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The question is about DnD, any version.

Was there any official monster ever published that had a description of being an awakened piece of land in general (with whatever the land had on it) and could mind control an individual?

The piece of land/valley/forest would spontaneously develop consciousness and awareness after existing for so long, this could happen without the use of magic.

To clarify, I am not referring to individual awakened shrubs or trees which require magic to be created.

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    \$\begingroup\$ Not a monster, but the leaders of one of the factions in Waterdeep: Dragon Heist is a garden containing a consciousness of a druid that 'ascended' to become one with the land that she cared for. \$\endgroup\$
    – aherocalledFrog
    Commented Apr 16 at 20:29
  • \$\begingroup\$ Lair effects on the surrounding area for high-level creatures in 5e like dragons and unicorns seem to come close to what you want, at least mechanically speaking \$\endgroup\$
    – aherocalledFrog
    Commented Apr 16 at 20:31

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Yes, the “v.3.5 revised edition” of D&D has such a monster, known as a genius loci. As far as I can tell (and I looked), it is the only official monster of this sort from any edition of D&D.

Genius Loci

A genius loci is difficult to spot, since it looks like any other section of landscape. […]

It’s an epic monster (intended for the optional post-20th ruleset, specifically for roughly 30th-level adventurers), which functions primarily by having some mind-controlled slave act for it.

The description doesn’t really discuss how a genius loci got to be that way: All we get is

Genius loci are spontaneously generated from areas that have remained undisturbed for long eras. In time, the personality of the place becomes not just a metaphor but also a fact.

(Epic Level Handbook, pg. 190)

How analogous that is to the awaken spell is somewhat a matter of interpretation. There certainly isn’t a spell that creates one.¹

The listed statblock indicates that it is an ooze, but that appears to be chosen more because it was the closest available option for the mechanics they wanted, rather than because it is necessarily some ooze-like biological entity. Furthermore, the stats—including the ooze type—don’t really seem to apply to the entire genius loci at all. Instead, the spirit can animate sections of the landscape and it seems that the stats are really for the animated section, which behaves in an ooze-like fashion.

The name is Latin for “spirit of the place,” and for the Romans referred to a protective spirit associated with some location. In contrast, “Most [D&D genii locorum] are malignant, persecuting trespassers with glee, but a few are benign, offering a safe haven to various sylvan folk,” (Epic Level Handbook, pg. 190).

  1. The “v.3.5 revised edition” of D&D actually does have a 9th-level conjuration spell spell named genius loci (Complete Mage pg. 105), but that creates an elder elemental rather than the epic monster named genius loci.
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    \$\begingroup\$ @Firebreak Meh, doesn't seem that important to this answer to me? I link to its complete stats, which links to the Ooze type’s stats, so anyone interested has ready access to that info, but none of it seems directly relevant to the question. \$\endgroup\$
    – KRyan
    Commented Apr 14 at 3:42

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