A Meteorspawn is an enormous creature native to wildspace from the Spelljammer campaign setting.[1]
Overview[]
A meteorspawn is an enormous creature resembling an asteroid that slowly drifts through wildspace scooping up random chunks of rock and minerals the same way a whale scoops up plankton. It then excretes waste rock in the form of high speed meteors. Most spaceborn races have wondered about the origin of meteors, and while meteorspawn may not necessarily be the only source, their presence in space certainly provides at least one explanation for some of these flying rocks.[1]
Description[]
Meteorspawn are huge spheres of living rock that range in color from black to earth brown to slate gray. The smallest spawn are at least 100-feet in diameter, while some specimens are rumored to reach thousands of feet in diameter. A meteorspawn has a circular mouth that measures a quarter of its diameter, while on the opposite side, on both the left and the right quadrants, are two holes that serve as waste orifices which are no larger than one tenth of the spawn's diameter.[1]
Behavior[]
Despite its great size and large mouth, a meteorspawn has no interest in eating spelljamming vessels or their crew - it much prefers drifting through space eating rocks and minerals.[1]
Combat[]
A meteorspawn is too thick-skinned and unintelligent to realize it is under attack until it has lost at least a quarter of its health. Even then, its only real form of attack is to eject meteors out of its two opposing waste orifices at extremely high speed. If a meteorspawn is less than 1,000 feet in diameter it can rotate its body and bring both holes to bear on an enemy. Meteorspawn wider than 1,000 feet can only bring one hole to bear.
Any unfortunate caught in the line of fire will be hit by up to 4 meteors, each travelling at enormous speed and dealing damage equivalent to a heavy catapult. Whether or not a meteor hits its target, it will eventually fly off into wildspace. And thus another meteor is born!
A meteorspawn's mouth isn't designed to bite down: instead its sucks in whatever it is trying to eat and breaks it apart. Similarly, if a ship collides with a meteorspawn's mouth, part of it may be sucked in and destroyed as if by a disintegrate spell. Normally its the ship's bow that ends up colliding with a meteorspawn's mouth. All crewmembers in the affected area may also be disintegrated.[1]
Habitat[]
A meteorspawn is a solitary creature drifting through wildspace consuming chunks of floating rock and mineral. It then crushes the rock using extreme pressure to extract its mineral content. Waste material in the form of boulders is stored in two sacs deep within its body, and when these sacs are filled, the boulders of waste rock are excreted with great force and high speed via its two waste orifices.
In rare instances, a meteorspawn may get close enough to a planet to pull away some of its atmosphere. Since a meteorspawn does not need air to survive, the atmospheric surrounding the spawn will remain until a passing spelljammer needs to refresh its air envelopes.
Most meteorspawn live for several centuries. During this time, the meteorspawn gestates up to 4 young. At the end of its life, it breaks up, and – a rare and wondrous sight – the young emerge. The initial size of the young depends on how many are born. If four are born, each is a quarter the size of its parent. If three are born, each is a third of its size, and so on.
Meteorspawn are a mixed blessing. On one hand, they clear away loose rock and debris that pose a navigational hazard. On the other hand, they create new hazards; high-velocity meteors that can crash through ships. The only consolation is that the meteorspawns create less matter than they consume, so at least the overall volume of rocks and minerals in a given area is reduced.
Some spacefarers consider the birth of meteorspawn to be a sign of good fortune, seeing the symbolism of renewed life from death. In addition, when the adult meteorspawn breaks up, ship's can retrieve enough ammunition for up to 20 shots for each catapult on board. The size of the catapult does not matter; there are plenty of rocks of all sizes to choose from![1]
Appendix[]
External Links[]
- Meteorspawn article at the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition Wiki, a wiki for official Dungeons & Dragons content from 2nd edition AD&D.