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Savryn
Acolyte
1 Posts |
 Posted - 28 Mar 2004 : 02:41:43
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I was wondering if anyone had any ideas regarding some question I have concerning deepspawn. I am trying to work them into a campaign as a central element and I need to know the answers to some questions:
1) Can extremely large deepspawn ingest and spawn extremely large monsters (massive deepspawn spawning dragons?)?
2) If a deepspawn consumes Dorn the Dwarf and then then starts spawning dwarves, do they all look like Dorn?
3) If you kill a deepspawn what happens to their spawn that are still alive?
4) If you have two deepspawn and one consumes the spawn of another, can both deepspawn then spawn that species?
5) How do deepspawn reproduce? I think I heard somewhere that they bud young off of their main body. How do existing spawn react to deepspawn offspring?
Any help you could give me would be appreciated.
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Steven Schend
Forgotten Realms Designer & Author
USA
1715 Posts |
Posted - 28 Mar 2004 : 02:59:26
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quote:
Originally posted by Savryn
I was wondering if anyone had any ideas regarding some question I have concerning deepspawn. I am trying to work them into a campaign as a central element and I need to know the answers to some questions:
1) Can extremely large deepspawn ingest and spawn extremely large monsters (massive deepspawn spawning dragons?)?
Only if they have the proper cutlery.  Yes, given enough time and patience and small bites, they can ingest just about anything (though I think they'd have to draw the line at anything larger than their own body mass, given the spoilage that might set in before they'd finished their meal).
And now I have this odd oroborous image of a deepspawn eating a purple worm by the tail and the purple worm consuming it from the back end as well, consumption in a circle....eugh.. 
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2) If a deepspawn consumes Dorn the Dwarf and then then starts spawning dwarves, do they all look like Dorn?
Probably for the first one or two, but after that, I'd say they're not so close that friends or relatives wouldn't notice a difference. Think of it as duplicating creatures and the copy of a copy of a copy fadeout effect. They'd quickly resolve to a general form that fits the dwarf phenotype, but distinguishing characteristics might melt away over time. (And I'm just opinionizing here, not working from stats or game rules....)
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3) If you kill a deepspawn what happens to their spawn that are still alive?
Move through the 12 stages of grief and get on with their lives? Beats me. I'd assume, unless there is something specific in the deepspawn writeup, that once produced, they count as alive. The only link the deepspawn has on them, if memory serves, is a mental control.
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4) If you have two deepspawn and one consumes the spawn of another, can both deepspawn then spawn that species?
Just for sanity's sake, I'd suggest that deepspawn alone are unable to be duplicated. If you want a story/logic idea behind it, deepspawn see EVERYTHING else as food EXCEPT other deepspawn--they are rivals. (Or they could just be fussy eaters and thing cannibalism is crass...)
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5) How do deepspawn reproduce? I think I heard somewhere that they bud young off of their main body. How do existing spawn react to deepspawn offspring?
My memory's saying they split off their young every so often and leave them to fend for themselves. Could be wrong, so check real sources.
Since spawn are controlled by the deepspawn, one assumes it will keep its minions from harming its young progeny.
Steven
who tried to use a deepspawn to odd effects in Hellgate Keep... |
For current projects and general natter, see www.steveneschend.com
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Sarta
Senior Scribe
USA
505 Posts |
Posted - 28 Mar 2004 : 09:28:30
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quote:
Originally posted by Steven Schend
Steven
who tried to use a deepspawn to odd effects in Hellgate Keep...
Yeah, Vhok could really use that deepspawn. The care and feeding of 1200 Tanarukka can make keeping a low profile difficult. That deepspawn would definitely help make the Nameless Dungeon a more self-contained environment.
Sarta |
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Targon Moonrise
Learned Scribe
163 Posts |
Posted - 31 Mar 2004 : 21:22:58
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Deepspawn eat a person then bring them back as spawn. To my knowledge, they can't make "copies" of somebody they eat.
When a Deepspawn is killed, their spawn are set free to live their lives how they want.
Also, I think if a spawn of one Deepspawn is eaten by another, the spawn becomes loyal to the second one and not the first. |
May Melkor smile upon every spell you cast. |
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Murmur Maelstrom
Acolyte
7 Posts |
Posted - 03 Apr 2004 : 08:09:17
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Greetings and well met,
There is actually a terrific adventure section in the "Pool of Radiance: Attack on Myth Drannor" that deals with a Deepspawn and it's lair and spawn...
Though the rest of the adventure is slightly lacking, this section, I thought, was well written... and can help answer some of your questions. As this is a 3rd Edition D&D module, it is not kosher for me to simply write about what is in the guide, so I'll restrict myself to answering your questions (those that I can)..
1) Can extremely large deepspawn ingest and spawn extremely large monsters (massive deepspawn spawning dragons?)?
With the advancement rules of this edition of D&D, I don't see why an extremely old deepspawn could not continue to grow and flourish.. Eventually achieving enormous sizes, and producing larger spawn. As long as the creature is of the same size category or smaller, then I don't see why it (as long as it is on the list of creatures that the deepspawn can reproduce) can't be done. Simply put, there was a rumor in one of the 2nd Edition books that someone had purchased a chained, white wyrmling, and a deepspawn... and trouble was on the horizon....
2) If a deepspawn consumes Dorn the Dwarf and then then starts spawning dwarves, do they all look like Dorn?
If a deepspawn were to produce Dorn the Dwarf, then YES, Dorn the dwarf would be reproduced... Though his memories are foggy, he is of the same level and classes as the ingested creature... As in the module, a middling level sorcerer is eaten.. then reproduced.. and he had his sorcerous powers... interesting possibilites for an evil campaign... can you say, "Clone Wars?"
3) If you kill a deepspawn what happens to their spawn that are still alive?
If you kill a deepspawn, it's spawn are ticked off, but otherwise unharmed. They are true creatures, and would go about their lives...
4) If you have two deepspawn and one consumes the spawn of another, can both deepspawn then spawn that species?
Suppose deepspawn #1 were to consume Dorn the Dwarf, then spawn him off as Dorn the Dwarf #2. Then, deepspawn #2 were to eat Dorn the Dwarf #2. The question would be if deepspawn #2 could reproduce more of Dorn the Dwarf... Yes, and no. It would, indeed, be able to create copies of Dorn the Dwarf #2, but not Dorn the Dwarf (the original)... Now, Dorn the Dwarf #3 (created by the second deepspawn) would be slightly different than Dorn the Dwarf #2, in that it's loyalties would be toward Deepspawn #2, not Deepspawn #1. Other than that, Dorn the Dwarf #3 would exactly like Dorn the Dwarf (skills and class-wise), but not have the memories of the original Dorn the Dwarf... He'd be Dorn the Dwarf with amnesia...
5) How do deepspawn reproduce? I think I heard somewhere that they bud young off of their main body. How do existing spawn react to deepspawn offspring?
The actual process of a deepspawn reproducing is... ahem.. not something I care to delve too deeply into... Other than that, I'd guess that Steven is correct. There is a merchant group in Skullport that breeds and sells Deepspawn for a living... Perhaps they would be the ones to ask...
Cheers,
MM |
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Deepspawn Ecology and other ???s
