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Asgetrion
Master of Realmslore
Finland
1564 Posts |
 Posted - 08 Aug 2005 : 19:20:42
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Well met, all!
I have long thought about introducing a whole village filled with the spawn of a Deepspawn into my campaign. There would be mad cultists who have fed the whole population to it, and it has created exact copies of each villager, with vague memories of their previous existence. They would serve their master (the Deepspawn) along with the cultists, and provide it with fresh meals (=travelers and adventurers ;)
However, should one of them die, would the Deepspawn be able to "reproduce" this spawn, or are the spawn "unique"? I know that Deepspawn have created whole orc armies, for example, but could they create endless copies of a single human, and how would each of these copies relate to each other? Would they only remember what the original one that the Deepspawn devoured did?
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"What am I doing today? Ask me tomorrow - I can be sure of giving you the right answer then."
-- Askarran of Selgaunt, Master Sage, speaking to a curious merchant, Year of the Helm |
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RAKKIR
Seeker
61 Posts |
Posted - 08 Aug 2005 : 21:46:59
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I don't know what's going on with Deepspawn in 3E since it's been awhile since I read the 3E write-up for them. In my 2E game I allowed Deepspawn to choose the creature they wanted to spawn from their list of available options. I would imagine the spawn would only remember what the original did at the time if being eaten. Of course, I suppose the argument could be made a deepspawn could spawn a humanoid...that humanoid could learn new things, and then be re-devoured as an "upgraded blueprint" for new spawn so to speak. I think the copies would relate to one another just fine, since they are all ultimately fanatically loyal to the spawn and not really "humans" in that since of the word.
Of course, this is just my take on the situation. |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 08 Aug 2005 : 23:29:55
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A Deepspawn duplicates a particular orc (or human, or whatever) it has devoured: endless copies of exactly the same creature. They "come alive" knowing their bodies and how to use them (a human trained with a longsword could use it just as before death), but without prior memories (wizards don't have memorized spells, and human copy A meeting human copy B might say: "You look a lot like my reflection in yon pool," but WOULDN'T immediately say: "Hey, you're me!"
If that helps. That's the way Ed (who created Deepspawn) has always run them, anyway. We Knights ran into quite a few of them.
love,
THO |
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Asgetrion
Master of Realmslore
Finland
1564 Posts |
Posted - 09 Aug 2005 : 08:48:30
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quote:
Originally posted by RAKKIR
I don't know what's going on with Deepspawn in 3E since it's been awhile since I read the 3E write-up for them. In my 2E game I allowed Deepspawn to choose the creature they wanted to spawn from their list of available options. I would imagine the spawn would only remember what the original did at the time if being eaten. Of course, I suppose the argument could be made a deepspawn could spawn a humanoid...that humanoid could learn new things, and then be re-devoured as an "upgraded blueprint" for new spawn so to speak. I think the copies would relate to one another just fine, since they are all ultimately fanatically loyal to the spawn and not really "humans" in that since of the word.
Of course, this is just my take on the situation.
That "upgraded blueprint"-stuff sounds really hilarious 
But seriously, I agree with all that you have said, although I would have to think about that upgrading... *hehe* - many thanks for your input on this subject  |
"What am I doing today? Ask me tomorrow - I can be sure of giving you the right answer then."
-- Askarran of Selgaunt, Master Sage, speaking to a curious merchant, Year of the Helm |
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Asgetrion
Master of Realmslore
Finland
1564 Posts |
Posted - 09 Aug 2005 : 08:52:32
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
A Deepspawn duplicates a particular orc (or human, or whatever) it has devoured: endless copies of exactly the same creature. They "come alive" knowing their bodies and how to use them (a human trained with a longsword could use it just as before death), but without prior memories (wizards don't have memorized spells, and human copy A meeting human copy B might say: "You look a lot like my reflection in yon pool," but WOULDN'T immediately say: "Hey, you're me!"
If that helps. That's the way Ed (who created Deepspawn) has always run them, anyway. We Knights ran into quite a few of them.
love,
THO
Aye, many thanks once again, Milady! This really helps, and provides answers to all my questions 
Hmmm, I am only guessing here, but maybe you even had some (mis)adventures with Deepspawn who had devoured, and spawned, some Dalesfolk that the Knights knew?  |
"What am I doing today? Ask me tomorrow - I can be sure of giving you the right answer then."
-- Askarran of Selgaunt, Master Sage, speaking to a curious merchant, Year of the Helm |
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Dragon Cultist
Acolyte
28 Posts |
Posted - 10 Aug 2005 : 08:55:06
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Time for a Twisted Cultist Thought (c):
If a DM were warped enough to slap one of the nastier templates out there on the basic Deepspawn monster stats...I'm sure you could have a whole "Invasion of the Body Snatchers"-style Deepspawn village adventure.
Specifically, my thoughts run to templates that add a fell intelligence to a monster. There continue to appear many and sundry templates in both core manuals (the 3.5 Fiend Folio had several, I think) and in Dragon Magazine et.al.
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"And naught will be left save shattered thrones with no rulers.
But the dead dragons shall rule the world entire..." |
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Fletcher
Learned Scribe
USA
299 Posts |
Posted - 10 Aug 2005 : 17:10:23
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Personally I love the idea. I think you should run with it! Deepspawn could make for a truly brutal recurring character.
Horrid thought.
Epic Deppspawn that managed to eat a few epic monsters. Can you see the horror of a deepspawn that managed to spawn Hecatonchiers? or a Phane? Eek! |
Run faster! The Kobolds are catching up! |
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khorne
Master of Realmslore
Finland
1073 Posts |
Posted - 10 Aug 2005 : 17:53:09
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quote:
Originally posted by Fletcher
Personally I love the idea. I think you should run with it! Deepspawn could make for a truly brutal recurring character.
Horrid thought.
Epic Deppspawn that managed to eat a few epic monsters. Can you see the horror of a deepspawn that managed to spawn Hecatonchiers? or a Phane? Eek!
What are phanes and hecatonchiers? Pesronally I believe that a deepspawn that spawns beholders would be a real horror...... |
If I were a ranger, I would pick NDA for my favorite enemy |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 10 Aug 2005 : 18:42:09
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And so does Ed. He had a beholder colony (in a human castle) that had done just that, and kept deepspawn close-guarded in some of the lower chambers, spewing out endless weak young beholders to serve as guards, scouts ("want food? go hunt for it!") and ultimately as food for the more powerful senior beholders. The deepspawn had also eaten adventurers, and spewed THEM out as food (and the beholders used them as decoys, when later adventurers came exploring). Deadly.
love,
THO |
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Asgetrion
Master of Realmslore
Finland
1564 Posts |
Posted - 13 Aug 2005 : 16:57:21
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quote:
Originally posted by khorne
quote:
Originally posted by Fletcher
Personally I love the idea. I think you should run with it! Deepspawn could make for a truly brutal recurring character.
Horrid thought.
Epic Deppspawn that managed to eat a few epic monsters. Can you see the horror of a deepspawn that managed to spawn Hecatonchiers? or a Phane? Eek!
What are phanes and hecatonchiers? Pesronally I believe that a deepspawn that spawns beholders would be a real horror......
They are monsters from the Epic Level Handbook... horrors that no PC should ever meet |
"What am I doing today? Ask me tomorrow - I can be sure of giving you the right answer then."
-- Askarran of Selgaunt, Master Sage, speaking to a curious merchant, Year of the Helm |
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Asgetrion
Master of Realmslore
Finland
1564 Posts |
Posted - 13 Aug 2005 : 17:40:28
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
And so does Ed. He had a beholder colony (in a human castle) that had done just that, and kept deepspawn close-guarded in some of the lower chambers, spewing out endless weak young beholders to serve as guards, scouts ("want food? go hunt for it!") and ultimately as food for the more powerful senior beholders. The deepspawn had also eaten adventurers, and spewed THEM out as food (and the beholders used them as decoys, when later adventurers came exploring). Deadly.
love,
THO
That sounds something so twisted that only Ed could come up with it
What I had in mind for my campaign was a fey'ri devotee of the Great Dread God Moander. This demonic elf has been plotting for centuries against the Obarskyrs, trying to blackmail and manipulate various noble families through disguises and Sembian money (from various merchants who would like to see Cormyr fall). He succeeded to gain the trust of the Auantivers (of Battlerise) decades ago, and when a young Azoun came to visit them, he had a succubus replace one of the Auantiver ladies (who was one of Azoun's many mistresses around the realm). Later, the half-fiend offspring was hidden within the cellars of the Battlegate keep, to wait until the proper time.
Now that Sarya has been freed, he plans to breed more half-fiend humans, then feed them to a captive deepspawn (who now dwells in abandoned vaults under a remote Sembian village), thus creating a new, glorious Cormyte (servitor) race to replace all the humans in Cormyr When he is ready, he shall try to kill Azoun IV (who is still alive in my campaign) and conquer as much of Cormyr as he can. Then he would introduce his own candidate (=Azoun's half-fiend son) to the throne, who would naturally soon step down. Then he would offer the Dragon Throne to Sarya, and rule a Cormyr filled with fey'ri, half-fiends and demons as her prince-consort
Of course, many factions are involved in the campaign - merchant cabals, the Cult of the Dragon, The Eldreth Veluudra... etcetera |
"What am I doing today? Ask me tomorrow - I can be sure of giving you the right answer then."
-- Askarran of Selgaunt, Master Sage, speaking to a curious merchant, Year of the Helm |
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Ardashir
Senior Scribe
USA
544 Posts |
Posted - 16 Aug 2005 : 19:06:18
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Great idea, Asgetrion. I think the deepspawn are among the cooler monsters ever in the Realms.
Out of curiosity, is there a way you could somehow 'record' someone's memory before you turned them into deepspawn chow, and then return said memories to the deepspawn's spawn afterwards? Sort of a way of achieving a very weird immortality? The elves did something like that with their telkiiras, as I recall. Maybe the deepspawn could learn a feat or a spell? (They _do_ have genius-level intelligence, after all; don't any of them ever learn spells?)
I've been thinking a long time about something involving a deepspawn cult that promises immtality and renewed youth to its members. The spawn eats the lucky few and then they get recreated in a younger form (altered by magic). They can then be used by the cult leaders (evil wizards, mind flayers, yuan-ti, whatever...) as flunkies in all the usual ways, though most of them are rather on the high end of the social ladder. It's an idea, anyway. |
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Asgetrion
Master of Realmslore
Finland
1564 Posts |
Posted - 17 Aug 2005 : 13:07:52
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Well met, Ardashir!
Hmmm... an interesting idea. I am not sure how the "recording process" of elven kiiras work (I don't have my books at hand right now) but I could check it out. I seem to recall that all the persons whose memories are recorded in a loregem must be willing to do so, and they (probably) have to sacrifice themselves in the process. If you run Deepspawn exactly as they are described in Monsters of Faerun, their spawn have vague memories of their former existences.
Of course, if you run with the idea that there is a sinister cult feeding important persons to a Deepspawn, they could always tell him about his former life (twisting it, of course, in ways suiting their goals, such as "I was your personal advisor, and also your closest friend").
BTW, I also planned that my "village cult" would eventually spread into the nearest town... and replace its major NPCs with spawn |
"What am I doing today? Ask me tomorrow - I can be sure of giving you the right answer then."
-- Askarran of Selgaunt, Master Sage, speaking to a curious merchant, Year of the Helm |
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The Deepspawn
