end up in murderous sibling jealously.
Treasure Dungeon: At 4th level the Deepspawn gains
Hoard as a bonus feat. If it already had it, it may pick another feat for which it meets the prerequisites.
In addition it can partially burrow itself in piles of slippery, shifting coins and other treasure. This provides it Cover to the Deepspawn while it remains inside its Hoard Vault.
Growth:At 4th and 8th level the Deepspawn grows one size category.
Early Birth: At 5th level the Deepspawn can acelerate the gestation of a Spawn Child growing inside its body to be instantly born as a fullround action. It is completely ready for action as normal, but will then die in 1d4 minutes because it wasn't properly formed. In this case, the body also instantly decays in useless mulch as soon as it dies, even if killed by something else before. Once Early Birth is used, the Deepspawn must wait 1 hour before starting to grow a new Spawn Child. The Deepspawn may attempt to use Early Birth multiple times per day, but each extra one forces it to make a Fort save with DC 10+2 per Early Birth performed in the last 24 hours. If it fails, it is left Exhausted and Nauseated for 1 round and cannot start growing a new Spawn Child for 24 hours.
Rubbery Hide: At 5th level the Deepspawn becomes immune to poison and gains SR equal to 11+HD, which may be raised or lowered as a free action at any time even if isn't its turn.
Defy Doom: At 6th level, 1/day per 6 HD, the Deepspawn may use Heal on itself as a SLA. It may even use it if unable to take actions, as long as that action was one that would be removed by the Heal itself.
Mother Embrace: At 6th level if a deepspawn makes a successful attack with a “slam” tentacle, it can grab the victim, making a free grapple check that does not provoke an attack of opportunity. If the Deepspawn wins the grapple check, it constricts the grabbed character, dealing damage equal to the Slam+Str mod each round until the victim breaks the hold. If the Deepspawn has 8 or more HD, this ignores Freedom of Movement effects.
Deep Hold: At 7th level the Deepspawn can use Hold Monster 1/day per HD as a SLA, but must wait 3 turns between uses. Save DC is 10+1/2 HD+Int mod. If it has 12 or more HD it can affect even those that would normally be immune to it, but such enemies gain a +5 bonus on their saves.
Mother of All Monsters: At 8th level the Deepspawn reaches its true potential. It now uses all of its HD instead of just Deepspawn levels for determining what creatures it can spawn. In addition it may start mixing genes of the creatures it has eaten to produce hybrids. This allows the deepspawn to mix levels, feats and skill points from two creatures it has eaten, as long as the final result is a “legal” build. The Deepspawn may swap the creature's feats for Monster Blood and Monster Hybrid as needed to combine diferent monster classes. In alternative, it may produce actual hybrid races if it has both “component monsters”. So an human and orc could be combined into an half-orc, or a red dragon and ogre could be combined into an half-red-dragon ogre. The Deepspawn cannot however further mix in genes obtained from such hybrids, even if they were produced by another Deepspawn.
In addition the Deepsapwn will grow another size category at 12 and 16 HD.
New Feats
Child of the Heavens[Racial]
And the mother smiled, for her new child had wings and hands and all the joys of existence.
Prerequisites:At least 1 level of Deepspawn, 8 ranks in Knowledge (the Planes)
Benefit:You can now Gene Devour outsiders and extraplanar creatures.
Child of the Grave[Racial]
And the mother smiled, for her new child was beyond death, beyond suffering, beyond life.
Prerequisites:At least 1 level of Deepspawn, 8 ranks in Knowledge (Religion)
Benefit: You can now Gene Devour undeads.
Child of the Artifice[Racial]
And the mother smiled, for her new child was smooth, flawless and perfect, every piece in its place.
Prerequisites:At least 1 level of Deepspawn, 8 ranks in Knowledge (Arcana)
Benefit: You can now Gene Devour constructs.
Child of the Land[Racial]
And the mother smiled, for her new child breathed like the wind, was warm like the sun, was strong as the mountain, was as wise as the ocean.
Prerequisites:At least 1 level of Deepspawn, 8 ranks in Knowledge (Geography)
Benefit:You can now Gene Devour elementals.
CommentsCouldn't decide on what image to use so just posted all 3.
Ever wondered where all the monsters in D&D come from? A crazy wizard may have made it, but was he so crazy to go out there mass producing them and scattering them over the land? And they somehow persisted over millenia? I believe not.
The Deepspawn is the answer. A monster "mother" that can produce childs of all kind and spread them across the world. Or at least around its personal cavern to nom in uncatious adventurers. And then it'll use their ADN to spawn new childs.
The spawning process is slow, but the Deepspawn has tricks of its own. And by "tricks" I mean "tentacle action time!". The usual gropping and biting and some magic tricks.
But anyway to keep the spirit of the monster I made the spawning basically resource-free besides time, but they really aren't under your control. You do get a more permanent cohort at 3rd level and then the ability to quickly spawn one when needed, at the cost of it only lasting a few minutes. Self-heal and poison immunity because why not (never change random D&D monster abilities), growth to huge size (and yes it can grow creatures bigger than itself, thanks to some impressive dillatation capacities), and you've got an aberration worthy of its name!
So if you want to play a monster's mommy, the deepspawn's for you!
Kudos to Nanshork for finding this quite obscure monster stats for me to convert.
