Puppets come about in a variety of ways, be it biological spawning or magical coalesence/conjuration. While the spawning method does not usually influence a great deal of the puppet's function, it is nonetheless an aspect of their physiology.

Biological Spawning

Most puppets and subpuppets start their life as a stem cell-rich liquid slurry, contained within a flexible, but durable shell known as a pupa. The puppet's body receives instruction psionically rather than chemically, allowing a puppet to fully form in a timeframe of roughly 3-6 seconds. Curiously, all puppets start as the same size of pupa; the shell expands rapidly to accommodate the new puppet's size as its cells multiply, being fed psionically by the larger host. This effect can be very minor for small puppets (Deltas, Tricksters) or massively exaggerated for large ones (Praetors, Anchorages). Once the shell expands as needed, it rapidly hardens, becoming a friable husk that even very physically weak puppets can break out of.

The spawning process is very similar for a Reconcilant's subpuppets, though its pupae start far smaller (usually about two fifths of the size of a normal pupa). The variety in type and size of Reconcilant puppets warrants the appropriation, but it is not the only type: Herald pupae are effectively just adapted Howitzers shells, with more give and replacing the pyrochemical slurry with stem cell slurry. The spawning process is also massively accelerated, with Heralds almost "snapping" into full shape in 2-3 seconds, mid-flight.

The spawning of Serfs is very poorly understood; they simply seem to appear over time when an Anchorage's housing structure has psionic vacancy. The fact each housing structure can only host up to four is assumed to be part of the process. The most common consensus is that housing structures house some organ or apparatus for creating new puppet slurry, which naturally develops into Serfs over time.

Titan Spawning

While still biological spawning, the spawning of Titans is a different enough process to regular puppets that it is worth highlighting. Unlike most spawns, which are almost entirely probabilistic (with some degree of self-correction if a puppet caste is severely underpopulated), Titans come about as the result of large-scale trauma to Hyacinth. Rather than being spawned all at once, Titans are spawned piece by piece, starting with the skeleton of the barrel and torso, then the flesh, before working on the limbs, with the head and any special componentry coming last. Each Titan has a "capstone" piece of sorts that signifies the completion of its spawning. While assembly is typically handled by Deltas, Reconcilants, and Serfs, the capstone is always placed by Hyacinth, and in fact normal puppets will never touch the capstone unless forced.

Reconcilants are capable of performing a variation on titan spawning when spawning a Barycenter, with a surprising level of cohesion and organization. When a host begins spawning a titan, a very select few Reconcilants (most often only one, typically the eldest living) will begin producing pieces of their Barycenters in a method similar Hyacinth's titan spawning. However, when other Reconcilants are within proximity of the chosen Reconcilant, they will also spawn pieces of the growing Barycenter. This process is highly impermanent; if the assisting Reconcilant is removed from proximity, it goes back to normally spawning subpuppets in less than a minute. This is presumed to be owed to a certain level of psionic connection formed via the close distance, similar to how Myrmecophs form temporary, close-ranged links. A Reconcilant loses its "chosen" status when the Barycenter is completed, even if its host has not finished spawning Titans yet.

Arcane Spawning

Arcane spawning is generally divided into coalescence (the merging of several preexisting magical creatures into a larger, more sustainable form) and conjuration (the transmutation of raw magic into a sustained entity)

Coalescence is only used by Totems for the sake of creating Wisps from smaller spirits, it is an especially unusual form of puppet creation as it is generally not spurned by any sort of active neural activity. Instead, Totems seem to treat it at least partially as a response to spirit overcrowding, as the mental strain of a single Wisp is generally lesser than the 8-10 spirits needed to make it.

Conjuration is also only used by Totems, and it is the method by which they create their Elementals. Like coalescence, there is a psionic component that binds an Elemental to the larger psionic body, but conjuration's magic cost is generally far higher up-front.

Cambrian Sculpting

Cambrians do not spawn using pupae or magical conjuration, but instead directly sculpt already-exuded biomass (in the form of the Cambrian's own protein-rich effluvia) directly into lesser titans with no sort of external shell involved. This allows the Cambrian to sculpt its lesser titans in a matter of moments, though it is still vastly slower than either type of true spawning. Scultping uses not only psionic and magical, but physical components as well, as the lesser titan is directly molded into shape. Cambrians display an almost playful side when sculpting, occasionally doing dramatic flicks or flourishes as they work. This is seemingly part of the process, as a Cambrian that does not perform these more energetic maneuvers typically works much slower, or even outright unsuccessfully.

Analogue Construction

The production of Analogues does incorporate some slight biological elements (namely in components used to facilitate a psionic connection between Analogues and their hosts), but a vast majority of their construction is formed of various forms of Haetin. Serfs generally handle all elements of construction in this manner, whether it be producing the pieces necessary in foundries or the actual assembly of components within proximity to a properly equipped hullyard.

Federations have internal machinery that replicates some of the production capabilities of Serfs, though crucially, they are incapable of growing the biological components themselves; unrefined Haetin and psionic-recipient mass still need to be regularly delivered by Serfs from a host Anchorage.